Wow, DVR, thanks for all those options

Lawrence Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 06:54 PM EST

Excellent article and comments.
However, I think cable television is becoming extinct. It will eventually be replaced by satellite TV which is becoming the norm, especially in locales outside the United States. More information about satellite TV is at http://www.1-satellite-tv-facts.com

Deens Sat, May 12, 2007 at 11:53 PM EST

I love you Annie Barrett! Shhh don't tell DVR/LP

Ana Sat, May 12, 2007 at 12:06 AM EST

DVR does tell you how much room you have left to record (main menu midscreen left side), reflected as XX% available. Each % = 1 hour.

KH Fri, May 11, 2007 at 03:27 PM EST

I've never had Tivo but I LOVE our dual-tuner DVR from Comcast. Once in a while there's a glitch but usually it's smooth sailing and it's never actually deleted anything. Best thing is, I can record two shows at once, and watch something I've recorded, all at the same time! And it holds a huge number of hours of TV...

duh Fri, May 11, 2007 at 02:36 PM EST

it's an ultimatum because there is only one button she can press to exit the window

Allison Fri, May 11, 2007 at 01:41 PM EST

I've got a love/hate relationship with my DVR. Annie, I feel your pain. I taped last week's ER wedding to my VHS only to have the stupid "you do not have enough space available" message displayed through out the entire show! Thank goodness for YouTube! Also, it would be nice if the DVR would let you know how many hours you have left to tape so you can plan accordingly. Ooh, it's nice to vent!

Kate Fri, May 11, 2007 at 01:40 PM EST

I hate to say this but isn't an ultimatum more like "Either you do this or else?" Where is the error message giving you an ultimatum?

Nick Fri, May 11, 2007 at 12:51 PM EST

hahaha although i'm sorry to hear about your misfortune Annie....funny writing! thanks!

Rebekah Fri, May 11, 2007 at 12:45 PM EST

To my DVR/Life Partner, When I say, "Tape first run episodes only," could you not tape the Sopranos 50 times a week? Other than that, love ya!

bj Fri, May 11, 2007 at 12:08 PM EST

TiVo oh great wonder. That shall let me transfer programming to my computer. And transfer back to tivoFull Seasons of Battlestar office oh my

Ed Fri, May 11, 2007 at 12:05 PM EST

I had the best DVR service with Direct TV but when I moved I had to sign up with Time Warner.
I knew it was going to be a rocky relationship when I ordered DVR from TW when they told me they didn't have enough DVR boxes in my area. I live in souther CA how can we not have enough boxes?! They've called twice already to tell me they now have enough boxes but with their crappy service, they schedule 2 weeks after the call, by then I forget they're coming and have to reschedule.
I realized that the only way I can watch t.v shows is if I have a recorder; i've missed Greys for the last couple of months because I'm out of service - whaaa!

Amanda Fri, May 11, 2007 at 11:36 AM EST

When I lived in New York, we had Comcast DVR. IT ONCE ERASED EVERYTHING. I'm sure you other tv addicts can relate -- but then, afterwards, I almost felt relief. That was 40 hours of television I did not have to schedule with my roommate (we had intense tv scheduling issues).

Now I have the Dish with DVR, which is nice because it's cheap but has 100 hours. Still, of course, not enough though.

Ep Sato Fri, May 11, 2007 at 11:19 AM EST

scotty,
I went through the same headache with Comcast. The only way to get HBO is to use their box, which means you have to reboot the tivo and do a whole bunch of pain in the heineken work! The only upside is that with On demand and Tivo, there's no longer any reason to leave the house on weeknights.

Cate Fri, May 11, 2007 at 11:12 AM EST

TIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOOO. Say it with me. The solution to all of life's problems.

Kevin Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:57 AM EST

Melissa, don't be hating on TiVo. Maybe I'm spoiled since I got a lifetime subscription 7 years ago (which they let me transfer to a TiVo 2).

Scotty Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:41 AM EST

This had me cracking up at my desk, thank you so much for making my morning. Tivo is great BTW and (almost) never has such problems. Which makes dealing with Comcast who continues to insist I get their damn cable box/On Demand crap all the more annoying. I don't f'ing need it!!

Melissa Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:39 AM EST

Oh, wait - I forgot to mention the Tivo cancellation issue. We tried to cancel - so they offered three free months, and then a FOREVER monthly charge of $4. We were pretty convinced that was a great deal - so we agreed. We then received a credit of $38 on our account - which they used to cover the three months that they then charged us "for free." Talk about messing up your checkbook!! They said it was the only way they could give us free Tivo.

Melissa Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:36 AM EST

Oh, I'm going to take the opposite route on this one. I went from Tivo to DVR, and have found myself a MUCH happier TV viewer. Tivo was always giving me, "Can't connect to blah, blah, blah.." and I always had to set up manual recordings. It then decided it no longer wanted to change the channel at the right time, and instead of "The Office," I'd end up with some horrid nightime PBS special. We swear a lot less around our house these days. Thank you DVR.

Kevo Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:03 AM EST

Loved the diminished Mario comment! That always pissed me off! But yeah, I would recommend the awesomeness that is TIVO.

Kevin Fri, May 11, 2007 at 10:01 AM EST

Please, please, please people. GET TIVO. So much better and the company is a pioneer that needs to be supported. TimeWarner doesn't need your dough for its crappy DVR option.

I know others have said it in this thread but TiVo rocks so stop being cheap and buy the box.

Lanie Fri, May 11, 2007 at 09:34 AM EST

*cough* Get TiVo *cough*

John K Fri, May 11, 2007 at 09:23 AM EST

Yeah, get TiVo - much better.

Ep Sato Fri, May 11, 2007 at 09:18 AM EST

Oh, Annie, I fully well understand your love/hate relationship with your DVR. My Tivo once ran out of space (without telling me) and didn't record the season finale of BSG! It was a very bad Friday night.

But more irksome, is Tivo's "you can't do that" drum sound. I associate that sound with feelings of frustration and pure ire.

Jill Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:59 AM EST

I used to have problems like this all the time with the cable company DVR. Then I switched to the real TiVo, and wow how life has changed! It never does stuff like this - it just always works like it is supposed to. It might cost a little more, but isn't that worth it for your "life partner?"

Stu Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:59 AM EST

Two words: get TiVo. All the other DVRs suck @ss.

Stephanie Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:54 AM EST

Hilarious...and an Arrested Development reference to boot.

snarky Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:30 AM EST

too funny- Thank god my DVR (who I also call my "best friend" since he saves all my programs and we spend every night together) has only F*ed up once, and that was only a repeat of the O.C., which was totally forgivable.

I heart my DVR.

Chad Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:29 AM EST

Yeah...recording Bad Girls Club is bad for karma!

Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:21 AM EST

You're super

Cat Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:17 AM EST

Dear DVR/LP,

I know I was a bit behind with my TV watching and you were only at 75% capacity, but can you please tell me what you did some of those episodes from BSG Season 3? I was saving those for a Seasons 1-3 mega marathon in the very near future. Now you know that I don't get SciFi so I depend on Universal HD and/or On Demand to get my BSG Season 3 fix. But why oh why did you make some of the episodes disappear when they were marked do not delete until I delete? Please tell me that you won't be swayed by the cable conglomerate's evil ways. Oh wait, I got you from them, didn't I???

mjo Fri, May 11, 2007 at 08:07 AM EST

That just made my morning. I think I love you.