So you may ask, “How is TiVo different from stockpiling shows on a VCR? Well, I found the first thing you do after being away from the system for a day or so is to go directly to the Now Playing List. Here you will find all the programs and movies TiVo has recorded for you either by your own request or by its own suggestions to your personal tastes. As you become more and more comfortable with the TiVo capabilities and performance, you will find that a good deal of your viewing will come from the Now Playing List. Why would you bother with a live broadcast of your favorite program, having to deal with the network time schedule and the endless commercials? The picture resolution is the same whether you are watching live television from DirecTV or a recorded program from the now playing list. And the picture quality is excellent.



There were two reasons why I waited so long in the game to jump on the TiVo bandwagon. First, was the fact that the standalone TiVo units did not include a built-in digital satellite receiver. This meant that they had to convert the incoming signal to digital using an MPEG encoder. This is one reason why the standalone TiVo units have a choice of recording quality levels. Giving the user a choice of recording quality levels is a direct function of the unit performing its own encoding. A 30-hour standalone TiVo was never equal to 30 hours of recording space at the highest quality recording level. The satellite receiver combo unit receives an already encoded signal from DirecTV and records it in the same original bitstream to the hard drive. So, the signal recorded on the combo unit is the same exact picture quality as the live DirecTV signal, because the combo units have no MPEG encoders.

An hour-long drama now takes only 49 minutes to view, if you skip all the commercials, and you don't have to skip them if you don't want to. Forty-eight minutes of actual programming time and 1 minute for fast forwarding through commercials. Pressing the forward button on the remote repeatedly cycles through three speeds of fast forward. The fast motion is so clear, that one is still well aware of the products on display. The user can stop it at any time to view a desired commercial or product. So in essence you will find yourself watching the same amount of television in a lesser amount of time. If you happen to be a political junkie, like myself, TiVo is an invaluable asset. Quick scanning past uninteresting political guests or debates provides a valuable time savings. I can buzz through a Hannity & Colmes in almost half the time by skipping over some unwanted topics and advertisements. I find that the only live television I really watch anymore are sporting events and games. I have never enjoyed a game where I am aware of the outcome. There are far too many information outlets to keep scores a secret until I get to watch the contest. So in essence, TiVo increases the quality of your viewing time, and does so in a time efficient manner. Better time management can only benefit the quality of our lives.

The second reason for holding back on the sidelines was the wait for two-tuner capability. The T60 along with software version 2.5 remedied the situation. Not only can you watch something while recording another, but you can also record two programs airing at the same time, while still watching another pre-recorded program from the Now Playing List. VCRs don't even come close to this. The second tuner has come in extra handy this television season. The network brain trust found it an important decision to place a number of excellent programs at 9pm Tuesday. With TiVo, one need not play the network games anymore. I can watch the new Fox show “24” and my old staple “N.Y.P.D. Blue” when I see fit, on Tuesday night or any other time my heart desires. It seems the TiVo slogan is backed up through actual use of the device. Wow, truth in advertising, what a concept!

Using the search features, you will be hard pressed to miss any upcoming favorites. The days of squinting through tiny print guides for your all time favorite movies are long gone. How often did you check the late and overnight listings for programs you may have missed and still wanted a chance to record? I rarely did and was losing a last chance to see a number of movies and specials that aired in a particular month. Utilizing one of the search methods, I was able to find a History Channel program on the true story of Black Hawk Down that I had missed on its first go around. In a matter of seconds, TiVo found a 3am airing for me to record. Previously, I probably would have missed this airing altogether and lost a final chance to view the program. If you utilize the thumbs up/thumbs down rating system TiVo will even find favorites that you missed completely. With so many channels to choose from, it's always good to have an ally helping you out.

There is an excellent TiVo forum website affiliated with the AV Science Forum. It is called the TiVo Community Forum and can be found at: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/.
Members from novice to master serve up a myriad of informative topics concerning all aspects of TiVo. In fact, I believe some actual TiVo representatives are also available and monitor some of the subjects. In reading some posts concerning a few members' hardware problems, I was given valuable insight on precautionary care and handling of the Sony SAT-T60. Let me first note that there are over 200,000 subscribers to TiVo. So, while those that post their problems seem glaring, they are not near the norm. It may be a case of the old squeaky wheel making the most noise. Those users that are enjoying their units are not finding time to write, whereas those having problems need a place to vent. In any case, we can learn from some of these posts.

One issue I mentioned is internal temperature of the DirecTV/Tivo unit. Remember the hard drive of this unit is spinning 24/7, so basically your unit is always on. Temperature is an important factor to check. You can view the internal temperature by going to the System Information page of TiVo Central window. Scroll down the system info and you will see the current internal temperature. I have noticed that anywhere from 40-65⁰C is the normal range, where according to Sony you are safe up to 80⁰C. Heat is never a healthy aspect to a unit's lifespan. So, don't place this unit in an enclosed audio rack where ventilation is greatly limited. I would highly recommend putting it in an open space so that air can circulate freely around the unit. This will help for more efficient use of the cooling fan. A good tip I learned from the TiVo Community Forum was to purchase some inexpensive audio feet. This raises the unit off the surface and increases airflow, since the ventilation openings on the Sony are positioned on the bottom of the unit. Helping your unit keep a cool outlook can only add to a happy lifespan of the device.

I note here as not so much downsides to the technology, but improvements for the next generation of units. Well, I could always use more hard disk space. I thought 35 hours was well more than I would need, but you would be surprised how quickly it fills up, especially when you are recording two-hour blocks for movies. Some members of the TiVo forum have found DIY methods of increasing hard disk space. They all involve voiding the Sony warranty. So, I will not recommend any procedures or costs and leave it up to the reader to discover their worth of effort. A second S-Video output would be a nice addition, to improve the quality of archived copies on to a S-VHS VCR, or better yet, onto a DVD recorder.

Summary

I am trying my best not to sound like the man on the street caught in the dimensional realm of a TiVo infomercial. But I cannot deny that the Sony DirecTV satellite receiver with the TiVo service lives up to all the advertising hype. It most certainly has changed the way I view television. As I mentioned previously, outside of sporting events, I find myself rarely watching live TV anymore. It is right to the Now Playing List to choose what I am in the mood to watch today. New time slots, programs slated against each other, and too many commercials, are no longer issues in the TiVo world. The pendulum of control has clearly shifted over to the viewer's side of things, rather than the network suits. Not only have I taken control of my viewing quality, but also I have done so within a finite amount of viewing time. How can anyone not like higher quality in a lesser amount of time! All these control features combined with the same DirecTV digital picture quality. Am I in television nirvana or what?

TiVo gives you two methods of payment for its subscription services. You can either pay $9.95 per month or $249 for a lifetime subscription. DirecTV programming certainly is not a cheap investment. Over the course of a year, it can eat up a substantial percentage of your entertainment budget. As with so many things in life, you always want to get the most bang out of your spending dollar. Paying a bit more to get the most out of your DirecTV programming package is well worth the added $10 per month. I can't tell you how many movie nights went by in the past with nothing interesting to watch. With TiVo there is always something interesting available. Some would even say the extra $10 per month is very cost efficient.

Years ago my grandmother would reply to the concept of future TV, by asking how could you ever find the time to watch 500 different channels? Well Grandma, I think they have come up with an answer and its called DirecTV with TiVo.

- Michael James -