TiVo

My RSS Feed Has Changed

Erik Lane — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:31:00 GMT

As I posted a day or so ago, I've moved my RSS feed over to FeedBurner. I did a make a small change will let you subscribe to a particular category instead of making everyone subscribe to the main feed. Again, your aggregator should automatically pick up the change so there will be nothing new on your part.

Giddy Up!

Feedburner?

Erik Lane — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 03:05:00 GMT

I'm in the process of switching my RSS feed over to FeedBurner. In doing so there will only be one feed for my blog. I think most, if not all, just subscribe to the main feed so this may not be a big deal. If you do subscribe to a specific category please let me know and I'll be more than happy to work out a way to keep the category feeds alive.

Also, when I do make the switch you shouldn't have to make any adjustments to your subscription. Your aggregator should pick up the change immediately.

Dual Tuner Standalone TiVo

Erik Lane — Tue, 09 May 2006 19:04:00 GMT

This is a couple of weeks old but for those of you not on DirecTV and want the full feature set of TiVo....Stand alone TiVo's will now have dual-tuners. This mean you can record one show while watching another, record two shows at once, etc...

The biggest benefit is the recording two shows at once. If you've bought into "time-shifting" your TV watching schedule then there is no doubt that you'll agree with me on this.

In case you are wondering what I'm talking about, I'll describe it its simple form - don't watch live TV anymore. Its a mind shift I know but once you've made the switch you are no longer on their schedule. No need to make sure you are in front of the TV at 7pm for 24...you can watch it later after the kids have gone to bed or whenever your schedule says you can sit in front of the TV for 40 minutes. Yes, not an hour (remember we can fast forward through commercials). Having dual tuners means that if The Unit has a special episode on at the same time you're recording Ed Young it will be able to record both of them and you can watch both of them when you're good and ready.

Anywho, TiVo rocks and if it doesn't say TiVo - you've got a digital VCR. :-)

<rant>Being on the road means no TiVo and I'm having look up when things come on using Zap2It and it stinks. I like hitting the TiVo button to see what's on and ready for me to watch - when I'm ready to watch it.</rant> Can you say Slingbox?

TiVo coming with Undelete Feature

Erik Lane — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 01:43:00 GMT

Its been a long time since I've posted anything in my TiVo category. The TiVo Series 2 will be getting a software update that will store previously deleted shows in a folder for a period of time before it is deleted permanently.

This doesn't affect me as I've got DirecTiVo but its still a nice feature that I'm sure I could put to good use.

via tech.memorandum

Secret TiVo Tips and Tweaks

Erik Lane — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 20:14:00 GMT

Most of these are not new but just in case you don't frequent the TiVo Community boards here is a good list of them.

This is my personal favorite.

The 30-Second Skip

Series 1 TiVos (those that don't feature a USB port on the back panel) can have the benefit of the 30-second skip-past-commercials feature found in Series 2 boxes. The Advance button that normally brings you to the end of a recorded program will become the "30-Second-Skip" button:

While viewing a recorded program or live TV enter the following sequence on your remote:

Select, Play, Select, 3, 0, Select

If your TiVo plays three Thumbs Up "blings" in a row, the Advance button is now reprogrammed to skip forward by 30 seconds. This bit of reprogramming is not permanent--you'll have to redo it if your TiVo reboots.

[>>PVRblog]

DirecTV 6.2 TiVo Software Upgrade

Erik Lane — Tue, 10 May 2005 13:31:00 GMT

PVRblog was talking about this and I too recieved the mailer from DirecTV about the software upgrade.

Find what you want faster. Navigate through your ON-SCREEN GUIDE more quickly than before. Plus, you'll be able to SEARCH faster for your favorites.

Have more control. You can sort your NOW PLAYING LIST alphabetically or by date recorded.
Get more organized. Our new FOLDERS feature lets you group similar programs in folders for easy reference and retrieval. Some examples:

Each TV series with more than one recorded episode.
Each WishList® search with a recorded program.
TiVo® Suggestions.

The folder feature is pretty nice! I've been wishing for something like that for a while. BUT, two things:

SONY SAT-T60, PHILIPS DSR6000R, HUGHES GXCEBOT and HR10-250 will not receive the 6.2 software upgrade. I have an origial Series 1 TiVo, GXCEBOT, so that one will not get the upgrade and it's on our primary TV.
You have to to make a successful call to the TiVo servers to get the upgrade. I don't have land line phone service. I knew this could be an issue later and was a choice we had to make. Oh well, TiVo is still the best improvment in TV, period!

TiVo inks Partnership Deal with Comcast

Erik Lane — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 13:27:00 GMT

Back in January I had heard that TiVo almost had a deal with Comcast (link) and I was pretty upset with the news that DirecTV will only continue support for their TiVo customers as long as your box is working.

Today TiVo has announced a strategic partnership with Comcast that will make the TiVo service available to Comcast customers.

"This long-term, non-exclusive partnership will provide millions of Comcast customers with the opportunity to choose the TiVo service, including TiVo's award-winning user interface and features like Season Pass(TM) and WishList(TM), as an additional option. In addition, the service will showcase TiVo's home networking, multimedia, and broadband capabilities."

Nothing is said about their box being a dual-tuner but Comcast does realize that they will now be offering the best-in-class DVR service to their customers. Good for them. Although I would like to see what Comcast will charge its customers for this great new service. With DirecTV I pay $5/month no matter how many TiVo's I have. So I get 130+ digital channels and TiVo for about $50/month. The last I checked Comcast isn't close to this but I've got to be honest, I'm a TiVo customer and not a DirecTV customer so if it "fits" then I would consider the move.

[>>PVRblog]

TiVo and the "SAF" - Spousal Acceptance Factor

Erik Lane — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 13:23:00 GMT

Reading the PVRblog I was reminded of how important the "SAF" is with anything. When I first discussed TiVo with my wife she understood the concept but didn't see any real value in it outside of a cool tech toy. At the time we had been using rabbit ears for about 7 years (except for a 6 month stint with cable for $9.99/month) because we just couldn't justify the cost of something we just couldn't use. With 4 kids we're not sure where we'll be at any given moment.

Time passed and she gave the thumbs up on the purchase. I hooked everything up the day the TiVo box arrived. That night was the one show we would try our best at being in front of the TV for (and having the kids in bed) so we could watch it. We were watching it live with the TiVo and then my wife got a phone call. I pause the show and my wife is not sure what to think about it...she hangs up and then we continue on. She was sold at that point. Then you (all of us) really "get it" when you start understanding the concept of "time shifting" your TV time. I rarely watch TV before 8:30 or 9pm and I know if there was something I wanted to watch was on..TiVo got it for me no matter what time it was on...I didn't have to specifically tell it like I would a VCR or a lesser product like a digital VCR (read: non-TiVo DVR's).

Use TiVo to buy on eBay?

Erik Lane — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 21:35:00 GMT

PVRblog has on his blog that a developer from eBay has put together a package for the TiVo HME that will allow you to surf eBay and even buy from eBay all through your TiVo...wow!

There are some screenshots too that very cool.

TiVo Upgrades

Erik Lane — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 09:34:00 GMT

PVRblog has a great article on some "hacks" that upgrade your TiVo. I've known about these for a long while but have never implemented any of them since I don't want o mess up what I've got. The best one, IMO, is using the web to control your TiVo.