TIVO good, Philips BAD
Written: Nov 16 '02 (Updated Nov 18 '02)
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Pros: Tivo is a great service, just not on Philips equipment.
Cons: Philips box failed after 8 months, they DO NOT WARRANTY the repairs!!!!!
The Bottom Line: DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE!!! Buy a Sony, or Hughes TIVO. Tivo is great, but the Philips hardware is total garbage and they won't back it up
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| depthsound's Full Review: Philips DSR6000R DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo Servic... |
Please keep in mind that TIVO is a service, and that the Tivo box is actually manufactured by 3 competing companies: Hughes, Sony, and Philips. These three manufactures are very different in terms of quality. This review is for the Philips manufactured Tivo, the DSR6000R, and not of the Tivo service, which you can get from any of the above companies.
I ordered the Philips DSR6000R DIRECTV Receiver with TiVo Service from American Satellite, and the this unit failed out of the box. After plugging it in, the unit was unable to get past the setup pages, and would instead power cycle, starting the process over. It never even worked as a receiver, much less as a DVR I was informed that I would have to return the unit to Philips for replacement.
After I sent it back for exchange, I was informed by Philips that they were out of stock, so it was 5 weeks until a working unit arrived. This was a long wait, but the second unit was in working order. For 8 months, it was great, performing exactly as promised. Tivo is fabulous, as a service and a better way to watch television. Then playback started freezing for short periods of time, then popping back into the show (thus skipping a second of dialog or action. Over the next 2 weeks, the freezes were getting longer, and I missed more of the show I was watching.
Finally the playback became unwatchable, and sometimes the entire system freezes and you have to unplug it to reset it (this was on the advice from their own technical help line). After powering the device, and going through setup, the playback continued to freeze up. At this point I am paying a monthly service to DirecTV that I can’t use because of a failed product, after only 8 months. I feel that consumer electronics should last a little longer than that under normal usage.
I called Philips, and after recreating the problem for them, I was told that the unit had to come back to them for repair. The upshot of the warranty is this - Parts are free the first year you own it, but you have to pay $100 every time you send it in for labor, and the work is NOT GUARANTEED, so if it comes back and doesn't work, or fails again in a day, you pay ANOTHER $100!!! Let me make that clear – they do not guarantee nor warranty any repairs they do to your box. Every time, it’s another C-note.
My friend bought the Sony Tivo at the same time I did, and his still works great. I know someone else whose Hughes model is working fine after well over a year. I love the Tivo service and concept. I will buy another Tivo box, but never another Philips product again. I feel that any product that fails in this short a time is a bad sign, but to offer no guarantee or warranty for factory service is not the kind of company I want to do business with.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 100
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Epinions.com ID:
depthsound
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Reviews written: 1
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