TV Your Way is TV the BEST Way!
Written: Mar 12 '01
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Pros: TV when you want it without the hassle, relatively inexpensive to buy, easy to use
Cons: Long installation process, can't record a show while watching another on at same time
The Bottom Line: A revolutionary invention allowing you to watch TV whenever YOU want to, TiVO absolutely takes the cake in my book!
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| kknox0616's Full Review: Philips TiVo PTV 300 Digital Recorder |
It's here, people! Revolutionary television! Yes indeedy... after years of hearing the whispers amongst computer and gadget geeks across the globe, computerized television has arrived. And as someone who loves TV, let me just say, THANK THE LORD!!!
Now, admittedly, I'm a television buff. I have about 10 or 11 shows that I watch on a weekly basis, everything from "The Simpsons" to "The West Wing" to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Dawson's Creek." Once I get stuck on a show, I make sure to keep up with it.
In the past, it's always been a hassle to run home after work and program my VCR to tape a show I knew I was going to miss because of a business dinner or something like that. Now, I no longer worry about that because of my trusty TiVO, one of the best gifts I've ever given myself.
My brother got me hooked on TiVO after he showed me his machine, and I quickly logged onto e-Bay and found a comparable 30-hour Phillips unit for only $299.00.
I have version 1.0 right now, but am waiting on the Beta test version of 2.0 to be downloaded in the next few days or weeks. Version 2.0 features awesome selling points like "THE WISH LIST," which lets you type in key words like "tennis" or (for me) "Madonna" and it will then list everything that has to do with that key word that will be on in the next few weeks. Also, the Season Pass Manager allows you to prioritize your "subscriptions" in the order that you like them, among other things.
In the meantime, here's what I like about TiVO so far:
SEASON PASSES
This is just the coolest thing since sliced bread, I have to say! Now I will never again miss a single episode of "Ed" or "Malcolm in the Middle," because TiVO will automatically record it for me week to week. No more rushing home to set my VCR, no more worrying about remembering to rush home to set my VCR, no more VCR! Shows are stored in the "Now Showing" section of the main menu, and you can select how long you want to keep the show on the system's hard drive. What's great for me is that in my area, I don't get the WB Network. However, a local Fox channel does show new epsiodes of "Roswell," "Buffy," and "Dawson's Creek" at midnight on certain nights. The thing is that I could never remember which nights they aired my shows, but with TiVO's search device, it sought out those three shows and now I have season passes to them, so now I will never miss them again. Woo hoo!
NO MORE TAPES!
Now you don't have to worry about finding a blank tape to record that show on. With TiVO, you just select "RECORD THIS SHOWING" or "GET A SEASON PASS TO THIS SHOW" and it goes right onto the system's hard drive. It's recorded digitally in one of four speeds (similar to EP, LP and SP) and stored easily so you can recognize them and view them whenever you want. If you wish to record the show onto a videotape, there's a super-easy selection for "RECORD TO TAPE" that allows you to do this. (This feature is great, since I record every episode of Showtime's "Queer as Folk" onto tape to keep for future viewings.) And, when you're done with a show, you just select DELETE THIS RECORDING, and the show is gone. No mess, and no need to worry about the tape quality getting distorted because you've recorded over it so many times. Ahhh, technology!
EASE OF USE
TiVO is simple to use! Some have said that they think there are too many steps to go through in order to record a show, but within my first day of use, I was already a pro. TiVO gives you an alphabet of letters from which to spell out your favorite shows, but most of the time you only need to enter one or two letters before it searches out the show you were looking for. In addition, you can select by categories such as Comedy, Drama, Movies or Sports. The remote control is easy to use, with colorful and oversized buttons that are easy to find and figure out. You just point and click and you're on your way to great TV watching!
AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADS
One of the best features of a TiVO unit is that, even if newer versions are released, you don't need to go out and purchase a brand new unit. You pay TiVO $9.99 per month to use its services, which entitles you to all upgrades made to the system. My 2.0 Beta version will be downloaded onto my machine absolutely free of additional charge. You can't beat this. (Eventually, TiVO will probably be built into digital cable boxes, but that's a good while away, so I don't feel too bad for buying an individual TiVO unit now.)
TV WHEN YOU WANT IT
Another thing I love about TiVO is that it allows me the freedom to be at home to watch TV when I want to, not when the networks dictate time slots. Or if I come home from work at 7:30 and want to watch the hour-long episode of "Once and Again" that I taped the night before (or whenever), I don't have to worry about it not being over by the time "Friends" comes on, because you can watch a show you've already recorded while the unit records one that is on live. Additionally, you can start watching a show 15 minutes into its broadcast and cut commercials altogether! So if dinner is not ready by the time your show starts, you just cook away at your heart's desire and catch up on your TV whenever you want to. Finally, if somebody calls you right in the middle of "That's Life," you can PAUSE LIVE TELEVISION and catch up when you're done talking to whoever was rude enough to call during primetime TV hours! : )
EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
TiVO has great technical support. Its employees are friendly, skilled and totally into the product. They help you navigate through the choppier waters of installation and all that stuff. For my setup, it was quite an ordeal since I have not only a TV, a VCR, a DVD player and my TiVO, but a stereo sound system as well. TiVO's tech support team helped me and my brother figure out how to get it all set up so that everything comes out on my stereo speakers. I couldn't be happier!
There's also a nifty message board (www.tivo.com) where you can post messages about TiVO and get tech support from other members and from TiVO's staff. The message board is great because the TiVO staff posts there often. This is how I got onto the Beta testing and will get the new version before those who have not visited the website yet.
There are lots of other good things about TiVO to note, but I could go on for hours, so I won't.
Now there are a few things that bum me out about it. I'll list them here as well:
CAN'T RECORD ONE SHOW WHILE TAPING ANOTHER ON AT SAME TIME
You'd think that with all the technology that we have (TiVO, for example), you could record, say, "The West Wing" while watching "Felicity" on another channel, but it's a no-go on that one. You'll have to have another TV in the house in order to do this. Luckily, I do, which saves me from having to choose between "Friends" and "Survivor."
SOMETIMES SYSTEM CAN BE TESTY
There are times when the hard drive will freeze up just like a regular computer. In these instances, you just have to unplug and restart to device, so it's no major big hairy deal.
TOO MANY TiVO SUGGESTIONS
Another feature of TiVO is that you can rate shows by giving them anywhere from one to three thumbs up. You have to be really picky about which shows you give three thumbs up to, as TiVO will then search out like shows and record them for you. This can be both a blessing and a curse, especially if you have digital cable like I do and have over a hundred channels. Sometimes I have to delete anywhere from 3 to 6 shows that I've already seen or don't have any desire to see. But then again, sometimes TiVO will record a movie or show that I've always wanted to see but never got around to doing.
There are probably other things I don't like about my TiVO, but they are so few and far between (and trivial) that I can't remember what they are as of this writing. I simply love my TiVO unit, and I can't stress enough how easy, fun and convenient and it's made my overall TV watching experience.
This device was created for people who like TV, so if you're not one of those, then you probably won't find a whole lot that is worthy about TiVO, but even if you just have 2 or 3 shows that you watch, TiVO makes it easier.
Since the price is comparable to a DVD player, buying a TiVO is pretty painless to the pocket book, and it's definitely worth the money!
Good luck!
Grade: A
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 324.00
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Epinions.com ID:
kknox0616
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Member: Ken Knox
Location: Hollywood, CA
Reviews written: 135
Trusted by: 53 members
About Me:
Playwright, novelist, screenwriter, journalist, columnist, critic, all-around media W*H*O*R*E.
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