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

• DVD recorder/player with built-in 120 GB hard drive and free TiVo Basic service (pause, rewind, instant replay, 3-day advance recording)
• Up to 140 hours of audio/video storage on hard-disk drive (HDD); records to DVD-R or DVD-RW
• DVD offers ColorStream Pro progressive-scan output for use with high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Front-panel IEEE 1394/DV input provides a quick and easy connection with a compatible digital camcorder
• Measures 16.5 x 3.3 x 13 inches (W x H x D)

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).

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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....

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba RS-TX20 DVD Recorder with 120 GB TiVo Series2 Digital Video Recorder Here

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.

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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.