TiVo Premiere 500 GB DVR (Old Version) - Digital Video Recorder and Streaming Media Player - 2 Tuners

I had to send mine back of course, because I found a deal that included a free (very powerful and expensive) antenna for the same price, so I sent this back without opening it, however I bought the same exact model, and since this was still in my "needs a review" queue, I thought I might as well add one. The initial set up took over 5 hours because I'm using the antenna mentioned above, and every time I had to reposition it after the initial channel scan results disappointed me. Eventually I found the best spot (which also happens to be the most inconvenient spot) so part of that time was also spent wrapping cable against the wall from my dining room, through the kitchen, across the living room, and then splitting it off into the bedroom. Taking it out of the box and plugging in the 3 needed cords was the easy part (HDMI cable, ethernet cable, and power cord). That took all of 3 minutes. The majority of time was spent downloading the program guide and as I mentioned, scanning for channels, which would take upwards of 30 minutes each time with the Tivo box. When I finally did get to sit down and check things out, I was really impressed. I'd cancelled my cable a few days before so I was living without an onscreen guide. Tivo has not only one guide, but two. Ok, technically it's the same guide, but there are two different layouts. One is grid style that you see with most cable/sat providers and the other is a very clean set up that shows you all your channels on the left side, and a 3 hour block of time for each channel on the right. As you move down your list of channels on the left, the programs on the right will of course change to reflect what is appearing on each subsequent channel. Some other neat functions are the build in games. They aren't your typical kids games that come with other systems (like Roku for example) but instead there are games like Blackjack, Quiz Master (self explanatory) and a game called Skull and bones, which is nothing more than "Connect Four" with pirate themed coins. There's also a scrabble type game which I have yet to try. It's nice to see games that adults can enjoy too. In all there are probably 8 games but I wasn't counting. Additionally, as others have mentioned, you have access to Hulu Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime subscriptions and can download videos to watch. The best part of this for me though was having the ability to watch my youtube channel on TV. I was able to view videos my friends had posted, as well as my own. And just for fun, I tried the search feature, searched for c-a-t and was treated to a variety of funny cat videos that literally had me laughing out loud. The user interface is really nice and I absolutely LOVE the remote control, as others have also mentioned. It just feels good in your hand. No other way to say it really. I'm still getting used to the buttons and I'll probably read the booklet later today to learn more about what I can do with Tivo but these were just some of the things that I found on my own and really loved. I mean, it does the standard stuff that other DVRs do... it records 2 shows at the same time, you can pause live tv, rewind, record, fast forward in 30 second intervals or more, you can replay the last 8 seconds if you didn't catch part of the dialog... typical DVR stuff. If I'd have known about Tivo sooner, I could have saved all that money I've spent on DVR rentals through my cable and satellite providers over the years. Tivo would have long since paid for itself. It gives me great power to think that I will never have to pay to rent a DVR again, if I ever go back to traditional cable again. At this point, I really don't see a need for that expense when I can get everything I want for much cheaper, through different channels, like the ones mentioned above. When it comes to activating service, you may have read in others reviews that it's either $15/month with a 1 year contract, or $500 for a lifetime service (and that's lifetime of the box, not the owner) plan. If you combine that with a 3 year warranty which is $40, you'll end up paying $540 for 3 years, which is the same as $15/per month for 3 years. So really it just depends on whether or not you want a monthly bill or to pay up front and be done. Another important factor is also how much wear and tear your box is going to receive... but if you google "tivo promo code" you will get a list of results with many different sites offering the same promotion which is $100 off the lifetime agreement. It says it's only for existing members but that's not true. I was able to use the promo code (which apparently doesn't expire until 2018) so I went with the lifetime membership and now my box is paid for and I saved almost a year off what I would have spent if I'd paid per month. I'm looking forward to a long term relationship with my Tivo!

Please read my review below this one first for a complete understanding of the situation. SECOND REVIEW: Hi Everyone: I promised an update and please know I am being as fair as possible. Here's the latest, I had the guy out to the house that installed my antenna. He has been doing antenna installs for 30 years and knows exactly what he is doing. He threw a very sophisticated strength meter on the antenna and showed me that the signal could not be any stronger, even if I lived a block away from the TV station. He said he has had this problem before with the Tivo boxes before. He said the company has a really great service and I agree. He also said that in trying to make the Tivo very affordable some very stupid marketing guys have put very cheap tuners in the Tivo boxes and that's the reason for the sub standard picture, IE: tiling and stuttering. What he did do is throw an amplifier on the antenna cable even though he said I should not need it. Now the tiling and stuttering are at a minimum that I can live with. How stupid can a company be, they have a really great service at Tivo and then offer sub standard Tivo boxe with tuners that don't receive a good signal. Again, I know this for sure because I had a Channel Master DVR for almost a whole year prior to the Tivo and the signal was very strong. I never had a problem with any channel. If I could have hooked Tivo up without all this hassle, and believe me Tivo tech support was no help whatsoever, I would have given them five stars without a problem. If the company wises up and starts putting good tuners in their boxes, they will have a real winner here. Bottom line, it's now working fairly well on the reception, at least I can live with it. The Tivo service itself is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! That's all I have, I hope this helps. One last thing, I am using their wireless USB and it works great. WISE UP TIVO AND CORRECT THIS TUNER PROBLEM AND YOU WILL HAVE THE BEST THING GOING FOR PEOPLE WITH AN ANTENNA. FIRST REVIEW: Let me explain. I have had a Channel Master DVR for almost one year. I bought it from the guy that installed my antenna. It is a professional installation and worked perfect for the past year. The four channels we watch, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX had a 100% signal and NEVER tiled or stuttered one time in the entire year. The only reason we bought the TIVO is because Channel Master discontinued their TV guide service so everything has to be done manually which is a real pain. The only other alternative was to buy another Channel Master box and pay them $15 month which to me was not an option. So..I bought the Tivo and the installation went perfect. I love the Tivo service. HERE'S THE PROBLEM, where all my channels had a 100% signal on the Channel Master DVR, the Tivo only gets ABC and FOX without losing the signal. I went to the strength meter on the TIVO and it says I have a signal of 52% on NBC and CBS and remember they were 100% on my Channel Master box. I called Tivo about this and they told me it was my antenna. I told them I have a 100% signal from my antenna and how could it be any better than 100%? They essentially told me that it wasn't their problem. Their tech support people don't even have a clue of how to treat a customer. I called the guy that installed my antenna and told him what was happening and he said it's probably a bad Tivo box. It's really to bad because I love the Tivo system so I am hoping that a new box will work fine. Let me be clear and fair, I called tech support four times and talked to four different agents, all were nice except one and they were very rude. Tivo is selling this box to work with an antenna so you would think their tech support people would want to know why the box has half the signal of the Channel Master, but they could care less. Again, I am hoping the new box works because I really do love the Tivo service. If it doesn't, all of the boxes are going back and I will have to stick with the Channel Master and plugging in the program manually. The only good thing is the Channel Master is free. However, the $15 per month charge for the Tivo would be more than worth it if the Tivo Premier worked correctly. Stay tuned and I will keep you updated.