Tivo=Change Agent

Tagged as: networked, personal, technology
Posted by: Mila Goodman 

 

I remember my first Tivo; it was way before my first HD TV. I loved pressing the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons and seeing how Tivo would take those actions and make recommendations for me. When it came time to upgrade to a new HD TV, I ditched Tivo because they were too expensive to upgrade. It was a sad day and a tough decision for me but I welcomed Cablevision's DVR (ick) into my media center. As soon as Verizon Fios became available, I immediately switched but neither of their DVRs held a match to Tivo.

These days I am the road more frequently and realized how much the DVR (which I still refer to as Tivo even though it's a no frills Scientific something or other) has altered my television consumption. Even when I'm home, I very rarely watch TV "live." I rationalize how much TV I watch by getting in 2 or 3 shows in a time frame that would normally include 1 or 2. This past week, I realized a few things:

1. I don't remember when my shows are on (days or times)
2. I don't remember what channel my shows are on (never mind the conversion to whatever city I’m in)
3. I don't remember all the shows I watch!
4. I hate spoilers.

For me, the DVR is an empowering technology—it allows me to forget about what I want to see because when I press the list button, it will tell me what I want to watch. It also empowers me to avoid living my life around that must see show—whether it's the NBA finals, the Olympics, Gossip Girl or Mad Men. It empowers me to consume more television in the same amount of time—I don’t have to horse trade shows that are on at the same time. I may need to invest in the Slingbox PRO-HD.

Outside of my personal addiction to the DVR, see below for penetration statistics for US households from Forrester Research. I'm glad to see that I'm not alone.

Tagged as: networked, personal, technology

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