Discriminating Taste Not Included
If video killed the radio star, then Tivo must have killed the VCR.
As most of you already know, a few months ago I purchased a Tivo. For someone as addicted to everything pop culture as I am, it was a long overdue purchase. The Tivo is great, but unlike most people, my Tivo has not replaced my VCR. Choosing between my Tivo and my VCR is like asking me to choose between my children, I love them both the same. Well maybe not exactly the same, but I tell them that anyway.
Some of you might be wondering why it is necessary to use the downright prehistoric VCR after purchasing a Tivo. The answer to this my friends, is simple. 1. My Tivo cannot, for some reason, record pay cable channels over a certain number and 2. Sometimes I actually want to record more than one thing at the same time, which Tivo, no matter how magnificient, is not equipped to handle...yet. I suppose most folks aren't as fanatic about crappy television as I am.
So instead they are like Ebony & Ivory, working together in harmony. It requires a little bit of orchestration on my part, but for the most part it is worth it. However I do know that the whole purpose of having a Tivo is to avoid the headache of remembering when and where your favorite show is going to be on. All you have to do is put in your show (and or fave actor) and voila! Tivo finds and records what you want without you doing anything else. Sit Ubu sit. Good dog.
All this is fine and well, except I quickly realized I must be a high maintenance Tivoer. For instance, I take for granted that this machine is smart enough to do things sometimes it just isn't equipped to do. Sometimes I will schedule a season pass (meaning it records all the shows, new and/or old for a given program). Then I will go to schedule another show, and if the two overlap, Tivo gives me options. This is when a little creative maneuvering comes in to play.
But I realized the hard way that once the season passes are programmed and you forget about them, sometimes it makes the decision to record one show for you and not the other all on its own. How dare Tivo think it can make my decisions for me! In this respect, I have actually lost out on a few programs because I thought Tivo was "handling it". I suppose this is a stupid move, not unlike giving too much responsibility to a teenager. Sometimes, they just aren't ready for it yet.
So now I know that in order to use my Tivo effectively, I have to monitor my recording options closely. I also try to make sure it doesn't record the same episode of anything twice, but that's often easier said than done. For instance, I had a season pass for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart but it started recording an insane amount of episodes, most of them which were duplicates. I tried to avoid this, but I think the problem is that Comedy Central offers incomplete descriptions of the eps and Tivo don't know what you don't tell it.
The other funny feature that Tivo posseses are "Tivo's Suggestions". These suggestions can be turned off or on, but I left them on just for the hell of it. The premise is simple. Once you start to get into a groove with what you record, Tivo gets a feel for what you like. In a way this is comforting, in a way creepy. It's like Tivo is Big Brother, "always watching". Big Brother is also, incidentally a show on my Tivo, but that's neither here nor there.
However I now know that Tivo's suggestions should really be called "Shots In The Dark". I mean come on. I've had my Tivo long enough now that it should know anything with a title full of words in another language is simply something I'm not going to watch. I also noticed it likes to zero in on certain types of shows, because it can.
Oh you once recorded a show that involves animals? This must mean you like animals. Well let me, in turn, record EVERY SHOW EVER THAT HAS AN ANIMAL IN IT.
This is not unlike going to your grandmother's house on Christmas, mentioning you like ham once and getting a ham EVERY. SINGLE. CHRISTMAS. AFTER. THE. FACT. FOR. THE. NEXT. TEN. YEARS. I would know since this also happened to me.
In conclusion, the Tivo is a great little tool if you are a nerd with too much time on their hands like yours truly. But a piece of advice. Don't abandon that VCR just yet. Life is full of missed opportunities. Why make any of them of the VHS variety?
As most of you already know, a few months ago I purchased a Tivo. For someone as addicted to everything pop culture as I am, it was a long overdue purchase. The Tivo is great, but unlike most people, my Tivo has not replaced my VCR. Choosing between my Tivo and my VCR is like asking me to choose between my children, I love them both the same. Well maybe not exactly the same, but I tell them that anyway.
Some of you might be wondering why it is necessary to use the downright prehistoric VCR after purchasing a Tivo. The answer to this my friends, is simple. 1. My Tivo cannot, for some reason, record pay cable channels over a certain number and 2. Sometimes I actually want to record more than one thing at the same time, which Tivo, no matter how magnificient, is not equipped to handle...yet. I suppose most folks aren't as fanatic about crappy television as I am.
So instead they are like Ebony & Ivory, working together in harmony. It requires a little bit of orchestration on my part, but for the most part it is worth it. However I do know that the whole purpose of having a Tivo is to avoid the headache of remembering when and where your favorite show is going to be on. All you have to do is put in your show (and or fave actor) and voila! Tivo finds and records what you want without you doing anything else. Sit Ubu sit. Good dog.
All this is fine and well, except I quickly realized I must be a high maintenance Tivoer. For instance, I take for granted that this machine is smart enough to do things sometimes it just isn't equipped to do. Sometimes I will schedule a season pass (meaning it records all the shows, new and/or old for a given program). Then I will go to schedule another show, and if the two overlap, Tivo gives me options. This is when a little creative maneuvering comes in to play.
But I realized the hard way that once the season passes are programmed and you forget about them, sometimes it makes the decision to record one show for you and not the other all on its own. How dare Tivo think it can make my decisions for me! In this respect, I have actually lost out on a few programs because I thought Tivo was "handling it". I suppose this is a stupid move, not unlike giving too much responsibility to a teenager. Sometimes, they just aren't ready for it yet.
So now I know that in order to use my Tivo effectively, I have to monitor my recording options closely. I also try to make sure it doesn't record the same episode of anything twice, but that's often easier said than done. For instance, I had a season pass for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart but it started recording an insane amount of episodes, most of them which were duplicates. I tried to avoid this, but I think the problem is that Comedy Central offers incomplete descriptions of the eps and Tivo don't know what you don't tell it.
The other funny feature that Tivo posseses are "Tivo's Suggestions". These suggestions can be turned off or on, but I left them on just for the hell of it. The premise is simple. Once you start to get into a groove with what you record, Tivo gets a feel for what you like. In a way this is comforting, in a way creepy. It's like Tivo is Big Brother, "always watching". Big Brother is also, incidentally a show on my Tivo, but that's neither here nor there.
However I now know that Tivo's suggestions should really be called "Shots In The Dark". I mean come on. I've had my Tivo long enough now that it should know anything with a title full of words in another language is simply something I'm not going to watch. I also noticed it likes to zero in on certain types of shows, because it can.
Oh you once recorded a show that involves animals? This must mean you like animals. Well let me, in turn, record EVERY SHOW EVER THAT HAS AN ANIMAL IN IT.
This is not unlike going to your grandmother's house on Christmas, mentioning you like ham once and getting a ham EVERY. SINGLE. CHRISTMAS. AFTER. THE. FACT. FOR. THE. NEXT. TEN. YEARS. I would know since this also happened to me.
In conclusion, the Tivo is a great little tool if you are a nerd with too much time on their hands like yours truly. But a piece of advice. Don't abandon that VCR just yet. Life is full of missed opportunities. Why make any of them of the VHS variety?
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