Hi everyone,

I know there are quite a few TiVo enthusiasts here and I was hoping you could offer me some advice. It's been over 10 years since I've had any kind of TV service. My GF and I just ordered cable (Charter Communications) and it is going to be installed on Wednesday. We keep pretty weird hours, so the idea of being able to watch good stuff at any time via TiVo sounds really appealing.

The service we ordered is "extended basic with the family package". Apparently, the channels in the family package require a cable box to receive, while the "extended basic" channels do not. We will be getting two cable boxes, one for each TV.

I know that TiVo changed their subscription fees recently. I noticed that one can purchase a used series 2 TiVo on ebay for about $250-300 which includes a transferrable lifetime subscription.

Here's my questions:

How do the Sony and Toshiba models fit into the equation? Are they the same as a series 2? The Sony and Toshiba units sell for considerably less. What's the deal with that?

Is buying a used series 2 with the lifetime subscription the way to go? Is going TiVo even the way to go? I've read that some of you are quite dissatisfied with recent software upgrades.

Are there more than one model of series 2 or is the only difference the hard disk size (especially, do they all have 2 tuners)? What are the hidden "gotchas" of buying a used unit?

Given this cable company setup with the "family package", does one need 2 cable boxes as inputs to the TiVo? How does all this get hooked together so it can do its thing while we watch other stuff?

I can stick any old IDE hard disk in this thing, right? So I don't need to worry about getting a lower capacity unit?

Do the series 2 models all have ethernet capability, or capability to add it? What about 802.11?

Any other tips would be appreciated. We have no intention of upgrading to HD infrastructure in the near future.

Thanks in advance for your advice,

Jim