TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder
by TiVo
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List Price: Our Price: $139.99 You Save: $360.00 (72%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Receiver or Amplifier See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder
Customer Review: We Love TiVo Series3
Summary: 5 Stars
What can I say?
The TiVo-3 is so much better than our Cox Communications Motorola HD DVR (SB5120) that we hurried over to buy another one only 8-days after converting our first DVR to TiVo-3; just to be rid of the aggravation of the other Motorola SB5120. The original TiVo Series3 is our choice even though it is about $300 more than the newer downgraded TiVo HD; we like the extra remote and acccessory features.
Intuitive remote, full web access, automatic recording of recommended shows (if you like the Netflix recommendation service, you will love TiVo), remote programming of scheduled recordings, and on and on. There is no real competition from our cable company, who were careful to point out that TiVo cannot download Movies on Demand (dozens of titles) for money ($3.99) from Cox Communications. This was no problem for us; we now download movies from the Amazon UnBox service (thousands of titles) for less money ($.99). TiVo can download video from many other Internet videos (NYT, CNET, etc etc) as well, including regular podcast subscriptions and the like, for NO money.
And TiVo-3 can display or play any file in our home network, we have thousands of photos and music files. I was never able to get Motorola DVR to even talk to our network.
Oh, and the cost; we saved $35/month in rental fees by dumping our Motorolas; less the $6/month for renting the four necessary cable cards. Two TiVo subscriptions total $17/month for three years; The net savings in subscription fees ($12/mo) and movie download fees ($12/mo for 4 movies) should pay for the TiVos over the next four years, well before we need to upgrade to the next big thing.
Customer Review: Puts the Motorola DCT6412 to Shame
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought our TiVo Series 3 to replace a Motorola DCT6412 issued by Comcast. Both devices handle their basic functions competently, but the TiVo has the advantage of having been designed by someone who devoted more than a half-second of thought to the user interface. Thus, the TiVo is loaded with simple but invaluable features such as the ability to remember your previous menu selections so that frequently-repeated commands require a minimum of navigation, or the fast-forward feature that anticipates how far a user is likely to skip past the desired point and restarts play-back a few seconds earlier than the point where the user stopped fast-forwarding.
The TiVo remote is 1000% better than the Motorola's. It is designed far more sensibly, with buttons that are easy to reach and easy to distinguish in the dark, and a separate on/off button for the TV. (The Motorola remote has a single on/off button, requiring the user to activate the TV function before pressing the off button, lest he accidentally turn off the DVR.)The TiVo remote is much better at communicating with the TV; the Motorola remote often failed to work unless it was aimed at a precise spot (even with new batteries).
The Motorola DVR has also been very buggy, though that improved over the past year (presumably through software updates received from Comcast). Once these bugs were fixed, my opinion of the Motorola box improved to the point where I'd recommend it for someone looking for a low-budget DVR solution. For someone who is willing to pay a bit more (and note that the TiVo Series 3 has come way down in price over the past year), you do get what you pay for.
Customer Review: Bugs have been fixed
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Series 3 for over one month now. I was hesitant to buy it at first due to the previous reviews noting limited functionality (TiVo To Go, etc.), but, noting the age of the other reviews (from 2006), I did some more research. I found newer articles (from late 2007, early 2008) stating that the problems have been resolved, so I decided to evaluate it during the 30-day trial period. And they really have been resolved :)
All of the bugs mentioned in other reviews have been fixed, including TiVo To Go and all the other features you don't get with your cable company. However, I should qualify this by saying that, with digital programming, sometimes the company puts "blocks" that prevent you from transferring the recording; that's an anti pirating problem sweeping throughout the entertainment industry, and not a TiVo problem. When TiVo obeys the law by stopping you from transferring something to your hard drive, it clearly states why.
I checked all the other negatives posted (except the one about hard drive expansion because I don't have or need an external drive) and I don't have problems with any of them.
I wouldn't pay full price to take the series three over the new, less expensive HD Series 2 (there aren't that many differences between them that an external hard disk can't solve), but with the huge Amazon discount in conjunction with the TiVo rebate, the difference in price is not that much and is worth it.
Now, if only TiVo would make a unit with three or more tuners... primetime has too many shows playing simultaneously for me to record all the ones I like!
Customer Review: Tivo Series 3 kicks anything else out there...
Summary: 4 Stars
I currently had been using 2 DVR's supplied from Adelphia/Comcast and also have 2 Tivo Series 2 units with the lifetime membership. I had purchased the Tivo's since just about the launch of the original Tivo, and reason for both was that cable company didn't offer a HD unit and before that not even a DVR. That being said, I purchased a Tivo Series 3 and ordered 2 cable cards from my cable company for my Tivo Series 3 Unit, the cable guy came in today and installed the cable cards in my Tivo Series 3. (Unfortunately my cable company will not allow me to pick them up myself, because they are very easy to install) Once the cable cards were installed and I ran the setup, the Tivo worked flawlessly, I called Tivo to activate the service on my series 3 unit and they mentioned that they were running a $195 promotion to transfer my lifetime membership from one of my series 2 to my new Tivo Series 3 unit and also they allowed my old Tivo Series 2 to continue working for 1 year. I also purchased the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter, which is far superior to anything else out there. I had the linksys brand wireless adapter and the Tivo brand has better range, easier setup etc. So if you have a wireless network, spend the money and purchase the Tivo Brand Wireless Network adapter.
The bottom line is that the Tivo Series 3 is awesome, especially compared to what the cable company had to offer, the reason for the 4 stars was because of the $799 price, I think its a little high, but I am sure over time it will probably drop in price, but I love it anyway..If you can afford it, go get !!!
Customer Review: Why pay $8/month when you can pay $23?
Summary: 3 Stars
Option 1: $8.00/month for a serviceable (although certainly not elegant or sexy) dual-tuner HD DVR from the Cable or Satellite Company. You pay only $8.00/month and the Cable company is on the hook to deliver you a working box. If it doesn't work, they'll typically credit you for the time that it was down.
Option 2: Pay ~$600 up front and then $13/month for a dual tuner HD DVR from Tivo with a more elegant user interface, cool sound effects and and a cute logo.
Let's assume that this piece of technology lasts you 5 years (good luck, but for the sake of argument...). The monthly cost to use a dual tuner DVR from Tivo is $23/month, for a total spend of $1320. The cost to get this from your Cable or Satellite company is $8.00/month, for a total spend of $480 - plus you don't have to worry about the equipment breaking, the technology being obsolete, etc...
For the record, I've owned two Tivos, a ReplayTV and gotten DVR's from both my cable company and Satellite TV. Spending an additional $840 for the logo and "ease of use" isn't worth it. When I come home, the TV that I want to watch on my Cable provided DVR is waiting for me. The 60 seconds a day I spend actually getting up close and personal with the remote/DVR functionality isn't enough to get me hot and bothered when I'm choosing between two options that work. The people who've commented here that you need to have owned it to have an opinion are ignoring the math and apparently piss their money away on shiny new toys every two years (yeah, it takes one to know one). They certainly don't "think at the margin."