DVR

Centerfield
Jul 09 2007 11:13 AM

Just got it this weekend. I can't believe I waited so long to do this. It has actually changed my life.

Vic Sage
Jul 09 2007 11:18 AM

everybody i know says this, but i have been unable to pull the trigger. What did you get?

And whats the diff between that and TiVo?

Benjamin Grimm
Jul 09 2007 11:18 AM

Play your cards right, and you'll never have to watch a commercial again. (The only times I can't avoid them is when I watch a baseball game as its being played. But I often watch even baseball on a TiVo-delay.)

TheOldMole
Jul 09 2007 11:20 AM

I could no longer live without it.

Iubitul
Jul 09 2007 12:29 PM

Tivo is a beautiful thing. if you miss something, just rewind - if the phone rings, just hit pause - even with live TV.

seawolf17
Jul 09 2007 01:07 PM

We got the Cablevision DVR last summer, and it's incredible. I don't know how we existed without it. Might be one of the five best inventions ever.

Centerfield
Jul 09 2007 01:38 PM

="Vic Sage"]everybody i know says this, but i have been unable to pull the trigger. What did you get?

And whats the diff between that and TiVo?

I'm no expert on this but I think they are basically the same thing. I got DVR from Time-Warner Cable. All I had to do was unplug my cable box, bring it into TWC, and get a DVR box. I hooked it up in five minutes, I'm paying $8.95 more per month, and now I can watch any show any time I want with no effort.

I can't believe that I tried to, and largely failed, to get my kid to sleep in time to watch Heroes only to give up halfway through the season. I can't believe I waited until monday to watch Sopranos all season long because my son would fall asleep at 9:30 and I didn't want to watch half the episode. It actually makes me kind of angry at myself for waiting so long.

Actual conversation with my brother-in-law:

BIL: It's great. I don't know how you lived without it.

ME: Do you still use it a lot? Or does the novelty wear off?

BIL: No way. Like just today, I was watching Rumor Has It, and Jennifer Aniston comes very close to showing boob. So I rewound it a bunch of times to see if she did.

ME: Did she?

BIL: No, but the point is, it's great that you can go back and check. If she did show boob, I could have looped it and watched it all afternoon.

ME: That's a great afternoon.

BIL: This is what I'm saying.

Benjamin Grimm
Jul 09 2007 01:44 PM

There's no "novelty" to wear off. It's like eating soup with a spoon instead of a fork. You'd never go back to the old way.

metsmarathon
Jul 09 2007 07:46 PM

when did you used to eat soup with a fork?

Benjamin Grimm
Jul 09 2007 08:17 PM

Before I got TiVo. Duh!

Vic Sage
Jul 10 2007 09:40 AM

i'm going for the Optimum Triple play... which includes DVR services for 1 year, free!

i'll soon see what all the fuss is about.

Methead
Jul 10 2007 12:26 PM

Yeah, I've got the Optimum DVR... yes, it has changed the way I watch TV but I hear the interface BLOWS compared to most others. Not having used the others, I can't tell you for sure.

The big problem for me is, if I tell it to record every Mets game, for example... it only records during the timeslot that's been alotted to it by the cable company (usually 2.5 hours). If the game runs long it gets cut off. As a result, I have to set up the recording manually each time, allowing 3.5 to 4 hours in case of extra innings.

Are they all like this?

Benjamin Grimm
Jul 10 2007 12:55 PM

With TiVo the game would also cut off after 3 hours. But TiVo gives you the option of recording an extra minute up to an extra 3 hours. When I record a baseball game I always tell it to go 6 hours.

metsmarathon
Jul 10 2007 01:28 PM

i have a tivo, but when we got the house, we decided to get directv with dvr boxes on two of our three tvs.

there's no comparison. tivo is so much better. its almost impossible to appreciate how much better tivo is than the alternative until you experience both.

sadly, the directv boxes are all paid for. such a comparatively awful, and funless, interface.

Benjamin Grimm
Jul 10 2007 01:36 PM

I've only seen the TiVo interface, but I have heard that it's a lot better than the others. It really is friendly and easy to use, but since I haven't seen the others, I can't vouch for TiVo being much better.

Marathon, however, apparently can.

seawolf17
Jul 10 2007 01:37 PM

Yeah, you can set the Cablevision DVR to be whatever time interval you want. We set it for four hours, but after the other night, I might change it to six.

Iubitul
Jul 10 2007 02:55 PM

The best part of TiVo is the Tivo desktop software. I have it all hooked up to my home network, and I can transfer recordings to any PC on the network.

Methead
Jul 10 2007 03:12 PM

That's cool. The Optimum DVR has a firewire port so you can hook an external drive to it. Not quite as elegant, but I'll take it.

Gwreck
Jul 10 2007 10:27 PM

The Time Warner DVR (which I have as well) is pretty good, but the best one I've seen was the one my parents had with Dish Network.

In addition to the fast-forward, rewind, etc. buttons there is a "fast forward 30 seconds button." It literally revolutionized the way I watched football and baseball, and that's only on the rare occasions I was visiting them. (Imagine going directly from snap to snap!). It also had a "rewind 10 seconds" button that was very handy.

The Time Warner DVR box has a "back 5 seconds" button which I find dramatically less useful.

On a particularly relevant note, I find myself watching the games with a DVR delay so often now that I think it really cuts down on IGT participation.

Iubitul
Jul 11 2007 07:23 AM

The 30 second fast-forward is great - you can program your TiVo remote for that as well.

One of the additional benefits of hooking up Tivo to your home network is the ability to play your mp3s from your computer on your stereo.

Here's 5 more adjustments you can make: http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2007-05/top-5-tivo-hacks-for-non-hackers/

Johnny Dickshot
Jul 11 2007 07:32 AM

Scary Seaver! Run!