Toshiba SD-H400 Tivo/DVD Player $150 after rebate w/ free Tivo Basic!?!?! (1 Viewer)

[Stephen Hopkins]

Best Buy currently has the Toshiba SD-H400 Digital Media Center (80gb Tivo and Prog Scan DVD Player) for $199 out the door AND an additional $50 rebate. This player is also eligable for free Tivo Basic service. I don't record too much TV but basicly because VHS sucks on large screens. I could deal with only 3 days of program guide info, but would I be able to schedule it to record the same show(s) every week assuming they are at the same time and same length every week? I assume the "record by time and channel" part of Tivo basic will let me do what I want, it just won't be as point-click easy or as powerful (skipping repeats, recording longer episodes) as Season Pass.

I'm not looking for a huge amount more functionality than a standard VCR, just a bump in PQ. There's just no way I would pay the $13 a month or $300 lifetime. So for $150 after rebate and free Tivo Basic servide this seems like an amazing deal. Does this look like a good first Tivo for me?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Best buy has the Toshiba SD-H400 Digital Media Center (Prog Scan DVD and 80gb Tivo) for $199 out the door AND another $50 mail in rebate. $150 for an 80gb tivo is a decent deal BUT this unit is also eligable for FREE Tivo Basic service. The service gives you 3 days of program guide, record from guide, date/time record, Live TV control, and broadband connectivity. You lose guide search, season pass, wish list, smart recording, tivo suggestions, digital music and photos, multi-room viewing, and online scheduling. There are alot of the nice Tivo Plus features that aren't included BUT this makes this unit a perfect VCR replacement with the ease of use of Tivo (compared to DVD recorders and other non-tivo/replay hd recorders which are no where near as intuititve). I'm in england at the time, but i'll be ordering this right now anyway and taking advantage of Best Buys free shipping policy and have it sent to my parents and also have them send in the rebate for me.

What really suprises me is that the cheapest i could find this unit online using froogle and yahoo shopping was $250 + SH.

 

[Keith_R]

You may want to Check over at the TiVo Community forums where there is a large thread on this particular player.

I don't own one but here is what I can say. I've had a TiVo going on a year now and it is a very worthwhile investment. I started with a 40 hour unit and upgraded it recently to 205 hours. At the time I bought mine I paid $249 and it had less hours than then the newer Toshiba's going for less money nowadays so in that case as a first TiVo yes it's good.

From what I hear the machine is capable but most hate the remote and much prefer the normal TiVo peanut remote to the crappy Toshiba one.Unfortunately the peanut isn't included with that model.

As far as guide data goes I pay $13.00 for my service each month and couldn't live w/o it. Paying $13 not only insures 2 weeks ahead in guide data but also allows you to use other TiVo functions such as wishlists and (not sure on this one) free HMO.

I say it's a steal. A TiVo w/ limited functionality is better than a VCR any day of the week.

Check out the TiVo Community forums over at AVS forum for more info on the Toshiba and TiVo basic. Hope this helps.

 

[GregC]

Great deal ... unfortunately, these boxes have the "flicker" problem. While watching tv through the Tivo, certain channels (2,4,9, etc...) exhibit a flicker which is not there when watching the tv through direct cable or a vcr. It's like the brightness raises and lowers itself once or twice a second. Very annoying. I had this machine for a week and loved it otherwise... but reluctantly returned it.

Read the thread in the Tivo Help area of AVS Forum site which reports that this problem has been happening since NOVEMBER of last year and Tivo will not acknowledge or address it. A great product undermined by shoddy support policies.

Link: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...ght=brightness

 

[Dan Rudolph]

What is tivo basic missing over the premium service?

 

[adamKI]

Stephen pretty much explained it.

 

[Phil Tomaskovic]

I think the $50 rebate is only if you get the premium service lifetime agreeement.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

Yes that would be the best deal if you don't want anything more than TiVo Basic. The tivocommunity would be the place to visit to get information regarding this TiVo. Picture quality at best is a big improvement over VHS. It seems like an amazing deal to me as well.

Chris

 

[Dan Rudolph]

So it does timer only recording pretty much?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

No it does recording from the program guide, but you only get 3 days of program guide at a time. Season Pass is the big feature missing, which lets you record a show for an entire season regardless of start time changes or episode length changes. Season pass also skips repeat episodes throughout the season.

Looks like you're right about the rebate only being for Tivo Plus subscribers... they really hid that one in the fine print. Still for $200 i think i'll get one.

 

[AnthonyJS]

The $50 rebate is ONLY if you upgrade to "regular" TIVO service. If you stick with TIVO basic service, the cost is the $199.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Ya we figured that out in a similar thread I started in the A/V Sources area. They really burry it in the fine print. $200 is still pretty good for a Tivo w/ free service. The only other models with Basic available are the very expensive Pioneer and Pioneer Elite models w/ DVD-RW drives included.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Three threads from different areas have been merged here. Please start only one thread per topic. Thanks!

M.