Addicted to my TIVO!
Written: Jul 06 '01 (Updated Jul 06 '01)
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Pros: Let's you watch your favorite shows when you want to watch them!
Cons: Makes it hard when your child knows that her shows can be on anytime also!
The Bottom Line: Gives you the freedom to watch your favorite shows when you choose to! I LOVE MY TIVO!
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| kitt's Full Review: Philips PTV100 Video Recorder |
I want to start of by saying that this TIVO was actually bought as a Father's day gift for my husband last year(his idea). My gut reaction was that it was going to be another thing to clutter my living room. (Boy was I wrong!) The amazing part is that I was the one who ending up getting addicted to it. Addicted is 100% the right word for what you get when you have a TIVO in the house. I can't watch shows on regular television broadcasting anymore without driving myself crazy wanting the commercials to be over and done with.
TIVO allows you the freedom to watch your favorite shows anytime. For me that means watching my soaps at 10pm and not 12 noon. I love the fact that if I am watching ER and the baby wakes up I can just put the TIVO on pause and watch rest of the show when he has gone back to sleep and I didn't have to pop a tape in. Just one press of the orange button and my show waits for me. This pause button is also called a "buffer". When you press pause and the show is put on hold you gain "buffer". What this means is that when you restart the show you can then fast forward thru any commercials that had come on during the time you were away from the t.v.
Another great feature with "buffer" is that the TIVO is always recording. SO, if you turn on the t.v. and it comes on to channel 5 whatever show that is on channel 5 has been stored up in "buffer" for the last 30 minutes. So, If you turn your t.v on and Oprah has a guest on that looked interesting and you kick yourself cause you missed it, you didn't. You can just rewind the "buffer". VIOLA! There it is in full!
As I stated above, TIVO does not use video tapes so it is so convenient for parent's to just record your child's favorite show and turn it on when they want it without fumbling with finding the right tape, rewinding it, then forwarding through all the previews to the actual show they want. With TIVO it rewinds all the way with 1 button press and takes 1 second to be done. Same with fast forward - although you do have the option of using the arrows if you want to go slower. On my TIVO I have a Dora,a barney, a Sesame street and a bob the building waiting in the wings.
(Even my daughter is confused why her shows are not on the upstairs T.V or on Nannie's T.V all the time)
Along with the ease of taping without using video tapes is the ease of taping the shows at all. It's just so simple and I am not a technical person by any means. I understood how to use the TIVO right away it was that simple and I have trouble with the microwave. To tape all you do is basically press the arrows to scroll down on the screen with the shows available and click the "select" button. Then from there you press record. But you can record shows 2 weeks in advance if you know that it's coming on. Another option if the show is already recording you can just press the record button on the clicker.
A great feature for recording shows that you know that you always watch is the "season pass". This means that TIVO will tape this show anytime it is on and you don't have to keep directing it to do so. I have Port Charles taped everyday at 12:30 where ever i am I don't have to remember to press record or set any timers or anything. So easy!
TIVO will also (optional - can be turned off as to not waste recording room) tape movies that seem to be like movies that you liked in the past on it's own. The way this is done is with the "thumbs up, thumbs down" buttons. If you decide to not have TIVO record shows on it's own it will store the suggestions in a suggestions list.
Another list that TIVO makes for you is a "Wish list". You can enter in either movies you are waiting to come on or Actors that you like to watch and the TIVO will automatically look for them and tape them for you. Or you can opt for the TIVO to store the times in another list for you tape tell it to tape and it won't do it on it's own.
As for cost for the service (besides the $400 I spent on the TIVO recording device itself) it costs either $10 per month or $150 for the lifetime of your TIVO unit. We were very lucky when we signed up for TIVO there was a $50 rebate going on for the purchase of the the unit. So check that out for your area.
But, I have to say my favorite feature is the fact that you can be watching one show that you already taped and taping another at the same time. That way you never have to waste your time watching another commercial and you can addicted like me!
I LOVE MY TIVO! Every home should have one!
Have Fun!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
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Epinions.com ID:
kitt
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Member: Kathy
Reviews written: 159
Trusted by: 56 members
About Me:
Who am I? A friend, a wife and a mommy!
"Save the best for last!"
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