Yes, that is a TiVo Series3 HD sitting in my entertainment center! Christmas came early this year as that bear of an elf, Santa Claus, proudly pulled a kickass HD TiVo box from his bag and handed it to me. Well, it was more like the FedEx guy who was holding it like a tray of Waterford crystal goblets reluctantly handed it to me with an envyous grin on his face.

Thanks to some early Christmas money from family that I only get to see at Thanksgiving, a sale, a one-day-only discount, free shipping and a $200 rebate, this $799 THX certified, 300 hr, HD TiVo box only cost me $165 ($350 without gift money). I’ve lusted after it since it came out last year, but never wanted to pay the $800 price tag. Having used a standard def Series2 for five years, this was quite an upgrade. And it was worth it. The picture and sound are unbelievable and the use of CableCards has cured the I’m-pissed-cause-the-fucking-channel-didn’t-change syndrome that plagues users of older TiVos hooked to cable boxes.

Hook-up couldn’t have been easier. I swapped it for my HD Motorola cable box, using the component video and optical audio cables that were hooked up to the cable box. I did Guided Setup for analog cable to get up and running. Even recording just analog cable was of better quality on the new unit. After a few hours the box had updated to the latest TiVo software and full functionality, including file transfers using TiVo To Go were enabled, allowing me to pull all of my recordings off of the old TiVo.

I was worried about getting the CableCards installed (needed for digital, HD and dual-tuner functionality) as I had read a lot of people were having trouble getting them from cable companies and getting them working. I really didn’t want to have to pay for another service call as the cable company was just here to switch me from DSL to Cable for Internet access. The cable guy took one look behind my TV and said, “Holy shit, man! How the hell do you know what goes where?” I basically did my own modem installation while he stood and watched. He was hot so I didn’t mind him just hanging around to beautify the place. Anyway, the cable company was very knowledgeable and knew just what I needed and asked if I wanted to pick them up or needed installation. Cool!

I picked them up, though they did give me M cards, which in the new TiVo HDs function in a dual mode but not in the Series3 HD. As each was installed the Series3 recognized and configured them as S cards. I called up the cable company to activate (as I installed) one at a time and in about 20 minutes received all of my digital, premium and high def channels on both cards.

Soon after some thumb ratings and setting up of season passes, my TiVo started recording programs. And soon my foodies, Paula, Rachel and Tyler showed up along with Doctor Who, Torchwood and Survivor, quickly filling up my Suggestions folder with over a 100 shows. Yeah! My TiVo gets me! Torchwood in HD on HDNET is awesome and so much better than on BBC America.

The only complaint I have about the box is the front display. The display which shows the time and title of programs being recorded on the front panel is far too small and dim to be seen from your chair. If you’re used to a Moto cable box with huge gold numbers, it will take a lot of getting used to. But it’s still useful when passing by to make sure something is recording that is supposed to be without having to turn on the TV. The word going around is that the THX Series3 HD with 300hrs of space is being retired in favor of the cheaper TiVo HD unit, which has only half of the recording space and is missing a few high end features. Some say too that the quality, while better than previous standard def boxes is not quite as good as the Series3 HD. So if you can find a good deal ($599 or less before a rebate), grab one.

So, Santa, if this is the pre-Christmas present, does that mean I’ll wake up to find Jake Gyllenhaal under my tree on Christmas morning???