Chicagoist: TiVo No!

martin

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:20:14 -0600

Juan3000 wrote: How does having a TV contributor write about their TV experiences not fit? It does not fit on chicagoist.com because it has nothing to do with Chicago. No mention of, perhaps, TV shows that are being filmed here, or changes in local cable regulations that might affect our TiVo experiences, for example. The post is a tongue in cheek how-to guide on how to work a machine. And nellnee, I am continuing to refer to the original post of this article, not the following discussion. I enjoy chicagoist for all of the interesting bits about Chicago. If I wanted to get a better sense about how our lives are "affected" by technology, etc. I would go to wired.com, cnet.com, or maybe slashdot.org. I come to Chicagoist because I want to learn about Chicago, not about random people struggling with their tivos.

nellnee

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 16:33:58 -0600

First of all, why is the site telling me there is an error, then posting anyway? That is why I posted twice. Sorry. Second of all, the discussion IS relevant, in that the Sun Times (and its suburban sister papers) has brought back its TV book because Sunday single copy sales took a huge hit after they dumped it. Apparantly not everyone has TiVo, a DVR, or digital cable yet, or still prefers to look up their TV shows the old fashioned way. And, finally, as Juan indicated, we are living in a digital age where, when technology turns against us, we are affected.

Juan3000

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:33:06 -0600

Get ready for more heartbreak. Once you hook the new Tivo up - it's still empty. You'll still have to wait another week for it to build up stuff to get behind on watching. And Martin - Tivo is as much part of the iLifestyle we all seem to be living as Chicagoist is. How does having a TV contributor write about their TV experiences not fit?

martin

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:01:12 -0600

nellnee my main disappointment with this post is that it tells us nothing new or interesting about CHICAGO, as CHICAGOist usually does.

martin

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:59:25 -0600

nellnee my main disappointment with this post is that it tells us nothing new or interesting about CHICAGO, as CHICAGOist usually does.

nellnee

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:24:53 -0600

I don't have TiVo, but my "adopted" parents do and I hang out at their house and do laundry on the weekends, and catch up on the shows I missed or that conflict with what I usually watch. Their TiVo died right before the Super Bowl, and their satellite provider sent them a replacement DVR instead of another TiVo. The DVR sucks. And yes, there are global problems much more important than whether or not the TiVo died, so why don't the posters who are lamenting that this discussion isn't serious enough just go get their sackcloth and ashes, shave their heads, sell all their wordly goods and sell flowers on the streetcorner. I know, I sound grumpy, I am just annoyed.

nellnee

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 11:20:35 -0600

drdave88

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:28:12 -0600

I AM so jealous of the sound TiVo makes when you fast forward, that little "blip" sound is pure bliss. I have SBC/ATT's Dish; 5 bucks a month for dual HD tuner and 100hrs. The interface rivals TiVo and requires no fee for the unit. But man, I am still jealous about that TiVo blip noise... And let's be honest, watching commercials is for the birds.

drdave88

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 10:20:01 -0600

Will

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:42:13 -0600

Real simple solution, dual tuner...

jerry 101

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:29:49 -0600

I avoided that whole problem. I just netflix the tv shows, and not care about whether I'm hip enough to know what happened on Lost or whatever. Plus, there is great satisfaction in watching an entire season of a show in a week. Except when I feel like a lazy mofo for spending every night of the week at home. No tivo, No HBO, No Showtime, but I gets all the shows. At the same time, this post was a sad commentary on our society. We get depressed over not being able to watch some stupid tv show when we want. I swear, if it wasn't for my need to have the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, I would dump my cable in a second and get dsl.

Joseph

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:08:57 -0600

This lil post rocked my world. :) We don't know what we're missing until we don't have it anymore. or It becomes a necessity only until after you have it..

Mr. Smith

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:32:48 -0600

I had to go without Tivo for a year. Never again. I know it's not in any way comparable to, say, going without food for a week, but still. Also, Comcast's DVR interface is crazy bad. Plus, no satisfying "ding" when you access the menus.

jennifer

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:27:56 -0600

this is one of the most terrible of first-world problems. i'm so glad that someone is giving it the coverage it deserves. bravo Chicagoist!

jennifer

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:26:08 -0600

this is one of the most terrible of first-world problems. i'm so glad that someone is giving it the coverage it deserves. bravo Chicagoist!

Scott

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:40:04 -0600

I'm old school. USENET is my TiVo. Although I do have an actual TiVo around just so I don't have to download the Daily show and the Colbert Report

David

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:22:29 -0600

I totally feel your pain. I've been there. Time, and a replacement, will heal all wounds.

ce

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:18:50 -0600

Sorry if those of us who don't even have cable, much less a DVR, and are too busy watching Rick Steves on Lakeshore Public Television (because it's the ONLY watchable thing on) can't join your little pity party ;)

james

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:29:52 -0600

The Sun-Times DOES have a TV guide, every day and on Sundays. They discontinued the weekly one on sundays, but after a public outcry [who knew?] they reconsidered. It is supposed to be back this weekend. They also have a Sunday only TV page in the sunday paper, as well. Not that i'm biased or anything ...

Hanna

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:15:24 -0600

Between Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, Campus Ladies and the Bad Girls Club, I'd say your best bet is to keep it on Oxygen - with the occasional foray to TLC for What Not To Wear.

Margaret

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:14:50 -0600

Sara, you're my kind of tv watcher! And Scott, I think Janice will probably be the first to go!

ana

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:09:49 -0600

And don't forget learning a foreign language, taking up a martial art, or meeting new friends. Right...

marty

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:09:37 -0600

this post was absolutely irrelevant and completely unfunny

phule

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:59:19 -0600

Or you could just download your TV shows via bittorrent and be done with it.

Jason

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:44:10 -0600

We've been w/o TiVo since the HDTV upgrade throughout the house last year. It sucks, but help is just around the corner. Comcast has partnered with TiVo and will offer a DVR this spring that runs TiVo software. The remote actually looks just like a TiVo remote with the exception of a new "ON DEMAND" button added to it. Prior to this, the choices were either: go with the craptacular DVR that Comcast has or shell out $800 for the new HD TiVo (then getting two cable cards and losing ON DEMAND functionality).

Scott

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 11:02:54 -0600

Only the Sunday Trib carries the free TV listing mag each week now. The Sun-Times discontinued it last month. It will be interesting to find out how much Janice Dickinson really means to you.

SarahA

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:52:05 -0600

At some point we ended up with 3 tvs for our 1 bedroom apartment (and no storage) so my husband set up the 19" and the 13" next to each other. With both remotes in hand, I can effectively have picture in picture, muting one while watching the other. In this way, I never miss coming back to the main program after commercials!