The Eye is Watching You!
Written: Apr 21 '01
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Pros: TiVo puts you in charge.
Cons: You might watch too much tv.
The Bottom Line: Spend less money on video or DVD rentals, maximize what's being broadcast even on basic cable.
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| bizstone's Full Review: Philips PTV100 Video Recorder |
It might unnerve some people to know that as they sit comfortably pausing, rewinding, recording, and enjoying their favorite shows on their own schedule, an omniscient robotic eye is watching their every move. Me? I’m used to that sort of thing.
If you can deal with the robot-eye, you’re all set. TiVo is television on your schedule. No more running home from the subway with a heavy backpack on a Friday night so you won’t miss the beginning credits of The Invisible Man on SCI FI—not that I would ever do that because obviously I would have interesting plans to meet with engaging people at expensive and exciting locales.
TiVo is a hard drive that records 30 hours of television. After a two hour guided set-up, TiVo will know what’s on every channel and you can tell it to record anything, anytime. It has a very user friendly interface with fulfilling sound effects and rubbery, tactile remote control buttons. Because it’s digital, rewinding, pausing, fast-forwarding, etc. are all instantaneous and crisp—it’s very easy to skip ads or jump to a scene.
Once you buy a TiVo you will have to pay a monthly fee of about ten dollars, unless you buy the "lifetime" membership which is about two hundred dollars, I think. Also, you have to plug the TiVo into a phone line so it can make a short, local call every day. That’s how it knows everything and how it updates it’s own software to stay current.
The quoted amount of 30 hours is only if you record everything on "basic" quality which is fine if you just want the news or something, but it is a little pixely so I would suggest recording everything on "medium" which looks great and that’ll give you about 14 hours.
A real advantage of having TiVo is the ability to search for shows and movies that you would ordinarily miss. You can search by program type, keywords, or time. It’s amazing how many movies come on in the middle of the night, even on basic cable channels. You’ll cut down on video or DVD rentals.
TiVo maximizes television and empowers you to watch what you want to watch, when you want to watch it. It also gives you the freedom to try programs and movies you don’t have time for or wouldn’t ordinarily watch.
It’s great to know you have fun, new shows waiting for you in the "Now Playing" area. In fact, I’ve got a whole bunch of classic Star Trek’s just waiting to be played this Saturday night—when I get home from meeting with my successful, young, good-looking peers.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399.99
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Epinions.com ID:
bizstone
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Member: Biz Stone
Location: Rockport, MA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
Biz Stone is the author of Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content
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