Why do people pay for TiVo?

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve : correct me if im wrong but you seem to be asking "why do people spend money on something that I specifically don't like?"

No. I was wondering what TiVo would allow me to do that I can't already do with On Demand, Netflix, Hulu, and network websites. I have absolutely no objection to spending money on technology if it is useful to you. I've certainly spent my share. But I wouldn't do it unless I knew I was going to get value from it. Clearly, TiVo, or any DVR for that matter, would be of no value to me personally. I don't watch much TV and the TV that I do watch is readily available with the services I already have. There is nothing that I would want to see that I can't already see at my convenience. Based on everyone's responses, I certainly see why others find it useful.

[JoeP]

TV news drives me nuts. They spend an hour talking about stuff that could easily be covered in 10-15 minutes. Broadcasts that used to be 30 minutes are now an hour and longer. I can't stand to watch anymore. If I want to know anything, I look online or on my phone. I can get the weather forecast in 5 seconds instead of 10 minutes of high-tech radar and doppler and 3-D animation when all I want to know is "Is it going to rain?"

Correct. Get rid of the teasers and just get to the news. And I'm not sure why we need a meteorologist to consume 4 minutes explaining occluded fronts and delivering an hour-by-hour forecast. Nobody cares that the temperature at 3:00 AM is going to be 58 degrees, while the temperature an hour later is going to be 59 degrees. Surely that information can just be a text/graphic crawl across the bottom of the screen during the entire newscast.

But I know the answer: the news is a money-maker for a business, and they need to keep you sitting in front of the TV to absorb advertisements. This makes the advertisements logos and sponsorship plugs stay in your face longer.

I'm actually at the point where I go onto the news station's web site and get the content there. I don't need video or images.

[disneysteve]

they need to keep you sitting in front of the TV to absorb advertisements.

However, it has accomplished exactly the opposite. It has changed me from someone who used to watch the 30-minute broadcast nearly every day to someone who rarely ever watches it now.

[yellowpen]

I use it as a time saver. By recording TV instead of watching it live, I can fast forward through all the commercials. You don't realize how much time is spend watching commercials until you can skip them. I can watch 3 -4 TV shows with TiVo instead of a single one with commercials.

[JoeP]

However, it has accomplished exactly the opposite. It has changed me from someone who used to watch the 30-minute broadcast nearly every day to someone who rarely ever watches it now.

This explains why there is far more sponsorship in radio and TV today: people fed up spending time getting less information are finding alternatives, and those remaining need to foot the bill.

[disneysteve]

This explains why there is far more sponsorship in radio and TV today: people fed up spending time getting less information are finding alternatives, and those remaining need to foot the bill.

I'm not sure I buy that theory. The other sources - websites, apps, etc. - have advertising as well. In fact, the online places have far more ads than they used to. Watching a TV show online, there used to be 2 or 3 breaks each with 1 ad. Now they have a full commercial break with 3 or 4 commercials just like on TV.

[feh]

Watching a TV show online, there used to be 2 or 3 breaks each with 1 ad. Now they have a full commercial break with 3 or 4 commercials just like on TV.

That's another perk of having a DVR - no commercials.

[disneysteve]

That's another perk of having a DVR - no commercials.

Some on demand stuff lets you fast forward through the commercials, some doesn't. I guess it depends on the provider. No commercials on Netflix of course.

Personally, I'm not all that bothered by commercials. I just zone out when they're on. Couldn't even tell you what companies or products were advertised. Sometimes my wife will make some comment about a commercial and I have no clue what she's talking about since I wasn't paying attention. But I'm usually doing other things while watching a show - working on my laptop, doing paperwork at the office, playing a game on my phone, etc.

[JoeP]

My time is pretty valuable, so if I can cut out commercials, I will do it. Online, I have the benefit of being able to use an ad blocker, so I get just the content, and can absorb the news more quickly and without distraction. I almost never watch the videos on news sites.

[sandrark]

We've had a Tivo since 2001. We finally upgraded to the new series, and love it. Our reasons:

- We can use it with cable to record current shows. Then we can binge-watch a series when we actually have time. (AKA, timeshifting).

- The lifetime subscriptions pays for itself in ~ 18 months. Unlike renting a DVR for $20 per month per TV. (Our last one we used for 13 years, FWIW - totally got our money's worth out of it!).

- Hulu does not have current series; you have to pay for Hulu Plus, or pay episode-per-episode from Amazon TV. The Tivo ends up being cheaper than Hulu Plus/Amazon rental, in addition to the DVR rental cost.

Once we've amortized the one-time purchase cost and the lifetime membership cost, TV becomes much cheaper for us. Since we moved to cable (away from DISH) and bundled cable + internet, we're saving $120 per month. So the move to Tivo & Cable will be a long-term benefit tot he budget.

And frankly - "zoning out" during commercials is not the same thing as MISSING THEM ENTIRELY. Huge time saver, honestly.

[joshuaking]

Tivo

I would never pay for TiVo, but then again I have never paid for TV. I just don't watch it very often, and it doesn't seem to be worth paying for. If there is a good series that I really want to see, I'll binge watch on Netflix. And even that you can get a 30 day trial free.