We just got one the other day, and my husband and son think it is the coolest thing....I know everyone else probably has one, and knows all about them, but I just am learning about them, and I can not understand how you can pause live TV? That is just totally mind boggling to me, or how you can Rewind Live TV. My son has been taping a bunch of movies off Showtime, it's really awesome.
We just watched the Amityville Horror in High Def, it was so cool....I kind of am seeing how much of a difference the picture quality is. When I look at TV in a store, I can never tell one from another or which is better...but I could really tell watching that movie this afternoon- how clear it was.
Posted by Stitch Groover (Member # 2895) on :
I don't have a DVR but for the past four years I've had a Media Centre PC. It's connected to my TV, and the antenna plugs into the computer. I use it to watch and record TV and backup video tapes.
I can't imagine TV now without being able to pause or rewind it. If the phone rings during Idol, I can pause it for up to 30 minutes!
I have it set to record Neighbours every night in case I'm not home, and to record Ellen every afternoon while I'm at work.
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
I always wondered...if you are pausing and rewinding throughout the day....if later in the evening your favorite program comes on at 10 PM...does it actually start at 10 PM....or is the programming running behind and still trying to catch up to itself? I don't think we're far off from simply being able to watch your favorite shows whenever you want...but wouldn't this eliminate shows having to compete for ratings...and how would the advertising aspect work....don't shows make most of their money via the commercials that play while their show is on. Anybody able to enlighten me?
Posted by Stitch Groover (Member # 2895) on :
It does negate the power of advertising, because you can fast forward through the ads. My Media Centre has a skip button so I can jump 30 seconds with the press of a button.
Posted by Pittsburghgirl (Member # 7514) on :
kevdug, we will soon be watching any movie we want due to the new technologies, which is why I have curbed my spending on dvd's. But I don't know that the networks would allow it for regular television shows. I read something about this a while back, maybe on The Consumerist or something like that.
Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
quote:Originally posted by kevdugp73: I always wondered...if you are pausing and rewinding throughout the day....if later in the evening your favorite program comes on at 10 PM...does it actually start at 10 PM....or is the programming running behind and still trying to catch up to itself? I don't think we're far off from simply being able to watch your favorite shows whenever you want...but wouldn't this eliminate shows having to compete for ratings...and how would the advertising aspect work....don't shows make most of their money via the commercials that play while their show is on. Anybody able to enlighten me?
Kevdug,
A DVR (Digital Video Recorder) is just a recording device. In a simplistic way, you can think of it as a VHS machine only it uses a hard drive just like your PC uses instead of tape. Because it records to a hard drive it records "digitally". A typical DVR records a stream of video/audio anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours. This means you can rewind from 1/2 hour up to 2 hours and watch the show(s) you have missed (if you haven't changed the channel), or, you can pause live TV for 1/2 hour to 2 hours.
Remember these general rules about DVR's
*** When viewing "live" TV ***
- Most common DVR's record 1 hour of live "streaming" broadcast content before it's overwritten by new data.
* This means that I can rewind up to 1 hour and see the show that I missed.
- If you change the channel you are on, you lose the recorded data from the last channel, and, the DVR starts recording the channel you are on for up to 1 hour (on average)
*** When view "timed" TV scheduled to record ***
- When you "choose" to schedule a program to record to the DVR it stores it permanently on the hard drive. It will remain on the hard drive until you run out of space, then it will be overwritten, unless you "protect" it.
- Scheduled recordings can be thought of as a VHS tape. The difference being that it is, on the hard drive, it's in digital format.
- You can burn your DVR recording to a DVD recorder, or hooked up to your PC you can use a DVD burner.
* getting more geeky here: A lot of DVR's use the "Linux" operating system/filesystem...
- You can back up the recorded data to an external hard drive, or remove the internal hard drive (not recommended), then hook the external drive up to a "linux" based PC and save the recordings in a recognized format that linux can work with, then burn to a DVD.
Or,
You could build a linux based DVR Server using a DVR product like MythTV (free open source). This way you can record as many hours as you like.
M'kay?
[ 16. April 2009, 08:48: Message edited by: jdocster ]
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
What's that again? Just kidding jdoc...that makes more sense now...thanks for explainin'. May have ta git me un of dos.....
Pitts...certainly has curbed my spending on DVDs as well. I limit most of my purchases to my 80's movies...which I still love to collect...copies are not good enough for my 80's movies...unless there's no other option ie OOP. I gotta have the case and the shiny pictures!
Posted by kevdugp73 (Member # 5978) on :
Oh yeah....jdoc...did your friends from the chess club explain that to ya....or your debating team partner? Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
quote:Originally posted by Pittsburghgirl: we will soon be watching any movie we want due to the new technologies, which is why I have curbed my spending on dvd's.
i was going to spend a ton of money on tv show dvds..for instance, the i dream of jeannie complete series - i almost bought them, but thanks to my husband, i can now relax in my bedroom, watching all the episodes on my tv, through the xbox 360, which is connected to our computer that allows me to watch most tv shows through HULU on the xbox. my daughter watches all the available facts of life episodes through this as well. we have the dvds but i think it's awesome that we can do this without having to pay buttloads for the discs. we also watched the three stooges! Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
quote:Originally posted by kevdugp73: Oh yeah....jdoc...did your friends from the chess club explain that to ya....or your debating team partner?
kevdugp73,
They tossed me out of the chess club for "sniffin' glue". Then they washed me out of the "flight club" because of the time I went ballistic with Penny Benjamin... Then, they kicked me out of mensa for being "too technical"...
Sorry if I get a bit too technical or geeky. Sometimes it just takes over. I certainly don't want to come across as a know-it-all. I just like helping people.
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