PVR Addicts Just Can't Say No?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/8353079.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/8353079.htm</a><br /><br /></div>"Jeff Davies was so fond of his digital video recorder that he bought a second one. Then he bought another. And another. And another. And another. Today, Davies, a software engineer in Mountain View, owns six TiVo and ReplayTV digital video recorders, and actively uses five of them to record programs from his satellite dish for later viewing. "With my TiVo and Replay units, I can record seven programs at once from DirecTV," Davies said, although so far he has only recorded four simultaneously. "Having an infant who requires feeding, we can now watch our shows at any time, and without commercials."<br /><br />While the size of Davies' collection may be extreme, his devotion to the technology is not. Since the introduction of TiVo in 1999, digital video recorders have attracted a growing base of fans who say the devices have altered more than their viewing habits. TiVo, they say, has changed their lives."<br /><br />I always thought that "TiVo changes the way you watch TV" statement was a little overblown...until I bought a ReplayTV off eBay. And even though it doesn't quite work properly (I get TV listings from Montana), it has indeed changed the way I watch TV. I don't know that I'd go out and buy six of them (we only have one TV in the house for TV watching), but I can certainly see the advantages of the PVR approach. What about you? Are you addicted to TiVo or another PVR? How has it changed the way you watch TV?

[Crocuta]

Hey, I love my Tivo. And yes, it really has changed how I watch TV. But one of the major things that has improved is that I no longer watch crap just because it's on at a time that I want to watch. Tivo gets the things I really like and, when I'm ready to watch, there's something excellent on. I actually spend less time watching now because time shifting is perfected, I can be as picky as I want, and it's easy to bypass commercials. As to this guy with six Tivos and Replays. Seriously, he needs to get a life.

[Neil Enns]

I love my TiVo. I had a crappy Dish Network PVR which was, well, crappy. Then I changed to a DirecTivo since they're *incredibly* inexpensive and the service from DirecTV isn't much more than Dish.

It's great that every Saturday when I wake up there are a whack of This Old House Classic episodes ready for me to watch. When I go away on a trip I know that American Idol will be waiting for me when I get back.

My only gripe? I wish it were faster :(

Neil

[ctmagnus]

(I get TV listings from Montana)

I thought Shaw's Calgary listings were from Spokane. :confused totally: Or do you use ExpressVu or similar, in which case I thought their US channels predominantly came from the Eastern time zone. :confused totally: :confused totally:

[Jason Dunn]

I thought Shaw's Calgary listings were from Spokane...

With ReplayTV I can't get accurate listings - I get them from Montana because the time zone is right, but the listings are completely and totally wrong. Hence my comment about not really getting the full benefit of a PVR. It's more like a manually programmed digital VCR.

[Doug Johnson]

I've been using PVRs since Dish Network first shipped their DishPlayer in 1999 (which admitedly has been buggy from time to time), and finally to their 508 receiver as soon as it shipped. I'm defitely a PVR addict. I can't stand watching live TV, not being able to skip through commercials. I also have a Panasonic DVD recorder that has PVR capability, but I haven't ever used it for that. I'm very anxious to get their 921 receiver with dual HD-capable satellite tuner + OTA tuner (record 2 or 3 programs, watch a 3rd or 4th simultaneously!) and its huge 250GB HD, but can't find it in me to drop $1000 just yet.

It's all about efficient TV watching, and PVRs are the only way to go.

[Kevin & Beth Remhof]

But one of the major things that has improved is that I no longer watch crap just because it's on at a time that I want to watch. Tivo gets the things I really like and, when I'm ready to watch, there's something excellent on.

No doubt. I've got a Time Warner DVR and thing it's great! I feel that I watch TV so much more efficiently now. We don't just turn on the TV to flip around (except in our bedroom where we don't have a DVR).

I do find it hard to keep up with some shows though. Right now I've got two episdoes of The Shield recorded and a new one is one Tuesday. But I really like having a "queue" of shows to watch at my convenience. I feel like I've accomplished something when I clear them out.

[sundown]

I have the Cox PVR and love it. I usually leave it at the default of deleting a program after two weeks. That way if I record a bunch of junk and don't see it for two weeks, it's gone. Helps keep me from watching too much TV.

Though I could "live without it", it's made my TV watching much more efficient.

[Suhit Gupta]

Wow, how does he have time to watch that much TV?

Although, he is quite right in terms of his fondness for the PVR. My Time Warner PVR broke down two days ago and of course TWC has no appointments available to replace it until next Saturday. I even offered to take it to the Time Warner store and replace it myself but they said that apparently I am not "qualified" to do it. Hmm, I did not know screwing/unscrewing cables required a degree :evil: . Anyways, I have been in withdrawal over the last two days, watching advertisements, not being able to tape shows and stuff. Ugh!

Suhit

[ale_ers]

I agree, I bought a Windows Media Center computer, mainly because we needed a new computer for all of our digital pictures and videos (you parents can relate). I thought the PVR functions would be neat, but by no means was that the reason I chose an MCE...boy was I wrong. We have the computer in our bedroom so that my wife can use it (it is our personal computer...I have a work laptop in my office) and I just spent the weekend crawling around the attic to run an output to the downstairs TV. Now I can watch my PVR'd shows downstairs.

I agree it really does change how you watch TV, I have been watching shows like "coupling" and "the Office" on BBC. Stuff I never tried before. I don't watch more TV, just stuff I enjoy better. A common question among my PVR friends is "What program have you discovered?"

On a side note, the function I seem to use the most on my MCE (that I did not expect) is to play music while playing a slideshow. It randomly plays a slide show to whatever music you select (I usually have the music on random too) and I feel like I get so much more enjoyment out of my digital pictures by seeing ones that I didn't even remember. It is like a music video of my pictures, even putting the title and artist info on the bottom.

[alanjrobertson]

Yep, I've had my TiVo for a couple of years now and love it! Just bit the bullet and bought the TurboNet card from 9thtee.com and got it shipped over the Pond, so looking forward to trying out TiVoweb. Since I was doing that I thought I may as well just bung a 120GB drive in there too ;)

It definitely changes my TV watching - just set all the programs I like to watch and then watch them when I feel like it, without bothering as to when they're actually shown. Being able to skip through the ads is pretty handy too (although most of my viewing is BBC so it's not that big an issue anyway :D)

Cheers

Alan