After being told (repeatedly) that I should work for TiVo, since I'm always telling people how good their devices are, I decided to make this web page. I'm hoping it'll answer a lot of questions that people have about TiVo, without the usual marketing hype that you'd find on a corporate web page. So, in no particular order, here are a lot of the questions that people ask me about TiVo, answered once and for all:
What is a TiVo?
TiVo is a company, here is their web site. TiVo is the manufacturer of the TiVo software which is used to power their Digital Video Recorders (DVR) which is sometimes also referred to as a PVR or Personal Video Recorder. In the past, TiVo's software was also used in boxes sold by Humax and Toshiba, as well as older models sold by Sony, Phillips, AT&T, Hughes, and Thomson (in the UK).
The DVR is a box which records television shows for you, but it's much smarter than your old VCR ever hoped to be. A TiVo knows the network schedules, it knows which shows are new, which shows are re-runs, what time all the shows are on, what actors are in them, and, best of all, it knows what you like.
There is no easy ten-word answer for what a TiVo is, it's more than a super VCR. I like to think of it as having my own television network, or perhaps a personal assistant who knows what TV I want to watch, and will take care of recording it all for me, so I'm free to live my life. It's the ultimate "time-shifting" device, allowing you to watch your favorite shows on your schedule, not the one that TV networks determine.
My wife and I like TiVo because it frees us from the tyranny of our television sets and the network schedules. For instance, we really like True Blood, but we're not always free on Sunday nights to watch it. So, we have a TiVo record it, and we watch it when it is convenient for us, even if that's at 7:00 p.m. on a Thursday. Having a TiVo means never having to compromise what you're going to do because of what's on TV that night. You can be a dedicated Grey's Anatomy fanatic and still go to your church group on Wednesday nights at 8. TiVo has you covered.
TiVo also allows you to pause and rewind live TV, which, while not sounding like a big deal, is something that you become accustomed to, and will eventually find yourself wishing you had it as a feature on every other TV you use, and even your radio. Phone rings in the middle of American Idol? Just hit pause and answer it, there's no reason to miss your show, or miss a call. Once again, TiVo is about not compromising your personal life for the sake of TV. You can have your cake and eat it too.
I can record shows with my VCR, so what's the big deal?
The ease in which TiVo is programmed is what makes TiVo better than a VCR. You don't need to set the time you want TiVo to record. To set a schedule like the one I mentioned above, here is what you'd do:
1. Push the TiVo button on the remote.
2. Select "Pick Programs To Record" from the menu that appears.
3. Select "Search by title" from the next menu
4. Select "All Programs" from the next menu, though you could narrow it down to a genre, but why bother?
5. Enter "TRUE" with the remote, at which point True Blood should appear on the right side of your screen, among the list of other shows starting with the word True.
6. Select "Get a Season Pass" which will tell TiVo you want to record more than just one episode of the show.
7. Click Ok.
And that's even easier when you're looking at the screens, you could easily accomplish that in 30 seconds with very little trouble. And, there are more options in there, for instance, you can tell your TiVo to only record new episodes, so you don't bother with re-runs. It's much easier than programming your VCR, you don't even have to set the clock on your TiVo, that's done automatically!
Keep in mind, there's no fumbling with tapes, no forgetting to turn off the VCR so that it won't enter timer mode, and no missed recordings because the power went out briefly and the clock on the VCR was reset.
You can also do Wishlist recordings, by title, subject, director, actor, etc. For instance, I have my TiVo set to record every football game with the words Iowa State in the description, automatically, regardless of what time, what channel or what day it is shown. You can set it to record every movie that John Wayne was ever in, or every documentary about Ancient Egypt (one of my wife's wishlists).
You can also start watching a show on TiVo as it's still being recorded, or watch one show while TiVo records another. Modern TiVos have two tuners, and can record two shows while you watch a third. For instance, I often start watching The Deadliest Catch at 8:20 p.m. There are about 20 minutes of commercials, so this allows me to fast forward through all the commercials, and be caught up to "live" TV by the end of the show. Try doing that with your VCR!
I want a TiVo, but my wife won't let me get one!
I think that TiVo should make a pamphlet for this situation, as I've heard it at least 100 times from guys who want to get a TiVo. My wife thought that our first TiVo was another one of my stupid gadget purchases, until she too was seduced by the magic powers of the TiVo. Our second TiVo was purchased for her, so she could record her shows, even if they conflicted with something I wanted to record on the first unit. She uses TiVo to record Trading Spaces, While You Were Out, and several other home improvement type shows from The Learning Channel and HGTV.
So what's the gotcha? The hidden cost?
The thing that turns off many people about TiVo is the additional cost of TiVo service. In addition to needing the box above, you need to subscribe to the TiVo service data, so that your TiVo knows what is on TV. You can either choose to pay a monthly fee for the service, or pay for "lifetime" service which covers the lifetime of your TiVo Unit. I strongly urge you to consider the Lifetime option, as it's the best deal, and the service stays with your unit if you decide to sell it laster.
What's the difference between Series 1 and Series 2 TiVos?
Series 2 TiVos have faster CPUs and external USB ports. Right now, there's not much difference, but one day TiVo may release something that makes use of those external USB ports on the Series 2 models. Having owned both units, I'll say that the Series 2 unit is also a little faster in going through the menus, and makes adding Ethernet to your TiVo cheaper and easier, though it's still officially unsupported for now.
What are Suggestions?
You can rate each program with 1-3 thumbs up or down, depending on how much you like it. TiVo compares what you like with what other TiVo users like in order to find new shows you may also like. For instance, if you give three thumbs up to Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, TiVo may notice that most Buffy aficionados also like Angel, and will record that for you as a suggestion.
Suggestions are only recorded in your free disk space, and only when the TiVo is otherwise idle. You'll never miss or lose anything that you told TiVo to record because of suggestions. There is no way they can hurt your enjoyment of TiVo in any way, and it's a great way to discover new shows that you may also like.
Can I hack my TiVo to get the service for free?
Not that I know of. I've heard rumors of people accomplishing this somehow, but I don't know how to do it, and please don't e-mail me asking how, even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you. Buy your lifetime subscription to the TiVo service and be done with it, don't steal service from them.
Does the TiVo have 30-second skip?
Yes, there's a not-so-secret code that you can enter with your remote that turns the advance button into a 30 second skip button. In case the site I linked to disappears in the future, here's the info from it:
Grab your TiVo remote.
Bring up any recorded program. (You have to be watching a recorded program rather than "Live TV" in order to enable the feature.)
On your TiVo remote, key in the following sequence:
SELECT PLAY SELECT 30 SELECT
If you've successfully entered the code, you should hear three "bings" in succession to inform you that you've successfully enabled the 30 second skip.
Note that any time your TiVo is rebooted (such as after a power outage or a software update) you'll have to re-enable this feature.
Should you not like the 30 second skip, you can disable it by re-entering the Easter Egg exactly as you did to enable it.
Where can I get more information?
If your question isn't answered here, please e-mail me , and I'll add it to the list!
The best place to go for all TiVo discussion is in the TiVo Community forums at:
There are several better FAQs out there than what I've written, one is the TiVo Community FAQ:
For those interested in hacking their TiVo: