I wasn't sure whether to give this Philips Tivo zero stars or five stars. Zero stars because the quality stinks. Five stars because it's such an amazing product.

On the negative side, the modem on my Tivo went dead in just six months. After reading all the Amazon reviews, it appears that this is a VERY common problem that simply can't be ignored. It wouldn't be so bad if the warranty weren't so short and if Philips/Tivo support weren't so completely incompetent. It's been one month and they still haven't returned my Tivo -- even though I had to pay $100 for them to fix it! I'm told the delay is because they ran out of refurbished units to send me. That is NOT an acceptable excuse.

Since I still believe that Tivo is an AMAZING product (when it works), there are some steps you should take if you buy one.

Consider the Sony model. I don't know for sure, but I would have to imagine that their customer service is better than Philips.

Second, buy the extended warranty plan that most stores offer. You'll pay for it, but that is still less than the amount you'll pay to get it fixed through Tivo. And store warranties last 3 years, unlike the awful 3 months labor, 1 year parts warranty that you get from Philips/Tivo.

Third, buy a special power strip that includes inputs for cable and telephone lines. This will stop any power surges from hitting your Tivo, which is what I suspect is causing a lot of these failures. (My Tivo died after during a mild thunderstorm.)

Good luck!

Great product when it works - Season Passes and conveinence are a dream for TV lovers.

Poor hardware and Phillips ridiculous policies

I have the 30 hour unit - my wonderful wife bought it for me for Christmas this past year. I hooked it up and loved it. Did everything it advertises, and for me, who loves TV,(probably too much), it was a godsend.

My wife got this product from Bestbuy.com, and did not purchase their extended warranty. Usually, I will never buy the extended warranty because it is a rip off. Most companies that stand behind their products will offer a year warranty, and most things that go wrong with a product, happen in the first year.

After about 6 months of use, I got a green screen from my Tivo saying that it had a "severe Error." It was trying to fix itself, and asked me to give it 3 hours to do so. I gave it about 6 hours, but had no change. I called Tivo, and they told me to give it 24 hours and if it didn't get better, call them back.

After 24 hours, no change. Tivo told me that they would simply have to give me an exchange. "Great," I thought. It was nice to hear that a company stood behind it's product and would exchange it. When I had explained the problem to them, the person sounded like he had heard the story many times before and that this was the next step. What's the catch?

Well, Phillips only warranties their Tivo's for 90 days. I was about 3 months past that. Therefore, it was going to cost me $99.95 for the exchange. The way it was explained to me was that I would pay to ship it back (UPS - probably $20 to $50 to send - it's big and heavy), enclose a money order or cashier's check, and they would then ship me a "refurbished machine" to replace mine.

Nice Huh? Here is the kicker - the refurbished machine is warrantied for 30 days. That is a Labor warranty, meaning if a part is bad, you have to pay to send it back, again, and then pay them to replace the part. God knows how long it would take.

I loved Tivo when it worked. I am probably going to try and get this hard drive problem fixed on my own without Phillip's help. I will not buy another one.

Just beware - hope your luck is better than mine. If it's not, be prepared.

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DVD, Projection Tv, Surround sound, etc.

Great product and service when it works!

Unreliable hardware...

I am a HUGE TiVO fan, but have recently experienced problems with my hardware. The solution is an expensive exchange/ repair ($99.95), although I was able to get them to reduce that to $50 for the first repair. I think that Phillips may have a relability problem on their hands which they should likely handle at no cost to the consumer. I am writing a letter to that effect to them so that they may change their policies before the problem escalates. If not, however, potential class action claim should the problem be widespread enough may be the only way to get a successful resolution.

Please note that my rating is with respect to the hardware when it functions only and not with respect to the reliability problem. Should they not address such problems, I will post a follow-up with a suitably poor rating.

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None

Very easy to navigate; solid build; nice menu design; upgradability (software); fun!

Upgrades no longer offered for hardware; system should mark programs you are going to record in tv guide; quirkiness of remote's responsiveness to key presses

I picked up the Philips TiVo yesterday at Best Buy, and after three hours of set up I was off and running! I've replaced every program my wife and I had in two VCRs in a snap! I can't wait to get the 2.0.1 software upgrade that'll let you do wish lists (search for programs by keyword, category, etc.). As long as TiVo keeps upgrading the software and Philips supports the hardware, they got a definite winner! It was also nice that they had Pronto configurations at their site - I've already merged it with mine so my remote can control it! The only weaknesses I really see are the lack of hardware upgrades (although I did see a website that offers to do it for you at a price that would make you go and by another one!) and some software ommissions that they just need to be on top of (they should look at Ultimate TV for some).

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Great software, great remote control... truly changes TV viewing habits (when the unit works)

Horribly unreliable hardware. Philips service POOR. My first unit died, which Philips replaced for $99. The unit I received was DOA. I'm still waiting for a replacement (5 weeks later)... Also, many owners, including me, have modeme problems, which requires the unit be be sent back to Philips

The TiVo concept is fantastic, and really allows the user to "watch" TV however he/she wants. Specifically, the product allows the user to pause live TV, set up "Season Passes" which record all episodes of a given show (ie. Season Pass of King of Queens will record all episodes automatically, regardless of time/duration changes), and "Wishlists" (searchs all the channels for your favorite actor, or keyword) to name a few. Truly fantastic software.

However, the hardware specification is very, very poor. Philips users consistently have modems that die, and to a lesser extent, harddrive problems. In addition, it'll cost you $99 to get the unit fixed after the first three months of ownership. The modem in my Philips unit died after about a year. I received a non-functional unit as a replacement, which I had to return again. Five weeks later, still no unit.

BOTTOMLINE: Great software; however, too many hardware problems for non-technical ("appliance") users.

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UTV 35Hr unit

Changes the way you watch TV. Picture and sound quality almost indistinguishable from source in best quality mode.

No digital audio input/output. Slow response to remote commands at times.

This is the most fantastic thing to happen to a TV set. My VCR has not been turned on since my TiVo was powered up. The picture quality is excellent in best mode and very good in high and medium modes. Audio quality is excellent in all recording modes. The ability to start watching a program after it has started and skip commercials is wonderful. Not having to rewind or swap tapes so nothing gets taped over by accident is also very nice. The biggest downfalls are that the box does not do Dolby Digital (the DirectTiVo will when it comes out) and it is slow to respond to remote commands (one or two seconds vs. instant) while it is processing daily call information. Bottom line - if you want MY TiVo, you will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

Versatility,versatility,versatility! Pause,rewind,fast forward. Ease of recording.

The unit "hic-ups" on occasion and has to be reset. The remote will not learn the volume codes for my Sony STR-DA90ESG Reciever.

I have had my Philips Tivo HDR312 (30HOUR) for about 6 months now and I can't image not having it anymore. They aren't kidding when they claim that it revolutionizes the way you watch Television. I wish they had a travel model! You get so used to being able to pause at anytime, fast forward through commercials, and rewind at will, that you get frustrated while watching the tube at place without one. I have the unit connected to both DirecTV and Cable. It's really nice to have a seamless onscreen menu, with program descriptions, for both.

One complaint though…ok two. Every once in a while the systems just locks up and has to be rebooted. I say rebooted but actually the only way to do this is to unplug it and plug it back in. Not really a big deal but I have lost some programs I've been recording because of this. This only seems to happen about once every 4 to 6 weeks. Another "quirk" in the system that occurs on about the same frequency, they system will quit changing channels on my DSS box. You have to disconnect the serial cable that connects the Tivo to the DSS box, shut down the power for 30 seconds, and reconnect. Once again, not really a big deal but "professional" couch potatoes will find this irritating.

Over all though, the thing rocks. Once you have one for a while. There is no going back!