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The Downsides To TiVo?
from the not-all-so-wonderful dept
Almost everyone you talk to who owns a TiVo (or similar device) talks about how it revolutionized how they watch TV. They talk about how they watch what they want, when they want - and say it makes television watchable again. However, some are also realizing there's a downside to such things. Being able to store stuff up, means that you can create a backlog. Some, who haven't figured out how to manage their TiVo experience find themselves feeling chained to their TV to "catch up" on all the shows they missed. In the past, if you missed a TV show, you asked friends for a summary of what happened, or you just get on with your life and figure you'll catch up the following week. Now, though, as people realize the power of TiVo, they never miss a show. On top of that, because of the simplicity of the whole thing, they end up regularly watching a lot more TV shows than they watched in the past, so the inevitable backlog appears. Some even report feeling stressed out in having to keep up with their TiVo. It's not at all surprising that some folks feel this way. It's the sort of adjustment period that happens with plenty of new technologies. Over time, though, people learn to manage such things - though, I'm sure we'll hear about psychologists who specialize in treating "TiVo addicts" before too long.
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Re: catching up to TV backlog
I taped the last 2 episodes of 24 but never got around to watching them. All during the summer, I never go enough interest up to spend those 2 hours and finally just taped over them. Guess I just finally told the truth to myself.
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Re: catching up to TV backlog
what truth? that 24 sucks ass?
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Tivo Newbies?
First off, I watch 24 in 3 hour segments. Love the ability to skip through the commercials and watch 3 hours in 2.15. . . anyway With new Tivo owners, I totally agree that you end up watching MORE TV. Its just a common reaction to go through all of the shows and say Record, record, record, season pass, season pass, etc. But I also think most people realize this after a few months and remove season passes. Where the payoff starts to come is when you have 3 or 4 regular shows you watch - good shows like 60 minutes, Nova and 24. I never knew about CRAP like Queer eye, American Idol etc becasue I never saw the commercials for them. My regular schedule now is - come home, turn on the TV and hit LIST. SELECT-DELETE anything that I didnt record and doesnt look interesting (sometimes Im glad Tivo caught something extra.) Then I have the Screen Savers on in the background while I cook dinner, read email etc - skipping commercials. Then I might watch something I told TIvo to record a day or two ago. If you don't know whats on TV - you dont miss it. I used to like that 70's show. New season sucked so away goes the season pass and Ill never miss it. Live TV? - Oh, thats the stuff with the 4th grade mentality commercials for prime time shows with laugh tracks that suck monkey a$$. Tivo Saves One's Sanity.
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television addiction
I'm sure we'll hear about psychologists who specialize in treating "TiVo addicts" before too long.
Have you checked the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? If may already be listed. On ther other hand, I expect the advertising business to try to get a law passed requiring everyone to watch three hours of television every day (or at least the commercials contained in those three hours). These two groups may end up fighting each other.
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Nitpicking
C'mon, are you serious with this article? Everyone I know loves the service but says that it actually frees up time because they can do things on their time.
I think you guys are reaching on this one.
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Re: Nitpicking
That's exactly what I was saying... I think it's more a symptom of people being overwhelmed at first, but will lessen over time.
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Fascinating topic
The really interesting thing about this is that my wife feels overwelmed by the Tivo at times - she feels like she has to keep up! I've never understood that, myself, as I just use it to make darn sure that when I want to watch TV, something good is on...
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I sort of understand
I got my TiVo last April. I set up a Season Pass for several shows only to find I never got around to watching them. Eventually I realized that I would never watch them so I just deleted them.
My 2 biggest gripes about TiVo are that I want a second unit, but I don't want to pay for the fees on the second unit and its next to impossible to save what I've recorded to my computer. Sure I can hook up my video camera and download it that way but its a major pain. Makes me wish I had a Series 1.
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No Subject Given
Is there really anything on TV that needs recording ? Can't think of a single show I've 'made time for' in a loonnnnnnggggg time.
Can't imagine spending the money on the device/service (ok, it's the service you're buying) ... especially considering that most show's these days are being released on DVD almost as soon as the season / show is over.
Someone Pipe up and tell me what they are recording so I'll get an idea of whether this device really merits consideration. Very possible I'm missing something here ...
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Re: No Subject Given
There actually is a lot of Good Stuff on tv, even just basic cable; you just need someone or something to sift through the crap for ya, which is where TiVo steps in. Of course, "good" is subjective, but I record/watch lots of road racing, rally, The Simpson's, South Park, 24, Junkyard Wars, etc.
It's true that you'll generally watch more tv w/ a TiVo. However, you'll be watching *what* you want (not just whatever drivel happens to be on), when you want (no more staying home Thursday evenings to watch ER).
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Re: No Subject Given
This is the exact issue with Tivo. Its impossible to understand what your missing until you have one. This one particular issue is what is keeping tivo from making a big splash. I dont think anyone here will be able to tell you anything you cant see for yourself on the site but as I said, youll never know the value until you have one. If you have DirecTv you can get a unti for $100 and if you already subscribe to the everything package thee is no monthly tivo fee.
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TIVO Sucks
TIVO is for people who don't have lives.
These are the same people who are likely to record " Friends " because they have a lack of any real ones.
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No need to be chained to TiVo
We have a TiVo, and we follow these two simple rules:
(1) Stick with a small hard drive. We have 40MB. Not too much backlog there!
(2) Don't worry if shows get deleted before you see them. It's only Television!
TiVo is for people who hae lives. They get to watch anything they want in the small bits of their time that they have no better use for.
- The Precision Blogger
http://precision-blogging.blogspot.com
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Lame
Tivo/ReplayTV are that way at first, but slowly but surely you are released from being a tv slave and use it when you want. I don't HAVE to watch anything in a certain week. When I am bored I turn it on and watch what I like most till I am bored with TV then I turn it off.
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Re: TIVO Sucks
True
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TIVO SUCKS BIG TIME
I just found out and I thought you should know about the so called lifetime subscription. I was told by a TIVO service rep that the so called lifetime subscription is tied to the box. So if your box goes bad too bad you lose the rest of your so called lifetime subscription. If you want to buy a new TIVO box forget it you cannot transfer your so called lifetime subscription. TIVO SUCKS BIG TIME. Please feel free to pass this information out.
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Re: TIVO SUCKS BIG TIME
Yes lifetime is tied to the box. Which makes customers feel less of a part of the Tivo community when they realize that they are just a box owner.
Seriously Tivo can only record Ananlog signals. You need a Landline in order to activate the box and update it's firmware. They allow Wifi with the series 2, but it's not built in, and only a select few usb wifi adapters work with the box and guess what... they are the more expensive ones.
Couple this with the fact that if you don't pay for their service it renders your DVR completely useless, and you have a crappy product.
I understand Tivo needs to make money and all, but why not offer the box for a bit more unless you get the service, much like cell phone companies do.
Untill these things can grab a digital signal, I am sticking with my $300 computer that can do exactly what Tivo does minus the monthly fees.
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Re: TIVO SUCKS BIG TIME
I made the mistake of trying it. 30 day risk free. ha (see later). the thing hums. the channel guide' is incredibly slow. it says it won't record repeats, but it does (i guess it's not smart enough to look at the original air date, but looks at some tv guide type flag that's note always there?), the remote can change my tv volume but not it's channels, the picture quality is also not something i'd want to watch regularly. guess those that love it don't care about clear pictures. Tried to return it today. Was on the phone for an hour - not exagerating. They apparently had never heard of the 'risk free 30 day guarantee'. now isn't that something. even as i read them what their own website said, they were denying it. yup, they are evil. hadn't run into customer service that rude in years. Stay away.
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Re: Re: TIVO SUCKS BIG TIME
TIVO BUYERS AND INVESTORS BEWARE!
ThIeVO took our money for a lifetime subscriptions that are now useless because they do not offer an upgrade options for dead or obsolete DVR units. I believe this was their greedy plan from the onset. They could make hundreds more from each lifetime member every few years if they would upgrade the box. However TIVO management does not understand how to make money and grow a business so say see ya to ThIeVO today because they are history tomorrow! They actual believe that the reason why they cannot accommodate customers and execute this profitable business practice is because the software they use does not have an option to transfer lifetime subscriptions, or maybe this is just the poor excuse made up by the folks who work customer service to save face. TIVO change or be changed. I have changed and no longer use ThIeVO.
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Tivo Sucks!
I was a total Tivo convert...in the beginning. Even after my initial machine died within months, I was a believer. Tivo really was a great tool. But I've found when it doesn't work, it really lets you down. The issue is trust. You have to trust that it works. And I have lost that. I trusted that the two final episodes of 24 were safely stored on my machine. But my machine had died. Sorry says Tivo, but I'll sell you another one! I have to wonder, as a lifetime subscriber, if my machine died or was murdered. Afterall, Tivo wasn't making any more money off me by the time my machine bit the dust. So why not sell me another. And, although I waffled, I eventually went ahead and bought a new machine, sent the corpse back at my own expense and thought I might find new love. Not so fast. After setting up the third machine, it froze my tv completely and didn't record. Spent time with tech support and thought the problem was fixed. Set up a season pass or two and then poof! Same glitch. Number three machine is a lemon. And customer service could use some help in defining customer and service...make me happy, restore my faith -- because I am no longer a blind ambassador. This is Tivo's last chance!
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Tivo See you Later!
Tivo See you Later!
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Tivo Vs. Jetcast
would like to introduce you to www.Jetcast.com . We would like to work with you to add your “Live” or “Pre-Recorded Loop” Channel(s) that could be posted on all of your website’s and within our Jetcast guide 24/7 to help build awareness and demand for your programming. You will not pay for the traditional bandwidth to have this service whether one person watches or one million people watch. This will allow both your users and our users to Watch and promote your service at little to No Cost to You. If you go to www.jetcast.com you will see that our site is a free service for content owners like yourself. We provide all the solutions and infrastructure for content owners to broadcast without the bandwidth costs. There are no catches. You can read the details on the site or feel free to contact us. http://www.jetcast.com/?page=becomeabroadcaster Technology We are proud to announce the launch of our alpha Jetcast service where broadcasters can use our new secure and efficient Jet:// protocol instead of the current mms:// or http:// protocols which will save over the traditional costs of per megabit transfer streaming rates. This will allow internet broadcasters who have struggled to be profitable because of these huge streaming costs now have a new technology that will allow you to monetize content. Marketing & Traffic You can create as many channels as you wish and embed those channels on any site you choose and allow others to embed your channels without incurring any additional streaming costs; this will allow you to take advantage of the internets viral marketing for popular content, which will increase your viewers and revenue for your channels without increasing your streaming costs. Webcam’s Add a webcam’s feature and let viewers connect with behind the scenes programming on selected days or times at no additional costs. Live Event Promotions Film Live events and either create a channel on the fly or pre record it and post a recorded loop for your potential customers to view later. Kind Regards content@jetcast.com www.Jetcast.com
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Tivo Vs. Jetcast
would like to introduce you to www.Jetcast.com . We would like to work with you to add your “Live” or “Pre-Recorded Loop” Channel(s) that could be posted on all of your website’s and within our Jetcast guide 24/7 to help build awareness and demand for your programming. You will not pay for the traditional bandwidth to have this service whether one person watches or one million people watch. This will allow both your users and our users to Watch and promote your service at little to No Cost to You. If you go to www.jetcast.com you will see that our site is a free service for content owners like yourself. We provide all the solutions and infrastructure for content owners to broadcast without the bandwidth costs. There are no catches. You can read the details on the site or feel free to contact us. http://www.jetcast.com/?page=becomeabroadcaster Technology We are proud to announce the launch of our alpha Jetcast service where broadcasters can use our new secure and efficient Jet:// protocol instead of the current mms:// or http:// protocols which will save over the traditional costs of per megabit transfer streaming rates. This will allow internet broadcasters who have struggled to be profitable because of these huge streaming costs now have a new technology that will allow you to monetize content. Marketing & Traffic You can create as many channels as you wish and embed those channels on any site you choose and allow others to embed your channels without incurring any additional streaming costs; this will allow you to take advantage of the internets viral marketing for popular content, which will increase your viewers and revenue for your channels without increasing your streaming costs. Webcam’s Add a webcam’s feature and let viewers connect with behind the scenes programming on selected days or times at no additional costs. Live Event Promotions Film Live events and either create a channel on the fly or pre record it and post a recorded loop for your potential customers to view later. Kind Regards content@jetcast.com www.Jetcast.com
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tivo machines suck
Tivo #1 died after 17 months
Tivo #2 (refurbished) is now freezing after 9 months
Tivo #3 after 17 months is showing signs of being on it's way out
I just want two functioning machines for at least 2 years, is that too much to ask?
$600 in less than 2 years and I'm supposed to put more money into these machines ?? Love the TIVO service but hate the machines.
Anyone else having these problems with quality of the TIVO machine?
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Tivo ruins American Idol
Seems like a good idea, this Tivo thing. Saved us about 20 hours watching American Idol, and then, blam, on the last night of the last show, AI runs five minutes too long. We had set Tivo to extend 2 minutes beyond the end of every show, but Tivo is too damn stupid to know that the biggest show in America is running long, so we missed the season ending moment. Geez.
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Tivo sucks because they promise you rebates that they try like hell to beat you out of, and they managed to beat me outta mine, so thats why I think Tivo sucks, and when my contract runs out I'll look elsewhere, like maybe dish network.
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Poor customer service
My girlfriend ordered a DT box for my birthday. I called twice after the 1st and 2nd week that the product was not shipped even though they promptly charged her credit card. 2 CS reps told me that "UPS doesn't always scan every package". Total BS lie. Then I got 2 stories about the box was on/off backorder. 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving, you'd think they'd have enough in stock right? They were nice enough to send a confirmation email that the box was shipped but apparantly all they did was send the billing information to UPS. When I asked to be compensated for ruining my birthday surprise, they offered nothing in return. I promptly had the order cancelled. If they can't own up to their own shipping error, what other problems will they not own up to down the road?
Fcuk Tivo and their crappy customer service.
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TiVo is SWEET!
I understand you all have had bad experiences....but that doesn't mean TiVo SUCKS. The Idea is great..its networking functionality is INCREDIBLE..i was on vacation, and i saw a commercial that a new season of a show i realy wanted to see was starting...so i got online to MMA "Manage my Account' went to 'Online Scheduling'...sent a message over to my tivo to record the show, when i got home it was waiting for me!! Oh..i cant leave out when i was on the plane heading to my vacation destination...i was able to watch my shows on my laptop..talk about a nice plane ride.
Whats realy special...my family lives out of state so we do not see them very often and TiVo helps us share family memories...we can share our home videos back and forth from our tivos with One True Media...we can rent movies from amazon right from the couch...listen to our music from the PC on our home stereo system..look at our photos on the TV instead of our monitor....the possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!! Give TiVo another chance guys..c'mon!!
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