Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner PVR Review - Part 1

After purchasing a Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner PVR about 2 years ago and using it, I thought that it was time for me to write a review of Tivo features as well as my outdated Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner PVR.

Tivo was available in the US for awhile but was officially made available to some Canadian stores (with the exception of Quebec) on December 2007.

I actually purchased my Tivo a few months before the official launch news in Canada from a user on Ebay after having a conversation with a co-worker. I was under the mistaken impression that Tivos would not work in Canada or with Canadian programming. He informed me that Series 2 Tivos were compatible in Canada and the prior version could be hacked so that some of the features would work. He informed me that Tivos could also be hacked so that customers could use some of the features without paying a monthly fee. I talked with him about the subscription charges and he mentioned the price as well as there being a lifetime option available sometimes. I searched on Ebay for a Canadian seller who was selling a Series 2 Tivo with lifetime subscription and found one.  Even though I was using digital satellite television and not analogue cable, I opted for the dual tuner version (can only use 1 tuner if used with satellite) because it had a built-in ethernet port whereas the other Series 2 Tivos required the extra expense of purchasing a Wi-Fi USB network card.

After I received my Tivo, I called Tivo and transferred the account to my name. I then set it up for my television service provider using the menu. I could either connect the Tivo to a phone line or to my network. I opted for the network which would give it somewhat additional functionality. The television schedule guide was then downloaded to my Tivo.

In Part 2, I'll write about some of the things that the Tivo is capable of doing. Since Tivos have a lot of features, depending on how much I cover, there might be a part 3, part 4, etc.   ;-)

If you have any questions/comments regarding my "Part 1" on Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner PVR, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the comments section.