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.

I've been waiting for years for a product like this, and I never thought I'd see it at this price. It was advertised in our local paper two days ago and I promptly logged on to Amazon and ordered one. It arrived the next day. My goal was to replace my satellite service with free off-the-air programming, but I couldn't live without HD DVR and previous solutions were too expensive. My satellite service costs $60 a month (after my discount!) and all I use it for is local network TV... that's just ridiculous. Now my bill will be one-quarter that with no real compromise. Set-up was pretty painless, but it did take a while to do a channel scan, download guide data, and do a system software update, so be patient. Obviously, if you need a rooftop antenna, that's the hardest part. Note that you can use the basic functionality before signing up for the TiVo service (but I believe that after a week, it forces you to). This was good for me, because this purchase was a huge gamble.... Over The Air (OTA) HD reception has always been spotty in my neighborhood and in the past, unless the antenna was perfectly aligned, I only got local spanish stations, so I figured there was a 50% chance I'd have to return this. Turns out, the tuner in the TiVo is remarkable! With my cheap Radio Shack antenna, I now pick up 84(!!!) stations, mostly from San Francisco, almost 50 miles away. And I haven't seen a glitch yet. Also note that once you sign up for TiVo service, it can take up to 24 hours for your box to register and activate, but after an hour or two, you can go to Network Settings and force an early registration. Linking the box to my Pandora, Amazon and Netflix accounts was a snap. I haven't tried linking to an iPad or Android device yet. The only complaints so far are minor: * The UI has an odd mix of HighDef and Low-resolution screens (the classic TiVo look). I'm very surprised that a company that puts such an emphasis on the user experience isn't consistent in their UI. Navigating to the third-party services seems a bit clunky for TiVo as well. (I'm actually a UI developer for a competitor's DVR, but TiVo's OTA capabilities makes it the most cost-effective choice for me. ;^) * When setting up Season Passes, it sometimes defaults to a station that I do not actually receive and I have to force it to choose the appropriate local station. * I was also hoping there would be a tighter integration between the traditional content (DVR, OTA, Cable) and the internet services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, but you still have to navigate to a dedicated Netflix environment to get Netflix content. Wouldn't it be cool if the search feature also looked in these accounts? You bet it would. The digital world needs a good content aggregator product. This one comes closer, but leaves room for new features later on. PROS: * AWESOME dual tuner * Great TiVo DVR * Built in Internet apps (Netflix, et al) * Fantastic price (plus not-so-great $15 month for TiVo service, or $499 for lifetime) * Home Networking, and file sharing with computers CONS * None at all. Deal of the year. I just installed the TiVo Desktop while writing this. No problems, and now my TiVo has access to my complete iTunes library and I can copy recordings from the TiVo to the Mac (although it's a bit slow). Wow. This thing really impresses me. This is going to be one of the coolest tech gadgets I ever bought (and I've bought a LOT) and it's going to be pure money in my pocket after 3 months. The return of [almost] free TV with all the convenience and quality and no almost no compromises! Thanks, TiVo!

This is definitely the best DVR I have owned so far, and I have been using DVR's for more than 10 years, including a Series 2 TiVo several years ago. I recently dropped my Satellite provider and I will never again be a cable TV subscriber if I can help it, so the only live TV I receive is through the off-air antenna. This covers the majority of the TV we watch anyway, and it's free and better quality than either cable or satellite, since it is uncompressed. However, the selection is a bit limited, so we also subscribe to Netflix and Hulu Plus streaming services.The TiVo makes it easy to get to these from the same menu you access your recorded shows, which is nice. Here are some of the other features I really like: -- The search utility returns results from both live TV and streaming programms all in one sorted list, which is really cool. I prefer to use this to the search utility in Netflix in fact. -- You can transfer recorded video from the TiVo to your home computer as long as it's not protected by access rights (everything I record off the off-air antenna so far can be transferred). With some software you can get for free off the web, you can convert it to any format you want and watch it on your computer or mobile device. TiVo also sells some software for relatively cheap that makes this process much easier. -- Amazon Instant Video programs you have purchased can be transferred to your TiVo and show up mixed with the other recordings you have recorded in My Shows, making them very easy to watch. -- The Pandora App is very well done and also fairly easy to access from the main TiVo menu, though shortcuts to commonly used apps would be nice. Now it's not all a bed of roses. In consumer electronics, there is always room for improvement, and the TiVo Premiere is no exception. Here are the gripes that forced me to give 4 stars: -- The Netflix app switches resolutions back and forth when there is a bandwidth problem. This is not TiVo's fault, but it is the app Netflix wrote for the TiVo and as far as I can see limited to just the TiVo as I have used Netflix on many other devices without this problem. This should be a simple software fix to essentially detect when the bandwidth cannot handle a resolution and keep it at a lower resolution. This could possibly be a TiVo problem in terms of video buffering hardware, though. Either way, it's a problem. The only work-around I know of is to stop Netflix, go into the TiVo video settings and limit the resolution to one your bandwidth can handle, but that affects all programming and not just Netflix, so you would be switching this around a lot to get the optimum resolution. -- The TiVo search feature is supposed to be able to limit search results to only free programming (live TV or streaming on Netflix or Hulu Plus, which are not pay per view. However, I have found this feature doesn't work properly and continues to return selections that are only available on Amazon Instant Video, which is rent or buy only. -- There is no stop button. This is really annoying and would be so simple to fix. If you want to stop what you are playing and delete it, you have to press live TV, then press TiVo, then select My Shows, before you can delete the show. TiVo will only give you an immediate option to delete if you are at the end of the show. The lack of a stop button also affects the streaming apps, so they have to select a different button for this and is different for each app, which is silly. All in all, and very well made box and I am very happy with it.

I am definitely a tivo fan in general, and have converted many others to its cause. One of the biggest flaws with tivo in the past was that it was difficult to get it to work with the major cable companies, so I'm thrilled that tivo has come up with the premiere version which allows you to plug in a cable card from your provider and use the tivo box instead of a set top box (which saved me a rental fee from fios). I love the new season pass manager system. When you search for a specific show it then suggests other shows you might like. This was extremely helpful in setting up all of my season passes because most shows were linked to each other through that feature. I also like that in the "my shows" list you can go into a folder for a specific show and not only watch an episode but you can manage your season pass for that show without having to go out and through an entirely different menu selection process. As an example: when I realized that old and new episodes of the big bang theory were being taped I was able to instantly tell the tivo that I only wanted new episodes. I also love the 'wishlist' feature. It allows you to put in almost any show or movie and if that show or movie comes on days, weeks, or months later it will record it for you. It's a great way to catch a movie you haven't seen in a while or to catch up with shows that aren't currently airing but will be in the future (like summer replacement shows, or HBO shows that you're hoping eventually make it onto another network in reruns). A minor flaw is that with all of the new cool features being offered there is a lot more on the screen at any given time. This makes navigation just a tiny bit more overwhelming and less cut and dry. I say this mostly as a warning to anyone who is a new tivo user or who is very adverse to change. For the most part it is pretty easy to figure out what to do. My biggest "problem" with this device is really more of a warning for others. I failed to do the research and I want others to be aware as well. Most cable companies set up your television and internet access through one main router. We have our computer in a completely different part of the house than our television. You have two options then to get service to both your computer and your tv. You can run ethernet cables all through your house or you can use a wireless adapter on one of the devices. We did not wish to put a wireless adapter on our computer because it slows down the speed of your connection by a little bit. We tried plugging in our wireless adapter to the tivo, but unfortunately it 'isn't an approved device'. Basically to go that route you have to buy a specific adapter sold only by tivo and they charge more money that you would pay elsewhere. It basically forced you to spend almost another hundred dollars to get the tivo to work. Our solution was to buy a hundred feet of ethernet cord for twelve bucks on Amazon and get creative with drilling holes through our house. Basically I just think it's something you should be aware of before you buy. I love the product itself. Now that it's up and running everything is working very well and I'm thrilled with the newest features.

I almost bought one of these on eBay, but it turns out I got a better deal on Amazon. $99 for this plus $399 for lifetime subscription. The promotional code spot on the form is not completely obvious, so proceed slowly! Code "PLSR" works as of 1/30/2013 to get $100 off lifetime subscription. Since the box has one antenna wire and splits it into 2 tuners inside the box, you WILL get worse performance than if you hook your antenna directly to a TV (which has ONE tuner and doesn't split anything). So adjust your expectations accordingly. This can be easily solved by installing a signal booster with your antenna. The thing performs wonderfully for this price! In fact, I've cancelled my subscription TV (I was paying $42 per month for subscription tv and $18 per month for a DVR lease). I get all the same content with a combination of broadcast (30-ish channels between Baltimore and WashingtonDC, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CW, UPN and a few independant channels) alongside Netflix, Hulu plus and Amazon Prime. The $60/month savings for me means this thing pays for itself in less than a year. If you can handle the up-front costs, you will come out ahead in the long run. You do plan on watching TV for more than another year, right? Me too. If you are going to cancel your subscription TV I would suggest getting a Roku to give you a lot more streaming options. The Amazon implementation on the Tivo seems to be for paid content only--I didn't mess with it very much since I have a Roku. The Hulu and Netflix portals seem very similar to those on the Roku (in other words, fairly user-friendly). Be aware that Hulu Plus has some weird licensing. If you cannot find a show on your Tivo or your Roku, you may still be able to find it on your PC. Some shows (notably Bravo shows) have some kind of PC-only agreement. You could also opt for sometimes hooking your laptop up to the TV for this. That's what we do. Luckily our TV has a VGA input and a 2.5mm plug for sound. You can use most wireless keyboards (with a USB dongle receiver) on the Tivo, or any USB keyboard, in fact. This allows you to type the names of shows during the searches, which is very handy during initial setup. Those $20 wireless mini-keyboards work fine. You can use the keyboard as a second remote (just google it: Tivo Premier keyboard)--the F keys emulate many of the buttons on the remote. Overall I'm completely happy to be able to pay $500 up front, plus about $80 for an antenna and signal booster, and be able to shave $60 per month off of my expenses and still enjoy all the same content. Plus I own all the equipment and can take it with me when I move.

I've been using TiVo's for about 10 years--mostly via the boxes they produced for use with DirecTV. I have always raved about my TiVo just like I rave about my iPhone. TiVo has always been better than the generic DVR's, which I have unfortunately used, as well. So, when I finally decided to ditch the satellite dish and switch to streaming and over-the-air HD, TiVo Premiere seemed like the obvious solution for me. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and I have to admit that I am fairly disappointed. Here are the significant drawbacks that I have encountered: - Streaming with TiVo Premiere compared to my Roku box is far too complicated and unnatural. In fact, after hours of trying to log into my Hulu Plus account unsuccessfully, including emails to both Hulu and TiVo, the effort was a bust. I got the Hulu welcome screen but could not play a single video. It just wouldn't work. However, in another room of the home hooked up to the same network, my Roku box was working just fine on Hulu Plus. - Amazon Instant Video is also a bust on TiVo Premiere. I was unable to log into my Amazon Prime account, as I do on my Roku box (there was simply no way to log in--it wasn't an option). Hence, I didn't have all the free videos that are available to me for instant viewing on my Roku box. When I contacted Amazon for help, I was told that I can only download videos on my TiVo Premiere, not stream them. Worse yet, I didn't get all the free content for being an Amazon Prime Member. For example, on my Roku box, which is always logged into my Amazon Prime account, I can immediately stream episodes of Blues Clues for the kids FOR FREE. With TiVo Premiere, 1 episode is $1.99, and you have to wait for it to download. No thanks! - Setting up my TiVo Premiere took far too long. It literally took me several hours to hook everything up and go through numerous setup screens and downloads before I could use the unit. Still, it did not go off without a hitch. Somehow, my Tivo Premiere does not know what stations I get over the air. I have to tell it. Dumb. Very dumb. Further, when I use the channel up/down arrows on the remote, I can only get up to channel 28 before TiVo takes me back to channel 2, even though I get channel 29. I have to manually type in 29 to get there. Weak. In the end, I decided that TiVo Premiere is still my best/only option for a DVR that can record over-the-air broadcasts in HD with a halfway decent user interface. However, I have decided to supplement both TiVo Premiere DVR's with a Roku box beside it. Why should I have to buy a Roku when I already bought a TiVo? Because the TiVo is SO BAD at anything except recording TV. I would think that one day TiVo will fix their software to work better as both a streaming box and a DVR. However, I have already bought my Roku boxes, and I doubt anybody will give me a refund when that someday arrives. Very disappointing.

I have an older tube-type (CRT) TV set with no digital hookups in the back; just RCA plugs. Also, I have Time Warner Cable which at this time is still analog and not digital (although that will change now that Spectrum has bought them). So I was unable to use the latest TiVo equipment available on the TiVo website. I found this older model on Amazon, the oldest model that TiVo still supports. It hooks up with RCA cables and has an analog tuner. When my cable TV service switches to digital cable, I believe all I will have to do is have the cable company put in a special card in the slot in the back of the TiVo, which will act as a digital cable box. I believe I will still be able to use this TiVo unit after the swtich to digital cable. As far as the unit goes, it's very well made and works extremely well. I am really enjoying having TiVo and find it well worth the $14.99 a month I have to pay for the service. The TiVo unit is fairly easy to learn to use. TiVo customer service is awesome. Unfortunately, unlike some DVRs which you can buy, this one has no built-in DVD player/recorder. But being able to record two different shows at the same time is an incredibly nice feature. If you can afford the TiVo service and have no digital hookups on the back of your TV set, this is the unit for you.