Tivo OT?

brian lanning wrote:
:: (RadioControlGuy) wrote in message
:: ...
::: Sorry off topic
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
::
:: Tivo is, in my opinion, the greatest device created for the
:: television
:: ever.

I agree!

To sum it all up, it's like a vcr with an integrated program
:: guide. That's really an oversimplification though. It's digital so
:: there are no tapes, everything is stored in the box. It connects to
:: your phone line and calls home every once in a while at night to
:: download more program guide data. With this data, you tell it to
:: always record your favorite program, or some specific movie, or
:: always
:: record some show with a keyword in the title or description. It can
:: also recommend shows. Later when you're ready to watch tv, you look
:: through a menu of recorded shows and watch the one you want. They're
:: instantly available, no tape rewinding delays. You can easily
:: fast-forward over commercials, pause, rewind, save the show forever
:: or
:: delete it immediately. You can still watch live tv, but really, it
:: works far better when watching recorded stuff. It can record one
:: channel while you watch something recorded earlier.
::
:: There are a few annoying things about it. Some are the fault of
:: tivo,
:: some are out of their control. Sometimes the program guide data is
:: wrong causing the tivo to record something strange when it thinks
:: it's
:: getting a show you want. This is always the fault of the people
:: sending data to tivo. Sometimes shows start a few minutes late.
:: This
:: isn't a big deal, but sometimes it can cause you to lose the last
:: couple minutes of a show. This is pretty rare also. You can tell
:: tivo to get an extra few minutes on all the shows just in case, but
:: this causes problems if there's another show you want immidiately
:: following this one. Sometimes the interface feels slow.
::
:: All in all, it's great. The kids get their shows. My wife gets
:: soaps. I get woodworking and car shows. I can condense a lot of tv
:: viewing into a shorter amount of time. Basically, when you watch tv,
:: it's more efficient. You're always watching exactly what you want.
:: I'll never go back.

Same here. I bought the lowest end model I could find on ebay...it had a
10GB hard disk. I swapped it out for a 120 GB and a 100 GB disc. So I can
store a whole lotta stuff on my -- like the entire Tour de France bike race!


::
:: A friend of mine has replay tv, which is a competitor. He seems to
:: like it a lot.
::
:: brian

brian lanning wrote:
:: (RadioControlGuy) wrote in message
:: ...
::: Sorry off topic
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
::
:: Tivo is, in my opinion, the greatest device created for the
:: television
:: ever.

I agree!

To sum it all up, it's like a vcr with an integrated program
:: guide. That's really an oversimplification though. It's digital so
:: there are no tapes, everything is stored in the box. It connects to
:: your phone line and calls home every once in a while at night to
:: download more program guide data. With this data, you tell it to
:: always record your favorite program, or some specific movie, or
:: always
:: record some show with a keyword in the title or description. It can
:: also recommend shows. Later when you're ready to watch tv, you look
:: through a menu of recorded shows and watch the one you want. They're
:: instantly available, no tape rewinding delays. You can easily
:: fast-forward over commercials, pause, rewind, save the show forever
:: or
:: delete it immediately. You can still watch live tv, but really, it
:: works far better when watching recorded stuff. It can record one
:: channel while you watch something recorded earlier.
::
:: There are a few annoying things about it. Some are the fault of
:: tivo,
:: some are out of their control. Sometimes the program guide data is
:: wrong causing the tivo to record something strange when it thinks
:: it's
:: getting a show you want. This is always the fault of the people
:: sending data to tivo. Sometimes shows start a few minutes late.
:: This
:: isn't a big deal, but sometimes it can cause you to lose the last
:: couple minutes of a show. This is pretty rare also. You can tell
:: tivo to get an extra few minutes on all the shows just in case, but
:: this causes problems if there's another show you want immidiately
:: following this one. Sometimes the interface feels slow.
::
:: All in all, it's great. The kids get their shows. My wife gets
:: soaps. I get woodworking and car shows. I can condense a lot of tv
:: viewing into a shorter amount of time. Basically, when you watch tv,
:: it's more efficient. You're always watching exactly what you want.
:: I'll never go back.

Same here. I bought the lowest end model I could find on ebay...it had a
10GB hard disk. I swapped it out for a 120 GB and a 100 GB disc. So I can
store a whole lotta stuff on my -- like the entire Tour de France bike race!


::
:: A friend of mine has replay tv, which is a competitor. He seems to
:: like it a lot.
::
:: brian

jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
::: Sorry off topic
:::
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
:::
::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
:::
::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
:::
::: thanks!
::
:: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!

Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to get from
not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more likely to happen.
What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself up on Wednesday night
(Enterprise) to go to the gym.

jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
::: Sorry off topic
:::
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
:::
::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
:::
::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
:::
::: thanks!
::
:: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!

Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to get from
not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more likely to happen.
What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself up on Wednesday night
(Enterprise) to go to the gym.

On 9/20/2004 1:05 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
::: Sorry off topic
:::
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
:::
::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
:::
::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
:::
::: thanks!
::
:: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!

Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to get from
not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more likely to happen.
What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself up on Wednesday night
(Enterprise) to go to the gym.



Good for you! Is that what you think RadioControlGuy's nephew plans to
do or will RCG simply be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle?

--
jmk in NC

On 9/20/2004 1:05 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
::: Sorry off topic
:::
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
:::
::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
:::
::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
:::
::: thanks!
::
:: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!

Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to get from
not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more likely to happen.
What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself up on Wednesday night
(Enterprise) to go to the gym.



Good for you! Is that what you think RadioControlGuy's nephew plans to
do or will RCG simply be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle?

--
jmk in NC

On 9/20/2004 1:05 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
::: Sorry off topic
:::
::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
:::
::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
:::
::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
:::
::: thanks!
::
:: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!

Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to get from
not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more likely to happen.
What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself up on Wednesday night
(Enterprise) to go to the gym.



Good for you! Is that what you think RadioControlGuy's nephew plans to
do or will RCG simply be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle?

--
jmk in NC

jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 1:05 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
::: jmk wrote:
::::: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
:::::: Sorry off topic
::::::
:::::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
::::::
:::::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
::::::
:::::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
::::::
:::::: thanks!
:::::
::::: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!
:::
::: Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to
::: get from not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more
::: likely to happen. What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself
::: up on Wednesday night (Enterprise) to go to the gym.
:::
:::
:::
:: Good for you! Is that what you think RadioControlGuy's nephew plans
:: to do or will RCG simply be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle?

Who knows? But channel surfing may be a thing of the past, as a lot of Tivo
users never look at regular TV. And even I don't watch that much and I have
a whopper large recording capability (it was cheap and I enjoyed upgrading a
machine I got off e-bay).

jmk wrote:
:: On 9/20/2004 1:05 PM, Roger Zoul wrote:
::: jmk wrote:
::::: On 9/20/2004 6:44 AM, RadioControlGuy wrote:
:::::: Sorry off topic
::::::
:::::: What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?
::::::
:::::: Nephew wants one for hoildays
::::::
:::::: I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying
::::::
:::::: thanks!
:::::
::::: It's not very good exercise, that's for sure!
:::
::: Ah, but the time you save skipping commericals, and the freedom to
::: get from not being tied to a schedule, helps to make exercise more
::: likely to happen. What drove me to get my tivo was to free myself
::: up on Wednesday night (Enterprise) to go to the gym.
:::
:::
:::
:: Good for you! Is that what you think RadioControlGuy's nephew plans
:: to do or will RCG simply be encouraging a sedentary lifestyle?

Who knows? But channel surfing may be a thing of the past, as a lot of Tivo
users never look at regular TV. And even I don't watch that much and I have
a whopper large recording capability (it was cheap and I enjoyed upgrading a
machine I got off e-bay).

On 20 Sep 2004 10:44:32 GMT, (RadioControlGuy)
wrote:

Sorry off topic

What is a Tivo? Is it worth getting?

A TiVo is one particular type of DVR (digital video recorder). It
probably has the best software of any of the different types.

There's a monthly fee for the network information; that lets the TiVo
know what's going to be on TV for the next couple of weeks. You can
set up season passes to watch particular shows you like, and if the
show moves in time (say, Survivor is on Wednesday instead of the usual
Thursday), it'll adjust. You can also set up wishlists that will let
you record all shows with (for example) a particular director, or
actor.

There are two different types of Tivo. The standalone version works
with any type of TV setup -- rabbit ears, cable, or satellite, and
costs (IIRC) $13.95/month, or $300 for a lifetime subscription. The
other type works only with DirecTV, and costs $5/month (no lifeteme
subscription available). The big differences between the two are that
with DirecTiVo a) you can record two shows at once (while, if you
want, watching a previously recorded third episode), b) you get more
recording time at better quality because the compression is done off
the satellite, not at your TV, and c) you can only watch stuff that
comes from the satellite.

DirecTiVo is also cheaper to buy than standalone units, because
DirecTV subsidizes the purchase. I believe the current price is
around $99, often with a $50 rebate, but you have to commit to one
year of DirecTV service.

Nephew wants one for hoildays

I know I can google but would like honest advice before buying

I have a DirecTiVo, and had a standalone unit earlier, so I'm familiar
with both. I love my TiVo, and you would have to pry it out of my
cold, dead fingers to get it away from me.