Becoming one with TiVo

• How to TiVo: It's not rocket science

By Chuck Barney
Knight Ridder News Service

Eight-year-old Charley Binkow not only enjoys his parents High-Definition wide screen, but also Tivo. By using the Tivo remote, he can choose the episode of 'The Simpson's' he pre-selected, to watch whenever he wants. USA Today

Such a declaration might sound a tad over-the-top, but TiVo inspires emotions among its faithful. Perhaps no other household gadget in recent years has prompted the kind of passion, or outright zealotry, that TiVo has.

Rosie O'Donnell once called it the "most amazing thing ever invented." Earlier this year, Oprah fawned over it on her show and gave one to every person in her studio audience. In a summer episode of "Sex and the City," Cynthia Nixon's Miranda carried on an obsessive love affair with TiVo that hit a snag only when her nanny accidentally sat on the remote and deleted her favorite show.

Type the word "TiVo" in Google and you will encounter a typhoon of rapturous prose, including endless echoes of the phrase "it has changed my life." Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, has described TiVo as "God's machine."

And in Hollywood's television community, where it's vital to keep pace with the latest programming trends, the urge to deify TiVo is all the more intense.

"I've converted. It's my new religion," jokes Lee Goldberg, an L.A.-based television producer. "I was a Jew, but not anymore. I'm now a TiVo."

Yet despite the considerable buzz, TiVo remains very much a cult phenomenon. Since 1999, the San Jose-based company has sold slightly fewer than 800,000 units — just a tiny fraction of American television viewers. (It hopes to hit 1 million during the upcoming holiday season.) Moreover, TiVo, which pioneered digital video recorder (DVR) technology, is in danger of being eclipsed by emerging competitors, analysts say.

TiVotion

So what's the problem? For one thing, TiVo tends to do little if any advertising of itself, preferring to rely on word of mouth from Oprah and the like. For another, TiVo junkies say it's difficult to adequately convey the magical powers of TiVo to the uninitiated without actually putting it in their hands.

Santee, a Walnut Creek, Calif., resident and TiVo addict for two years, agrees. "A lot of people think it's just a high-end VCR," he points out. "But comparing TiVo to a VCR is like comparing a Ferrari to a scooter."

TiVo is a device that can store up to 80 hours of programming on a computer hard drive. It allows a user to pause, rewind and fast-forward even within live television shows. It also provides a much easier method of automatically recording programs than is possible with videocassette recorders.

A lot of the media attention about TiVo has focused on viewers' ability to breeze past commercials. But enthusiasts insist that is only a small part of the allure.

They point to Season Pass, a TiVo feature that allows users to record every episode of their favorite shows with a push of a button. If you're a huge "Friends" fan, for example, you can punch up a Season Pass that will automatically record "Friends" each week (even the syndicated reruns if you so desire), no matter what time it airs. No more fretting about finding an available cassette, or setting the VCR timer coordinates, or — horror of horrors — forgetting to tape the show altogether.

"I travel all the time, but I never have to worry about missing my favorite show," says Goldberg. "You just press a button and you're free to roll. My dog could record a show with TiVo."

TiVo devotees also rave about the Wish List options. If you have a favorite actor or director, you can type in their name and TiVo will search television's vast multichannel galaxy and track down upcoming movies, talk shows, documentaries or other programs featuring your choices.

"I'm a huge fan of Robin Williams and Tom Hanks, so they're both on my Wish List," says Hooper. "I've probably got a dozen more or so in there, too."

The Wish List also locates programming with specific subject matter. Weeks before Caroline Huddart and her husband left California on a Malaysian vacation, Caroline input "Malaysia" into her Wish List to find documentaries dealing with their destination.

"I didn't have to waste a lot of time scanning the TV guide or the back page of the newspaper for listings," says Huddart, who calls TiVo one of the most important electronic gadgets in her home.

"It probably ranks below the computer and the dishwasher," she admits. "But I'd give up my hair dryer before TiVo — and perhaps even my cell phone."

A TiVo Series2 unit, capable of storing 40 hours of programming, costs $199 after a $50 rebate, somewhat more than an average VCR. Models with an 80-hour capacity go for $299 after a $50 rebate.

(DirecTV customers can buy satellite receivers with TiVo installed for $199.) On top of that, customers pay a $12.95 monthly subscriber's fee, or $299 for the life of the unit. The monthly fee for DirecTV subscribers is $4.95. That's in addition, of course, to your bills for existing cable or satellite TV content.

Obviously, TiVo devotees believe it's well worth it. They refer to the company's slogan — "TV your way" — and speak glowingly of how the device makes television viewing much more efficient.

"People ask me when a certain program is on and I have no clue," Santee says. "That's because TiVo, more or less, does the thinking for us, and we watch the shows when we want to. It has really changed things for us."

Points of viewing

TiVo can sometimes be a double-edged sword, because it apparently also makes it easier to watch much more television. Studies by Next Research, a media consulting firm, found that TiVo users watch an average of five to six additional hours of television per week — hours that might have been spent reading a book, exercising or doing worldly good.

Some TiVo junkies, however, dispute the numbers. They don't necessarily watch more TV, the argument goes: They watch more of what they like in less time.

"We probably do record a few more shows than we used to, but we're also much more selective in our viewing," says Santee, pointing out that he and his wife, Dianne, can get through a "Late Night With David Letterman" show in 15 minutes because they skip commercials and fast-forward (at 60 times the normal speed) through segments that don't interest them.

Besides that, Santee says, he no longer comes home at the end of a day and wastes a lot of time channel surfing. He just goes directly to TiVo's queue of recorded shows and takes it from there.

"You can go through the crop and harvest it the way you want," he adds. "The difference in power and control is like night and day."

And that power, TiVo junkies say, can be exhilarating in this era of media manipulation — to declare your independence from a schedule imposed by corporate programmers and to thumb your nose at the torrent of commercials unleashed on the American public.

Says Huddart, "TiVo does seem to have this captivating charm that makes you feel like you're beating the system."

How to TiVo: It's not rocket science

OK, we realize there are a lot of people who still are pretty clueless when it comes to TiVo. So here's a quick primer:

Q. What, exactly, is TiVo?

A. TiVo is a digital video recorder (DVR) that makes VCRs look weak and wimpy and like something from the Stone Age. Basically, think of it as a tapeless VCR or a VCR on steroids. (Note: Some prefer the term "personal video recorder" or PVR.)

Q. OK, but how does it work?

A. Like a robotic dog. You essentially tell it to fetch and it searches out the programs you want and then stores them on an internal hard drive for you to watch later. Even better: No paper-training is necessary.

Q. But I can't program my VCR without suffering severe mental cramps, so how am I going to deal with a high-tech gizmo such as a DVR?

A. Ah, therein lies the true beauty of this product. It is actually easier to use than a VCR.

To record a show, simply enter the title with the remote and TiVo will hunt it down. And if you want to record a favorite show every time it's on, click on the Season Pass option and TiVo will record every episode that airs (new and/or reruns), relieving you of the hassle of having to remember to set it each week.

There is no weeding through voluminous columns of listings, no worrying about VCR codes, no setting of time clocks, no fretting about your tape running out and/or breaking, or taping over a show by accident.

Q. But what if I want a hard copy of the show, i.e., a videocassette, that I can pass on to friends?

A. TiVo allows for this with the "Save to VCR" command.

Q. What are the coolest things about TiVo?

A. Well, there's the Season Pass option. There's also the Wish List feature that allows users to track down programming containing specific subject matter and/or their favorite performers whenever and wherever it may be. And then, of course, we think the cute little "d-dink, d-dink" sound the remote makes is kind of neat.

Q. How does TiVo get its program listings information?

A. The TiVo unit is hooked up to your TV, cable system (or satellite) and phone line. It makes late-night update calls to its info center and downloads detailed listings. Subscribers pay $12.95 a month for this service, or $299 for the life of the unit. (Instead of a stand-alone TiVo unit, DirecTV customers use a satellite receiver with dual-tuner TiVo software embedded within. The combo box service through DirecTV is $4.95 a month.)

Q. What are the first considerations when buying TiVo?

A. You'll need to have a feel for how many hours you'll want to record and/or store on the unit. A TiVo Series2 unit is available in two models — one that holds 40 hours and another that holds 80.

Q. How much does it cost?

A. The 40-hour unit is available for $199 (after a $50 rebate), and the 80-hour model is $299 (after a $50 rebate). There are other high-end units that combine TiVo software with DVD players and record-ers; those can run from $549 to $1,800.

More information about the various TiVo models is available at www.tivo.com.