HDTV Expert - To DVR, Or Not To DVR?

[720pete]

Do you like to time-shift TV shows? Or, do you prefer to watch ‘em in real time? A new Marist College poll reveals some surprising results.

[url=http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/columns/2010/10/hdtv-expert-to-dvr-or-not-to-dvr.php]Read Column[/url]

[jbowen01]

She sure didn't ask me! I NEVER watch live TV but then I had Tivo the first week it came out years ago....I miss my Directv with Tivo....those were the good ol' days.

[nanookpnw]

They didn't ask me either. I'm 50 and time-shift TV with my DVR all the time, and I live on the West Coast...

[Roger Halstead]

She sure didn't ask me! I NEVER watch live TV but then I had Tivo the first week it came out years ago....I miss my Directv with Tivo....those were the good ol' days.

Why,one or the other. We often start with a live show, pause and watch, pause and watch. By the end of the show they thing is 15 minutes to half an hour old. OTOH we often find shows on at the same time. We may watch one and the the other later, or we may not watch either one for days. IOW We don't have a preference and often even favorite shows are not seen until a day or more after being aired. It just depends on what is convenient at the time.

As to which group? My wife and I have both been retired for some time and fall into the "on up" group, or maybe it's the "way on up" group.

However I find using Windows Media Center in Win 7 to be a royal pain. When I try to set it up it insists on configuring the IR control for my satellite receiver. Only thing is my receiver uses a UHF remote, and not an IR. Other wise I'd have multiple DVRs for when more than two interesting programs are on...which I have admit is rare. I haven't watched a show on the major networks in several years other than the local news and even that is often delayed by hours which makes the weather forecast accuracy some what problematic.<:-))

[eliwhitney]

Roger Halstead ...

Morning Roger & Others - -

I agree with & " DO " as you posted re: a combination w/o any specific preference - - - more of a social necessity to prevent missing a Broadcast while out-of-the-home, or, as you posted, due to a simultaneous availability issue.

Did 'splurge' as you mentioned w/ (2) Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVRs from COX to be able to record more in HD as well as (4) @ once whenever some overlap or a Movie shows @ ~ 2:30 a.m.!

I also find it very convenient to literally have recorded that "Music Choice" featuring Ole Big Bands from the Depression 'til the late '40s .... doesn't take hardly-any recording space since it's "S.D." / plays for hours w/o a TV Set even on thru the Surround Sound & cheaper than buying CDs.

Costly - certainly - but, what is not anymore?

eli . . . a member of the "Way-Over-The-Hill-Set"

[jordanm]

I watch live TV on HBO or SHO, and like channels, if I can. If I am not at home, I'll use the DVR.

I always time-shift all other channel shows, so I can manipulate through the ads.

[akirby]

Same here. I will go find a recorded show to watch rather than start watching a live show with commercials. Or find something else to do. I just can't stand sitting through commercials.

I too had an early Tivo and DirecTivo and can't wait for DirecTV to bring back the Tivo software. I've learned to live with the DirecTV DVRs and they aren't terrible, but they are not even close to Tivo when it comes to functionality.

Here is one that has bothered me for months. I like to record Top 20 Countdowns on VH1 and CMT, but I only want the latest one so I have it set to keep until I delete and only keep 1 program. On my Tivo this meant it would not try to record a new one until I deleted the old one. On DirecTV DVR it will continuously record a new one to replace the old one, even though I have it set to "keep until I delete". This isn't really a problem other than recording the same show over and over. The problem comes in when an old program exists and it's in the middle of recording a new one. If I highlight the new one that's recording and delete it, it ends up also deleting the old one. So once it starts recording a new one I have to allow it to finish if I want to keep one show.

I finally just changed it to a once per week manual recording to get around it. I WANT MY TIVO!!!!

[Roger Halstead]

I've mentioned before, that I have trouble with quality when streaming from popular sites, BUT I can't remember a show or video where I could skip commercials. You can't pause, skip ahead or back up. About the only thing you can do is kill it and when you start over it's right back to the beginning rather than resume. Pausing in the middle of a show? That only works for a very short time, or the thing disconnects and you have to start over again. When they start doing that with regular programming be it OTA or satellite I'll be watching a lot less television.

[Richard]

I am surprised by these results and it certainly is not due to a lack of technology! In my house we have been time shifting since the early 80s with VCRs. Where there was a will there has been a way for decades.

This implies that people have an attachment to live programming, the concept of having been there at that moment. While this is far more understandable with sports I can see it rubbing off on content that is not live but lives and breaths one day a week at a certain time. Gotta be there and ready to discuss last nights show with friends and co-workers the next morning at the water cooler, coffee machine, ETC.

I am not surprised to find that those who earn higher incomes are more likely to time shift and record. Those people tend to spend more time at the job and have a busy lifestyle that cries out for the ability to watch content when they are good and ready.