Yes, the Australian television networks are bastards. Yes, the Australian TiVo HD is a work in progress. Regardless, TiVo still has a lot to offer.

The new Australian TiVo has taken a hammering in the media this week, mostly from those annoyed that the PVR's media player features won't be available until a firmware update next year. The fact you'll have to pay for the update just rubs salt into the wound.

I agree that waiting for extra features is frustrating but I wouldn't declare the TiVo hobbled. As a Personal Video Recorder, which is its primary purpose, Australia's TiVo will be very impressive straight out of the box. In my first look over at ITWire, Hands on with Seven's Australian TiVo, I seem to be one of the few journalists who think its strengths outweigh its weaknesses.

The Australian TiVo offers the four vital features that almost every other PVR on the Australian market lacks - a proper Electronic Program Guide, a "Season Pass" feature, intelligent storage management and a generous margin for error when it comes to scheduling recordings. In my experience, a PVR lacking any of these features is a waste of time and money.

Yes the TiVo's 160GB hard drive is too small, but TiVo somewhat compensates for this with intelligent storage management which automatically deletes old recordings according to your preferences. It also features excellent padding management, to reduce unnecessary recording time while still ensuring you see the end of every show.

"As for ad skipping, that is one of the major advantages of a PVR, without it you might as well stick to VHS!" wrote one reader over at ITWire.

That's crazy talk. Show me a VCR that lets you record two high-def channels at once, record more than a few hours without changing tapes, offers time shifting, can be programmed via the web and can access an EPG and then provide custom padding for recordings.

Yes the lack of ad-skipping is annoying and just reinforces the fact that Australians get screwed by the local networks. Seven are bastards. I never said they weren't. Still, ad-skipping is a luxury and I'm prepared to overlook it in a PVR that has so much else going for it.

Yes the commercial networks are bastards. Yes, they don't stick to their own schedules. Yes Nine are bastards for screwing IceTV and it's the network's fault that Australians have restricted access to EPG data. Not every article can start with the phrase "Seven and Nine are bastards", even if it is true. Yes the networks created the situation that gives TiVo an EPG advantage, but that doesn't change the fact that the TiVo is actually a very good PVR.

It seems to me that much of the criticism is coming from fanboys of other PVRs, plus Seven and Nine-haters, who are venting their spleens. Some media centre owners believe the world is conspiring against them, but they have to accept the fact that media centres aren't for everyone.

You may love your PVR and IceTV, and hate the networks, but you have to face the fact that the TiVo is the best PVR in Australia for non-technical users. Just because you wouldn't buy one doesn't mean it's junk. Just because I can see its merits doesn't make me a TiVo fanboy.

Yes, the networks are bastards, but don't hate me because I like TiVo.

Further comment: The iPhone and TiVo - the digerati is out of touch