Humax - DRT400 TiVo 40-Hour Video Recorder Review

As a teacher who wakes up between 4:30 and 5am each morning, I have to go to bed pretty early in order to competently handle 150+ teenagers each day.  I used to set a VCR to record different shows that I didn't want to miss but it was difficult to set it up, I had to watch the show the next day, and the tape wore out quickly.  I wanted a way to record the shows that I wanted to see and have the flexibility to watch them when I had a few free hours.  And then I learned about the Humax TiVo systems.

We bought the Humax Tivo 40-Hour Digital Recorder for $200 at Best Buy.  Because the machine has to be connected to the internet to receive programming information, we bought a $100 wireless card rather than hooking it up periodically to the house line.  And then there is the TiVo subscription... $300 for the lifetime of the machine.  When all was said and done we spent $600 to set this recorder up.

It's very easy to use this machine.  You can set it to record shows at a specific time or to record whole seasons of a show (the "Season Pass").  It also takes note of what live TV shows you watch through the TiVo.  Not only will the machine record what you have requested, but it also will record other programs that it "thinks" you will like based on what you usually watch.  You can "teach" your TiVo what you do and don't like by using the "thumbs-up" and "thumbs-down" buttons to express your degree of interest or disinterest in a given show.  I was a bit disturbed when the machine started recording "Real Sex 4" (or somsething like that) and actually ripped my boyfriend a new one about it... until he pointed out that I had the TiVo set to record "Sex and the City".  Case closed.

You also can use the Humax Tivo 40-Hour Digital Recorder to watch live TV.  You can pause a show to answer the phone, run to the bathroom, etc.  You also can rewind to get a better look at a football play, an ice-skating fall, or a funny scene in a sitcom.  The best part of watching live TV with the TiVo is that you can fast-forward through commercials if you are watching it on a bit of a delay because you've paused it at some point.

One thing you CAN'T do with this machine is record two shows at once.  That has been challenging for me some nights because I can't just go to bed if two of my favorite shows are on at the same time.  (Monday nights with 24 and Dancing With The Stars) In that case, I have to record one and stay up late to watch the other which kind of defeats the purpose of spending so much money on this product.  Newer versions of the TiVo recorders have the ability to record two shows at once.

As the only one in this two-person household who has a continuing interest in certain shows, forty hours is more than enough capacity for us.  I record maybe 4 or 5 hour-long shows a week and that's it.  This machine probably wouldn't have enough capacity for a home that included fans of several soap operas, talk shows, reality shows, and other miscellaneous programs.

For me, the Humax Tivo 40-Hour Digital Recorder is almost-perfect.  It has plenty of space to record the shows I request and those that it "thinks" I will like.  My only complaint is that it can't record two shows at once... but I suppose that recording one is better than recording none.