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DVRs are still a novelty to many people and it’s always interesting to see new users learn about DVR etiquette. At the Wall Street Journal, Jason Fry wrote about discovering the classic DVR faux pas: Revealing Facts About TV Shows Without Asking If They Recorded It. Fry says he revealed the final play of an exciting March Madness game to a friend. Oops!

He says he is discovering that not everyone is tuning into TV like they used to. “Today my TV is not your TV, and you can never assume the same people are watching the same thing at the same time or in the same way,” he writes.

No, TV is personal just like computers. Or cell phones. Or iPods.

But personal TV gets difficult to manage when there is more than 1 person watching. Do the kids watch their shows? Do you watch The latest UFC fight? Or let your wife tune into “Masterpiece” to catch the Jane Austen movies? Or perhaps sit together and watch “American Idol”?

The answer is whole home DVR, where every TV has its own DVR. Or at least access to the central DVR sitting in the living room.

I was reading this article from Electronic House about the future of media servers, and it got me wondering. When will media servers finally rule the world?

People have been touting media servers for many years now. Millionaires like Bill Gates have them. They put all their music onto hard drives, all their movies onto a central server and can access them from anywhere in their home. Want to watch “The Matrix” again? No need to pull out a DVD and use your DVD player. Simply pull it from your media server off a menu and start watching any movie in your library. In your living room or in your office computer.

I bought something that promises to do this. It’s a Buffalo LinkStation network storage device. It has 750 GB capacity so I can fit all my music and multimedia with lots of room left over for work files and other documents. It even has a USB port so I can connect external USB drives and provide additional storage, if I need it in the future.

The best part about my LinkStation is that it has DLNA certified, which means it can act as a storage server for a media device. Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) makes it possible to access and share digital content throughout a home network. It aims to connect PCs, peripherals and TV/consumer electronic devices using your existing home network.

So far, there are just a few DLNA-certified products out there. There are a few media extenders, storage servers and other products, but they are not very popular yet.

I think consumers aren’t really thinking about their home networks too much and haven’t thought of the possibilities available with a home media server and storage devices. An inter-connected maquinas tragaperras webjugar interactivo portal internetapuesta dinero lineajuegos apuestas portales webjugar interactivo onlinevideo poker portalcasinos internacionales webganar premio paginas webjuego pagina internetmaquina tragaperras pagina webdescargar ruleta de la suerteonline casino listecasino online slotcasino websitecasino online texasonline kenoonline casino softwareonline spiel automatmultispieler spieleroulette spielregelcasino im internetgolden palace online casinoamerican slotscasino online wiesbadenonline slotmaschinen spielenbwin roulettecpayscom2 casino onlinebaccarat downloadcasino pc games,www casino games,casino gamescasino online livevideo poker onlinecasino slots games,casino slots,casino slots downloadonline casino testcasino automaten spieleslotmachines online spielenbaccarat spielenechtes kasinospielroulette spielregelncasino spiele decasino kostenlos spielencasino spiele downloadcasino online vergleichroulette gratis,roulette gratis spielen,roulette gratis downloadwww rouletteeigenes casino onlinemobiles casinoslots spielen gratisroulette trickskostenlose casinospiele,internet kasino spielen,casino spielecasino online mac home makes a lot of sense for people with lots of media assets. I think DLNA products are set to explode–maybe not this year, but soon.

I’ve already started encoding my CD collection onto my LinkStation and going completely digital. Then I can just hook up my iPod and take my entire music collection on the go.  No more fumbling for CDs.

As a bonus, I can also use my Buffalo LinkStation over any Internet-connected computer and access my files. When I log in to my home LinkStation, I can see anything that I’ve set up for sharing. Anything else is protected and invisible to me. I can upload files and save them for later, or access any of my shared files over the Internet.

My music folder is my favorite thing. I can log in anywhere and listen to any of my MP3s. I can even listen to folders of music right from my browser, since it comes with a built-in player. It’s quite dreamy–all my music, available anytime, anywhere.

Isn’t that what you want from the Internet?

[tags] Buffalo Technology, LinkStation, LinkStation Live, Media server, iPod,  DLNA [/tags]

As more and more people record their favorite TV shows with DVRs, it’s common to come across someone who says something like “Please don’t tell me about the episode of Lost, I recorded it and haven’t seen it yet!”

An article by Mark Glaser at MediaShift describes this phenomenon in an article called “TiVo Nation: The New Etiquette for Our Time-Shifted Culture“. Glaser talks about how in the age before DVRs and VCRs, most people had no choice but watch TV shows live when they were broadcast. Today, DVRs are making it too easy to consume TV at our own time tables. And that means many people are very conscious about avoiding spoilers until they watch the shows they’ve recorded.

Glaser points out that you essentially need to have a total media black out so you don’t hear about any spoilers:

“In a time-shifted world, potential spoilers lurk around every corner — and not just in places you expect. You might hear DJs on FM radio commenting on a local football game’s outcome, even though it’s not a sports show. You might walk into a corner convenience store to pick up some food and see a game on TV there, ruining what happened.”

As a result there’s a need for a new kind of etiquette for the DVR age. I call it “Spoiler Etiquette.” Here are some ideas how to avoid spoiling the fun for others.

Ask If They Watched A Show. Before starting a conversation about a current TV show, it’s courteous to ask if they’ve watched a show. Blurting out something like, “Oh my god, can you believe that Jack made it out of the island on Lost?” can get you in lots of trouble. Slow down and make sure that people you speak to have either already seen the show, or don’t care if you spoil it for them. Ask up front if they’ve watched or recorded the TV show you’re discussing.

Be Careful You’re Not Overheard. Today’s DVR “Spoiler Etiquette” requires that you’re careful that you’re not speaking too loudly, or that people around can’t hear you when you discuss TV. If you’re standing in line at the grocery store or standing around the water cooler at work, people around you will be able to listen to you spoil the “Desperate Housewives” cliffhanger episode. Be aware where you are and who might be listening in.

Speak Out First. If you’re in total media blackout mode and your TV buddy starts talking about your favorite show, interrupt them and tell them you haven’t watched and want to avoid spoilers. Speaking out first is easier when you know that your friends might call you up after a TV show airs or have a sports buddy who regularly talk to about last night’s game. Pre-empt the conversation by stating something like: “Hey I haven’t watched the Patriots-Giants game from last night yet, please don’t tell me about it!”

Watch the Show As Soon As Possible. One sure way to avoid having your favorite show spoiled is to watch the show live, or as close to live as possible. That’s not always possible, however. With sporting events, people will be much more anxious to know who won the game. Besides, do you think you can really avoid hearing anything about the Super Bowl? With regular TV shows it’s best to watch it the same night it airs, or within the next few days. After all, you’ll lose out talking about the show with your friends and as more days pass, and the chances of spoilers will increase.

Don’t Worry To Much About Spoilers. It’s not possible to expect to go through a total media blackout to avoid spoilers. In fact, if you work in a big office or have lots of friends, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll hear something about the show you’re trying to avoid. Avoiding the Internet, TV, radio or casual conversation is virtually impossible unless you’re a hermit. Relax and try not to take it too seriously and expect some spoilers no matter how hard you try.

Have Something Else to Discuss. Avoid talking about current TV shows. Turn the conversation to something else: “How about those Patriots?” Oh wait, someone may have recorded the show last week and not seen it yet. Perhaps the best thing to do is to talk about current events or celebrity gossip. How about: “Can you believe Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant?”

[tags] spoilers, DVR, digital video recorder, etiquette, spoiler etiquette, Tivo [/tags]

[Photo courtesy of Jill Greenseth via Flickr.]

Update: See my article last year about how DVRs are ruining water cooler conversations.

I recently got a new HDTV for my living room and that means a re-evaluation of my DVR.

Currently, I own a Series 2 Tivo which I’ve had for about a year or so. Previously, I owned a Panasonic ShowStopper ReplayTV that served me for about 5 years. (Yes, I came to the Tivo party late, but I think using DVRs other than Tivo gives me some good background and experience with DVRs.)

So now that I’m using HDTV, I got HD cable from my provider Comcast. So I had to upgrade my cable box and also decided to add on an HD DVR so I can record HD programming. It was just an extra $5 a month for the HD DVR and it gave me 30 hours of HD recording. Not a bad deal. The Comcast HD DVR works OK, but the interface and design isn’t as friendly or sophisticated as Tivo.

Nevertheless, I decided to use both DVRs. My SD Tivo is hooked up on one input on my TV, and the Comcast HD DVR is connected via HDMI to get me that clear digital HD picture. It’s working great so far. I can switch back and forth between HD Comcast and SD Tivo.

But as I started to watch more HD, I quickly realized one thing: I probably wouldn’t be using my Tivo much anymore. Why use my Tivo when it can only record in SD? The SD picture quality looks awful on my new HDTV set. It’s like being an expensive stereo, and only listening to AM radio.

An HD DVR is practically a necessity once you get an HDTV. But Tivo’s Series 3 DVR is too expensive. And the new Tivo HD ($300) just doesn’t have the features I expect in a Tivo product.

Even though I’m still using both DVRs at the same time, I realize I won’t keep my Series 2 Tivo much longer. I do still have lots of TV shows recorded on my Tivo that I’ve been meaning to watch. At the same time, all those unwatched shows are somewhat of a burden. These shows have been patiently waiting for me to watch them, but I choose to let them sit in Tivo purgatory.

An article at PC Magazine crystallizes my sentiments. The writer, Sascha Segan says that they’re leaving Tivo and getting a cable HD DVR. Why? Essentially it comes down to economics. Tivo’s Series 3 HD DVR costs $800 plus monthly fees of $20 vs. cable which is free and $5 monthly fee. (See the article “So Long, TiVo; Hello DVR“.)

Here’s a good quote:

Trust me. If I’m leaving TiVo, it’s in trouble. This breaks my heart; TiVo has always been friendly, innovative, fun, and easy to use. It should be celebrated, not abandoned. It’s a verb, for heaven’s sake. But by turning into a luxury product, it’s consigned itself to the quiet fringes of a bustling TV world.

Okay since that was written, the Series 3 Tivo has gone down in price somewhat ($600 rather than $800) but it’s still not enough. It’s still a luxury item. And a luxury item that I can’t afford to buy right now. Guess I’ll be using my cable company’s DVR for a while.

Bonus: Take the poll on HD DVRs.

[tags] HD, HDTV, Tivo, Comcast, satellite TV, digital video recorder, DVR, HD DVR [/tags]

In a few days, I’ll be getting a 52″ HDTV set for my home. And that means I’ll be looking for more HD content. I have Comcast cable and have already signed up for HD content and have the HD box with the HD DVR.

It’ll be quite sad to lose my Tivo Series 2 DVR, but it’s not HD so I’ll need to use the Comcast HD DVR. I’ll actually have both connected at the same time since I still have lots of content sitting around my Tivo that I haven’t watched yet. Plus, the Comcast HD DVR only has about 30 hours available for HD programming which means I’ll probably be filling that up pretty quickly. Having a backup Tivo for SD programming makes sense until I bite the bullet and buy a Tivo Series 3.

When I had an HDTV set earlier this year, I noticed a few rather interesting things.

I Only Watched HD Content. Switching to HD really made me want to only watch HD content. I watched nature shows on Discovery HD, travel shows on the Travel Channel and lots of sports in HD. It really changed how and what I watched on my TV. I thought it was just a phase, but I predict it’ll happen again.

Not Enough HD Content.  After getting an HD set, I was hungry for HD content. But I found that it was severely lacking. Sure there were a few movies, sports and some HD channels, but the majority of channels were in SD. Fortunately, some of my favorite prime-time shows–like Lost, 24 and Heroes–are in HD so I’ll be able to enjoy them in HD mode.

I saw a story recently showing research that said consumers are happy with HDTV picture quality, but want more HD programming. A survey of511 HD households found that 85% thought the quality of their HDTV sets was either above average or excellent. Only 39%, however said the same about the selection of HD programming.

Being happy with the programming usually comes down to how you’re getting your HD programming–antenna, cable, satellite or IPTV.  Cable and satellite companies are battling it out over who has the most HD channels, and it’s hard to know unless you do the research.

The survey found that sports and movies were the most popular HD programming. In fact, ESPN HD was the most-watched source of sports programming, and HBO was tops in HD movies.

Meanwhile, there’s evidence that HDTV is getting more and more affordable. With the holidays approaching and the Super Bowl just a month away, it is a great time to start looking around for HDTV deals.

A new JD Power study found that consumers love their HDTV sets and would buy HDTV again, like the sets a lot and would recommend them to friends.  Among HDTV brands, Sony, Pioneer, and Samsung are top consumer favorites. JD Power’s “2007 Large Screen HDTV Usage and Satisfaction Study” measured customer satisfaction with HDTVs.

In my quest for HD programming, I’ll report back on my search of TV providers in the San Francisco Bay Area on who has the most channels for HD. For now, I have cable but am willing to switch to a new provider if they have a better offering.

[tags] HDTV, HD, Comcast, cable, Tivo, HD DVR, DVR [/tags]

I love watching TV. But there are so many shows, especially with the new Fall TV season that it’s difficult to catch up with everything that’s really good. The problem with TV is that there are too many channels and not enough time. That’s why I use Tivo, and my cable company’s HD-DVR to record shows that are on at the same time.

Recently, I’ve started watching Heroes on NBC. I decided to skip watching the first season on TV and planned on catching up by watching it on NBC.com, and via DVD. So now that the first season is out on DVD, I watched a lot via NetFlix, but I also had many other options.

LifeHacker lists six ways to catch your favorite TV shows. But they don’t quite have the same things I list here.

Here are all the ways, consumers could watch Heroes.

Broadcast TV. I didn’t watch it via regular broadcast TV but I could have. Heroes was on against “24″ on Fox, which I’ve been watching for years. So I decided to wait and watch Heroes on DVD or on-demand.

Tivo or other DVR. Again, I chose not to watch it live or even near-live. I didn’t Season Pass it. I didn’t mind waiting until the following season to catch up. My DVR is chock full of shows and I figured I could just buy the DVD of the first season or watch it on NBC.com.

Watch Instantly on NetFlix. As a member of NetFlix, I discovered that I could watch the first two episodes of Season 2 on NetFlix.com. It’s “Watch Instantly” feature allows customers to watch streaming video of movies and TV shows. Somehow, I missed the first two shows of Heroes season 2, but NetFlix had them both. The upside? No commercials, and very good quality. The downside? It was on my PC, not TV. And it’s only available on Internet Explorer, not FireFox.

Divx via BitTorrent. Ok, here’s the deal. I couldn’t wait until Heroes came out on DVD. I downloaded a few episodes via BitTorrent and started watching them while I was on the treadmill, or on the computer. Again, it was on my PC and not on my TV.

NBC.com. Episodes of Heroes are available on NBC.com almost immediately after they air. I watched the first episode of Season 2 on NBC.com, but it wasn’t the best experience. They have commercials–although not as many as appear on broadcast TV. But the quality is good. The first three episodes are available now.

Via Cable’s On Demand. On some cable systems, you can catch up with recently broadcast shows via the On-demand systems.

DVD. I used NetFlix to rent a DVD of Heroes to watch it since it was, ahem, faster than getting them through BitTorrent. The problem? DVDs don’t come out until many months later, after they appear on TV. The good part? They come with extras, including subtitles and other video extras. Heroes is currently on sale at on Amazon, of course.

So, if you’re looking to watch TV shows, or if you missed the broadcast. Use one of these methods.

Enjoy

[tags] Heroes, NBC, NetFlix, Tivo, LifeHacker [/tags]

A columnist for the Hamptons Road (Virgina) website writes that DVRs make it easier to catch up with the new Fall TV shows. Even though ABC’s “Reaper” is on Tuesdays at 9pm, it’s against other TV powerhouses like “House” at Fox or “The Unit” on CBS.

Having a dual tuner definitely goes a long way to getting the most out of TV.  Because even if you had a DVR with just one tuner, you’d still be out of luck if there were two shows that you wanted to watch at the same time.

Aaron Barnhart writes:

“DVRs could help level the playing field for some of these good young programs. Perhaps, though, the real enemy of good TV these days is not the big bad schedule. It’s the fact that there’s more good TV than ever. And even a DVR eventually runs out of space”

I’ve been having a problem with my Tivo and cable box that I couldn’t fix.

For about four to five months, my Comcast cable connection was spotty. A few choice channels, like TMC, would have so much pixelation that I couldn’t watch anything on that channel. It was very disappointing when Tivo recorded a classic Turner Classic Movie, and discovered that it didn’t record due to pixelation.

Even worse, the problem affected the On-Demand channels, which meant I couldn’t watch any pay per view events or movies. And as a subscriber to Howard Stern’s TV channel, that meant I was paying $9.99 a month without being able to watch the latest shenanigans by the Stern show. It was a miserable few months.

I tried a number of different things to troubleshoot the problem. I completely disconnected my cable splitter and the Tivo Series 2 box and decided to try just Comcast’s HD DVR cable box.

To my surprise, it worked! All the channels came in perfectly, including On-Demand and Howard TV. Not pixelation. No bad recordings. Unfortunately, my Tivo wasn’t connected, but at least I could use Comcast’s DVR. But it just wasn’t the same. I wanted to use the Tivo.

Initially, I thought the problem was the cable splitter that Tivo Series 2 boxes come with. So I bought a new one, tried it out and realized that the pixelation problem persisted.

I came to the conclusion that there was a problem with the quality of the cable connection. I spent some time calling Comcast tech support and I did the usual things, like resetting the box and having them shoot a new signal. They saw no problems on their end, so I figured it must be on my end. I wasn’t prepared to have Comcast come out and test the signal in my house yet.

Instead I went to Radio Shack. A few things caught my eye. One of them was something called the “Cable TV Amplifier”.

I asked the Radio Shack guy questions and he obviously had no idea how to help me. He just grabbed a few of the packages I looked at, muttered a few things then went off to help someone else.

I decided to buy Radio Shack’s 1 to 4 Bi-Directional Cable TV Amplifier (15-2506) for about $49.99. I was a bit skeptical, but I knew that Radio Shack had a liberal 30-day return policy.

The Amplifier was a step up from a regular cable splitter since it was capable of boosting cable signals by up to 8 dB according to the package. Ok, I had no idea what that meant, but I was hopeful. The Amplifier also came with AC power, which fueled my hope even further.

I took home the Amplifier, left it on a table for about three weeks then decided to connect it one night.

I simply connected the cable in line to the cable in of the Amplifier, then connected the Tivo and the DVR to two of the Amplifier’s out signals. Essentially, I replaced a normal cable splitter with the Amplifier.

And it worked perfectly! The big test was Comcast’s On-Demand titles, so I tried to watch a free movie and it worked perfectly. No pixelation at all.

Next I tried to watch a Howard TV show and saw that there was still some pixelation. But the Amplifier comes with a little knob that I turn to boost the signal strength. So I left the TV on and turned the knob until…viola! Howard TV was coming in perfectly for the first time in months.

I was ecstatic. Radio Shack saved my life! At least in terms of watching TV.

Essentially, I boosted the cable strength enough and reduced signal loss that was coming through, most likely because I had a long cable run. (I also use Comcast cable for my Internet and it stretches into my home office.)

So my suggestion to anyone having problems with their cable or Tivo: Try out these cable TV amplifiers. Odds are, your cable signal strength is low and it can be fixed for about $50.

Please comment and let me know if you have a problem like this and if an amplifier has helped you.

[tags] Radio Shack, Cable TV Amplifier, Cable, Comcast, Tivo, DVR [/tags]

Well, it’s happened again.

DVRs everywhere didn’t record the final crucial minutes of the season finale of American Idol last night because the live show ran about 7 minutes long. And everyone (including me) that recorded the show to watch later were devastated to find out that they missed the crowning of Jordin Sparks as the new American Idol.

The Washington Post said it best with its headline: American Idol + Fox + Tivo = Rage.

How could this happen? Isn’t technology supposed to transcend all and make our lives better? Yes, Tivo and other DVRs have an option where you can extend a recording a few minutes–just in case. But who ever remembers to do that? I don’t have the foresight to program that when I set up the Season Pass.

As a big fan of American Idol, I’ve noticed that the shows have been running long almost every week this season. Unfortunately, I never bothered to edit my Season Pass settings and pad the ending of the recording. I hate having to be bothered with details like this when I’m watching TV.

The main problem are live events like sports, award shows and yes, American Idol.

When you Tivo a non-live TV show (for example “My Name is Earl”) it records on the set times and there’s no chance you’ll miss the end of the show. The TV networks run things pretty timely. But with live shows everything changes.

Live TV shows oftentimes run long. I knew that Idol had been running long all season, but I never padded the end of the recording time. That’s my fault.

But really, it’s American Idol fault. They should have run on time. Fox knows that millions of people will be Tivo-ing American Idol and they need ensure that this doesn’t happen ever again. Even those of us in the west coast were affected–didn’t Fox have time to trim the show a few minutes? What’s more important: watching the Idol singers sing another lame medley or announcing the winner of American Idol?

Don’t Fox executives own DVRs?

This isn’t Tivo’s fault by any means. They don’t schedule TV shows, they just get a program guide. Nevertheless people are mad at Tivo. One article I read has a statement from Tivo:

“At TiVo, we’re huge ‘American Idol’ fans too, so had we known the program would run over, we would have alerted our subscribers to pad a few extra minutes,” said video recorder manufacturer TiVo in a prepared statement.

Unfortunately, DVRs aren’t smart enough to “sense” when a TV show is running long and extend a recording. But wouldn’t that be cool? Can someone please invent this?

Another way to prevent this from happening is to record the show that’s playing directly after your show. That way you can catch anything that runs long. But isn’t this a bit too backward?

Fox, please keep Idol and Seacrest on schedule. Because you know what happened last night after the ending of American Idol was cut? Many of those people rushed to the Internet and YouTube to watch the last final minutes. (Although some people want Fox to replay those final minutes on TV.)

By the way, in case you want to get those last few minutes, here they are. Thanks YouTube!

Bonus: The Mercury News has a story too, with lots of commenters grumbling. Makes fascinating reading.

Don’t own a DVR? Still own a VCR? Well, it’s time to get hip. Heck, it’s 2007 already–we should have flying cars pretty soon.  So why do you still have a VCR hooked up to your TV? Is it feer of letting go? Feeling nostalgic? Don’t want to get rid of your awesome VHS tape movie collection?

Here’s the top 10 reasons why you should throw away your VCR and buy a DVR.

1. It Doesn’t Make You Geeky. Years ago, having a DVR meant you were geeky, or weird, or watched too much TV. Today, DVRs are becoming very mainstream and anyone can use one. Tivo is very easy to use, and has cutesy menus and graphics. Best of all, you don’t need a PhD to connect it to your TV. It’s pretty easy and you only have to do it once.
2. DVRs Are Not As Expensive As you Think. The most popular DVR can cost anywhere from free to about $800 for an HD version. Then there are monthly service fees of about $20 a month. That can get expensive, but there are cheaper options. Cable and satellite providers are now offering DVRs (standard and Hi Def) for about $10 a month extra. They come built-in to the cable box that you normally get, so you won’t need space for an extra box.
3. You’ll Never Need VHS Tapes Again. You have lots of them stored somewhere, don’t you? Perhaps they’re in your TV cabinet somewhere. Well, since DVRs use a hard drive, you’ll hever have to feverishly look for a blank VHS tape to record your favorite show. Just go ahead and throw away all your blank VHS tapes. In a few years, they’ll be obsolete anyway.
4. Never Stare at that Blinking VCR Clock Again. VCRs have those annoying clocks on the front that you could never figure out how to program so it’s always blinking 12:00. Well, DVRs don’t have little screens in the front. Tivo, just has two lights, one of them goes red when you’re recording a show. DVRs from cable companies often do have a screen, but since they’re set by the provider, you’ll always have the correct time (or channel) staring back at you.
5. It Will Change How You Watch TV. Having a DVR will make it fun to watch TV again. You can skip commercials, never miss your favorite shows, get shows recommended to you and pause live TV. WIthout a doubt, DVRs are the most disruptive technology in the last few years. Nothing else can change your TV viewing as dramatically as DVRs.
6. You’re Not Tied into Network Schedules. Remember Must-See TV? Or racing home after work to watch your favorite new Friends episode? With DVRs you’re not locked into schedules created by TV networks. You’re free to watch any TV show at any time you want. Of course, live shows or reality shows are best watched the day they record, but at least you can…
7. Zip Past Commercials. Save time! And possiblyl money! Never watch another commercial again. Unless you really want to. DVRs let you skip past commercials so 1 hour shows can be viewed in about 43 minutes. Half hour shows are really just 23 minutes or so. Imagine what you can do with that extra time.
8. Admit It: You Can’t Program a VCR Anyway. Programming a VCR was never easy for most people. I did it a few times but it was just too tedious so I just used the VCR to watch movies.
9. A VCR is Just Taking up Space. It’s time to throw away that VCR. They’re great for gathering dust but you never use it anwyway. You can free up some space under the TV for something better, like a DVR or a Wii.
10. DVRs Are More than Just Watching TV. With DVRs like Tivo, you can view photos and listen to music from your home computer on your TV. New services from Tivo include the ability to a) purchase or rent recent Hollywood movies 2) send home movies to other Tivo users, 3) watch Internet video on your Tivo, 4) listening to Internet radio. And lots more.

Isn’t it time you threw it away once and for all? Do it now. Go ahead.  I’ll wait.

Ok, great. Now don’t you feel better?

Let me know if you’ve finally dumped your VCR and why.