A Tivo Cautionary Tale

[nidan]

Our Tivo died this weekend or more accuratly was executed by Direct TV.

It was getting slow so we called support, after a day or so of resetting, powering off etc. They told us to call Hughes to arrange for warrant replacement.

The guy at Hughes was very helpful but was real pissed at Direct TV. Basicly he said, there is no point in discussing this, you just did what you were told and what they told you to do killed it. They had me cycle the power in the middle of a total box reset, this aprrently is a terminal action.

He suggested that it would be far better if they just sent problems straight to Hughes, this does not surprise me as it was clear the support folks at DTV couldn't have found their butt with both hands.

My replacement is arriving today, but for you Tivo-less folks out there I have this to ask. How do you survive, I'd forgoten what is was like to have to watch the TV as scheduled by the networks. I'd fogotten about this things called adverts, how do you stand them.

ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG - I want my Tivo back

 

[Goldfield]

I plan on getting Tivo in a month or so.

I hear alot of good things about it. But is it "really" that great?



You dont miss somthing if you dont know what your missing I guess.

 

[Pariah]

But is it "really" that great?

Yes.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I hear alot of good things about it. But is it "really" that great?

YES

 

[Lex]

Nidan-

With all due respect, you are the kind of consumer that could ruin free TV sports as we now know it.

The endless pursuit of convience at any cost is just what professional sports owners want you to do. If they can pursuade enough people to purchase direct links to satellite programming for a hefty enough fee, free TV games will be a thing of the past.

Take the new NFL network for example: if you want it, you must buy Direct TV. Cable companies won't carry it, due to the fee the NFL demands for the programming, and non NFL fans would howl if the cable companies passed the extra cost on to subscribers. The NFL wants it's most hard core fans hooked up to Direct TV, so they can SELL games to them during the season.

Oh those pesky commercials ...

They actually pay the salaries of most NFL football players. Well, the commercials themselves don't pay any salaries, it's the people in this entire country that buy those products advertised during free NFL football telecasts that actually pay the salaries. It's the economy of the United States at work.

The commercials are for going to the fridge etc...

A few years ago, the big thing was digital cable, now the big thing is high def. So we are expected to go out, buy a big new high def TV, hook it up to our digital cable, only to learn we need to buy Voom, since cable doesn't have much HDTV. And free enterprise rolls along.

I get the newspaper. On sundays, the TV guide comes in it. If there's a program I want to watch bad enough, that I'm not home for, I have 3 VCR's, and they'll even edit out the commercials for you.

 

[seesred]

If you like TV at its best TIVO is super. I have a cox machine that goes by another name. It can record two seperate channels at the same time and many other how does it do it features. They own it I pay $5 per month wioth no worries about breakdowns.

GBR
40

 

[AntSports Steve]

Didn't Quan invent TiVo?

Oh, and yes it is better than "that good". I actually have a ReplayTV (a competator to TiVo) and it's awesome. I recommend TiVo to my friends as it's software is a little smarter.

Anyway. Tivo changes your life. Your shows are always there. You watch when you want. It makes a huge difference. If my show is live, I switch to a recorded show just so I can watch my show and skip the commericials later.

Once you buy one, you'll wonder how you ever survived without one. It's just that good.

 

[AntSports Steve]

You'll notice that many shows are now hawking products during the show. Example American Idol having large Coke cups on their desks, in-show sponshorship, Visa-Mastercard Halftime show.

The advertisers already know that people don't like commericials and do things like skip them or ... go to the fridge during commericials. Things will change as time goes on, but free TV will be here for a while longer.

I do see a day somewhere in the distant future where TV is no longer broadcasted over the open air waves, but instead is only available thru DSL, Cable, Satelight, or some new delivery method.

 

[Cardinal Bob]

I get the newspaper. On sundays, the TV guide comes in it. If there's a program I want to watch bad enough, that I'm not home for, I have 3 VCR's, and they'll even edit out the commercials for you.

Stop making sense, Lex!

 

[abomb]

I just saw a Pioneer DVR/DVD Burner combo for like $950 on Froogle. Pretty insane. Digitally record your favorite shows and then burn them out to DVD.

I can see myself with the entire 2005 Cardinals Championship Season on DVD!

A-Bomb

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I just saw a Pioneer DVR/DVD Burner combo for like $950 on Froogle. Pretty insane. Digitally record your favorite shows and then burn them out to DVD.

I can see myself with the entire 2005 Cardinals Championship Season on DVD!

A-Bomb

Someday...I'll have that.



Mike

 

[Cardinal Bob]

I just saw a Pioneer DVR/DVD Burner combo for like $950 on Froogle. Pretty insane. Digitally record your favorite shows and then burn them out to DVD.

I can see myself with the entire 2005 Cardinals Championship Season on DVD!

A-Bomb

I'll branch for 5.

 

[Capital Card]

I plan on getting Tivo in a month or so.

I hear alot of good things about it. But is it "really" that great?



You dont miss somthing if you dont know what your missing I guess.

It is absolutely worth it. Even if your not specifically taping something, it automatically tapes the last 30 min of whatever you've watched. Very useful to solve the "What did they just say?" dilemma.

 

[Russ Smith]

Nidan-


Take the new NFL network for example: if you want it, you must buy Direct TV. Cable companies won't carry it, due to the fee the NFL demands for the programming, and non NFL fans would howl if the cable companies passed the extra cost on to subscribers. The NFL wants it's most hard core fans hooked up to Direct TV, so they can SELL games to them during the season.

.

You have a point. I just signed a lease last night on a 2 bedroom townhome (1060 square feet 1650 a month, again it's Cupertino CA that's cheap here).
My girlfriend and I had been looking for a while, this was the best deal in terms of price and available (july 1 so no overlap in rent). BUT, the guy has Dish network and when I asked if I could get Directv he rolled his eyes, said the homeowners association was a bear, and he'd prefer I not get it. In the end I wasn't able to make a convincing argument to him, or to my girlfriend that NFL Sunday ticket was more important than taking the best deal and a nice place.

I still think I might be able to just rig the dish on a stand in the patio, run the cord through an open screen door and get away with it but I'm not sure yet if I'll try it since technically the owner doesn't want me to.

The reality is most of us probably would be quite willing to pay for whatever game we want to see, and you're right the NFL is clearly headed that way.

 

[nidan]

I plan on getting Tivo in a month or so.

I hear alot of good things about it. But is it "really" that great?

Its like good recreational pharmacutials, addictive. Arrgghh its still on the Fedex truck.

Even my wife is addicted to it, if you don't have one you have no clue what you are missing. Yes it is worth it and no having multiple vcrs is nothing like having a Tivo.

A Tivo is more like having your own TV station that plays what you want, when you want it. Including pausing the game so you can get up to get more beer or so you can reply that last stunpid call by the ref.

 

[Cardsmasochist]

COX has their version of TiVO, too.

Cox has DVRs (digital video recorders). You don't buy any equipment. It is about $15/mo between renting the box and the service.

I have two DVR boxes and I love them. You get your money's worth out of cable because you will never miss any of your favorite shows.

Okay, enough of the Cox commercial. Those that have TiVO or other brands of DVRs know what I'm talking about.

 

[Lex]

So you're saying Tivo is just as good as a VCR?

Take last night for example:

Stanley Cup playoffs at 5:00 on ESPN.

NBA Western Conference playoffs at 6:00 on TNT.

Az D-Backs at 7:00 on local channel 3.

The nasty overlap. A guy could flip, like I do, or you could watch one, while taping the other two, commercial free. While watching the tapes, the pause button, AND the replay button work fine.

Or, you could tape one reality show after another, on different channels, and have your own TV station, playing the shows you want, when you want them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tivo, like a VCR, can't record shows before they air, no? My understanding is, the only thing Tivo can do that a VCR can't do, is allow you to watch a recorded version of a program, while it is still in progress.

 

[Chaz]

So you're saying Tivo is just as good as a VCR?

Take last night for example:

Stanley Cup playoffs at 5:00 on ESPN.

NBA Western Conference playoffs at 6:00 on TNT.

Az D-Backs at 7:00 on local channel 3.

The nasty overlap. A guy could flip, like I do, or you could watch one, while taping the other two, commercial free. While watching the tapes, the pause button, AND the replay button work fine.

Or, you could tape one reality show after another, on different channels, and have your own TV station, playing the shows you want, when you want them.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tivo, like a VCR, can't record shows before they air, no? My understanding is, the only thing Tivo can do that a VCR can't do, is allow you to watch a recorded version of a program, while it is still in progress.

You can also pause and rewind live TV. This is great feature when my kids want to show me something or ask a question right in the last 2:00 of a game or TV show that I am not recording.

The problem with a VCR is you have to wait for the show to end before you can start watching it.

 

[nidan]

Yep, when I say Tivo I mean DVR with integrated scheduling. So a Cox DVR probably qualies as well.

I expect that in a couple of years it will all just be a PC anyway, right now Tivo is a custom built Linux system.

 

[nidan]

So you're saying Tivo is just as good as a VCR?

No its vastly better, I can record on multiple channels at once and watch a different show all at the same time.

Talking about it does not adequatly describe the difference. I have 3 vcrs (not used much anymore) as well, and there is no comparison, none, zippo, nada.

Think of Tivo as building your own TV station, that is really the best way to think about it. On Lex TV, you bring up the program guide and the show you want to watch is right there, ready and waiting.

As you say it can't record it before it airs but after a few days you forget when stuff actually airs. It no longer matters to you, you just watch it wen you want to.

 

[Lex]

Sometimes, when you record a game something special happens, and you decide to keep the recording for future viewing. Like RJ's perfect game last week. Or, I like to pull out the Cardinals only playoff win, over the cowboys in 1998.

If I had only Tivo'd that game, could I still watch it 6 years later?

 

[Cardinal Bob]

You have a point. I just signed a lease last night on a 2 bedroom townhome (1060 square feet 1650 a month, again it's Cupertino CA that's cheap here).
My girlfriend and I had been looking for a while, this was the best deal in terms of price and available (july 1 so no overlap in rent). BUT, the guy has Dish network and when I asked if I could get Directv he rolled his eyes, said the homeowners association was a bear, and he'd prefer I not get it. In the end I wasn't able to make a convincing argument to him, or to my girlfriend that NFL Sunday ticket was more important than taking the best deal and a nice place.

I still think I might be able to just rig the dish on a stand in the patio, run the cord through an open screen door and get away with it but I'm not sure yet if I'll try it since technically the owner doesn't want me to.

The reality is most of us probably would be quite willing to pay for whatever game we want to see, and you're right the NFL is clearly headed that way.

Question, Russ. If the guy already has a Dish network dish mounted and installed, couldn't you just remove it and put a DirecTV dish in it's place and re-run DTV wires (if necessary...maybe you could use the same wires?)?

It seems odd that the guy would have a dish there, but object to you installing DirecTV.

 

[Pariah]

If I had only Tivo'd that game, could I still watch it 6 years later?

Yes. In fact, you caould also transfer things you've saved on TiVo to tape (or these days, DVD) for further archiving if you're worried about space on your machine.

 

[Chaz]

Sometimes, when you record a game something special happens, and you decide to keep the recording for future viewing. Like RJ's perfect game last week. Or, I like to pull out the Cardinals only playoff win, over the cowboys in 1998.

If I had only Tivo'd that game, could I still watch it 6 years later?

If you don't erase it yes you could. Not erasing could cause you to run out of space very quickly. After recording on a DVR you could than record the show to tape or DVD for archiving/storage to watch later.

I guess if you intended to record the show for posterity or a library then a VCR or DVD recorder whould probably be the first option to save a step.

 

[Chaz]

Question, Russ. If the guy already has a Dish network dish mounted and installed, couldn't you just remove it and put a DirecTV dish in it's place and re-run DTV wires (if necessary...maybe you could use the same wires?)?

It seems odd that the guy would have a dish there, but object to you installing DirecTV.

I think they use the same coax cable so the change would be of the dish and STB (set top box) to make the switch.