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Philips HDR312 TiVo 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder

Philips HDR312 TiVo 30-Hour Digital Video Recorder

List Price: $299.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: modem problem
Review: There seem to be a problem with the philips tivo modem. i know several friends from different states with the same modem problem .it appears that there is a problem with philips tivo modem and they are not willing to admit it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TiVo? Great! Philips? Not so.
Review: I have experience with the previous-generation Philips DSR6000, which has proven to be extraordinarily unreliable. I have two units in my home and am now waiting for my THIRD replacement unit in a year. The units seem to have been designed to burn out like a light bulb.

In addition to all the fun troubleshooting and the weeks waiting for replacements, each problem generally takes several calls into TiVo and Philips to get a replacement authorized. Each call means, on average, a 20-30 minute wait on hold. Why not just go buy a new replacement at Circuit City for ... you ask? Because the "Lifetime" TiVo service that I bought applies only if I keep returning the broken ones to Philips for the ... replacement fee - not if I buy a new unit! It's the lifetime of the Philips unit, not YOUR lifetime, fool!

I love the TiVo experience - my willingness to continue to put up with the neverending Philips hassle is testament to that - but if had to do it all over again and Philips was my only choice....I think I'd pass.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TIVO is Great, Tivo support from Phillips is BAD!
Review: I agree with the previous person posting. TIVO is great, but the customer service experience was Awful! TIVO tried to handle the problem by not letting us talk with Phillips directly. Claimed they lost the unit, lost the credit card, credit card was expired (it wasn't), etc. It was like the 'dog ate my homework' excuse everytime and then they said it was 48 hrs before they could get us an update. 2 months later, We finally had our unit back Friday, but by Sunday the TIVO service shutdown because the serial number was unknown to the computer. Had to wait until Monday to fix it! Buy Sony instead.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beware of Modem Failure
Review: I LOVE Tivo. When I travel out of town, I miss my tivo more than I miss my family. Everything about the Tivo service is spectacular.

Now, onto this Philips Unit. I purchased it. It worked. 18 mos later the modem died. I spent 12+ hours on HOLD waiting for Philips to help me with my "problem" and NEVER spoke with anyone. I emailed. I called. No Philips contact to date. I've done my research, however, and have learned that this is a typical issue for Philips PVRs. Sadly, the modems fry. In fact, it's not surprising to have to get a new modem for it every year. Bad bad bad. So. I'm done with Philips. I'm paying more for Sony. Why? B/c I just tried to call Sony support as a "test". Guess what? I spoke with a real life person within moments!

Goodbye, Philips! Forever!!

Long Live Tivo!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Even My Wife--No--Especially My Wife
Review: She loves TIVO. I am an electronics and gadget freak and knew from the first time I saw it that I had to have a TIVO. My wife, on the other hand, firmly believes that gadgets are a waste of time and money. That was before I brought home TIVO. I cannot get the remote control out of her hand. The memory is almost always full because she tivo's everything. She has literally sold dozens of these by demonstrating it to all of her gadget hating girlfriends. Now--I gotta get my own TIVO so I can have a chance to "mess with my gadget." Really, truely, the naysayers are wrong. Tivo will change everything you think you know about TV. Just shut up and buy it! Also--bought mine through Amazon--good deal and a great Tivo.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rocks over Replay
Review: My first experience with this kind of recorder was the built-in one with my Dish player. I was hooked. I moved and couldn't have dish here so went to look at TIVO and REPLAY. Ultimately, the best system would be a combonation of the best of both, but alas . . . My best friend has Replay and there are some great things -- but TIVO, by and far, is much better for me. I realize many smart people will see it different.

The Season Pass, Wishlists are just better. Plus, I DO NOT advise buying the Sony unit -- the remote is STUPID -- Philips rocks -- and it's European and NOT Japanese!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Awesome....... when it works!
Review: My brother bought me tivo for christmas this year. He has a sony one and has never had any problem. I own a Philips tivo and have had to send it back twice. I do love it when it works. I can watch my favorite shows whenever I want.....awesome!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A River in Egypt
Review: Had this model for about 8 months. For half that time I was totally infatuated with it. Easier to program than a VCR. Catches schedule changes I didn't even know about. Records good stuff without being told to. Best of all, you can start watching a show while it's still recording.

Then they did a software upgrade. Ever since then, the Tivo records for about 10 "basic" hours, then freezes up. The workaround is to disable "record recomendations" and soft-reboot the [recorder] every day.

Oh yeah, and if it does freeze up you have to follow the necessary hard reboot (unplug/plugin) with an immediate soft reboot. Otherwise it freezes up again in about 20 minutes.

There's every indication that this is due to an incomplete software download. It's a well-known bug, but Tivo is in denial. They prefer to blame defective hard disks, customers who use splitters, and cable companies that fiddle with the vido signals. I've heard reports that the fix is the same as the cause: a software upgrade. Alas, Tivo no longer does these every few months. Can't imagine why!

Wish I'd gotten a ReplayTV.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: It's cool until it breaks.
Review: I loved my Tivo for the 3 weeks that it worked, then it wouldn't receive a signal from the cable. After having the Best Buy technicians look at it, they determined that it couldn't be fixed.

Tivo refunded me the life time service fee without any problem because I had the service for less than 30 days, but they did keep me on hold for 30 mins.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Television's "Killer App"
Review: I have the DirecTV/TiVo combination unit, however I purchased and upgraded one of these Philips 30 hour models for a friend.

Setup: Extremely well documented and easy. They literally ship every cable/plug/adapter you could possibly need to setup this machine. Every aspect of the setup is illustrated. Excellent.

Ease of Use: The human interface engineers at TiVo outdid themselves when designing this software. This is truly idiot-proof software that everyone can use. They have extended the ease of use of a VCR into what could be a very complex and complicated system. The software does so much but it is so easy and elegant!

Function: Adding TiVo to your entertainment center will change the way you watch television. Instead of scheduling your life around a few shows - or sitting down and watching [stuff] when you feel like watching some TV TiVo effectively gives you television catered to your needs on demand.


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