Picked up this HD DVR to work with my Toshiba 42HP95 plasma screen.

First the good things. It works seemlessly with the TV Guide On Screen guide. I know there were problems with the TV Guide in the 2004 Toshiba TVs but so far I haven't had any problems with mine and the one touch recording and future recording capabilites work well. The DVR also records HD programming. That alone was worth the money. I was paying $20/month for that capability from the cable company. So for the basic stuff it works well.

What it doesn't do well. I knew before purchasing this that it didn't have an internal tuner. The DVR works in conjuntion with the TV's tuner. What that means is that if you're recording a program you cannot even change the input on the TV. The other problems I've found is that while you're recording a program you can't even pause live TV or watch a previously recorded program. The latter I'm assuming is because there is no built in tuner. I can see... Read more

This thing should have "Caveat Emptor" stamped all over it.

The "Good": cheap (got mine for $259), large capacity (16 hr of HD), simple to configure (remember works ONLY with '04 and newer Toshiba HDTV's), simple to use, very compact, excellent recording quality, excellent integration into the TV Guide Online system.

The "Bad": you can't switch inputs while it's recording (you can't even watch a DVD), won't work unless TV Guide Online is working (a BIG problem for many users), no on/off switch for reboots (more on this in "the UGLY"), you cannot watch a show that is recording from the beginning (they say it can - what they mean is that since it's recording your feed all the time, yes, you can go back - but NOT when it's recording a show that you've scheduled) or pause/rewind it, won't record off the colorstream or video 2/3 inputs (I understand why it won't do HDMI, but why not the other inputs?). Oh, and you can't stop a scheduled recording unless you pull the... Read more

I'm very disappointed with this product. Toshiba has said that the Symbio only works with new Toshiba TV's that are HD ready--thus encouraging the purchase of these TV's. BUT . . .the Symbio can only record future programs if the Toshiba TV is able to download TV Guide listings---and they can't!!!

Toshiba customer service acknowledges the problem and claims that the issue has been identified to "the head office". Not good enough for those who have spent thousands on the Symbio and the HD-ready tv. Toshiba will need to fix this asap or face a massive recall obligation.

Beware!