Reasons to Buy a TiVo Recorder

I'm not exaggerating when I say that TiVo has changed my life. In fact, I can't remember what life was like before I had my trusty TiVo programming all of my favorite television shows. I love it with all of my heart. The relationship spawned off a recommendation from my friend when he told me that the capabilities of TiVo allows you to pause television shows when you take a bathroom break or rewind live TV to replay a great tackle during a football game.

When I moved into my house last year and switched from cable to satellite, I signed up for the TiVo not knowing what to expect. What happened was a love so strong and gratifying that left me smitten for days and knowing that this relationship would surely be that of a long-term basis. Let me back up here. I'm sure you have some questions.

What exactly is a TiVo, you may ask? I'm sure you've heard of it before. (Pronounced Tee-Vo.) TiVo is a popular brand of digital video recorder (DVR) that allows the consumer to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing. That sounds pretty serious, huh? What it means is that it performs all of the same functions of a VCR, but without worrying about finding space on a tape, rewinding tapes, or setting your VCR to record.

The TiVo makes it incredibly simple at taping your favorite television shows by just clicking a few buttons on the guide. To pull up your taped shows, you click another button and a screen pops up with prior listings. One click later you're watching your show. It's so simple a caveman could do it! Wait, isn't that witty advertising slogan already taken?

Though operating your TiVo recorder is simple, they actually contain much more sophisticated software to recorded programs than VCRs. Unlike tape based recorders, a TiVo can record a new program while playing any previously recorded program. It's like TV heaven.

The TiVo allows a user to specify which programs to record by time, program title, and by other combinations such as genre or actor. These programs are stored until the internal storage is filled or until the user disposes of these older programs. There's another highly useful feature called "Season Pass" that instructs the TiVo to record a show through the entire season on a particular channel. You also have the option under Season Pass to record an episode by first run only, first run and repeats, or all episodes.

Consider this scenario: You're out to eat with your wife or husband and you remember suddenly that your favorite television show is on that night. Under a Season Pass there would be no need to worry. The show is recording for you and will be waiting on you by the time you get home. It remembers to that you don't have to.

The WishList is another useful feature. A WishList is a stored search that has five different types: Keyword, Director, Actor, Category, and Title. For instance, if you typed in Clint Eastwood and Action Adventure, the TiVo would automatically record any upcoming showings that include those two search criteria items. Pretty neat, wouldn't you say? So for all of you fans obsessed with a certain actor or actress, this is the invention of the century!

In addition to the programs specified by the users there is also a feature that will record additional programs based on the viewing habits of the household. This feature is called TiVo Suggestions. This is how it works: Users can rate programs favorably or unfavorably by pressing a button and rating something "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." TiVo then filters these ratings, studies them, and produces a recommendation score for unrated show.

For instance, if during a Nascar race you selected the "thumbs up" rating, then TiVo would automatically compile a list of upcoming shows that are either Nascar related or automobile related. By checking your Suggestions box you would see a series of shows such as Orange County Choppers or Formula One Racing set to be recorded.

The next feature is my favorite of all things TiVo. When TiVo is not recording a program, the unit automatically records the currently tuned channel into a live buffer. This is a temporary recording and it loses the recording each time you flip the channel. The great thing about this is that it allows the user to pause or rewind live TV within a thirty minute window. Have you ever had the phone to ring during a television show and you miss half the show?

With TiVo you can pause the show and come back to it and hit play. After you've caught up, you can hit the Live TV button and it will take you forward. The rewind feature is also great for the sports fan. Have you ever seen a great play, tackle, or shot and you wanted to see it again? With TiVo, simply hit the back arrow button and it allows you to play the image at regular or slow speed. It's also great if you're watching a show and you're curious what the actor or actress just said because you didn't quite hear it, rewind it back and watch it until you get it!

Those are just a few of the numerous cool features about TiVo. If you're in the market for a DVR recorder, then I highly recommend this brand, in particular. You won't be disappointed!