The guys at weaKnees have been upgrading TiVos as well as selling TiVos and upgrade kits since 2000. Their TiVo Series 3 upgraded model is the latest in a long list of upgrades. weaKnees will sell you the standard 250GB TiVo Series 3 (300SD/32HD hours) for $799, a 500GB unit (600SD/64HD hours) for $1,299 and the top-of-the line 750GB monster (925SD/100HD hours) for $1,599. This review focuses on the TiVo Series 3 with that monster 750GB upgrade.

Following is a full TiVo Series 3 review. For those interested only in the performance of the weaKnees upgrade, please jump here .

TiVo Series 3

As you can imagine, I was looking forward to reviewing the TiVo Series 3 with eager anticipation. However, even as a knowledgeable user and unabashed TiVo fan, I had gigantic expectations for this new TiVo.

Other than the hard drive, the TiVo Series 3 from weaKnees is identical to a factory TiVo. More on the weaKnees upgrade later in this review .

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Setup

TiVo Series 3 Cables

• HDMI cable
• Component video cable
• Composite video/analog audio cable
• Phone cable
• Phone splitter

• Optical audio cable
• Ethernet cable
• S-Video

TiVo OLED Display

The TiVo Series 3 setup is nearly as easy as a Series 2, and in some ways easier. There are a few key differences between the Series 3 and Series 2/1 TiVos.

1. The biggest difference is that the Series 3 is an HDTV recorder. The Series 2 records SD with at most an S-Video cable.
2. The TiVo Series 3 is a CableCARD-compatible device. This allows HD and digital cable to be watched and recorded without a cable box.
3. Since the TiVo Series 3 doesn't need a cable box, there is no need to control a cable set-top box using infrared. With the delay in relaying the IR control, this has been a common irritation for previous TiVo users.
4. The Series 3 has a built-in Ethernet adapter. A phone line is no longer required -- even for setup.

In the Box

Note: For detailed tips on the Series 3 setup, please see the TechDigs.net article, TiVo Series 3: How to Configure & Get the Most from It .

Note: Step 7 requires the cable company to come to your home. We recommend that you perform steps 1-6 about two hours before the cable technician is scheduled to arrive.

1. Connect the TiVo to your home network using Ethernet (an optional Wireless adapter is also available). If you don't have a home network, connect the TiVo to your phone line using the phone jack.
2. Connect the Cable Service cable to the Cable-In jack on the back of the TiVo.
3. Optionally, connect the TiVo to an antenna using the Antenna-In jack.
4. Connect the TiVo video output to your TV, receiver or video switcher using HDMI, component, S-Video or the composite output. All video outputs are active simultaneously. To determine the best video connection method, please read the TechDigs.net article Get the Right Video Connection on Your HDTV.
5. Connect the TiVo audio output to your TV, receiver or audio switcher using optical or analog RCA jacks. To determine the best audio connection method, please read the TechDigs.net article Are You Maximizing Your Audio? Check Your Wires!
6. Connect the TiVo power cord.
7. About an hour before the cable technician is scheduled to arrive, follow the guided setup until you get to the installation of the CableCARDs. Then wait for their arrival and hope they're on time. Be sure they first install, configure and check CableCARD 1, and then CableCARD 2. To check each CableCARD, look at basic cable, subscription and subscription HD channels to be sure encryption is working.  After both CableCARDS are setup and all channels are coming in, you will no longer require the cable tech. According to Comcast, in the Comcast Oregon region, they provide CableCARDS without an install or monthly charge. Unfortunately, their pricing and policies are not consistent nationally.
8. Spend the time during the guided setup to identify which channels you receive. While you can do this later, you'll save time if you do it now.
9. Initially, only one day of the guide will be available.

After setup is complete, there are numerous configuration options that you can choose. These are covered in detail in our TiVo Series 3: How to Configure & Get the Most from It article.

With TiVo's great interface, I rate the overall setup high, with the only possible hiccup being the CableCARD configuration which relies on the experience of your cable company.

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Features

TiVo Series 3 System Info

• TiVo's user interface finds shows by title, actor, content type, sports team, keyword and more.
• Record two HD programs at once.
• Schedule recordings from the web using TiVo.com.
• Connect to a home network to use broadband features like photo viewing, mp3 audio, Internet radio, podcasts, special TiVo-only video content and more.
• TiVo's remote control is now backlit. Woohoo!
• Set up your TiVo with two tuners using any combination of over-the-air analog, over-the-air digital or digital cable using up to two cable cards.
• The TiVo Series 3 does not do any compression of HD content.
• With the weaKnees upgrade, record up to 928 hours of SD content or 97 hours of HD content.

TiVo Series 3 Back Panel Jacks:

• HDMI Video Out
• Component Video
• S-Video
• Composite Video (2)
• Optical Digital Audio
• Analog Audio (2)
• TiVo Series 3 Back Panel

  
  CableCARD Slots (2)
• Antenna Input
• Cable Input
• eSATA External Storage
• Ethernet
• USB (2)
• Phone line
• Power jack
  

TiVo Series 3 Remote

• Now Playing List: with the option to sort by date or name and optionally by group
• TiVo Suggestions: recordings based on thumbs up/down (including the ability to disable)
• TiVo Guide: use either TiVo Live format or TiVo Grid
• Find programs by:
  • title
  • title within a category/sub-category
  • actor
  • director
  • category/sub-category
  • keyword
  • date/time
  • date/time within a category/sub-category
  • channel
  • favorite channels
• Record by time/channel (manual, regardless of program name)
• Record by Season Pass including:
  • Number of episodes to keep
  • First run shows, first run shows and repeat shows, all episodes (including duplicates)
• Start recording early (for single recordings or season pass)
• Stop recording late (for single recordings or season pass)
• Define recording retention (for single recordings or season pass) to either delete when space is needed, or keep until you manually delete
• Manually cancel a single episode within a season pass
• Define priorities for season passes
• Review the To Do List (including recording and deletion history)
• Channels list definition: this allows you to define a subset of your cable provider's channels as the ones you receive
• Favorite channels definition
• Sound effects on or off
• Parental controls
• Phone and network setup including automatic and manual TCP/IP setup
• Analog recording quality setup (basic, medium, high and best)
• Remote control configuration, including control of TVs and receivers
• Channel banner display duration
• Recording overlap protection with clipping for program overlaps of less than 6 minutes
• TiVo 30-second advance option is still available
• Music, Photos, Products and More menu area:
  
  • TiVo Series 3 can connect to your computer (after you install the TiVo server) to get access to photos and music.
  • TiVo has the same games, Yahoo, Internet Music, Movie Tickets, etc., as the Series 2
• TiVo Showcases & TV Guide
• Online TiVo scheduling and recording using TiVo.com.

Series 3 Remote - Backlit

• TiVo remote is now backlit
• TiVo remote has the select button in the middle of the directional pad
• Live TV button on remote toggles between tuners
• Aspect button on remote controls TV aspect ratio options
• Now Playing List now includes HDTV Recordings smart group (when grouping is turned on)
• Digital audio with Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital-to-PCM conversion
• Channel scan (for non-CableCARD installations)
• Cable signal strength meter by channel
  
• Close captioning (analog and digital)
• Front OLED display with brightness & configuration
• Aspect correction (full, panel, zoom) to eliminate incorrect stretching of content
• Letterbox/sidebox color (gray or black)
• TV aspect ratio:
  • 16:9 Widescreen
  • 4:3 Smart Screen (SD is 4:3, HD is 16:9)
  • 4:3 Classic Screen (4:3 only)
• Video output format:
  • Native (no video conversion)
  • 720p Hybrid (HD video at 720p, SD video at 480p)
  • 1080i Hybrid (HD video at 1080i, SD video 480p)
  • 480i Fixed (regardless of source, all video output at 480i)
  • 480p Fixed (regardless of source, all video output at 480p)
  • 720p Fixed (regardless of source, all video output at 720p)
  • 1080i Fixed (regardless of source, all video output at 1080i)
• Video Smoothing (designed to remove artifacts in SD content, although we didn't find it very useful)
• Built-in Ethernet
• eSATA interface for future external disk space expansion
• HDMI interface
• Optical audio interface

Series 3 Remote - Side View

• One-button deletion of programs with a Recently Deleted group in the Now Playing list. Hopefully, this will be in the first software upgraded provided by TiVo. I really miss this cool functionality.
• TiVo KidZone. This also is likely to be in one of the first upgrades from TiVo.
• Multi-TiVo viewing (transfer). With the Series 3, you can not pull programs from other TiVos (Series 2 or Series 3) on your network. You also can not pull Series 3 programs from other TiVos. TiVo hasn't discussed why this feature is missing, however clearly one reason is copyrighted content. TiVo has the ability to limit this feature based on the restrictions of the copyright holders, so we hope they wisely add this feature back even if it's modified to meet those restrictions.
• TiVo to Go. Like Multi-TiVo Viewing transfer, the feature to transfer programs to your PC to watch on-the-go is missing in the Series 3. We also hope they see fit to add this feature back, even if they have to restrict it based on content.
• Instead of true HD-content, some of the text and icons are stretched SD-content.

• Ability to see which programs are scheduled to be recorded within the Guide using either a red dot or something similar. This should be visible in both the traditional TiVo style view and the Grid view. TiVo should have added this quite a while ago -- even the dismal Motorola DVR has it.
• Ability to find and record HD programs specifically.
• With the addition of Multi-TiVo viewing, we would like to see shared scheduling for multiple TiVos on a network.
• Support for 3rd-party devices using the eSATA interface.
• HD program designation in the TiVo Live guide (already exists in the grid guide)
• HD photo support -- currently photos are not displayed to leverage HD resolution.
• Ability to stream video from your PC using industry standard formats including WMV, QuickTime, DiVX, .ts, and .VOB formats.
• RF support for TiVo Remote so that you can hide your TiVo behind cabinet doors without having to buy an RF translator.
• To increase the storage capacity, the ability to use network attached storage drives for storage -- even if TiVo uses an encrypted, proprietary standard its storage files.

By not including a few key features such as one-key deletion, TiVo home network program transfer and TiVo To Go, we think TiVo has room for improvement. All considered, we rate the features good, and hope TiVo will include the few missing features in future software upgrades.

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Performance

The TiVo Series 3 is a THX certified device. This means many things including the fact that it operates very quietly, registering less than 35 decibels at 3 inches. That's compared to 42 decibels at 3 inches for the Series 2 and 48 decibels at 3 inches for a standard PC. The menu performance is responsive and consistent; as good or better than a Series 2. The Series 3 Guide and recording performance is what we've come to expect from a TiVo. It just works. And, since it doesn't have to control a cable box, there is no weak IR link between the TiVo and a cable box -- an issue in the Series 2 that can sometimes affect recording performance. Overall, our performance rating is high.

TiVo Box w/weaKnees Tag

When buying an upgraded TiVo from weaKnees, a few obvious questions come to mind. The first is warranty. TiVo normally has a 90-day parts and labor with one-year parts exchange warranty. weaKnees doubles the labor warranty to 6 months and also provides a one-year parts exchange. The second question is whether you can participate in the same TiVo service options. As you may know, TiVo has eliminated the lifetime service option. However, TiVo has a limited-time offer to transfer an existing lifetime service contract from your Series 1 or 2 TiVo to a Series 3, for $199. If you choose this VIP transfer option, TiVo will also extend service to your existing TiVo for one year. After that, your old TiVo will require a new service plan. weaKnees TiVos are no different from standard TiVos. With the weaKnees upgrade, all service options, including this VIP transfer, are available from TiVo.

The weaKnees 750GB upgrade is simply the replacement of the stock Series 3 hard drive with a hard drive three times as large. Other than voiding the TiVo warranty (which weaKnees replaces), TiVo does not frown upon the weaKnees upgrade.

The weaKnees upgrade performs as a normal TiVo would with a few exceptions:

• The weaKnees Series 3 will record just over three times as much content as a standard TiVo. The System Information screen reports the recording capacity as up to 98 HD or 927 SD hours.
• Since the 750GB hard drive units currently available to weaKnees are not specifically designed for video streaming, there's a bit more chatter in the drive than on a standard TiVo Series 3. The Techdigs.net team did not find this overly intrusive, but I look forward to the time when weaKnees will use AV-optimized drives. According to weaKnees, they expect to do just that in the next 90 days or so. It's unknown whether this chatter would 'technically' affect the THX certification.

Overall, I'd rate the weaKnees upgrade as high.

The outstanding TiVo remote is now even better. TiVo has thoughtfully made some changes including:

• The Select button was moved to the middle of the directional buttons.
• TiVo has changed which buttons have raised bumps or depressions to let you easily find out where you are by touch. The changes work for us.
• It now has a soft red back light that works very well. The TiVo button itself is outlined in white light so it really stands out.
• It now includes an aspect button to support the Series 3.
• The lower-half of the backside is now ribbed to reduce slippage when holding it in your hand.
• Has a new, upscale shiny finish.
• The remote now requires four AAA batteries (included), the Series 2 used two AA.

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Ease of Use

TiVo's easy and intuitive interface works so well you don't even have to crack the manual. It exhibits an elegance that allows the novice to easily record single programs and season passes without having to think about more detailed options. At the same time, it gives power users the control they want in recording quality, program priority, clipping and padding of recording time. Overall, we rate ease of use high.

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Build Quality/Reliability

The build quality of the TiVo box and remote is first-rate. TiVos have always been highly reliable with the most reported, although uncommon, problem being hard drive noise or failure. The Series 3 is likely to be no different. Overall, you can expect a reliable and stable device. The software leaves you with a feeling of confidence and the hardware matches that feeling. While still too early to be sure, at this point we don't believe the weaKnees 750GB drive upgrade will affect the reliability of the Series 3. Overall we rate the quality/reliability high.

TiVo Series 3 w/weaKnees 750GB Customer Support

TiVo provides good customer support. Fortunately, we didn't need either TiVo or weaKnees support during our test. The order from weaKnees was a straight-forward web order with shipment notification. The only call we had to make was to TiVo VIP transfer support to transfer lifetime service from a Series TiVo 2. That call was painless. Because of the weaKnees modification, should hardware support be required, the first call will need to be to weaKnees.

Since the upgrade may require calls to both weaKnees and TiVo, we collectively rate support as good, instead of high.

TiVo OLED Display Recording

At $799 to $1,599, this is one of the more expensive DVRs available. You really have to want the painless interface and HDTV quality to be willing to spend this kind of dough. For $10 per month you can get a basic DVR from the cable company, so an obvious question is why would someone spend $800 to $1600 to buy a TiVo. For me, the answer is simple: great quality results and a superior interface. Right now, it's probably serious entertainment-tech-enthusiast pricing. Even with all the terrific features, TiVo pricing is an area we rate it as needs improvement. Undoubtedly, it will be cheaper in the next twelve months.

Conclusion

We had very high expectations of the TiVo Series 3 and weren't disappointed. With HD-capability and CableCARD support, this is a greatly-anticipated and substantial upgrade to the TiVo product line. The features are good, although we found a few favorite old features missing and a few new ones we recommend adding. The experience overall was outstanding and truly up to TiVo standards. If you have HD in your home and can swing it, we can easily recommend the Series 3. Now, if you've already talked yourself into spending $799 on the TiVo Series 3, you should consider the weaKnees upgrade. By doubling your expenditure, you'll triple your capacity -- and that's capacity you're going to use.

Grade: Recommended

TiVo: http://tivo.com/

weaKnees: http://weaknees.com/

Please use Comments below to ask questions or add your comments.

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Karma said:

Way deeper than most. Thx!

September 28, 2006

Mike said:

If the initial cable card installation is done with the original 250GB disk drive, if I pull it and replace it with a 500 or 750 GB drive, with the data value on the cable cards change?

October 24, 2006

TechDigs.net said:

Mike: It will likely change unless you send it to a company like Weaknees to transfer it. Regardless, be ready to spend some time with your provider.

October 27, 2006

hildred said:

yes can i used a indoor ant for my tivo hdtv unit can it work

September 30, 2007

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