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What is Tivo, and is it worth 13 bucks a month?
It's better than a VCR for many reasons. 1. If the electricity goes out, you still get your program recorded (assuming it comes back on in time). 2. You can schedule it to record a certain show and it will pick it up no matter when it's on. For example, say I set it to record Scrubs always. It will notice if they switch nights and times and record it for me. And I only have to set it once and it will record it week after week so I don't have to remember every morning what to record and then try to find a blank tape. 3. The newer ones allow you to go online and set it via a webpage. So, if you're at work and hear about something good coming on in an hour, you can record it without running home. (this is assuming you have it plugged into a router or your wireless network at home) 4. It will save your shows for you until you run out of room or want to delete them. And then, if you want, you can record them from the Tivo to a VCR.
Really, it's mostly people who really love TV that like them. A lot of cable and satellite companies have their own versions of them, too, that don't require a subscription fee *and* the price to buy it. I used a fake one from my cable company and only paid $20 a month for it- no $200 - 300 right at first jsut to buy it, plus the $13 a month after that. And when I was done with it, I just turned it back in. Pretty handy.
Really, it's mostly people who really love TV that like them. A lot of cable and satellite companies have their own versions of them, too, that don't require a subscription fee *and* the price to buy it. I used a fake one from my cable company and only paid $20 a month for it- no $200 - 300 right at first jsut to buy it, plus the $13 a month after that. And when I was done with it, I just turned it back in. Pretty handy.
smackie luv his tivo…
personally i'm taking the plunge to get the comcast digital video recorder (dvr), which kosmette will continue to call a tivo. kinda like kleenex.
the biggest advantage of a dvr over a vcr is the ability to have several hours of tv at your disposal without having to worry about changing tv. it will be nice for instance to be able to have several episodes of Malcolm in the Middle on hand. Plus it nice to be able to setup it up to tape those BBC America shows that come and go like the wind.
personally, i'm loathed to give comcast more money, but the comcast dvrs have a couple advantages over tivo. instead of two devices its combined into one, you can return it when done using it, plus some come with dual tuners which is important with digital cable.
personally i'm taking the plunge to get the comcast digital video recorder (dvr), which kosmette will continue to call a tivo. kinda like kleenex.
the biggest advantage of a dvr over a vcr is the ability to have several hours of tv at your disposal without having to worry about changing tv. it will be nice for instance to be able to have several episodes of Malcolm in the Middle on hand. Plus it nice to be able to setup it up to tape those BBC America shows that come and go like the wind.
personally, i'm loathed to give comcast more money, but the comcast dvrs have a couple advantages over tivo. instead of two devices its combined into one, you can return it when done using it, plus some come with dual tuners which is important with digital cable.
Originally posted by pepper*sans*salt:I wouldn't be so sure those are fake. Everyone I know who owns one practically worships it. They're like a cult - similar to those iPod fanatics.
I know about that site. I wanted real suggestions about it though, not a bunch of fake testimonials like "I don't know how i lived without it!!"
Originally posted by punkfarmgirl:none of these things have EVER come up in my lifetime! wierd.
1. If the electricity goes out, you still get your program recorded (assuming it comes back on in time). 2. You can schedule it to record a certain show and it will pick it up no matter when it's on. For example, say I set it to record Scrubs always. It will notice if they switch nights and times and record it for me. And I only have to set it once and it will record it week after week so I don't have to remember every morning what to record and then try to find a blank tape. 3. The newer ones allow you to go online and set it via a webpage. So, if you're at work and hear about something good coming on in an hour, you can record it without running home. (this is assuming you have it plugged into a router or your wireless network at home) 4. It will save your shows for you until you run out of room or want to delete them. And then, if you want, you can record them from the Tivo to a VCR.
Originally posted by pepper*sans*salt:I have a tivo, and enjoy it. Now that the prices have come down they are much more affordable as well. I have enjoyed mine, but don't pay $13 a month, just pay the lifetime service fee and be done with it.
Originally posted by LabelsDC:I know about that site. I wanted real suggestions about it though, not a bunch of fake testimonials like "I don't know how i lived without it!!" That's why i decided to post the question here.
Pepper: I have a crazy idea.. Check out www.tivo.com I have a hunch you will find all of your answers there. not sure though :cool:
watching TV is bad for you… take a class or go to a museum instead.
we got both a first generation tivo on our downstairs tv and a comcast DVR on our upstairs tv so here are my thoughts if you are interested:
1. Tivo is fantastic, my wife and I both love it. allows us to watch the daily show every night during dinner and watch everything else we tape when we want to watch it, plus its insanely easy to use. we've had one for about 3 years now and i can hardly remember watching tv before we got it. we also did two things to it that made it really nice. one we got a lifetime subscription to it when they were $199. and two I added a 2nd hard drive to it so that we get 120 hours of recording rather than the 20 it originally had. this is why we've never upgraded it. but it works like a champ and we love it.
2. comcast DVR is terrible compared to tv. features suck, software sucks, ff sucks and its hard to record programs. why do we have it you ask. one reason and one reason only, it allows us to record in HD while tivo does not. and recording sopranos, and movies and other stuff in HD is worth $10 a month basically.
so depending on your situation, i'd totally recommend tivo. its a great gizmo and even if you dont watch a lot of tv, you'll never aimless surf channels looking for stuff to watch.
1. Tivo is fantastic, my wife and I both love it. allows us to watch the daily show every night during dinner and watch everything else we tape when we want to watch it, plus its insanely easy to use. we've had one for about 3 years now and i can hardly remember watching tv before we got it. we also did two things to it that made it really nice. one we got a lifetime subscription to it when they were $199. and two I added a 2nd hard drive to it so that we get 120 hours of recording rather than the 20 it originally had. this is why we've never upgraded it. but it works like a champ and we love it.
2. comcast DVR is terrible compared to tv. features suck, software sucks, ff sucks and its hard to record programs. why do we have it you ask. one reason and one reason only, it allows us to record in HD while tivo does not. and recording sopranos, and movies and other stuff in HD is worth $10 a month basically.
so depending on your situation, i'd totally recommend tivo. its a great gizmo and even if you dont watch a lot of tv, you'll never aimless surf channels looking for stuff to watch.
Originally posted by suede:this is good to know… although given comcast reputation of providing different set top boxes in different areas it hard to say which model is going to show up in the concrete manse. if they can actually get me one… if it sucks it goes back lickety spit.
2. comcast DVR is terrible compared to tv. features suck, software sucks, ff sucks and its hard to record programs. why do we have it you ask. one reason and one reason only, it allows us to record in HD while tivo does not. and recording sopranos, and movies and other stuff in HD is worth $10 a month basically.
i'm dreaming but i'd still rather get a stable Microsloth or OS X DVR solution
Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:I agree with Chutney…you'll note the folks slagging on it also state outright that they do not like t.v. So, their input may not be all that valuable to you.
Originally posted by pepper*sans*salt:I wouldn't be so sure those are fake. Everyone I know who owns one practically worships it. They're like a cult - similar to those iPod fanatics.
I know about that site. I wanted real suggestions about it though, not a bunch of fake testimonials like "I don't know how i lived without it!!"
My sister might well give her first born up for tivo. She loves t.v., but doesn't have time to watch much. She only watches tivo (or some version thereof). You can prompt it to tape any show you love, and it will always catch it. You can also prompt it to record anything with Nancy Sinatra on it, or Buckethead or Regis Philbin. If it's programmed for Regis, it would have recorded Late Night with David Letterman last night, for instance.
Also, t.v. watchers fall in love with the ability to rewind a show that's actually on, and skip commercials. Don't ask me how, but it records up to a half hour in real time at all times, so you can pretty much 'move around' within the show you're watching…
So, if you watch t.v., it may be great for you. I don't have it, nor do I have premium cable – just doesn't make sense to me to pay over $80/month for t.v. But that's my issue. I do NOT hate t.v.
Holy Cow!!!!
This is why I should never go to lunch. Don't believe anyhting you've read here (except Suede). Let me organize my thoughts and I'll be right back.
This is why I should never go to lunch. Don't believe anyhting you've read here (except Suede). Let me organize my thoughts and I'll be right back.
Originally posted by Bags:Like Janet Jackson's tits for example..
Also, t.v. watchers fall in love with the ability to rewind a show that's actually on, and skip commercials. Don't ask me how, but it records up to a half hour in real time at all times, so you can pretty much 'move around' within the show you're watching…
Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:First off, Tivo is not a VCR - no tapes, no difficult programming, no crazy settings.
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It records to a hard drive which is good for many reasons:
1) Better picture quality
2) Easier and clearer Fast forward and rewinding
3) It's always on, so you have up to a 30 minute buffer of anything you're watching and you can always go back.
A TiVo box is the DVR and costs anywhere from $99 to $300 depending on the hardware, but the TiVo service is the key. Prices range, but $13 a month gets you full service.
Unlike a VCR, you can automatically record shows with one click of a button with a feature called "Season Pass", but you can also auto-record using keywords like "Kubrick" or "Shannon Tweed."
It also gives you schedules up too 2 weeks in advance (when available) so you can plan things out. So you can scroll through schedules and choose programs to record that way.
In series 2 models, they have added an option called the Home Media option, which is now free with the $13 subscription. The home media option allows me to schedule programs via the internet (say I'm sitting at my desk and the Angels play tonight. Smackette says she wants to go have drinks with friends. I say no problem, log on to Tivo.com at work and tell my recorder to record the Angels. It will be there when I get home.) Another great feature is that it plays all of my digital music files that I have on the hard drives of any computer on my network through the Tivo. Good stuff.
Now the other features of TiVo depend on whether you have basci cable, no cable or directv, so if you want to provide me with a little more info I can share some more positives, and let you know of the negatives.
so it allows you to record tv easily
Originally posted by pollard:Sure thing.
I am sure somebody who actually has it can expand that definition
I have friends and family members that cannot live w/o Tivo. Well, they enjoy it quite a bit. Not sure necessarily they are TV aficienados, just like the easibility of it all. I have a DVR w/ satellite. Satellite can be frustrating (goes out from time to time, has it's own exorcists) but the DVR option is kinda cool. Also the ability to rewind live TV is a cool feature. Funny how it becomes a crutch and habit – when watching another TV without the rewind feature, I have found I reach for the remote to rewind if I missed something….
Only thing w/ my DVR and satellite – I can't watch another station while one show is recording…I think this is the same as Tivo.
I'm not a TV freak, but I have my favorites. I'm not around to watch some of the shows live, so it's nice to have a simple set up to record and keep them until I choose to delete.
Only thing w/ my DVR and satellite – I can't watch another station while one show is recording…I think this is the same as Tivo.
I'm not a TV freak, but I have my favorites. I'm not around to watch some of the shows live, so it's nice to have a simple set up to record and keep them until I choose to delete.
Remember back before television, when people actually had to be creative, and have an imagination, and had to engage their children in social activity, instead of having tv's to stick them in front of? Weren't those the good old days?
Originally posted by Sugartastic Tee Flava:
I have friends and family members that cannot live w/o Tivo. Well, they enjoy it quite a bit. Not sure necessarily they are TV aficienados, just like the easibility of it all. I have a DVR w/ satellite. Satellite can be frustrating (goes out from time to time, has it's own exorcists) but the DVR option is kinda cool. Also the ability to rewind live TV is a cool feature. Funny how it becomes a crutch and habit – when watching another TV without the rewind feature, I have found I reach for the remote to rewind if I missed something….
Only thing w/ my DVR and satellite – I can't watch another station while one show is recording…I think this is the same as Tivo.
I'm not a TV freak, but I have my favorites. I'm not around to watch some of the shows live, so it's nice to have a simple set up to record and keep them until I choose to delete.
Just because one has Tivo doesn't mean they watch TV all the time. I own a TV and a DVR and I rarely watch TV. Not sure where I mentioned watching TV in lieu of creative activities..And yes, those were the good ol' days.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:
Remember back before television, when people actually had to be creative, and have an imagination, and had to engage their children in social activity, instead of having tv's to stick them in front of? Weren't those the good old days?
Originally posted by Sugartastic Tee Flava:
I have friends and family members that cannot live w/o Tivo. Well, they enjoy it quite a bit. Not sure necessarily they are TV aficienados, just like the easibility of it all. I have a DVR w/ satellite. Satellite can be frustrating (goes out from time to time, has it's own exorcists) but the DVR option is kinda cool. Also the ability to rewind live TV is a cool feature. Funny how it becomes a crutch and habit – when watching another TV without the rewind feature, I have found I reach for the remote to rewind if I missed something….
Only thing w/ my DVR and satellite – I can't watch another station while one show is recording…I think this is the same as Tivo.
I'm not a TV freak, but I have my favorites. I'm not around to watch some of the shows live, so it's nice to have a simple set up to record and keep them until I choose to delete.
Originally posted by Sugartastic Tee Flava:TiVo with DirecTV allows you to record one channel and watch another channel at the same time, or record two and watch something you've already recorded.
Only thing w/ my DVR and satellite – I can't watch another station while one show is recording…I think this is the same as Tivo.
TiVo on Basic Cable allows you to watch one and record another.
TiVo on digital cable requires you to watch the channel that you are recording, or watch something you've already recorded.
Originally posted by Rhett Miller:No, and I've met you so I have reasonably good idea of how old you are so I'm certain that you don't either.
Remember back before television, when people actually had to be creative, and have an imagination, and had to engage their children in social activity, instead of having tv's to stick them in front of? Weren't those the good old days?
TiVo doesn't make me watch more TV. Everybody has limited schedules to do just about anything, TV watching included.
Instead, TiVo allows me to maximize the time I do spend watching TV by allowing me to fast forward commercials and not be subject to the schedules of network and cable TV.
I watch TV on my own time. If anything, I watch less TV because instead of spending, say 9-10 on Sunday nights watching Alias, I start at 9:20 and watch the whole show in 40 minutes instead of subjecting myself to 20 minutes of commercials.