I first spotted this in PVRBlog, which pointed me at this Slashdot entry. Apparently the SA8000 has a firmware bug and it can’t handle leap year. On 2/23, when the 7 days of guide data hit 2/29, the units all started suffering problems, like an inability to record. My parents have one of these – I played with it when I was in Florida a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t begin to measure up to a TiVo, but it sure beats a VCR. But I wonder if they’re having trouble – maybe I’ll call tomorrow.
In the same entry there is also a link to this blog, wherein a Canadian (Joe Clark) is doing an ongoing review of his experience with an SA8000 from Rogers Cable – since they can’t get TiVo (officially) in Canada.