Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder

• Play, pause, fast-forward, or rewind "live" television broadcasts as you're watching them
• 30 hours' recording time; uses the TiVo hard-disk recorder platform
• Designed to work with standard-definition terrestrial broadcasts as well as with digital satellite systems and cable programming services
• TiVo service offers: recommendations for shows that match your interests, exclusive editorial programming that includes
• Monthly subscription to the TiVo service is available for $12.95;
• Lifetime subscription to the TiVo service can be purchased with a single payment of $299 [contact TiVo at (877) 367-8486 for more information]

There's no other way to put it I LOVE my Tivo! (Sony SVR-2000)

It has completely changed the way I watch TV and it means I can watch what I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it (and skip commercials)!

While not recommended for everyone, I hacked my Tivo to be a total of 160 hours (two 80GB drives). I now have tens of shows available for watching whenever I feel like it. There's always something on!

My non-technophile wife even said that she was getting addicted to Tivo (a tremendous two-thumbs up from her!).

All in all, this ranks up there on my list of all-time coolest products ever.

Strengths:

Features of the service time shifting of programs, pause/rewind/fast-forwarding of recorded and live programs

Hard drive access is instant no waiting for tapes to rewind

Ability to create a video-on-demand system

Strong support of user community search for "Tivo Community" on the web for more information

Hackable!

Weaknesses:

Can be slow to load some screens

Best if you can split your TV signal to watch something else while Tivo is recording

Basic recording level is coarse I recommend Medium (about 20hrs of time on the SVR-2000)

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My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for drama (Law and Order or Once and Again), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving).

There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my THREE FAVORITE things:

1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, allows you to record a particular show EVERY time it's on or all shows with a particular actor or subject,

2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of prerecorded shows and choose "Select" to play),

3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have.

We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). We have a Sony model, and I've found Sony to always be reliable (two TVs, one VCR). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit. But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too.

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I bought a SONY SVR-2000 as a Father's Day present for my husband in June 2001 and set up yearly Tivo service. At first, we were very disappointed. We experienced recurring modem problems that rendered our recorder useless after two weeks (because the recorder was unable to update the program data) and had to have the recorder serviced twice within the first two months. In addition, we had paid for a year of service, and we did not think that Tivo would give us credit for any of our 'down time,' since it was due to SONY's recorder.

But SONY and Tivo came through for us. In August, SONY offered to replace our SVR2000, and we accepted. We have had absolutely no problems with the new unit. Also, Tivo refunded the money we paid for the amount of time our recorder was out of commission. (I did not have to fight either company; both were great about setting things right.) So, after a rough start, we are very happy SONY/Tivo customers.

I bought Tivo thinking that I was purchasing an electronic 'toy' that my husband would love and that I would have no interest in. Once I experienced Tivo, however, I loved it too. Just as I would never go to back to changing the channel manually (remember having to get up and turn those knobs?), I would never go back to pre-Tivo TV.

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I instantly fell in love with my machine. I heard about it alot but it is helpful to actually see it work in order to get the full impact. It is essentially like a VCR on steroids and then some. Contrary to another reviewer, you CAN watch one thing while tivo records another you just have to split the signal. That is easy and the parts at radio shack will cost you (...) and the Tivo help line will guide you if needed. I called them 10 times in the first week and they were great. The ability to pause live shows and rewind has become a great feature for me where as at first it seemed a bit if a gimmick. I cant go into all the features there are many. Suffice it to say, it it breaks tomorrow, I would get another one. It is a bargain at twice the price. My only gripe is that the tivo remote does not have a TV/VIDEO button on it which you need to watch one show and tape another. This means I cant toss my tv remote away. Big deal I guess. Installation can be a bit tricky if you have a bunch of components like me, DVD/VCR/TV, but the customer service will be there for you. ENJOY. Hope this helped you.

I have owned this unit for over 2 years. I am addicted to Tivo. The problem is Sony. You must understand that these units rely heavely on a working modem. If you modem dies, you can no longer use the unit and you cannot just open the unit and put in a new modem. You MUST send it back to the manufacturer. After one year of ownership, my Sony modem failed. I had to send the unit back to Sony for [$$$] repair. Now, last week, my modem failed again. Sony is no help whatsoever. I am guessing that this is the reason that Tivo has started to manufacture the hardware themselves. As luck would have it. I just decided that I would never do without my Tivo so before the subscription rates went up a few months ago, I switched to the lifetime service for [$$$]. (now about [$$$]). Now I am faced with paying [$$$] again to repair the modem or buy a new unit. Sony has offered no explanation as to the cause of the modem problems and has basically said tough luck. Tivo has agreed to transfer my new membership to the new recorder if purchased from them but that is another [$$$]. I have already layed out [$$$] for the past two years of Tivo, I don't know that I am smart to sink anymore money into this investment.

Look really hard at the manufacturer and warranties before buying a recorder. Maybe one procuct worth the extended warranties. I liked Tivo so much that I bought one for my parents 2 Christmas's ago. I bought them the lesser Phillips, due to cost, and they have never had a problem.

I would buy the Tivo product if starting now. At least you have leverage with getting them to fix the unit so you can continue with their service.

Bottom line: Tivo is Great! But pass on the Sony recorders...