It's the holiday season and we here at PVR Wire (Martin and myself) wish you happy holidays. We also thought you might like to read our holiday gift list for TiVo users and other PVR addicts. Feel free to add your own items in the comments section.
A TiVo, of course. You still can buy a 40-hour Series 2 box for $49.95 after $150 rebate. Or you can go for an 80-hour unit for $149.99 or a 40-hour box that records DVDs for $249.99. The rebate is instant if you buy 12 months of service up front or you can mail it in if you want to pay monthly. You can get a free 40-hour box if you're willing to pay the higher monthly fee of $16.95. Amazon.com is still selling 40-hour units for $169.99, which is $19.99 after the rebate.
Be different and buy them a ReplayTV. There's a $50 rebate on its 5500 boxes. And ReplayTV offers the same $6.95 monthly rate for multiple units, so why not go crazy and purchase two?
Get them a Microsoft Media Center PC. Gateway sells the DX300 and FX400 series of media center PCs that start at around $600 after rebate and creep up to $2,500 after instant savings. Your gift recipient won't have to pay monthly service fees and they'll have more control over their PVR experience.
Wrap up your TiVo (or remote).
SkinIt.com sells skins for TiVo's and their remote controls. If you're
tired of looking at that charcoal color -- or, better yet, your gift
recipient is -- then you might consider one. A sticker for a remote
costs $9.95, while skins for the boxes are $19.95.
Shop in the TiVo store. You can buy a blue, clear or lavender TiVo remote for $34.99 each to replace the charcoal one or a lost remote. Then there are the T-shirts, polo shirts and hats with your favorite TiVo logo on them. You also can purchase a plush doll, blanket, coffee mug, backpack, folding chair, beach towel and golf umbrella.
Sky+ boxes in the design of four English Premiership football teams.
If the boring domestic grey Sky+ box doesn't take your fancy, why not
buy the soccer fan in your household a Sky+ box emblazoned with the
team colors of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool or Chelsea --
designed by none other than Wayne Hemmingway.
Sky+ boxes in a variety of wallpapers.
Better still, if soccer doesn't appeal to you, why not try out one of
four groovy wallpaper designs of Sky+ box created by Lulu Guinness,
Cole & Son, Osborne & Little or Farrow & Ball? Humax dual-tuner Freeview PVR. Freeview is the free-to-air d
igital
terrestrial television service sweeping the U.K., but what good is a
DTT service if you don't have a decent digital video recorder to
capture all your favorite shows? This new box from Humax does both --
Freeview television, with a dual-tuner PVR -- so you can watch one
channel, while recording another, or record two channels at once, while
watching something already on the box.
Hauppauge USB Freeview "TV Stick."
If you find yourself on the move and desperate to watch television, you
really can't go wrong with this amazing Hauppauge USB Freeview "TV
Stick." Just plug it in to you laptop and away you go. It even has a
built-in PVR to let you record your favorite shows. Martin Conaghan contributed to this gift guide.
