ADKM:

 

Don't want to add to this thread forever, but reading the manual tells me

 

TiVo service is required and sold separately. No functionality is represented or should be expected without a paid subscription to  the TiVo service   IIs this not the case?

As mentioned above, the official Tivo service here has been abandoned, so the "service" now provided is a modified chip and ongoing EPG updates from the hobbiest community.

We have two modded Tivo's and also a Panasonic recorder. I prefer the Tivo interface, my other half prefers the Panasonic (although mainly because it lets her watch recorded programmes at 1.3 x the speed). However, the comment from @scuwp is very valid in that the multiplicity of On Demand services mean less and less tends to get recorded.