TiVo has a loyal user base who love to tell everyone just how great TiVo is! Below is a collection of comments made by TiVo owners when asked just what makes TiVo such a great product. If you want to submit any comments about TiVo or this site email me at:

Submitted by: Matthew Lee

There are few household accessories that have a significant impact on the way you live your life. TiVo however is one of those rare inventions that actually does improve your day-to-day existence. No longer are you forced to make appointments with the television to catch specific programmes - the programmes wait patiently until you are ready. No more searching around for videotapes or fast forwarding to try to find specific recordings. TiVo's recordings are neatly indexed and instantly available.

In the days pre-TiVo there were often times when there was nothing on that really appealed. Since we installed the TiVo (as simple as installing a new VCR) we have not once been short of things to watch. In fact we have reduced the number of channels we subscribe to as we soon found ourselves overwhelmed with programmes we really liked. It isn't even as though we need to sit down and scan the listings. TiVo does that for us. With Season Passes set up to record our favourite series' and TiVo recording its suggestions, having learnt what we like and dislike, there is little need to flick though listings magazines (or up and down the channels).

Various other features combine together to make TiVo a 'must have' product. Features such as Wishlists enable individual programmes to be searched for by title, subject or even individual cast members. The constant buffer enables programmes to be recorded in their entirety even if the record button is pressed when they are half way through, and the ability to pause and replay live TV still impresses our friends. The ability to fast forward through 3 minutes of adverts in 3-4 seconds is also a major bonus.

One argument against TiVo is the cost - an initial outlay and a monthly subscription. However with the integral listings removing the need for a listings magazine and the reduction in the subscription we pay to Sky, TiVo has actually meant that we spend less each month. So life with TiVo is cheaper, more relaxed and measurably more pleasurable.

Submitted by: Graeme Allon

Imagine this... You employ a very close friend. Someone who knows you really really well. You only need to pay him £10 a month! He lives in your house and all day, every day he watches television! All the channels available. If he spots something he thinks you might like to watch then he tapes it for you! Naturally, you can ask him to specifically record every program about hospitals or elephants, or every film starring Tom Cruise.When you get home he shows you what he has taped - you watch what you like and ignore what you don't (he learns from his mistakes).

Far fetched? No! Meet TiiVo!

Submitted by: Wylie

Everyone in my family LOVES Tivo! From my eight year old daughter, to my football mad son, to my MTVaholic elder daughter, to my technophobe wife.............and me of course, but then I buy gadgets, lots of them, all the time. Which is why, when I said to my wife, "Let's buy a Tivo!", she looked at me through those long suffering eyes and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about, I don't really want to know, just tell me how big it is and how much". Hah! It took less than 24 hours to convert her from a Tivo-cynic to a Tivo-phile. Now after years of trying to convince her of the benefits of PDA's, Mp3 Players, Digital Camera's etc, etc, I have finally found something that makes her look at me with adoring eyes once more. NOW when I say, "Let's buy a __________(insert fashion gadget here)", she says "of course dear - as long as we can keep the Tivo".

Of course the daily benefits of watching what we like, when we want to watch it, adds to the accumulating kudos. With the result that our sex life is now fantastic!

Therefore, everyone should buy a Tivo - it makes you more attractive.

Submitted by: Patrick Navin

Tivo. Not a video recorder, a video re-orderer. Throw out your tapes, throw out your preconceptions. Tivo is great because its Darwinian, its the next step in TV and video. Forget programming times and dates, forget struggling with unweildy 12 digit Videoplus numbers. Choose a show and click record. It'll get done. But its more... much more. Tivo learns your habits and ensures that shows you like are ready and waiting when you get in from work, school or a hard days street walking (!). Tivo is a new channel on your TV, a channel that only shows shows you love and never has shows you hate. This is the beauty of Tivo. Especially as it's simple to use. Tivo is a great product becasue, far from "doing exactly what it says in the tin" Tivo does *so* much more. It records shows you ask it to, it also records shows you forget to ask it to and it wont record shows you tell it you dislke. It never runs out of recording space and always has plenty to offer. Simple. I love Tivo because it's the first item of technology I've *ever* bought that I am 100% satisified with. That silver box sitting by my TV has changed the way I watch TV and saved me so much time. The time shifting feature, watching a show while it is still recording, is without doubt the single best feature of Tivo. I calculated that it saves me 45 minutes on a Friday night if I come in at 8.30 and watch Buffy. First i save 30 minutes by not having to wait until the show is finished recording before I start watching. Then I save a further 15 minutes by skipping the ad breaks. That 45 minutes gets me to bed earlier and up for work fresher! Tivo, improves your life :o)

Submitted by: David Cameron

TiVo is like a flatmate that sits around all day setting the video to always record all your favourite programmes.

TiVo is like two video recorders in one. It can still record a program even if you are watching one that you already recorded.

TiVo is like having a new television station broadcasting only the programmes that YOU want to watch. It can even record programmes automatically that match your viewing pattern by scouring all the schedules itself. Best of all you can teach it the type of programs, favourite actors etc. that you like to watch.

TiVo lets you watch a program right from the start even although it has still to finish recording it for you.

With TiVo you need never miss recording a programme because you can't find a videotape - it records up to 40hrs television without tapes.

How many times have you missed that first programme of a new season of a favourite programme? TiVo will watch out for a new season of a favourite programme and make sure that you never miss it again - it will record it automatically.

TiVo doesn't care what your TV source is : cable (analogue or digital), satellite, terrestrial digital or even a humble aerial.

TiVo is for everyone, but the truth is that the biggest benefactors may be those who only have channels 1 -5 currently. With TiVo creating a new custom channel of all your favourite shows, you may never care about the 100s of channels that are available elsewhere. If you do have extra programme sources available, then TiVo is smart enough to remember to change over the channel on your other set top box as well.

In short TiVo allows you choose what TV programmes that you want to see and when you want to watch them, fitting your lifestyle and not to be forced to follow broadcasters schedules.

TiVo is a new generation TV recorder that uses the same hard disk storage drives and other proven technology used in the computer industry for years. It sounds complicated with all those features, but the truth is that it is EASY to install (simple instructions included in the box), and most of all EASY to use. It is far easier to use than a traditional video recorder - you need never look for the instructions ever again after installation..

Submitted by: Christian Hunt

I've always had an issue with the phrase "new and improved". In most cases, something is either new (in which case it never existed before) or it is improved (in which case it can't be new). However in TiVo's case I think the phrase can be used to explain why it is such a great product. So what do I mean?

TiVo is improved because it replaces the VCR; something we quite liked as a concept, but which was fraught with difficulty. Not least the minor matters of programming and finding a spare cassette(!). No matter what improvements they launched, the humble VCR never quite got there.

TiVo is new because it does so much more than a VCR. It uses its initiative to find me new programmes to watch, it only needs telling once and it gets me every episode of a show, it nicely indexes programmes for me and lets me start watching something before it has even finished recording.

It's new because it radically changes the way you interact with your TV, in ways you never expected:
- No more watching whatever is on when you happen to be ready to watch - TiVo has a library of shows for you to watch whenever you want
- No need to wait for the commercial break to go to the toilet - hit pause and do so right now.
- No need to rely on your Mum to set the video (probably wrongly!) to record a show for you - TiVo will do it for you

It is rare to find something which is genuinely new and improved- but that's the beauty of TiVo. A revolutionary approach to something we already do: a completely new lease of live to your TV experience which makes the VCR look as outdated as black and white TV.

Submitted by: Dave Robertson

It's hard to describe to someone how great TIVO is without showing it to them, but here goes! For me it's being able to set up recording at the touch of the button without having to worry about which tape is in the video, or whether the tape needs re-wound or has enough space on it. Setting up recordings on a video player was more hassle than it was worth for me and I ended up missing shows that I would've liked to have seen. With TIVO you can set up recordings at the touch of a button for a whole series as well as for individual shows. I never need to remember to set a tape for that episode of Friends anymore. I just set up TIVO to record a season pass of Friends and I know that every thursday at 9pm it'll record the show for me. The other great thing for me is being able to watch an old recording whilst TIVO is recording something else. I've found that TIVO has changed the way I watch TV. Rather than worrying about being home when my favourite show is on, I just set TIVO to record all the shows I like, then when I'm home and ready to watch some TV I go to TIVO and see what it has waiting for me. Rather than flicking through the channels to find something I vaguely want to watch, TIVO has the programmes I REALLY WANT TO SEE waiting for me to watch them at my convenience. The other advantage of watching TV this way is that I don't have to sit through all the adverts - I can fast forward through them, allowing me to spend time watching quality TV rather than wasting time waiting for the next part of the show to come on.

Submitted by: Eric Child

Do you watch TV? Then Tivo is for you!

Do you avoid TV, because you can never find anything worth watching? Then Tivo is for you!

Tivo is for anyone who would like to make the better use of that big box in the corner of the room.

Tivo's features are too numerous to mention here, but the following scenarios may illustrate its worth.

• You turn on the TV and find you are half way through a fascinating documentary. No problem, just press "Record" and the previous 30 minutes of that programme, together with the remainder will be recorded. No blank tape needed.
• You've set up a recording for all 4 hours of Titanic (including commercials), to start at 9pm, just in case you are not home in time. You arrive home at 9.45pm. Do you wait until the next day to watch? No, simply select "Titanic" from "Now Playing" and watch from the beginning. Now, fast forward through the commercials and reach the end by 1.15am, just 15 minutes after the "live" version.
• Your favourite series is on too late to watch live, but is never on at the same time 2 weeks running. No problem, just select it from the Electronic Programme Guide, create a Season Pass, and it will be recorded each week, regardless of when it is scheduled.
• The current programme looks interesting, but what is it? Select programme information for a summary of title, content and other information.
  
• You've just watched a particularly interesting programme. If only there were more like that, but you can never find any. No problem, give it a "thumbs up" and Tivo will begin to automatically record programmes of a similar nature. The more you "teach" Tivo the better its suggestions will be.
  
• The film you have recorded had looked interesting, but now you simply want to know "whodunnit". The "skip to end" button, with a short rewind, takes you there in seconds.
  
• As the punch-line looms your partner has something important to say. It won't wait. Just press "Pause", listen to the words of wisdom then catch the punch-line by pressing "Play".

With Tivo you may actually watch less TV, as you will only watch what you have selected, when it is convenient to you. Cancel your subscription to that listings magazine and save money too!

Submitted by: Mark Nolan

Do you have a pile of tapes under the TV? Do you know what's on them? Are you the only family member who can set the video? Do you get blamed for failing to record Ground Force, or taping over an unwatched episode?

If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, you need a TiVo.

With a TiVo, the programmes you record are stored in the box: there are no messy tapes cluttering up the living room.

With a TiVo, the programmes are all listed by name and date so you can find them easily.

With a TiVo, you can record programmes by name instead of with a code, so anyone can record what they want.

With a TiVo you can set a "season pass" to get all programmes in a series and you can set how long you want to store them for.

And as if that wasn't enough, TiVo has the thing all gadget-buyers are looking for: TiVo has "partner-appeal". Because it isn't just you that benefits. Your partner gets a tidier living room, gets to record the programmes he or she wants and actually gets to watch them, whether you're there or not! Imagine the prospect of never having to justify another gadget purchase again: "well, you liked the TiVo...."

And if you live with someone who must have the latest gadget, this is one purchase you'll be happy they made. Just remember that past results are no guarantee of future performance!

Submitted by: Paul McCue

TiVo is the future of TV watching. A video-recorder sized box that sits under your TV. It knows what's on all of your channels (even those funny free digital or satellite ones you never bother with) and stores anything it thinks you might like. And all you do is choose the best of what's been on recently from a simple on-screen list and watch. You'll never miss a program again, even if you didn't know it was on. What could be easier or more convenient? TiVo is TV, your way.

Oh, and it also acts as a video recorder of course, but doesn't need any tapes or fiddly programming. It lets you pause live TV when the phone rings or the doorbell goes, and even rewind and do your own slow motion replays if you miss something. And it replaces your TV guide magazine, letting you see what's showing in the next few weeks then quickly search for upcoming shows featuring your favourite stars. It even makes sure the kids only see their own programs and channels.

TiVO is TV, everybody's way. The future of TV watching is here, now.

Submitted by: John Barrett

[Scenario]
TV studio recording a daytime chat show.

Interviewer:
Let’s get a TIVO owner’s opinion.

TIVO user:
TIVO has completely changed the way I watch TV. I no longer channel hop through a 100 or so channels to find there is nothing I want to watch. Instead TIVO knows what sort of programs I like and automatically records them for me. Now when I sit down in front of the TV, I go to TIVO's "What's on" screen and select from a list of programs TIVO has recently recorded. Yesterday evening I watched a great SCI-FI movie that TIVI had recorded at 3am a week ago. I didn't even know the film was being aired until I saw it on TIVO's "Whats on" list.

Interviewer:
How does TIVO know what sort of programs you like.

TIVO user:
On the TIVI remote, there is a red thumbs down button and a green thumbs up button. When you are watching a program or browsing through the channel guide you can give up to 3 thumbs ups or downs to rate the program. TIVO simply watches out for similar programs to record based on genre, keywords etc.

Interviewer:
You mention the channel guide, what's that?

TIVO user:
Once every 24 hours, TIVO makes a toll free call back to TIVI HQ and downloads program listings for the next few weeks. TIVO sorts all this data in logical ways so you can browse by channel and search for a particular program across all channels. It even gives you a list of things it suggests you might like based on your preferences. The best bit is the season pass; tell TIVO you want a season pass for a particular program and it will record every episode of that program on that channel, even if the schedules change.

Interviewer:
Doesn't the TIVO run out recording space very quickly?

TIVO User:
TIVO quickly fills up with interesting programs to watch but it will automatically delete old recordings to make space for new ones - you don't have to do anything. If you want to keep a recording for longer, you just tell TIVO to keep it a few more days or keep it until you delete it.

Submitted by: Alexander Goodey

Imagine if you will, it's time to leave work on wednesday afternoon and suddenly a great pile of work lands on your desk that means you will be still at work well past 9:30 that evening! AND then you remember that you forgot to set your video recorder to tape the last episode of [insert your favourite TV program here]...

But all is not lost, as you quickly remember that your faithfull TiVo box will record the program anyway as it knows that it is one of your favourites. You get home at 10:00pm and a quick check of the 'Now Playing' screen confirms that your favourite program has been recorded - along with several other 'favourite' programs that you had no idea were on that day. But you don't watch it now as you notice another program just starting that you like. - A quick press of the pause live TV button whilst you make a cup of tea and a sandwich then it's on with the show - fast forward through the adverts ten minutes later, and after an enjoyable twenty minutes its back to the 'Now Playing' screen to catch the program you missed earlier.

TiVo - it means you never have to set a video recorder again.

The other day, while tidying up, I found a video tape, with a label, but with nothing written on it. I had to use the index search function and wait while it found each recording, played up to a minute or 2 until I worked out what it was. I established it was an old tape, used for time-shifting with nothing on it in particular I wanted to keep. 15 minutes later….

It brought home to me how much TiVo has changed my viewing habits. I used to keep about 4 tapes, time-shifting recordings on them or recording stuff while I was out. The big problem was keeping track of what was on which tape, and having to wait until something finished taping to watch it, taping over stuff I hadn’t watched etc.

Here’s why I think the TiVo beats the VCR

• Keeping track of what’s recorded – not only does TiVo show the title and date of everything you’ve recorded in “Now Playing”, but if you select the show it has a short synopsis, with time of recording, channel etc.
• Waiting to watch something isn’t a problem – just start watching it straight away – TiVo continues recording and can even record something else you’ve requested when the first show finishes while you continue watching the first show
• Recording over something you haven’t watched is a thing of the past – you can ask TiVo to save a programme longer (or until you delete) to stop it being over-written automatically
• No need to set the STB to switch channels at the correct time – TiVo takes care of it
• Programming – no need to find the TV guide or newspaper for Video Plus codes, you can program it all from the EPG – and have it record every episode of your favourite series automatically while you’re at it.
• Forgetting to leave the VCR on Standby/Record-Mode meant a missed recording – TiVo will record it in standby or left on
• No need to scrabble around looking for tapes when you realise you need to record something and no pile of tapes next to the VCR
• setting of actor, director or keyword wish lists with optional automatic recording
• learning what programmes you like so it can record programmes for you it thinks you’ll like if it has room
• instant programme access – no FF or RW trying to find what you want

When did a VCR do any of this?

Submitted by: Geoff Twibell

What makes Tivo such a great product? You get your life back! With Tivo you actually watch less television.

Normal viewing (and yes, laziness too) encourages two or three hours in front of the TV every night. You watch favourite shows - and you also tend to watch what's in between too because there's a chance you'll miss something worth seeing.

With Tivo you can easily grab the lot and skip through it later when it's convenient, playing back wanted programmes and deleting the rest - just like skimming the headlines in a newspaper and only reading the stories of interest.

Submitted by: Dave Harris

It's liberating. TiVo makes sure there is always something good on TV, whatever mood I am in and whenever I want to watch.

It's like having my own personal Television channel, using the best programmes from all the other channels and broadcast to a schedule of my choosing. And I don't have to juggle video tapes to make it happen.I tell TiVo once what series I want to watch, and TiVo records every episode for me. It uses its own programme listings to figure out what time they are on each week. It's so easy. Most weeks I don't have to do anything.

If I want, I can tell it to look for a particular actor or director, or to search its listings for subjects which interest me, like "space station" or "Manchester United".

Sometimes TiVo will offer programmes without being told, if they are similar to things I do watch. It scours through late-night TV and obscure cable channels, hunting for good stuff.

Then everything it finds, it presents by name in a neat list. TiVo manages all the details - finding storage space and so on.

I used to think there was never anything on television. I used to think I needed more channels. I was wrong. I just needed a tool to help organise the channels I already had. I needed TiVo.

Submitted by: Vikash

How often do you use your VCR to record programs to watch later at a more convenient time? Probably very often if you're like we are here in the TiVo Community - at least that's what we used to do. If you like to watch a lot of TV, setting umpteen timer recordings each day, scrambling around your pile of tapes trying to work out which one has space and where. Watching recordings that you'd rather watch some other time when the mood takes you, just to free up that darned tape... Then, when your head finally hits the pillow, you remember: Damn! I completely forgot about that show - again!

TiVo, the revolutionary digital recording device with the grateful user base, solves all of these issues and more. It's the tape-less time-shifting recorder that the VCR tried - and failed - to be. There's no reason to ever fit that square peg in its round hole again. Because TiVo records programs on a computer hard drive, they can be watched at the touch of a button. All programs are listed by name on-screen, ready for you to watch whenever you please - even when that show or any other is currently being recorded.

Although you can set the times and channel of your favourite shows to schedule a recording just like you do with your VCR, TiVo makes it much easier by providing an on-screen TV guide for you to set a recording with one touch. You can even instruct TiVo to always record particular shows so you an stop worrying about setting the timer, indefinitely into the future. You can even tell TiVo to keep watch for any shows that match your specific interests and record them too - for example, tell TiVo you want to record all movies with Tom Cruise, and TiVo will oblige.

All this, and the ability to replay crucial moments in live sporting events, plus much much more; TiVo will change the way you use your TV for the better.

Submitted by: Susan H

When I retired, my loving family ensured I wouldn’t become bored by promoting me to head cook and bottle washer, with the post of entertainments officer on the side.

Whenever they touched base, to eat, pick up clean washing or drop off a grandchild for babysitting, they would bring me little gifts like TV programme guides and VCR cassettes, murmuring such affectionate messages as, “If Deep Space 9’s got Nog in it, video over Holby City. If not, put it on the end.”

So I did my best.

I got up early to watch Barney with Jimmy and stayed up late to see Banzai with Len. (I stopped taping them since my poor hand-writing on the box caused Len to have that extremely upsetting encounter with the unexpected purple dinosaur.) Eventually, however, trying to record everyone’s favourite singers defeated me. After all, how was I supposed to know that Kylie Minogue would feature in a rerun of the Vicar of Dibley?

But then came TiVo and suddenly, with no problem, I could do it all and more.

Alan wants to master Muffin-speak for playground-cred? Easy! I’ll run Goodness Gracious Me a couple of times and copy down the subtitles! Ibrahim wants Galatasaray? Now I can get it without even knowing what it is! (A visiting Turkish football team, is it? Then let’s extend the recording and make sure he doesn’t miss any stoppage time.) And yes Rosie, whatever time you choose to eat, there IS a Tinky Winky (not to mention a Laa Laa, a Dipsy and a Po) and he’s going to stand quite still and not move his handbag another centimetre until you’ve gobbled up this delicious spoonful of mashed carrot.....

And TiVo understands me too! This week John Burton-Race cooked a romantic meal just for me, I watched an assertiveness training programme and started to learn French. But I shan’t run away from my loving family to a Parisian garret quite yet. You see when that clutter of programme guides went from round the television set, there was room for a DVDR - and when I mentioned Brian Rix (who has been on my wish list for years!) TiVo didn’t reply “Who’s that?” or laugh, but instead has promised to keep a look out for screenings of his films so that we can archive them together.

TiVo is cool!

Submitted by: Gerard Callaghan

TiVo transforms TV viewing. It's a "VCR without tapes", but that's just the tip of the iceberg. TiVo has many previously unheard-of features, like "freeze live TV". A simple button press halts the live action - terrific when there's an interruption. Minutes later, you resume playing from the halted point - watching TV on a time delay! Try doing that with videotapes. Impossible.

Don't miss the action while trying to find a spare tape, just press "record". No need to wait for a recording to finish before you can watch it - jump in at any point - watch the beginning before it's ended. That's an invaluable timesaver when you arrive in late.

How about watching something recorded earlier while recording another show now? You'd need two VCRs to pull that off... or just one TiVo.

Don't waste time waiting for the adverts to finish. Delay watching a show for a few minutes after it's actually started, then fast forward through ad breaks. No need for any more long interruptions.

With TiVo's intuitive on-screen programme guide it's so easy to select shows to record. You can see at once what's on now on many channels, and what's coming up on a chosen channel. Select the programme by name and press record. No wrestling with VideoPlus numbers or worrying about dates and times.

TiVo's so reliable. It really reduces the room for error, removing the guesswork. It warns you if you accidentally plan two recordings that will clash. Set up a Season Pass once for your favourite shows and TiVo records every episode. Even if the schedulers move the show around, TiVo still finds it! If a show's repeated, TiVo is clever enough to record it only once. It doesn't take long to trust TiVo.

No browsing through TV magazines to find that show - fine for only five channels, but now there are hundreds! The words needle and haystack come
to mind. TiVo's powerful programme search facilities make it so easy to search by programme name, time, channel and more. Alternatively use a wishlist to find a show by actor! That phrase again, "so easy" - two words sum TiVo up really.

If that wasn't enough, TiVo learns what you like and records its own suggested programmes without you asking. This amazing feature really gives you TV on demand. TiVo saves time, worry and the programmes you want to see!

Submitted by: Ian McAlpine

TiVo brings life back to existence. No more are you a slave to the TV schedule. No more do you need to leave the phone off the hook while watching your favourite programme. No more channel hopping trying to find something interesting to watch. TiVo will automatically record up to 40 hours of all your favourite programs. You can do whatever you want whenever you want knowing that TiVo will have recorded all your favourite programmes, ready for viewing when YOU want to view them.

TiVo pauses live TV! Rewind, replay in slow motion, fast forward through commercials. No more fumbling for blank video tapes. The phone rings during your favourite soap opera. Don't panic! Just press the Pause button. TiVo will automatically record the rest of the programme.

But best of all, TiVo also learns what programmes you like and dislike. While it’s not recording the programmes you specifically request, TiVo will look through all the other TV channels you receive for programmes that it thinks you might like and will automatically record these for you! You can go away on holiday knowing that not only will all your favourite programmes be recorded but there will also be a lot of extra programmes that TiVo will have automatically recorded based on your viewing preferences. At best a VCR allows between 8-12 hours of recordings. TiVo gives you 40 hours of the programmes YOU want to watch, with instant access to any of them. No more waiting for a tape to fast-forward or rewind.

TiVo is easy to use, and it's not just for satellite owners. It works great with analogue and digital terrestrial TV, analogue and digital cable TV and Sky digital satellite TV.

TiVo is a lifestyle changing product. Once you’ve experienced the TiVo-lution you’ll never know how you lived without it.

Submitted by: Jasdev Dhaliwal

Tivo is easy and fun to use and one of the most powerful devices ever attached to a TV. From pausing live TV, to recording your favourite shows, Tivo is just incredible. Watch it now, or watch it later? Now that is the question! You WILL watch more TV. You have to use it to believe it. All this with a Customer Services department that is topnotch, one day all companies will be like this. A true product for the 21st Century - Sheer Tivolution.

Submitted by: Warney

I've only had Tivo for two days and I have to say it has already started remoulding the way I live, well not quite but you get the idea! The first and most important thing I've found is that I no longer have to hunt for a free video tape - and just when I think I have it has something that looks as if it's important and I have to spend another 10 minutes searching tape after tape until I have 5 or 6 strewn over the living room floor. Even then I have no idea what was on those pesky tapes! The comes a mad 10 minutes of trying to get the wrapping off a brand new video tape and guess what - you've missed the start of the programme!

With this in mind, I love the way you now know what you have on your hard drive, information such as programme title (elementary I know but very important nonetheless!), when it was recorded and episode details. Who said the simplest ideas are the best - they got that right with Tivo. Sure the technological aspects of Tivo are spellbinding, but as I know nothing of the background to these ideas, I won't even try to explain them!

The other important thing for me is the ability to create a mass record wish, I no longer have to remember to set the video on a daily basis for neighbours at lunchtime, or Aerobics Oz Style on Sky Sports every morning
;-) Sad I know, but it could have been worse!

Tivo Suggestions are another example of modern technology at it's best - or will be after a week or so once it has learnt my viewing habits. I just hope I don't come home to see it has recorded 8 hours of cricket daily ;-)

As I mentioned I've only had Tivo for two days but I wouldn't swap it for anything, not even Sky+!

Other comments from TiVo users:

sathelp@avsforum: I thought that TiVo would just be another box and remote that my better half would get confused with and ignore. How wrong was I. She mastered the remote and the system and took nearly total control of it with so much ease. We both work shifts and the TiVo has allowed her to watch all the programs she would have missed. She would not use the timer on the video as it was so hard to set up. Both of our fav progs were all set up and it was just in place and seamless. In fact the video got used so little that I got rid of it!
Just one problem at the moment, it is away being upgraded, hopefully to return soon. As it is not until it is not there that you really miss it. And I think many people will feel the same if theres were taken away for a while!

GHF@avsforum: It has improved my family's lifestyle noticeably because we no longer worry about missing TV programmes. Tivo has learnt our viewing habits very well (now it's got over recording nothing but The Simpsons) and we are reasonably confident that if we realise we've missed a particular programme Tivo will probably have recorded it for us.
Personally, the thing I like best about Tivo is it's operation as a tapeless video recorder. No more searching for free bits of tape, no more waiting for rewinding. When we use a tape on the TV in the other room we are amazed at how noisy tape based recorders are!

TonyW@avsforum: Having now bought a Tivo I now watch considerably less TV than I did before. Previous habit was to see what was on that evening, find a couple of shows I wanted to watch at, say, 8-8.30 and 9-10. I would then watch TV from dinner around 7.30 watching any old rubbish till my programme came on, then watch another half hour of crap as there's not a lot I could be usefully doing in that half an hour and then watch the other show.
Now I have season passes set up for a few shows; I also look through the OnDigital magazine at the start of the week and set Tivo to record anything that catches my eye there and then (suggestions is good but I'd still miss some things relying on it). Now, I hardly bother with what's on TV live; I can spend my evening doing something useful (like, say, drinking a couple of beers in the garden!) and whenever I fancy watching something I do. Only it will be something I actually WANT to see, not the best of a poor bunch of shows on live.
The previous evening spent watching say 2.5 hours of TV for 1.5 hours of things I actually wanted to see are replaced by an evening spent doing something else and then I can watch what I have taped at the weekend, on another evening or whenever.
I never used my video before as it was too much hassle, and never bothered setting it up with my Tivo.

childe@avsforum: For me Tivo means complete independence from TV schedules. My 5 aerial input channels provide upto 840 hours of TV per week, of which I can only watch around 20 hours (wife and kids permitting). That's a whopping 2.5%. It therefore does not take much good TV to meet my requirements.
This freedom means that at any time of the day I can always choose from an extensive selection of programmes I have previously recorded. I can watch these programmes from beginning to end, without commercials, secure in the knowledge that the Tivo will continue adding to this collection, with minimal or no intervention from me.
I particularly like being able to dive into a live programme after it has started, but be able to watch from the beginning. If it has commercials I can fast forward through them and will often catch up with live TV before the end of the programme.
I also now do not waste time trying to find empty VCR tapes or rewinding 3 hour films. The Tivo picture quality is vastly superior to VCR, and I no longer have the constant fear my tapes will be chewed up by my VCR.

aleks@avsforum: I've just lost my TiVo and moving back to VCR and TV has really brought home the changes it made:
1) We've got rid of the TV in the kitchen since getting the TiVo. In theory to was only there so we could watch TV while making tea, or catch the beginning of a programme if the cooking was over-running. In practice we would watch TV while eating instead of talking.
2) Baby bedtime has got a lot more stressful without the TiVo. He must know if there is something starting at 8:00pm so he will dawdle over getting undressed, play extra in the bath etc. With the TiVo opportunities for quality time weren't wasted.
3) I watch more rubbish TV when winding down - with TiVo I could just spend 30 minutes with Frasier rather than 15 minutes of the last half of something unsuitable and then something I want.
4) I actually look at the Radio Times listings. Hadn't realised that the TiVo had them redundant.

topbanana@avsforum: I generally watch an hour or so's TV to provide an appropriate amount of 'mind-numbing' after a long days work. Lacking the patience to surf through 40 channels, generally meant whatever advert-packed mind-bubblegum Sky One was showing, normally from about halfway through.
Now each night when I get home I get to watch the best programme shown recently on any of the channels I receive. No need to surf, simply pick from a list of a dozen or two titles my faithful TiVo has decided I might enjoy. I can skip quickly past adverts, and the only input it needs from me is an occasional 'thumbs-up' or 'thumbs-down' to indicate good or bad choices.
So, while I now watch perhaps 50% more TV, the enjoyment I get from doing so has at least tripled.