TiVo has been around for a long time. So long, in fact, that it's featured in a Sex and the City episode that aired in 2003. (Jules & Mimi forever!)
In the UK, however, it is a brand new thing, brought to you by the folks at Virgin Media, and I couldn't me more frickin' excited about it. Sure all of you fancy Sky people have reined supreme when it came to recording shows in the past, but that's all about to change. TiVo rocks my world, and I'm not just saying that because my husband may or may not work for Virgin Media. (For the record I would leave him for TiVo. Just saying.)
How it Works
If you're familiar with using Sky or Virgin Media's non-TiVo service, V+, TiVo won't be all that foreign to you. You can pause live TV, you can fast forward through adverts if you're recorded a show. Heck, you can even back something up to watch it again. I do this a lot when I'm watching the news and something ridiculous happens live. Yes, I would like to watch that man run up and kiss the back of the TV reporters's head, thank you very much!
There are hundreds of channels and thousands of hours of On Demand programs, you can record and watch films, news programs, and sometimes they even have entire series On Demand for you to watch whenever - which is precisely I got hooked on The Mentalist. Basically, it's fantastic. But I haven't even really got to the cool stuff yet...
The Cool Stuff
I started geeking out over TiVo after the Virgin Media man finished setting everything up, and it was just me and the remote. I turned down the lights. I put on some smooth jazz. I even lit a vanilla musk scented candle. I won't reveal all of the sordid details, but I can tell you that in my time alone with TiVo, I discovered that beyond just browsing for TV shows to record, you can also set up something called a Wish List.
Why on earth would you want a TiVo Wish List? Let me explain. Say, for instance, you have an unhealthy obsession with Lady Gaga. You can go set up a Wish List for Gaga, by adding her name as the keyword in a Wish List, or by listing her as an "actor", and then TiVo will record anything Gaga is on or appears in. I know right?! You can also do this for actors, names, and even directors. So, if you have a big film crush on Tim Burton, you can now record anything that he's in, or any of the films he's directed. Awesome.
I also love that TiVo is really clever, and "suggests" shows for you based on shows you've created Series Links - TiVo talk for "recording the entire series whenever it comes on" - for, or things you've given a "thumbs up" to via the remote. Just think of the "thumbs up" just as you'd "like" something on Facebook. You can give something a maximum of three thumbs ups, so TiVo knows that you really like this show, and it gives that show priority over anything else when recording. (So if both Angel and Bones are recording at the same time, and it has to decide which to record for you, it will pick the one that you've "liked" the most.) Alternatively, if TiVo thinks that you'd really enjoy watching The Real Housewives of Some Stupid City, and you in fact would not, you can give it three thumbs down to let TiVo know who is boss.
Storage Space
I have the 1tb TiVo box - which is one terabyte of space, exactly six times the space in the V+ box - which means I have enough space to record every Doctor Who episode that comes on TV (which, it would seem, is quite a lot), I can record films in HD without fearing that I will run out of storage space, thus canceling the recording of Torchwood I had all set up for Thursday. I can record and Series Link myself in to oblivion. When I just had V+ rather than TiVo, I was constantly having to delete shows, and recording in HD was just not an option because it would take up too much space. (And god forbid I delete my Sherlock Holmes episodes.) Now I have the freedom to record as much as I like, and I'm not afraid of recording things I may not like, as I don't have to worry about it taking up space and ruining my entire weekend.
Interface & Intuition
Anyone who has V+ knows that the interface isn't the best. The system is just a bit sluggish, especially when switching from live TV to the Guide, to the On Demand services. TiVo, however, is super quick, everything is in easy-to-navigate menus, and the locations of everything just makes sense. I mean, the remote control even has a button that says "My Shows" on it, that will take you directly to all of your recordings. Sweet, non?
What I also really love about TiVo is that when I'm fast forwarding through the adverts at full speed (that's three "ba-dah" noises - TiVo users, you know what I'm talking about...) and I am too slow at clicking "Play" when my show starts again, TiVo backs it up a few seconds so I don't miss anything. Anyone who has watched an intense TV show with a large group of anxious people, say, for instance, your family, you know that running in to the show while fast forwarding can be enraging for those not in control of the remote. "TOO FAR! TOO FAR! YOU'RE RUINING IT!!!!"
All in all, I am smitten with TiVo. It's intuitive, it's easy to use, and I feel like my TiVo gets me. Like it knows who I am. And not only does it accepts my Doctor Who and Lady Gaga obsession, it feeds it - nay - encourages it.
TiVo, I love you.
Check out TiVo with Virgin Media over at tivo.virginmedia.com.