My TiVo has been struck dumb

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <fm99a1h9ca1cvrnbvumep52e2ettqoe6jt@4ax.com>, graham@dircon.co.uk
says...
> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 20:35:54 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
>
> >Any recordings you set up on the TiVo will be recorded. If there's space on
> >the hard drive, and it's not recording anything you've set up, it may record
> >suggestions, all of which will be based on things you've recorded in the past.
> >
> You are making the assumption that just because I have watched
> something in the past that I would want the unit to record it again in
> the future.

It doesn't necessarily do that. If the programme has been repeated within the
last 28 days and it's recorded it once already, then it won't record it again
unless I tell it to.

You can give programmes up to 3 thumbs up, or down, to indicate whether you
want certain programmes to be recorded as suggestions more often. Eg. the
Simpsons has 3 thumbs up, but most things I record just have one, which is the
default.

Being able to tweak the suggestions with the thumbs gives the user nothing but
complete control over the device. Hence, even if you'd recorded something and
watched it for a couple of shows without wanting to record more, you could
cancel the season pass and give it a thumbs down.

Looking at the suggestions on my TiVo as I type, it's got some Simpsons, some
stand-up comedy shows from various channels because I like them, and a BBC7
repeat of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, because I record the new shows on Radio
4.

I may watch none of these, but they don't interfere with ANYTHING I've set up
on the TiVo myself, so they can't even begin to hinder any of my own
recordings, and the suggestions will be the first thing to get deleted when
more of my own recordings take up space.

You seem to think that recording suggestions is in anyway a BAD thing, but
it's not. It's often very good, but never gets in the way.

> >You seem to think that you might set up, say, Eastenders on BBC1, and the TiVo
> >will say, "Nah, I think you'd prefer Star Trek on Sky Mix". That doesn't
> >happen.
>
> I never said that and I do not think that.

Then explain your incorrect statement: "All the tivo functionality = a box
that tells me what it thinks I should watch, rather than recording what I want
to record."
--

Dom Robinson Gamertag: DVDfever email: dom at dvdfever dot co dot uk
/* http/DVDfever.co.uk (editor), http/LeilaniWeb.co.uk (editor)
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <2ea9a15pa040d1bi6qk457rro8bsui2kb5@4ax.com>, graham@dircon.co.uk
says...
> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 20:29:13 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
> >In article <hga6a1prj36bceat97kaf9md2n19edhg9q@4ax.com>, graham@dircon.co.uk
> >says...
> >> On Sat, 4 Jun 2005 13:48:12 +0100, Dom Robinson
> >> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >> >You can record one channel while watching something back from the box, and
> >> >given that Sky and other channels repeat most prime-time things within the
> >> >week they've rather shot themselves in the foot claiming that as a must-have
> >> >feature
> >>
> >> That's wrong.
> >>
> >> For well over a year it has been possible to record two programmes on
> >> a Sky+ box at the same time whilst watching a 3rd programme back off
> >> the same Sky+ box.
> >
> >Care to point out what was wrong about the above?
>
> The fact that you claim Sky have shot themselves in the foot with this
> feature.

They have.

> >I'm purely indicating that this 'feature' of "record two shows at the same
> >time" is a rather redundant one, and that's coming from someone like me who
> >watches more TV than most.
>
> Redudant in your case for the types of programmes that you watch.

Then point out which programmes and how often this happens.
--

Dom Robinson Gamertag: DVDfever email: dom at dvdfever dot co dot uk
/* http/DVDfever.co.uk (editor), http/LeilaniWeb.co.uk (editor)
/* 1046 DVDs, 305 games, 145 CDs, 92 cinema films, 33 videos, concerts & news
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <8s99a1hi4bneck65mvokf0ak3fq4ub8qv4@4ax.com>, graham@dircon.co.uk
says...
> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 20:33:13 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
>
> >But my point was that it's extremely unlikely for two primetime shows to be in
> >that situation, as opposed to one subscription and one terrestrial.
> >
> Unlikely - but not impossible.

Extremely rare. There's a number of +1 channels around which doubles the
number of times such a programme will be shown that week.

> >For example, let's say at 8pm tonight I wanted to record BOTH Eastenders on
> >BBC1 and Star Trek Enterprise on Sky Mix, while watching a recording of
> >Working Lunch earlier in the day, and let's assume neither of the first two
> >shows got a quick repeat within the week.
> >
> I don't watch lots of prime time shows. I tend to like history and
> factual shows. Many of those programmes are not broadcast more than
> once in a week.
>
> Even the history channel that will show programmes over and over again
> during a week will hit this problem. The history channel will have a
> gap in their programming schedule and they will stick a one off filler
> documentary into the listings. It is shown once only in that week.

History Channel has a +1 alternative, so those programmes do get a repeat.

Let's have some examples of actual programmes and actual times of broadcast,
which I keep asking for and you're not supplying.

> >And you keep making it sound like all other PVRs act like a VCR, as if you
> >can't watch a second programme while recording the first.
>
> I've never said that. What I have said is that I like the ability to
> record two channels whilst watching a 3rd off the box.

But it's not a justification for purchasing Sky+ over TiVo, given the clear
benefits of the latter.

> Clearly, you like to have the feature whereby Tivo "assists" you in
> selecting what to watch. I prefer to have the ability to record 2
> channels at the same time. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

We can agree that you don't understand that a TiVo does more than just
"assists" the viewer. As someone else in this thread said, there are people
who've used both Sky+ and TiVo and prefer the latter, every time.
--

Dom Robinson Gamertag: DVDfever email: dom at dvdfever dot co dot uk
/* http/DVDfever.co.uk (editor), http/LeilaniWeb.co.uk (editor)
/* 1046 DVDs, 305 games, 145 CDs, 92 cinema films, 33 videos, concerts & news
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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <MPG.1d0ebdeb758dcd8b989ba7@nntp.dsl.pipex.com>, Dom Robinson wrote:
> In article <8s99a1hi4bneck65mvokf0ak3fq4ub8qv4@4ax.com>, graham@dircon.co.uk
> says...
>
>> Clearly, you like to have the feature whereby Tivo "assists" you in
>> selecting what to watch. I prefer to have the ability to record 2
>> channels at the same time. We'll just have to agree to disagree.
>
> We can agree that you don't understand that a TiVo does more than just
> "assists" the viewer. As someone else in this thread said, there are people
> who've used both Sky+ and TiVo and prefer the latter, every time.

Hmmmn. I guess this is the crux of it....

Have you ever used a tivo, Graham?

Or are you, god forbid on usenet, talking about something you haven't got
experience of?

Smid

 

[sinner]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

* Dom Robinson Wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:

> I'm purely indicating that this 'feature' of "record two shows at
> the same time" is a rather redundant one, and that's coming from
> someone like me who watches more TV than most.

Well considering that during the peak of the TV viewing season I have
somewhere between 80-100 SP's and seeing that my dual tuner Tivo is
quite frequently in use on both tuners, I would have to disagree. In
fact I am still getting conflicts that never get resolved and I monitor
recording history and my season pass priority pretty carefully to avoid
these conflicts when at all possible. I am hoping that they repeat
Veronica Mars this summer as I missed quite a bit due to conflicts.

--
David

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

On 2005-06-07, SINNER <arcade.master@googlemail.net> wrote:
> * Dom Robinson Wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:
>
>> I'm purely indicating that this 'feature' of "record two shows at
>> the same time" is a rather redundant one, and that's coming from
>> someone like me who watches more TV than most.
>
> Well considering that during the peak of the TV viewing season I have
> somewhere between 80-100 SP's and seeing that my dual tuner Tivo is
> quite frequently in use on both tuners, I would have to disagree. In
> fact I am still getting conflicts that never get resolved and I monitor
> recording history and my season pass priority pretty carefully to avoid
> these conflicts when at all possible. I am hoping that they repeat
> Veronica Mars this summer as I missed quite a bit due to conflicts.

I hear ya. I'm glad I have two TiVos (one dual tuner and one SA). I put
the VM SP on the "backup" SA since the dual tuner was almost always busy
at that time. Kudos to the season pass conflict resolver in tivoweb+
also - very handy to find conflicts and auto-schedule them on my other
TiVo.

--
This is my .sig

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <Xns966E7B661C0CELouiscypherhellorg@140.99.99.130>,
arcade.master@googlemail.net says...
> * Dom Robinson Wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:
>
> > I'm purely indicating that this 'feature' of "record two shows at
> > the same time" is a rather redundant one, and that's coming from
> > someone like me who watches more TV than most.
>
> Well considering that during the peak of the TV viewing season I have
> somewhere between 80-100 SP's and seeing that my dual tuner Tivo is
> quite frequently in use on both tuners, I would have to disagree. In
> fact I am still getting conflicts that never get resolved and I monitor
> recording history and my season pass priority pretty carefully to avoid
> these conflicts when at all possible. I am hoping that they repeat
> Veronica Mars this summer as I missed quite a bit due to conflicts.
>
I'm not saying I wouldn't refuse the option if it were there, but it's still a
very rare time that would require it.

I could also get a bigger hard drive, but if I'm not quite keeping up with all
the stuff I need to watch as things stand now, the only viable answer is to
scale down some of the things I am trying to watch regularly.
--

Dom Robinson Gamertag: DVDfever email: dom at dvdfever dot co dot uk
/* http/DVDfever.co.uk (editor), http/LeilaniWeb.co.uk (editor)
/* 1046 DVDs, 305 games, 145 CDs, 92 cinema films, 33 videos, concerts & news
/* alienVpredator, kung fu hustle, doctor who, constantine, churchillhollywood
Fight back against "PRESS RED": http/dvdfever.co.uk/pressrel/pressred.shtml
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[graham]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:00:36 +0100, Dom Robinson
<Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:


>Then explain your incorrect statement: "All the tivo functionality = a box
>that tells me what it thinks I should watch, rather than recording what I want
>to record."

It's not incorrect. I want the box to only record specifically what I
tell it to record.

Graham

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

graham@dircon.co.uk wrote:
> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:00:36 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Then explain your incorrect statement: "All the tivo functionality = a box
>>that tells me what it thinks I should watch, rather than recording what I want
>>to record."
>
>
> It's not incorrect. I want the box to only record specifically what I
> tell it to record.
>
> Graham
>

Graham, I really don't think you fully understand what you're accusing
tivo of here. The only thing that Tivo may do that violates what you
are describing is "suggestions", where Tivo records things it thinks you
might like to see, even though you haven't specifically asked for them.
Otherwise, Tivo doesn't record a thing (except some well-seperated
feature items) that you don't request. So on surface it would seem that
your statement is correct.

*However*, you are not taking into account 2 things:

- "Suggestions" are the lowest priority items on the Tivo, they will
*never* preempt a scheduled or requested recording, whether season pass,
wish list, one time request, etc. If you want to completely ignore them
you can, and with Tivo's folder structure they're all in one place so
it's easy to do so.

- "Suggestions" are really simple to disable if for some reason they
really offend you. It takes about 10 seconds to do and you'll never see
another suggestion again (unless you want to reenable it, of course).

What you're doing is like criticizing a cell phone service for having
free call-waiting. If you don't like it just disable it, but how is it
bad that they offer it for free if you want it?

Randy S.

 

[sinner]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

* Wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:

> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:00:36 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Then explain your incorrect statement: "All the tivo functionality
>>= a box that tells me what it thinks I should watch, rather than
>>recording what I want to record."
>
> It's not incorrect. I want the box to only record specifically
> what I tell it to record.

It IS incorrect

What makes you think a Tivo wont do that? You do realize suggestions
can be turned off VERY easily right?

--
David

 

[graham]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:09:48 +0100, Dom Robinson
<Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:


>Extremely rare. There's a number of +1 channels around which doubles the
>number of times such a programme will be shown that week.
>
True there are a number of +1 channels. However, my partners viewing
preferences are completely different to mine. It can be the case that
recording a programme on the +1 channels cannot be accomodated because
we are also making two simultaneous recordings in the next hour.

Equally, there are a lot of channels that do not have a +1 option.


>> I've never said that. What I have said is that I like the ability to
>> record two channels whilst watching a 3rd off the box.
>
>But it's not a justification for purchasing Sky+ over TiVo, given the clear
>benefits of the latter.
>
You keep claiming that tivo has a killer app that pisses all over
Sky+. It might work for you, but that does not make it a killer app
that pisses all over Sky.

>We can agree that you don't understand that a TiVo does more than just
>"assists" the viewer. As someone else in this thread said, there are people
>who've used both Sky+ and TiVo and prefer the latter, every time.

I understand fully. My other half used to work in a TV / video shop
selling Sky and Tivo. We looked at both systems at the time and
concluded for us Sky was the better option.

Sky has over 750,000 customers using Sky+ in the UK. How many Tivo
customers are there?

If Tivo has such a killer application then I would expect the Tivo
numbers to be substantial in the UK.

Graham

 

[sinner]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

* Wrote in alt.video.ptv.tivo:

> Sky has over 750,000 customers using Sky+ in the UK. How many Tivo
> customers are there?

Well over 1,000,000 and climbing World wide of course, but I dont know
and Sky users in the US.

--
David

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

<graham@dircon.co.uk> wrote in message news:ka2ca19r50i9gks687usb9duuvh1av4u64@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 6 Jun 2005 21:00:36 +0100, Dom Robinson
> <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote:
>
>
> >Then explain your incorrect statement: "All the tivo functionality = a box
> >that tells me what it thinks I should watch, rather than recording what I want
> >to record."
>
> It's not incorrect. I want the box to only record specifically what I
> tell it to record.
>

If that is the case, a TiVo will do that exactly. The only exception being
when program guide data is incorrect.

My DirecTV DVR (TiVo) records only programs I have requested it to record.
The standalone TiVo including the model once sold in the UK will do the same.

If "it floats your boat" you may use a TiVo in exactly the same manner as
you would a VCR. It will record programs by time, duration and channel.

 

[seth]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

"Dom Robinson" <Usetheaddress@inthesig.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d100b31e808db60989bb5@nntp.dsl.pipex.com...
>
> I could also get a bigger hard drive, but if I'm not quite keeping up with
> all
> the stuff I need to watch as things stand now, the only viable answer is
> to
> scale down some of the things I am trying to watch regularly.

Well, also consider the "other" benefit to a larger hard drive. Watch the
same stuff you watch now at the same pace, and when everything goes into
reruns, you'll have the "extra" stuff to keep you occupied.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:08:36 GMT, graham@dircon.co.uk wrote:

>You keep claiming that tivo has a killer app that pisses all over
>Sky+. It might work for you, but that does not make it a killer app
>that pisses all over Sky.

Of course it depends on what you call a killer app, but here's a few
things it'll do that AFAIAA Sky+ doesn't (but may, you'll have to
enlighten me!)

* Recording from any source. Hey, I can Tivo my best laps or karaoke
singing on PS2!

* Allow recording in multiple quality levels to better manage space
(you hardly need to record Eastenders in best quality, so let it take
up only a few MB and leave the best quality for films).

* Allow you to watch a recording after you've unsubscribed from the
channel it was on.

* 5 minute advert skip

* Allow you to specify recording programmes based on favourite actors,
genres or even keywords. This allows us to tell it of our favourite
sports team, activities, popstar etc.. and it'll record *any*
programme that happens to feature them. Absolutely *brilliant*.


andyt

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

graham@dircon.co.uk wrote:
> You keep claiming that tivo has a killer app that pisses all over
> Sky+. It might work for you, but that does not make it a killer app
> that pisses all over Sky.
>
>> We can agree that you don't understand that a TiVo does more than
>> just "assists" the viewer. As someone else in this thread said,
>> there are people who've used both Sky+ and TiVo and prefer the
>> latter, every time.
>
> I understand fully. My other half used to work in a TV / video shop
> selling Sky and Tivo. We looked at both systems at the time and
> concluded for us Sky was the better option.

Looked at = compared the number of tuners.
Didn't bother with anything else.

> Sky has over 750,000 customers using Sky+ in the UK. How many
> Tivo customers are there?

750k in total? Tivo added 750k in the first quarter this year, over
3 million total worldwide.

> If Tivo has such a killer application then I would expect the Tivo
> numbers to be substantial in the UK.

Good marketing has little to do with product quality

Sky has spent lots more money advertising in the UK.
Tivo just assumed the British would be aware of tivo and its
features from their success in America. We (mostly) weren't.
Remember tivo was released here in 2000.

--
Mike

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In <bd8ca1lvnjprn62bf3tp49b90n0im3ch1q@4ax.com>, Andy Turner
<andyt@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:08:36 GMT, graham@dircon.co.uk wrote:
>
>>You keep claiming that tivo has a killer app that pisses all over
>>Sky+. It might work for you, but that does not make it a killer app
>>that pisses all over Sky.
>
>Of course it depends on what you call a killer app, but here's a few
>things it'll do that AFAIAA Sky+ doesn't (but may, you'll have to
>enlighten me!)
>
>* Recording from any source. Hey, I can Tivo my best laps or karaoke
>singing on PS2!
>
>* Allow recording in multiple quality levels to better manage space
>(you hardly need to record Eastenders in best quality, so let it take
>up only a few MB and leave the best quality for films).
>
>* Allow you to watch a recording after you've unsubscribed from the
>channel it was on.
>
>* 5 minute advert skip
>
>* Allow you to specify recording programmes based on favourite actors,
>genres or even keywords. This allows us to tell it of our favourite
>sports team, activities, popstar etc.. and it'll record *any*
>programme that happens to feature them. Absolutely *brilliant*.

Indeed. It is lots of "little things", which taken cumulatively make a
very nice TV viewing experience, but are by the same token very hard to
sell. We end up sounding like evangelists unfortunately.

I've come to realise the power and niceness is in the rich software
featureset and guide data database (512MB fully indexed 2-3 weeks' of
data for UK TiVos) - compare with 7 days' of basic title+description
only for Sky+. Both systems will have conflicts/clashes, but TiVo uses
its database extremely effectively here to resolve them automatically -
and continues to try in the background. TiVo has a lot more intelligence
with disc space management too, rather than programmes either being
unexpectedly not recorded, or unwatched recordings disappearing without
warning. And the usefulness of "Hibernating" Season Passes cannot be
understated. My Season Pass for the "Royal Institution Christmas
Lectures" that I created in FOUR years ago and haven't needed to worry
about since might seem a poor example because we all know when it will
return each year, but try to imagine that for every series you follow -
no need to scour the schedules any more.

The difficulty here is that those of us who have a TiVo find it great,
and can't imagine being without it. But if you travel back in time to
before you bought it - you wouldn't be able to understand and you
wouldn't think you needed the features. Sky+ users are in a similar
position. I heard the "you can't understand until you've owned one" line
before I got my TiVo too, and was skeptical too, but it was true. You'll
never "get" the niceness of it from shop demos either - it only happens
when the TiVo does something that becomes very ordinary after time, but
you think "wow that's great" the first time. No amount of proselytising
can be a substitute for that "wow that's great" feeling.

To quickly fill in some blanks because this is a cross-posted thread:
Sky+ in the UK is like a standard-def USA series 1 DirecTiVo in hardware
terms (dual tuner records encrypted broadcast stream directly), but with
none of the Tivo software. TiVo in the UK is a Standalone series 1 model
on software version 2.5.5, so we have no "folders" in Now Playing; we
also never have any downloadable video content ("Showcases"). We do have
Wishlists, Advanced Wishlists and the SP Manager though (plus of course
access to the 3rd party network cards, tivoweb etc and DDB toolset to
automatically spit out VOB files directly with no re-encoding, within
minutes of a broadcast ending).

HTH

--
Kill all Sky's red dots on TiVo! http/www.ljay.org.uk/tivoweb/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

> To quickly fill in some blanks because this is a cross-posted thread:
> Sky+ in the UK is like a standard-def USA series 1 DirecTiVo in hardware
> terms (dual tuner records encrypted broadcast stream directly), but with
> none of the Tivo software. TiVo in the UK is a Standalone series 1 model
> on software version 2.5.5, so we have no "folders" in Now Playing; we
> also never have any downloadable video content ("Showcases"). We do have
> Wishlists, Advanced Wishlists and the SP Manager though (plus of course
> access to the 3rd party network cards, tivoweb etc and DDB toolset to
> automatically spit out VOB files directly with no re-encoding, within
> minutes of a broadcast ending).
>
> HTH
>

Thanks for the info Mike. There are similar boxes on this side of the
pond offered by many of the various cable providers such as Cox,
Comcast, etc. They also often have dual tuners and many (if not most)
offer Hi-def recording as well (albeit at pitiful storage capability,
maybe 10 hrs at most). But the software is nearly universally
considered to be a very poor stepsister to Tivo's. We get a few persons
evangelizing the cable hardware offerings due to the superior hardware
options, but they are vastly outnumbered.

And we continuously have the same discussions that you describe
concerning the Tivo experience. It's just really hard to communicate
the advantages that Tivo offers because it seems to be a case of the
whole being more than the sum of it's parts.

Not to say that most of us here wouldn't turn down a dual tuner Hi-def
Tivo ;-). Ironically, there *is* such a thing, but it's only offered to
Directv satellite customers and the entry price is a bit steep ($1000 at
release, though it's dropped to $600 or $700 now), and the software
isn't quite as up to date as the Series 2 standalone Tivo's. It also
has 2 over the air ATSC (standard and Hi-def digital) tuners built in.

Hopefully they'll roll the Series 2 hardware and Version 7 software over
to you guys sometime. It's nice having network capability and video
transfer fully supported and provided out of the box by Tivo. There are
still plenty of advantages to hacking the box, but it's not nearly as
necessary.

Note that Tivo's biggest news recently is that they *finally* got a deal
with a cable company (Comcast, which is the largest I believe) to
integrate their software with a cable provider's settop box. It should
increase Tivo's market penetration over here tremendously.

Sorry if this info is common knowledge to you guys.

Randy S.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

"Mike Henry" <{$usenet-spamdump$}@mrtickle.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:hdbca1d2p2rq95muefj1ci8tsn1lck3aaj@4ax.com...
> In <bd8ca1lvnjprn62bf3tp49b90n0im3ch1q@4ax.com>, Andy Turner
> <andyt@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Indeed. It is lots of "little things", which taken cumulatively make a
> very nice TV viewing experience, but are by the same token very hard to
> sell. We end up sounding like evangelists unfortunately.
>

We looked in to getting a Tivo about 5 years ago, and decided against it. On
a whim, a couple of years later, we grabbed the last one they were "ever
going to have" in a branch of Comet (yes, I know). It's one of the best
things we've ever bought. It's completely changed how we watch telly. The
only thing we watch live now is the Moto GP. Everything else we watch when
it suits us. We keep talking about getting a bigger disk, but don't know how
we'll cope for the few days we'll be without it - if we do it ourselves,
we'll probably have to do without it for good.

ah heck, I'm evangelising. But it is good. And no, I wouldn't have Sky+, for
all the reasons listed by others.

jermec
--
'It's not the despair, I can cope with the despair. It's the hope I can't
stand.'

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo,uk.media.tv.misc (More info?)

In article <bd8ca1lvnjprn62bf3tp49b90n0im3ch1q@4ax.com>, Andy Turner wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:08:36 GMT, graham@dircon.co.uk wrote:
>
> * Allow you to specify recording programmes based on favourite actors,
> genres or even keywords. This allows us to tell it of our favourite
> sports team, activities, popstar etc.. and it'll record *any*
> programme that happens to feature them. Absolutely *brilliant*.

Wow. I never really used this feature. Time to stick a whole bunch on there...

Kevin Spacey, I would say, is largely excellent... He'll be first on there.

Smid