Product Description

Imagine coming home from work and turning on your television. Instead of surfing through all those channels, looking in vain for something you might like, imagine accessing a menu of your favorite TV shows already recorded for your convenience! That's the magic of the Sony SVR-2000 Digital Network Recorder with TiVo Service. It's the foolproof way to manage and enjoy the hundreds of channels in today's TV landscape. Now you can enjoy the very best that television has to offer, every single time you turn it on!The Sony SVR-2000 digitally records up to 30 hours of programming without videotape. By employing hard disk technology, the new network recorder enables consumers to play, pause, fast-forward or rewind "live" television broadcasts as they are being watched. It is designed to work with standard definition terrestrial broadcasts, as well as digital satellite systems and cable programming services.

Product Details

• Brand: Sony
• Model: SRV2000

Features

• Play, pause, fast-forward, or rewind "live" television broadcasts as you're watching them
• 30 hours' recording time; uses the TiVo hard-disk recorder platform
• Designed to work with standard-definition terrestrial broadcasts as well as with digital satellite systems and cable programming services
• TiVo service offers: recommendations for shows that match your interests, exclusive editorial programming that includes
• Monthly subscription is available for $12.95; a lifetime subscription to the TiVo service (without monthly fees) can be purchased at $299

Amazon.com Product Description
Enjoy up to 30 hours of tapeless digital recording alongside the ability to pause live television and perform slow-motion and instant-replay commands with Sony's SVR-2000 digital video recorder. The unit offers simultaneous record and playback directly from its built-in hard disk drive. Conduct high-speed search at 3x, 18x, and 60x normal speed in both forward and reverse, as well as forward and reverse frame advance.

Benefits of TiVo service include but are by no means limited to: Season Pass (TiVo automatically finds and records every episode of a series all season long, even if the network schedule changes); TiVo Suggestions (the unit finds and records shows similar to your favorites); WishList (TiVo finds and records programs that feature your favorite actor, director, team, or even topic); Smart Recording (TiVo detects line-up changes for you and suggests programs to match your interests, if desired); Showcases (exclusive entertainment plus recording shortcuts from some of the most popular networks on TV); and TiVo Live TV guide (which provides listings for 14 days of programming).

For playback, a handy status bar shows you right where you are in a recorded program. A supplied multibrand remote operates key features on many brands of TVs and audio/video receivers. Connections include two sets of AV outputs, a single S-video output, and an RF (threaded coaxial) video input for cable or a local antenna. The unit is even software-upgradeable for compatibility with future features.

What's in the Box
SVR-2000 DVR, RMT-V303 wireless remote control, two AA batteries, 5-foot stereo RCA audio and composite-video cable, 25-foot RJ-11 phone cord, RJ-11 phone splitter, 64-inch S-video cable, 10-foot serial control cable (stereo .125-inch minijack to 9-pin male RS-232 serial-port connector), 81-inch IR blaster cable, two pieces of double-sided tape, installation guide, easy set-up guide, TiVo viewer's guide, and owner registration card/questionnaire.

Note: Paid TiVo service is required to use this product.

Customer Reviews

A noisy unit
I own a Sony Sat-T60, which is the version of Sony's Tivo unit that has the built-in DirecTV receiver. I agree completely with all the great things other people have said about Tivo, however, I have one big warning about the Sony Tivo box: the cooling fan is annoyingly noisy. It cycles on and off to keep the machine cool, and when it's on, it's noticeably louder than my computer. This could be a big problem for you if you're one of those rare intellectual types who occasionally sits in a room with the TV off, perhaps to read a book purchased on Amazon.com. I called Sony to ask about the noisy fan, and they said, essentially, "Yup, it's loud alright. Tough luck, dude." Naturally, the sound would be muffled if you keep the box in an enclosed entertainment center, but if you don't have such a cabinet, beware. I have also owned a Phillips Tivo w/ DirecTV and it was perfectly silent, and worked just as well as the Sony, if not better. It's also cheaper. Get the Phillips.

I love my TiVo!
My wife and I became addicted to TiVo within 1 month after installing it. We have gone from watching 90% live TV/10% recorded (VCR) to 90% Tivo/10% live TV! We hardly watch anything anymore at its regular time. We simply pull up the "Now Playing" menu, which lists all the shows I have previously recorded, and watch whatever we're in the mood for - drama (Law and Order or Once and Again), comedy (Friends, South Park), reality TV (Survivor, Fear Factor), or sports (Illinois basketball, cliff diving).
There are so many cool things about TiVo, but these are my THREE FAVORITE things:
1) Season Pass, which once you set it up, allows you to record a particular show EVERY time it's on or all shows with a particular actor or subject,
2) Easy to record (simply choose the show, not the time and channel) and easy to find and play (scroll through "Now Playing" list of prerecorded shows and choose "Select" to play),
3) Record two shows at once (like Survivor and Friends, which both start at 8:00 on Thursday) with a DirecTV/TiVo combination receiver, which we have.
We started with the monthly subscription and moved to the lifetime after just a month (it's good for the life of the box, not you). We have a Sony model, and I've found Sony to always be reliable (two TVs, one VCR). I bought a 4-year warranty as a safety precaution (new technology and insurance against the lifetime subscription). DirecTV customer service is decent, but not great (they handle the TiVo side as well). The BEST resource for TiVo is the TiVo AVS forum, which you can link to from the Buzz section of the TiVo Web site. It's a "must read" prior to buying this unit. But I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the coolest, most liberating invention to come out since the World Wide Web. No joke! You will fall in love with your TiVo too.

I Love my TiVo!
There's no other way to put it - I LOVE my Tivo! (Sony SVR-2000)
It has completely changed the way I watch TV and it means I can watch what I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it (and skip commercials)!

While not recommended for everyone, I hacked my Tivo to be a total of 160 hours (two 80GB drives). I now have tens of shows available for watching whenever I feel like it. There's always something on!

My non-technophile wife even said that she was getting addicted to Tivo (a tremendous two-thumbs up from her!).

All in all, this ranks up there on my list of all-time coolest products ever.

Strengths:
- Features of the service - time shifting of programs, pause/rewind/fast-forwarding of recorded and live programs
- Hard drive access is instant - no waiting for tapes to rewind
- Ability to create a video-on-demand system
- Strong support of user community - search for "Tivo Community" on the web for more information
- Hackable!

Weaknesses:
- Can be slow to load some screens
- Best if you can split your TV signal to watch something else while Tivo is recording
- Basic recording level is coarse - I recommend Medium (about 20hrs of time on the SVR-2000)