Getting one of these for every TV in the house!
Written: Apr 18 '04
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Pros: 35 hours of recording whatever you WANT easily with no hassles!
Cons: Don't like the credit card guarantee from Direct TV at time of purchase.
The Bottom Line: I love it. Don't know how I ever lived without it.
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| michellerdhd's Full Review: Philips DSR7000 (40 GB) 35-Hours Video Recorder |
Direct TV TIVO DVR
-$99 at Best Buy (plus sales tax)
-35 hours of recording time
-A Tivo service fee does apply in some cases
-We have the Platinum package through Direct TV so our Tivo service is FREE (be sure to inquire with your operator to get the best deal for you).
I am a skeptic when it comes to new electronics that get alot of media attention. How long will they be in fashion? Will they hold up?
So after watching an episode of Oprah's favorite things and learning a little about this 'Tivo thing', I new had to have one for my husband. He's a guy, they like this sort of thing. He knows nothing about it, so it will be a surprise.
The real surprise is that I am so attached to the darn thing, I don't know how I ever lived without it.
Connecting your new DVR----
We have a Direct TV Satellite and I was amazed how easy it was to hook up and get connected. It took less than a half hour. The nice folks at (800) directv will talk you through it as well.
Why do I love it so much?
Let me count the reason...
1. OBVIOUSLY! Record any program you want anytime or even for the entire season with just one click.
Program (by hitting the Tivo Button on top of the remote and choosing programs to record), and then there are a number of search options to look in either catagories, titles, actor's names...etc to pick your programs to record. The DVR makes a to do list by your selections and that's it. I have the entire last season of Sex & The City recorded just from one effort of punching it in and then hitting the Season Pass option. It will automatically record the entire season of whatever you like to watch without being told again. I currently have it recording all The Sopranos episodes. It has 35 hours of total storage. That is approximately 17 two hour movies OR 70 half hour shows OR 35 one hour long episodes. You can delete off programs once you are tired of watching them.
FAST FORWARD THROUGH COMMERCIALS & SAVE TIME! Pause LIVE TV
I like recording my shows and then fast forwarding through the commercials. I also like the pause live tv option. Have to go to the restroom, just pick up where you left off when you get back.
TIVO Records IT'S Favorites too---
The Tivo also has recommendations of its own to choose from, which is nice because often new released movies are there are TV Movies of the week getting alot of buzz or even Classic. It will record programs it likes from the list sometimes as well all on its own (and this freaks me out a little because I didn't tell it to) and then if you are not interested in watching them, you can delete them off. What a good friend almost. Tivo thought I might like this movie...It will not allow its own recordings to interfere with your schedule. It will automatically delete its own favorites off (unless you liked and saved them) to make room for YOUR selections. Its a nice thought though...
2. Buy New Movies =CHEAPER
This unit is a DVR = Digital Recording
Digital Recording = Record NEW Pay per View Movies for $3.99 instead of buying them for $17.99. Save them however long you want to OR UPGRADE (which I hope to do soon) to a DVR with a DVD Burner (runs about $500 now) and burn your own DVDs from the movies you have recorded.
3. Storage
Digital Recording = No blank tapes for the VCR or even messing with it.
No Tapes = no storage or mess. It's all saved in the the DVR.
4. Television Clarity
For whatever wondeful technical reason that I am not familiar with, the screen seems clearer than without the DVR.
CONCERNS:
CONFLICT OF INTEREST RECORDING
You want to watch a program that may run over into another program. Since TIVO automatically flips to the channel its programmed to record, there can easily be conflicts of interest. Your children are watching Barney and TIVO flips to Basic Instinct or some other you programmed it to record. I was told if I purchase a 'cable splitter' ($2.50) and ran it through to the TV in the room, I could watch and record at the same time with out 'conflicts'. However, I have yet to try this.
PURCHASE GUARANTEE? What is this crap?
When I purchased this item from Best Buy, Direct TV has this clause you have to sign off on at the register, essentially agreeing to hook up you DVR within 30 days and register it with Direct TV OR the credit card they ask you to submit will be charged a ridiculous amount of money. I do not like this at all. Why should I have to give them a credit card number in case I don't hook up my unit within 30 days? It seems out of line to me but there may be some piracy reasons to it. However, as an existing Direct TV subscriber, I thought it was a stupid move on their part in this age of identity theft. If my card gets charged, guess who I will be hauling into court.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 99.00
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Epinions.com ID:
michellerdhd
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Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Stay at home mom who grew up in the Palm Springs area.
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