Sure, TiVo gets all the glory, all the headlines, all the credit from excitable commentators for changing the way we watch TV. It hogs the spotlight. It craves adulation and attention. It’s not TiVo’s fault, exactly; that’s just the way some people (and digital video recorders) are.

Then there’s this Pioneer DVD-R/RW Recorder, quietly going about its business with a minimum of fanfare and a maximum of features. While TiVo runs around trashing nightclubs and having sordid public affairs with married women, the Pioneer DVR-531 just records your favorite shows to its burly 80GB hard drive. Its show-scheduling interface may not be as slick as TiVo’s, but it’s also free – that’s right, the Pioneer DVR-531 does not come with the unwelcome obligation to pay a monthly fee for the rest of its natural life. What a concept, huh?

Best of all, once you’ve nabbed the latest episode of Law & Order: Mutilated Children Division, you can burn that mug directly to a DVD-R/RW. Add it to the library and free up hard drive space for tonight’s CSI: Tulsa. With the Advanced Disc Navigator and onscreen help features, it’s so easy that you’ll find yourself doing it in your sleep.

Just to be clear: yes, you can watch, stop, or pause shows while you’re recording them, as with TiVo. And just to really drive the Madison Avenue scumbags crazy, the DVR-531 includes a Commercial Skip button right there on the remote, letting the viewer jump ahead in 30-second increments. Never again will David Spade inquire as to the contents of your billfold.

If TiVo is Pete Rose, the Pioneer DVR-531 is Eddie Murray: productive and reliable without making a huge fuss about it. Rose might be more famous, but which one’s in the Hall of Fame?

Back to top