Overview:

The Humax Tivo with DVD burner is an awesome standalone unit that provides the right mix of Tivo / DVR functionality with the ability to burn a show and take it with you. The Tivo software is the standard for intuitive and easy to use technology accessible to everyone in the family. The neat surprise is that burning a DVD makes the DVD look and feel like you're browsing a normal Tivo menu.

Competitive Challenges:

There are plenty of new competitors being brought to market. ReplayTV has long had the ability to pull content to your PC and Tivo hacks have existed almost as long. The Humax DVR is great because it is so simple and that won't go away. But now that home networks and Media Center PC's are becoming more common there are some real competitors in the market. Tivo recently announced that they will soon offer the ability to export recorded content to the Video iPod which I think will be the most interesting challenger to this unit.

The strongest competitor to all standalone DVR's are the cable boxes provided by Comcast.and the like. They have a much weaker feature set with Search being the worst of the Comcast DVR features. What Comcast doesn't have in software features they make up for in low cost (low monthly fee vs a decent upfront cost plus a monthly or lifetime subscription), HD support, and two tuners that allow for more recording and viewing options. It is worth mentioning that this also allows for one unit on top of the TV instead of multiple but that wasn't a big factor for me.

Summary:

I do love my Humax Tivo with DVD Burner and I've given a few as gifts. I think it works really well for moderately technical users looking to archive or transport content. While there are significant competitors coming to the market, I think the Humax unit fills one need that no other can match. The Humax is simple to use and provides a great way to share content. If your family or friends ask you to record a show for them there has never been a great way to get it to them. Now it is a simple process to burn to DVD which pretty much everyone can use. I have my Humax for content I am asked to catch for friends and family or if I'm going on a trip and want to bring something to watch. But for day to day viewing the quality, ability to record in HD, and record multiple things at once mean that I default to my Comcast DVR.

Check out some of these examples of similar products:   Humax Tivo with the DVD Burner