Originally posted by ggwâ?¢:
Countdown to vansmack......
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First off, Tivo is not a VCR - no tapes, no difficult programming, no crazy settings.
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.
