Thursday, July 23, 2009

TIVO Wars

Once upon a time we had a VCR. A movie was never played on it in the 5 years we had it. It lived on the dresser in Mrs. T's office (our bedroom) and was set to daily tape Oprah and Dr. Phil. This system worked perfectly well.

About the time we moved, some idiot gave Oprah a TIVO. My life hasn't been the same since.

I caught stupid. If Oprah loved hers, why wouldn't Mrs. T love one too. The VCR began to smoke, so one evening while at Best Buy I bought a TIVO.

Initially sceptical, Mrs. T took to it like a duck to water. Within hours she had it mastered. No longer content with recording Oprah and Dr. Phil, she recorded season passes for every wedding, birthing, home remodeling and doctor program on television. Peace reigned supreme in our household.

A year of two later, we received a big screen HD television for Christmas. A new TV required a digital TIVO. Would it surprise you to know the big screen was set up in Mrs. T's office? We haven't watched a live program since.

Unfortunately, the new TIVO had 6 times the recording capacity as the old, so the old TIVO was sloughed off to me. Our viewing habits couldn't be more different.

I tend towards the old movie, PBS side of the equation. Here's what's on mine.




Mrs. T's is somewhat different.




Naturally, its a friendly battle, but if one of use needs a little space, all they have to do is turn on their TIVO. The room clears pretty quickly.

If you do have a TIVO make certain to connect it your home network. There are a surprising number of goodies hidden away.

Toad

11 comments:

~Tessa~Scoffs said...

Scooch over. I'm coming over to watch your TV. Masterpiece? Gosford Park? I'm in heaven! I have a DVR system that comes with the cable subscription. I search weeks ahead to record movies I might like to watch. When in doubt, just press record. I have found some real gems I had never heard of that way.

Sartre said...

I'm with Tessa. Your playlist is formidable.

Kathleen said...

The last time I really watched live television was Obama's inauguration. Other than some news in the evening, everything goes on TIVO. We like the old movies very much.

skorpeo said...

based on mrs. t's viewing choices, i would swear my wife and mrs. t are twins separated at birth...

Dumbwit Tellher said...

I'm loving Mrs. T! Who needs more than HGTV & Gordon Ramsay? Ha!

David said...

Our Tivo finally died, and as we're in limbo about moving, and the attendant electronics issues that could come with a move, we just got a DVR from Time Warner. It's not quite the same.

Toad said...

Did I mention that TIVO often joins us on vacation? Just in case.

Turling said...

Gardener's Diary. Only HGTV show worth watching. Nice choice.

Easy and Elegant Life said...

Have yet to take the plunge. No real movie package subscriptions, the kids watch the TV. We're Netflix people and have just caved in a bought the Roku. So we'll see how that goes...

TIVO can travel?

Toad said...

Indeed TIVO does travel, adn has saved more than one rainy vacation day.

Anonymous said...

My DVR looks more like yours.