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Tivo 3.0 'Firebolt' Hits the Wild
James Evans writes "Tivo is rolling out version 3.0 of their software, including Ethernet drivers as well as the ability to download program data directly from a cable broadcast without using the phone line."
My guess is it'll be awhile before everyone gets it since these things come
in waves.
It probably simply means that the ethernet support will be unused for first and second gen hardware, and that TiVo didn't feel a need to branch the OS development tree. That's a pure guess on my part, but it's a plausible (to me at least) one.
Well, I seem to be watching the same amount of TV. I was never an addict to begin with and when I switched to directv I had a choice: buy a reciever box for $50 or a Hughes DirecTivo for $120. Guess what I went for.
Right now I have it set to record a few shows (7-8) in season pass mode. I shut off the auto-record suggestions mode because it really just recorded crap. Just because I like the Simpsons doesn't mean I like everything thats animated, especially stuff for the 4-7 year old demographic. I spent some time just rating movies and TV shows and it still was pretty lousy. Plus, I really don't want to watch lots of TV unless its interesting. The programs I choose are good enough and if I'm channel surfing I'll check whats on the various discovery-type channels and movie channels.
The real fun part is that I never look at the clock and think "Hey the Daily Show is on" or whatever. Even if I know something good is on I prefer to catch it 10 minutes or so late so I can skip the commercials, boring parts, bad guests, etc. Its weird how clock oriented I was toward TV. If I cancel I'll probably be using the hell out of my VCR.
The real problem is I can't stand live TV with its ads. Its bad when you haven't seen a commercial break in months and now you have to find ways to entertain yourself for 3 minutes 4 times a show. So I just hit record and walk away. Come back and skip commercials as usual.
Its great at catching every showing of something. So if you like the Power Puff Girls you're going to get four per day, unless otherwise programmed. Great, one of those is probably one I haven't seen. The interface is sweet compared the directv boxes and because its a DirecTivo I'm always recording at MPEG-2. It doesn't compress anything, it just records everything raw - highest quality from directv.
The pitfalls for most people is that they load up on the suggestions and veg away. Avoid that. Make TV your bitch. I did.