Over wireless, my speeds aren't stellar, but they're not too bad. They are large files. I've had slightly better luck not using the Tivo desktop app:
Link
This is on a Series 2.

Transcoding will take time too, but the fact that Tivo is finally opening up to more devices (that is, not just laptops and Portable Windows Media Center toys) is a good thing. Save to VCR sucks - the quality degrades, it's only real time, and, at least on my Tivo, you can't do watch anything else while it records.
If Tivo doesn't do something they're going to be in trouble. I have a DVR from Time Warner, and while it's not nearly as good as Tivo's, it integrates much better with their service (which makes sense, since it comes from the same place). I like that they are adding content from other sources, like CNET and Yahoo (although they haven't added Yahoo videos yet, it could be interesting if they did, as well as video from other sources).