i got a tivo as a gift.. oh my god it is the best, i always have a simpsons waiting for me when i get home, or i can save the simpsons til a few days later then watch a few at a time.... it is the best invention ever i will never miss any eppy ever again yayayayayayayayayay does anyone else have tivo here?
TIVO ROCKS
Jul 6, 2001, 8:11 PM ET20 posts by 12 posters
20 posts
tIVO MIGHT BE GOOD BUT TAPING THEM SO YOU HAVE THEM ALL TIME IS THE BEST
=v= You can tape from Tivo for more lasting storage. A great
arrangement, especially when Fox was moving OFF and
_Futurama_ all over the place. .-. .-.
<_Jym_> / / / /
|\/\/\/| / / / /Jym Dyer wrote in message news:...
If you're going to put it on tape anyway, why bother with the Tivo? Learning how to program a VCR has GOT to be a lot cheaper than buying some gizmo that takes the place of pushing a few buttons.
My problem is that my cable company scrambles ALL channels -- even the basic network ones like the Fox channel. So since everything has to go through the cable box and I have to leave the VCR permanently on channel 3, and the VCR can't talk to the cable box to change channels, guess what? It totally blows away any programming capability on the VCR. My VCR has the ability to program 20 events, but can't because of the cable box limitation. I can set it up to automatically record ONE show only -- and then I have to remember to keep the cable box turned on and set to the Fox channel beforehand. A frustrating pain in the butt.
So from what I've read about Tivo, I think the beauty of it for me would be the ability to just type in "Simpsons" and have it automatically find and record anything that has to do with the Simpsons, whenever they might come on. You can type in an actor's name and it will find all programs that feature that actor. Cool stuff.
"Greg Jameson" wrote in message news:...
I hesitated to subscribe to cable for the very same reason.
Did you know that a DirecTV dish overcomes this limitation? The things are getting cheap enough that they're now giving them away. I found a stuffer in my last phone bill, of all places, offering a free system and free installation, and the only requirement was subscribing to the same programming package that you'd end up choosing anyway. The monthly cost is comperable to most cable companies ($10 a month less in my case), and the signal doesn't go out every time some idiot bumps his car into the utility pole carrying the wire.
That DOES sound like a nice feature, and if it's something that you just can't live without, DTV has a reciever that has the TIVO built in. Personally, I prefer my setup. With the combination of dish and antenna (and 2 VCRs) I can record 2 channels while I watch a third. That comes in REAL handy during new fall programming season and sweeps weeks.
Fraid not. The VCR - even if it's programmed correctly, can't change its programming if the show is moved, or if they schedule a two hour episode, or if a show is taken off the schedule for months only to return at a new day and time. A VCR can't search for shows and movies by name, stars or topic and, if you specify it, automatically record it.
My first real test of TiVo was when I went away for a week and it recorded 14 hours of programs for me. It also recovers better from power outages than my VCR, which never has the right time, because it's just too much trouble to keep doing everytime the power goes off for 2 seconds.
For Futurama and Simpson's fans the TiVo also has a great "freeze frame" feature. Very clear. With the in-jokes they use you can see them much better.
=v= I can program a VCR, but chasing down shows around Fox's wacky rescheduling takes time. As Colonel Homer explains, "I don't have time to answer all these questions. Time is money. C'mon, people!"
=v= Taping the show from TIVO also makes it *really*
easy to edit out the commercials. .--.
<_Jym_> / |\
|\/\/\/| __/____| \"Daisy" wrote in message news:...
I've been thinking about getting a tivo. How easy is it to use? How much stuff can it record? I've never seen one, but I hear they're really neat.
Oh, by the way, hi there. I'm new.
Johnnie M. wrote in :
It's *incredibly* easy to use. My mother barely gets by websurfing on her computer and always asked for help programming the VCR, but she's a real Tivo pro now! The only time she's ever asked me for help was when it stopped working for some reason, or did something weird, and even that hasn't happened too often.
I think the units being sold now have a 30 hour capacity. That's a maximum -- you can specify three or four quality levels to record shows at, the 30 hour figure assume you pick the lowest. Personally, I can't see the difference between them.
Once you get one, you'll never go back.
"Cray Drygu" wrote in message news:[email]...
My father has one too, and they are really great. First off the purpose of TiVo is better than a VCR because it is there to save a certain amount of shows that you want to watch for as long as you specify the time peroid to stay on its hard drive, and you can access them at any time. The both of us have enjoyed it because, now when prime time rolls around and there is nothing but garbage on, we check out what he has saved in the TiVo and watch a great movie that might have been on during the late night/early morning hours, or a more common example is all the Seinfeld and Simpsons rereuns we watch. Plus, all the "VCR" style functions are great too. I love using the slow-mo and freeze frame options, and the pause is a great feature too. If you can get one, I would say to it. I want one for myself one day too.
While I agree with all that, though, there are still two things holding me back from getting one.
1. Monthly service charge. Granted, it's only $10, but that's on top of my ever-rising cable TV bill. All together, it adds up to too much.
2. There is just not enough good stuff on TV to make it worthwhile anyway. Besides recording the Simpsons (and sadly, even the Simpsons isn't really doing much for me these days, though I still always watch reruns of the classic episodes), TV pretty much sucks. Yes, even the cable channels. I can't count the times I've flipped...flipped...flipped....ah the hell with it, nothing good's on, *click*.
RePlay is essentially the same as Tivo but it doesn't have any monthly service charge. It costs more for the unit, though.
I really like mine. If I'm watching something on live TV and want to see something again, I can hit the replay button, and it will "back up" seven seconds. I can keep doing this and it will keep backing up. Plus, if I get a phone call, I can hit "pause" and it will pause live TV. However, you can get basically the same benefits by using a VCR record every show you want to watch, then watch it from tape. A lot cheaper to do it that way!
"Greg Jameson" wrote in message news:X5%17.1764$[email]...
my
anyway.
Cray Drygu wrote in message news:...
What compression scheme does it use? MPEG-2? MPEG-4?
It's tempting. Really tempting. I should pay down my credit card debt a little bit first. :)
Johnnie M. wrote in :
It's MPEG-something, but it's a moot point anyway since there's no way to copy the files to real computer without some major hacking.
Yeah, that would be a good idea. The only reason I have one, actually, is because I won it in a contest. Best thing I've ever won =)
This post sounds like an infomercial.
sorry, didnt intend it to be that way! i just wanted to know if anyone else had it.... oh well. TIVO ROCKS!! call 1-800 tivo rocks...
just kidding!~ good night !!!
"Daisy" wrote in message news:9Bw27.170715$%[email]...
else
PS:... TIVO ROCKS... Homer, for the last time, we're not putting that in this post!
[email] (Jamie) wrote in message news:...
It DOES, doesn't it? Actually, just a real satisfied customer trying to turn fellow Simpsons fans on to a good thing.
"Him" wrote in message news:[email]...
news:...
I like my RePlay's 30-second skip-ahead feature, which Tivo doesn't have. Other than that, they are very similar. Also, I hacked into it and installed an 80 GB hard drive so not I have about 80 hours of storage.