PVR combines DirecTV receiver with TiVo technology.

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When personal video recorders first hit the market, they forever changed broadcast television. But the first-generation recorders cost more than $700 and were capable of recording less than 15 hours of video. This was too expensive and too limited for most people.

Since then, prices have dropped dramatically and storage has quadrupled. With the advent of Philips' TiVo receiver with built-in DirecTV, the second generation of personal digital video recorders has arrived. (Vulcan Ventures, the parent company of TechTV, has a stake in TiVo.)

The Philips DSR6000 combines TiVo functionality -- it records up to 35 hours of television onto a large hard drive -- with a DirecTV receiver. Unlike many other bundled devices, there's a real benefit to combining these two features.

TiVo devices work by converting a standard analog television signal to digital and storing that signal on a hard drive. The analog signal comes from either the built-in TV tuner or from a composite or S-Video connector.

Once digitized, the television signal is stored for later replay and added to a 30-minute floating buffer that lets users pause, rewind, and then fast-forward through "live" TV. The digital television signal is converted back to analog during playback.

Early TiVo boxes did not work as well with digital satellite receivers. Problems included quality degradation and a limited on-screen programming guide.

Company: TiVo
Product: TiVo
Price: Starting at $199 for hardware
Available: Now

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