Philips HDR212 TiVo 20 Hour Digital Video Recorder

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

TiVo on the Cheap

Philips is going to hate me for writing this, but I have found TiVo to be useful even though I am not a subscriber to their service. I hesitated to buy this for a while becuase I thought either a small monthly charge or a large one-time payment went with the cost of the recorder. I read in the documentation that the recorder would have "limited capability" without the subscription to the service, but that amount of capability was really what I was looking for, so I don't plan to EVER subscribe to their service.

Without subscribing, I can pause live TV, do an "instant replay" of it, and record by time and channel. TiVo is more convenient for doing these operations than a VCR because I don't have to fool with tapes and cue them up to find the beginning of a show. Because TiVo is digital, the video quality is better than a tape. On the highest quality setting I have the same level of digital quality of my satellite dish. The thing that I've found the most useful is that I can watch a recorded show while making a recording of another, which a VCR can't do.

I realize that some people like the features that come with the TiVo subscription. If people choose to pay for those things, that's their choice. I can't use the TiVo guide to look through the listings and select by name a program to be recorded. TiVo doesn't make suggestions for me based on the shows I've previously selected, and it doesn't automatically record my favorite shows if the time changes. But I know which shows I want to record every day, and DirecTv has a good guide that I can search through to find other shows to record. When I come home in the evening, I still have good shows to spend my limited TV time on, and I still have the money that I would have spent on the service.

(5 out of 5)

This is the pefect Tivo to UPGRADE... yes upgrade!!

I started out about a year or so ago with a 14 hour Tivo unit and LOVED it. The problem was they lie about capacity... sort of. 14 hours or in the case of the 30 hour unit are really more like 6 hours and 11 hours with the recorder set to record at BEST quality... anything lower and the picture looks bad. I then paid Tivo to send me a new unit that had been upgraded to 30 hours.... Then that was still not enough time with the system set at best quality.

I finally found out I could upgrade the thing myself... so my recomendation is to get the cheapest on that you can and upgrade it. This VOIDS you tivo warrenty but hey we all like to live on the edge right :)

I now have a 117 hour Tivo because the company I used to upgrade my Tivo ... added an 80GB disk and now instead of having to delete my recordings early or being more picky about what I record I can go nuts and record anything and everything. I even saw on one website ... a guy who has a 151+ hour Tivo.

... They have parts for sale and directions on how to upgrade your Tivo (The easiest is a 14 hour unit since you just add a "blessed" drive)

happy Tivoing...!

PS If you can't tell I love this thing!

(5 out of 5)

Wow!

I'd heard of TIVO when it was first announced, but didn't think much more about it until recently when a coworker bought one. All he did was rave about it. So my wife and I bought an HDR212 (because according to www.tivofaq.com it has one hard disk and is fairly easy to add storage too).

We've used it for a few days and it's clear this IS THE ONLY WAY to watch TV. No more suffering through commercials, no more watching something you hate because nothing else is on. After you've rated a few shows your "Now Showing" list of recorded programs always has something new and worth watching. I was amazed at how well the TIVO guesses shows you might like to watch.

All in all, this is a great product. Forget replacing your VCR. Get a DVD play for renting movies and a TIVO for time shifting.

(5 out of 5)

Amazing Product!! Best thing I ever bought!

Absolutely amazing. TiVo is the coolest thing I own! You gotta get one! Don't wait, or get sucked in with Microsoft's UltimateTV only for DirecTV. TiVo works with EVERYTHING! DirecTV, Dish Network, any cable service - like Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T, etc., and antenna! Even 2 combined!!

TIVO RULES!

(4 out of 5)

Finally, the product that gives me control of my TV

We just love this product for the following reasons.

1. It is easy to set up and use. Simply follow the instructions in the guided setup and it downloads your cable or satellite or regular program information every night. After using the Tivo with Direct TV for a year, we recently switched from Direct TV to digital cable (too many satellite drops from thunderstorms). We entered a few pieces of information on the Tivo and it automatically changed all the channels for us without having to reprogram our season passes.

2. The software recognizes first runs vs. repeats. This means that when we ask for a Season Pass for West Wing, we can set it to only record new shows (or not). Great Feature.

3. How many times has the phone rang during a movie or sports event at a critical time? With Tivo,you can pause live TV, take the call, and pick right up without missing a second. We use this all the time.

4. Slow motion, rewind, fast forward.......

5. We now watch our favorite TV programs, movies and sporting events when we want to watch them rather than when the networks put them on. Yes, I know that VCRs are supposed to have allowed one to do that for the past decade or so but how many times have you programmed your VCR to record something and come home to find that it did not tape? Won't happen with the Tivo. It even lets you search for future programs and tape them too. So, let's say you never saw Schindler's List. You simply instruct the Tivo to tape it next time it is on tv and forget about it. Then, when it goes on TV,it gets recorded automatically without you having to enter anything else.

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There is a subscription fee and I recommend you buy a subscription. It is worth the price.

Enjoy!