OTHER TECH

The HD10-250 contains a full set of video features, including a signal-strength meter for DTV reception and another for aiming the supplied oval satellite dish. You can set the output for 480p (progressive-scan), 720p, or 1080i (interlaced) to match your display's native resolution or scan rate. (You can also set the output at 480i for an analog TV or recording device like a VCR - but that will change all of the receiver's outputs to 480i.)

If your HDTV has a 4:3 screen, you can switch the receiver to display pictures with that aspect ratio. You can also choose between gray or black sidebars for watching 4:3 programs on a widescreen TV (gray bars minimize burn-in with phosphor-type displays like plasma and tubes) or opt to stretch a 4:3 image horizontally to fit a wide-screen display. All functions can be controlled from TiVo's peanut-shaped remote, which is a favorite of mine for its excellent button placement and hand fit. Its only shortcoming is that the keys aren't backlit.

USING TIVO This high-def model includes all of the convenience features that make using TiVo so empowering for viewers - and so discomforting for network TV executives. You can pause or replay a live broadcast, watch anything in slow motion, or fast-forward through commercials. TiVo comes with a 15-minute skip function, but you can change it to a 30-second instant skip simply by hitting Select-Play-Select-3-0-Select. (To make sure network executives don't blow a gasket, the feature isn't documented in the owner's manual. You'll have to reset it if the receiver loses power.)

When I checked the program guide the next day, all the information had loaded. Though TiVo's manual says the receiver will hold 14 days of guide data, it never contained more than 12 days' worth. One of my favorite TiVo features is Wish List. Select an actor or director, a category like Award Shows, or a keyword like "crime," and TiVo will list every upcoming program that matches the selection. There's also an option for automatically recording shows based on what you've previously recorded or in genres you've indicated by pressing the remote's thumbs-up button. TiVo also has a feature called Season Pass that automatically stores every episode of a program (with or without repeats).

DirecTV offers a high-def package containing ESPN-HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet, and HDNet Movies for $11 a month. Pay-per-view high-def movies are $5 each, and you can subscribe to packages that include the HBO or Showtime high-def channel, or both. You might also be able to receive CBS in high-def from New York City or Los Angeles if you live in an area served by a CBS owned-and-operated station or get permission from your nearest local station.

You can choose between DirecTV's grid-style guide and TiVo's vertically oriented guide, both of which display eight channels at a time. The DirecTV guide shows 1 1/2 hours of programs for all eight channels, while TiVo shows the next eight programs on one highlighted channel at a time. During setup, TiVo asks you where you live in order to select the appropriate guide list. You can override its choice and pick a different primary and secondary area - a good feature if you live in a neighborhood that can receive digital over-the-air signals from more than one city.

With the guide data downloaded, I picked a number of shows to record. DirecTV says the 250-gigabyte (GB) hard drive can hold 30 hours of high-def programs or 200 hours of standard-def programs. In my experience, the high-def capacity was closer to 35 hours (due to the data rates used by my local broadcasters, which range between 6 and 7 megabytes per hour). Unfortunately, there's no "time remaining" counter to let you know how much space is left on the hard drive. When the drive is full, the recorder automatically erases old programs, though there are override options.