Customer Reviews

Toshiba RS-TX20 DVD Recorder with 120 GB TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a pretty nice unit. 120GB hard drive, which means 32 to 141 hours of recording capacity depending on video quality. MPEG encoding artifacts become pretty apparent in motion scenes at medium quality (94 hrs) so I'm sticking with High for most recordings, which means 46 hrs storage on the hard drive. Of course the great positive here is that you can archive to DVD the stuff you want to keep. There's no editing of the material before you burn, but if you have a PC at home, you can always rip the DVD and probably edit more easily there. This unit, as well as the Pioneers, has a major advantage in that it comes with TiVo basic (3-day program guide, no "season pass", "wish lists" or home media features) so you don't have to pay TiVo the $13/mo subscription unless you really want that stuff.

A few nits:
* menus can seem pretty slow at times, as does the program guide
* does not display amount used/free on hard drive
* even "live tv" is displayed with "best" compression (i.e. not the native line-in signal)
* DVD burns are only at the same quality you originally recorded the show
* remote is too symmetrical; i've pointed it the wrong way 3 times already!
* $100 rebate requires perhaps 10-12 weeks of premium TiVo subscription

As for the HD complainers, come on. How many people are even receiving HD content, let alone recording it? Since the dawn of analog videotape, home recording options have always been inferior in quality to broadcast/prerecorded-content. I agree that if you have satellite HD, it's much more compelling to go with an integrated DVR/converter box that can save the programming in its native format. But most of us don't live in that world. We just want to time-shift our shows. I had been using a VCR up till now and this is much better. I don't doubt there will be better recorders in the future, but this is a nice combo IMHO.

BTW, I suggest doing a websearch/price-compare as you may not find your best deal here (hint hint).

PROS:
1) The unbeatable feature is the ability to record to DVD. The recording is fast and the quality is always solid. A lot of cable companies' DVRs make archiving to DVD impossible. It is also very easy to do the recording, since the machine tells you how much of the blank dvd you will use up.

2) The other huge pro is the fact that this can be added to your home network, meaning you can port over songs and photos to the Toshiba.

3) Though somewhat lengthy, set up is very easy -- even the remote.

4) TiVo interface much more useful than anything put out by my cable company. I much prefer to use it over the cable DVR.

CONS:
1) No HDTV through this, but I just rented an extra cable box for $9/month for recording shows in HD. I use that for shows that I know will be in HD (and there aren't that many). The fact is, no DVD player plays in HD yet (soon to arrive at a high price). However, you can't have the two cable boxes in the same room easily, due to remote confusion (the cable remote will change the TiVo box and mess up recordings, so use separate rooms if you want the 2 box solution).

2) A small con. If you do want to hook this into the network you do need a wireless adapter that is now discontinued. These are plentiful on eBay (and cheaper than the new generation adapters), but you can't just walk into your local electronics shop and pick up the adapter you need. TiVo does list the adapters that work. Networking it was no problem whatsoever.

Good: It works, it is addictive, it changes the way you watch TV...

Bad: Well, the picture quality is not too good, the free TIVO service only has a three-day TV schedule (although you can plan manual recordings further ahead), the connectivity is complicated, the unit responds slowly to the remote.

Outright ugly: The quality is poor. My unit died after four months, the DVD drive stopped accepting DVDs ('no disk'). I hear this is quite a common problem. Still working with Toshiba to get it replaced.

*** UPDATE: ***
Toshiba repaired the unit for free. I had to miss it for about two weeks. Worked OK ever after.
After having owned this unit for about two years now, I am satisfied with it. Tivo updates suck, every time there is a new service update the system crashes multiple times. Sometimes various functions stop working (like the electronic program guide) and it takes multiple reboots to get them back. I still don't want to pay for Tivo service although when this unit dies I may need to since I have not seen any new HD units with Free basic Tivo. On the other hand, Tivo is so addictive. I even miss re-winding when I hear something on the radio in the car....

After having 4 different companies, including Amazon.com, cancel my order for this machine I finally have it and love it!

The setup is as easy as can be. It walks you through every step. I'm impressed that it comes with all the cables and connectors you need for the various scenarios a user might have (i.e. by-pass cable, telephone split line gadget, etc).

I do have a normal TV so I don't have the problems that the other reviewer has. No more not recording an episode because I didn't turn the VCR off. In fact, I can still use my VCR for watching a movie or recording something while TiVo runs in the background recording something else.

I haven't tried it out yet, but am looking forward to using it to convert my VHS camcorder home movies to DVD.

Overall, the machine now works great for recording, viewing, and going from Hard Disk to DVD. The problem was the quality initially and then the biggest problem was the service at TiVo and their representatives.

We originally received the TiVo unit and the DVD did not function at all. This was my first time with a return to handle thru Amazon.com and I can tell you, I was extremely impressed. The process was quick, easy, and smooth. The second unit arrived within just a few days!

So after getting the second unit started, we called to transfer the TiVo Service over to the new unit. I have two major complaints here. It was not managed on the first call. As a matter of fact after 6 calls, the issue was (and is) still not resolved. The service representatives had little knowledge with handling the matter (definitely not subject matter experts). Additionally, each time we would call, the wait was between 15 to 40 minutes just to get a live (and unknowledgeable) representative. In the end, unfortunately we cancelled the TiVo service and we are now just using the basic service which still works great but doesn't have some of the features that we were hoping to have.

Additionally, it is annoying that TiVo still only utilitizes the wireless b network which is a just a bit more hassle in setting up the home network but works fine.

However, this product will be extremely out-dated very quickly. It is nice to be able to record to DVDs straight from shows you have recorded with Tivo, but the machine is not technologically advanced. Some of the technological problems:

1. SOUND!!!- There is no digital input, so the best quality sound you can get is standard stereo RCA, as that is the only input. There is a digital output which you can connect to your Audio Receiver, but you will not get true surround sound from this DVR, as your sound is only as good as what is going in. As a result, the sound of all my television shows are also SOFT sounding, in comparison to my HD cable box that sends raw digital sound to the receiver. Definitely the most disappointing drawback from this otherwise decent machine. One small positive note, at least the DVDs are not affected (professional ones, not the ones you record), you still get true surround sound.

2. Picture- If you have a HD TV, you will be disappointed as this DVR only accepts S-Video as the highest quality video input. The DVR does have YPbR as an output, but once again, this only really utilized in the playing of professional DVDs (DVDs from movies studios encoded in 16:9), not the ones you record. Because the only video input is S-Video, you can not take advantage of an HD Cable box or HD Satellite Receiver. You are basically left with a DVR that record DVDs and television shows in 4:3 Ratio Stereo DVDs.

3. DVD Player and Tivo - The DVRs only strong points, which are ultimately affected by its technological inferiorities. The DVD player works great and has the User Interface of Tivo, which keeps the navigation consistent. The DVD Player can also delivers a progressive, wide-screen picture and Dolby DTS and Pro Logic II, etc., as long as the DVD is encoded to those specs, most are. The Tivo works great and has plenty of storage to store all your shows, not to mention a home-networking feature so you can display your Camera / PC photos or play your PC music files.

I can not imagine this device being useful in a few years. Once High Definition programming and media become more popular, this machine will be left in the dust. For the $500+ price tag, this DVR creates DVDs that basically have the same technical specs. as a VHS tapes. Also, the television viewing experience is also ruined as you are forced to deal stretched pictures and stereo sound, not exactly a home theatre experience. You are basically left with a progressive-scan DVD player.

On a side note, if you have a 4:3 ratio TV and no Audio receiver this DVR is perfect for you. As you will have the simplicity of many consolidated devices with all the conveniences of a TIVo and DVD-Player. Just as long as you take into account that this device is completely incompatible with High Definition programming and devices, which is slowly going to be the new standard in a few years.

EDIT: I have found a solution to the HD concern. Recently, I rented a HD-DVR cable box through my cable company (Adelphia) and this cable box remedies all the problems I had with this unit. The box is made by Motorola and uses the MOXI interface (same type of user interface as TIVO, with season pass, show search, etc.). Also the box can record up to two simultaneous HD shows (16:9, Dolby sound, etc.), plus all the features of TIVO, with room to expand (It has built in USB ports for DVD Recorder, etc.)

In conclusion, I recommend the Motorola Moxi unit to those who have HD-TV, but these units are very new and only available through certain cable companies (check with yours). For everyone else, I actually recommend the above Toshiba unit, at least until the MOXI become more widely available. The DVD Tivo would be useful in this case, as at least you'll be able to keep some of these DVDs for future viewing.

Straight out of the box to setup on TV, integrated to Stereo sound system, etc. was a total of 45 minutes. If you understand how to wire a stereo / video system, the setup is a breeze. Then setting up the Tivo took some time - but that's going to be the same no matter what Tivo-based system you get.

Only problem was that I used DirectTV with a rotating antenna for local stations. I can get multiples of most major networks that way, as well as Cardinal baseball games when they're not being shown on the Fox Sports Midwest. During NFL season I can sometimes get different regional broadcasts on the FOX and CBS affiliates.

Anyway, the antenna-based reception on the Toshiba system was pathetic - lots of artifacts, grainy, very poor quality. It's apparently the result of an under-sized processing chip in that digitizes the analog antenna signal. Toshiba - there is no excuse for that - Panasonic has had the ability to handle analog signals to digital DVR for YEARS without this problem . Fortunately (for me), DirectTV just started carrying our local channels a few months ago, so I added local channels to my DirectTV - problem semi-solved. I don't get the choice of distant stations anymore, so I lost the station that carries the non-cable system Cardinal games (mostly the weekend games). I can either watch those games in poor quality with DVR, or on a second TV with excellent picture, but no DVR :-(

If you only use Cable or Satellite for your TV signal, the set works great. If you use an antenna - don't bother with this system, the quality is like going back to the rabbit ear antenna days.

One other irritant - the system comes with a 45 trial of Tivo Extended, before retro-grading to Tivo Basic. However, for the first four days of use, the system keeps warning you that your subscription to Tivo Extended is going to expire in 6, 5, 4, etc. days. A phone call to Toshiba verified that the system was giving the warning messages, but that the trial will really last 45 days. I'm on day 15 now, and it is still working, so they must have been right on that one.

The only reason I did not give 5 stars is that the IR blaster failed only 1 day after using the unit. Toshiba CS sent me a new one (a more robust design) and it has been working fine with my cable box ever since. I have had the unit about 3 weeks and it works great. The dvd burner is wonderful and I have been converting Hi8mm home movies to dvd with it. The interface is easy to use and understand. If you have not watched tv with tivo, you don't know what you are missing. We couldn't live without it!! Great move Toshiba....I love my "Toshivo"

Think of this equipment as a space saving unit that will replace your Tivo recorder and DVD recorder/player. But that's it. Giving bad ratings because it's not capable of recording HD, having bad basic Tivo programming capabilities, or not outputting recorded materials to digital audio is like criticizing it for not cooking your dinner. Free basic Tivo service comes with the ALL Tivo recorders (this isn't exclusive to Toshiba machines). Tivo has always offered 3 days advance programming without Season pass and other extra features found in paid service. Think of it as a test drive feature that'll suck you into paying for subscription, which, by the way, is worth it. Tivo Series 2 was never meant to record HD. If you have a standard TV, the recording quality at High setting is perfecly fine (both Tivo and recorded DVD). Yes, you can see digital compression artifacts (especially on large screen HDTVs). If you are looking for recording HD look else where--or Get the Toshiba HD DVD, wait for Tivo Series 3, or get satellite service and pay a lot for HD DVR. If you are happy with your standard cable, this machine will make you happier.

The unit has worked well for like 5 months now.
Only minor problem was one time it had a DVD drive error, which cleared itself by my cycling the AC power off and then back on.

Toshiba came with the FREE BASIC service, plus 45 days of the PLUS service, as a free trial.
The 45 days of PLUS service is broken up for some reason?
(Into a 6 or 7-day period, then an automatic extension of like
37 days, to equal "roughly" a 45-day trial period: total).

Only reason to keep the PLUS service beyond the 45 day trial period "MIGHT" be for the service called "SEASON PASS". Which records every episode of any TV show you request; skipping any reruns. The ONLY reason I see for getting it.

You also get like 2-3 week's advance TV guide with PLUS, vs. a day or two in advance with Basic service.

The Basic service is SO pathetically basic; I cannot fathom why other 3rd party Tivo manufacturer's units even bother to come without it.
Toshiba's selling point was "Free Basic service included".

I thought, "Hey. Basic will be fine."
What I found out was, you can manually setup a weekly recording schedule based on a fixed time to start and end, but what about those times when programs are delayed?
(Due to a special event, like sports events, Olympics, Presidential speeches, natural disasters news reports, etc).

The answer seems to be; all bets are off.

Your recordings will be cutoff by the amount of the start and/or stop delay time.

Downloading TV guide and tivo Updates -
2 choices. Phone or network.
- via the telephone they can be painfully SLOW. It's like a 56K modem built-in, I think I read somewhere.
- Via the network - I use a Belkin USB-to-10/100 ethernet adapter and plug it directly into a cable modem router.
TV Guide updates and email from Tivo are much faster via the USB/ETHERNET port setup.
Network setup was pretty much plug-N-play, automatic setup.


Conclusion:

Pros: Toshiba is great. Tivo bites!
I like the Toshiba unit and it's features.
Glad I got this unit with the 120GB hard drive and DVD burner and network connection ability.

Cons: My only complaints are with the service provider; TIVO.

I still can't believe that Tivo passes off a barely usable level of service as BASIC.

Had I known that Tivo's basic service was as pitifully crappy as it is, I would have simply bought a PC add-on, like a 2-tuner PCI card (like a hodge-podge pvr or an ATI pvr card)

Or a usb-external unit (like Xtreme TV by DiamondMM) and simply used my PC for recording.
With snapstream as the TV guide service.

Tivo's Basic service should be called:
- Tivo-SUBstandard or
- Tivo "craptastic" service.

The PLUS service should be re-labeled as Basic service.

A true PLUS service implies EXTRA features, beyond those features that are NECESSARY for basic functioning.

My vision of a PLUS service would have real bells and whistles, such as having features like A wireless TV guide lookup via your cell phone or PDA. Programming over the Internet or via cell phone, etc.