M.G.
I too was hooked by the infomercial. I went online and ordered a package that was about $150.00 - not quite as costly as the TV promo. I have bought the supplemental sliding flashcards as we have progressed from video to video.
I started it when my daughter was maybe 9 months old - she hadn't really ever watched TV prior and really enjoyed the started video. Be warned, the production quality is not fantastic but that really doesn't matter to a young child. They love seeing the animals, other babies/kids... My daughter is now almost 15 months and we are on the 3rd video in the set. I do it for her for two reasons mainly (1) because it buys me time while making her lunch/dinner and (2) she loves it- especially the songs & animals. As far as results, she is able to recognize many of the basic words before they are announced out loud (clap, feet, toes, head, ...) I am able to write words on a wipe-board flashcard and she will either do an action to show me she knows the word or say the word.
I also am a huge fan of the supplements that come with the set - but like another poster said, they are not toddler proof (the sliding flashcards are easily bent/broken). My daughter loves simple first word style books and so we spend a lot of time each day reading those books and also have textured puzzle flashcards from onestepahead.com that she loves.
Sooo, bottom line, if you are looking for something to occupy the curiosity in your child the system is a winner (although, like others mentioned you run a risk that if your daughter is used to regular cartoons/disney channel stuff this may not capture her attention long enough)- will it teach her to read? I am not sure about that.