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Hewie's Views and Reviews Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . ++++ I love my Tivo ++++ I love my Tivo I have had my Tivo for several years. Tivo http://www.tivo.com is one of the first DVR (Digital Video Recorder) brands and has become almost a generic name for the industry. Recently they have been challenged by several other manufacturers, and have lost quite a bit of their share of the market. Even BrightHouse Networks has their own DVR. I am also using the BrightHouse unit and will compare them in a later issue of this newsletter. I use my Tivo much like a VCR, except there is no tape. The unit is self contained, is always on and uses a hard drive for storage, instead of tapes. Actually, it is a computer that uses its own software and connects to my TV, just like a VCR. However, all of my viewing goes through the Tivo. It is constantly recording, so that I have "instant replay" at any time, pause play at any time, and or can back up to 30 minutes on any program that I am watching. The Tivo has a schedule guide that I can use to choose to record any program that I wish by simply clicking on a listing. I can even record an entire season by selecting a "season pass." The schedule contains 10 days of programs and updates through a subscription. A subscription is about $13 a month or $300 for the product lifetime. The schedule is updated by connecting to a local telephone number or through a computer network to the Internet. The calls to update the schedule are scheduled at different times, but are done so once a day. They take but a few minutes to complete. Not only can the schedules be updated, but as Tivo improves their service, they update the software during daily updates. ++++ Convergence A year ago, I changed my connection to receive my daily updates for Tivo from the phone line to a wired connection to my home network and out through my broadband connection to the Internet. Instead of a 5 minute call, the connections take literally only seconds. Tivo added a service, which originally had a yearly fee, and then changed to free. This service included viewing pictures on my TV that reside on my computer and playing music on the TV that resides on my computer through my network using some free software called Tivo TV Desktop. They have since added the ability to save a TV program through Tivo to your PC and even write it to a Blank DVD legally. Another Tivo service that was added was on-line scheduling. I can be on any computer, sign into the Tivo website, choose a program to record and it will signal my Tivo to record that program. Now, that's nice! ++++ More Convergence I recently moved back to my home when rebuilding was completed after a fire. I put the Tivo upstairs and my network downstairs. Instead of connecting with a wire, I am now connected using a wireless router and a wireless USB network card attached to my Tivo. Since I use encryption and the signal was not strong, I had a bit of trouble making the connection, but it does work. My schedule and software updates come through my home network, but I have also started to use some other Internet features for my TV. I can connect to http://www.live365.com and listen to music, talk, oldies, and even old radio programs. I can view my Yahoo! Pictures, Yahoo! Weather for my zip code or anywhere else, and view traffic conditions in my area. There are games that I can play and some Podcasts to view. All of this is through my home network and out to the Internet. You might ask why I want to listen to old radio programs on my new LCD TV. I sometimes wonder that myself. I guess because I can. Although many of the features may not fit all people, some do fit me. There are some disadvantages of the Tivo as compared to the other brands of DVR, but I do love my Tivo. I watch a lot of TV at my convenience and can skip through the ads.
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