# So, do you or your friends time-shift programming?



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

I know, this should really be in polling forum, but I don't know how to create a good poll question, so I'm throwing the question out in the general forum. I'm kinda thinking that TiVo and company have overestimated the market demand for their product, which is to time-shift programs for later viewing.

Thus, the question is: Do you or members of your family and friends time-shift programs, or just watch whatver happens to be on?

As for me, the primary reason why I had cable and now have DBS in the first place is to keep my mother happy. Otherwise, I would be strictly DVD.

Having said that, I used to time shift with a VCR, but now I use a PVR to record my favorite programs. Part of it is due to the various shifts that I work, part of it is due to class.

My mother, on the other hand, just watches whatever happens to be on. There is a VCR available, but she never uses it, not even to rent movies. 

My friend Richard relies on me for his Buffy/Angel/Enterprise fix.  One of these days, he'll watch the tapes I've been sending him.


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## Maniacal1 (Apr 9, 2002)

I timeshift nearly everything. News, weather, and most sports events are the only things I watch as they are being aired. 

The biggest benefit to me of PVR's (and I'm in a 3 TiVo and one 501 household) is that when I do get around to watching television, I'm watching something I want to see, no matter what time it is. And there's no more watching something that's in between two programs that I want to see just because I'm waiting for the second program to air.


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

I timeshift about 95% of what I watch (including OTA HD). Used to be with VCRs (that's why I have 3 of them next to my TV), but now it is primarily with my 508 and 501.


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## EvanS (Mar 27, 2002)

Time shift everything except news, sports and, for a short time, OTA HDTV. I really don't watch more than I used to but my watching is MUCH more efficient now. So I still get to watch what I want, when I want, which is great, but I also have SO much more time left over than I used to


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## Randy_B (Apr 23, 2002)

We time shift absolutely EVERYTHING including news & weather. With 3 very young ones, my wife and I don't get a chance to even think about watching a TV program until after 9pm. Even then, with the cold and flu season in full swing we seldom get to finish a show in one sitting.

Also, with the large HD on the 721, we keep a small library of the kids shows (Blues Clues, Clifford, Dora, Jay Jay, etc..) so we never have to worry about having something available that my wife and I feel approporitate for our children (they get to watch one show after dinner and there is nothing on for the under 6 set, the Nick shows in the evening are for the older kids). This is why I would love to get PBS Kids on E*.

From our perpsective, the ease of time shifting is everything. Theoretically, we could time shift with a VCR, but quickly finding something or resuming would be impossible. We tend to have multiple shows in progress at any one time. Especially the kids shows. Lots of them are done in 15 min segments.


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## Pete K. (Apr 23, 2002)

Everything. The only thing I've watched live
in months was the coverage of the 
Columbia shuttle disaster.
We also keep a "library" of kid friendly
programming ready to roll.


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## sampatterson (Aug 27, 2002)

We time shift 100% of our "normal" watching via our PVRs. HDTV we still have to watch live for now (921s PLEASE SHIP!!!!) 

Occasionally we browse around and watch something live but that is happening less and less.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I am new to a 508 and now time shift all the time (so to speak). I often will be recording a network program full of advertising while at the same time watching another program and skipping commercials on it. When the recording is done I will watch it with no commercials. I have several movies on the HD waiting to be watched. Needless to say I am very impressed with the 508 even though I switched from it's far distant predecessor, a JVC D-VHS.


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## Martyva (Apr 23, 2002)

I'm in the business and time shift less than 10% of my viewing. My wife records as many as 19 programs on satellite (on a dishplayer 7100) and 5 on OTA to a VCR. Don't ask me how she watches them, when she works 5 1/2 days a week, does the woman shop thing, and is ussually asleep in the evenings, in front of the tv, but she has never complained about lost programming.


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## Karl Foster (Mar 23, 2002)

We timeshift everything via our two Ultimatetv receivers. We don't watch more tv than before, but we watch what we want in less time. 

At first my wife didn't understand the concept very well, but it took about a day and she hadn series records set all over the place. Thank goodness for dual tuners!


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## marko (Jan 9, 2003)

Only certain shows.... I watch a lot of sports, so that has to be live. We end up taping certain shows during the week (coach/frasier), and certain events. We still spend a lot of time watching shows during their regular showing.


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## HTguy (May 7, 2002)

I do a lot of time shifting because there are frequently 2 programs of interest on at the same time in my limited prime-time window of TV opportunity. Also, it is not uncommon for me to fall asleep after 10:30PM or so...right in the middle of a late drama.

I use a PVR501 at home for DISH & a couple of S-VHS VCRs for off-air locals.


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

Timeshift most stuff. But on my one or two favorite shows I will wait 20 minutes and start watching from the beginning and therefore finish the show when the show is actually over but miss the commericals. 

The one problem of Timeshifting is the watercooler conversations about some shows. But now most of my friends have PVRs so that even becomes an issue (I know Friend "A" dosen't watch Buffy till the weekend, while Friend "B" will wait about a month to watch another show)


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

I always time shift my prime time shows. A few years ago with my VCR, it went like this. Oddly enough, every night 10-11PM

Monday - Brooklyn South ( I really miss this show)
Tuesday - NYPD Blue
Wednesday - Chicago Hope
Thursday - ER
Friday - Homicide: Life on the Street (and Brimestone if I world remember)

I would record them and watch them the following evening. Now with my 508 it's...

Monday - Third Watch & Miracles/CSI:Miami
Tuesday - NYPD Blue
Wednesday - Twilight Zone
Thursday - CSI:LV
Sunday - Dragnet

Once in a while I'll throw some Law & Order, classic Twilight Zone and Blue repeats in the mix.


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

2 DirecTiVos = 99% timeshifted TV

6:00 & 11:00 news is about the only live TV I watch now, and lots of times I start late and use the buffer


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

But, what about your friends and relatives? It's understandable that a lot of folks on this board do timeshift and have PVRs, but what about outside the family?


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

I know very few people outside of DBS that have PVRs (Replay or TiVo)


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

95% of what I watch is timeshifted. The only exception is sports like baseball or football, ot the occasional times I watch Headline News or the Weather Channel. And man, do I keep hitting the skip button when those inane weathermen start "trying" to be funny, or when they throw it to the poor schmo left standing in the bad weather when they want to show the live coverage of the hurricane or the blizzard. You could be sure they'd drop him into a tornado if they knew where they were gonna be......

Whew, time to take my meds now.


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## UpOnTheMountain (Mar 24, 2002)

We time shift everything. We keep our 721 nearly full with only about 10 hours free on average. 
When we started out with the Dishplayer we only targeted shows that we would otherwise miss. Then as we used the 501 we had already started recording all of our favorite shows even if we were present and ready to watch.
Now we spend about the same amount of time watching tv, but we watch twice as much programming and only what we want to watch, when we want to watch it.

Now ... we have relatives that have a PVR ... these are people that could never quite understand how to program a VCR ... But they only use it to pause live TV !!!! They have occasionally recorded a movie, but they just don't get the point. They watch everything live and just rave about how cool it is that they can pause what they are watching.

Outside of these NowShifters, I don't know anyone else that has a pvr. They just are not understood out here in the sticks.


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## gcutler (Mar 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by UpOnTheMountain _
> *Now ... we have relatives that have a PVR ... these are people that could never quite understand how to program a VCR ... But they only use it to pause live TV !!!! They have occasionally recorded a movie, but they just don't get the point. They watch everything live and just rave about how cool it is that they can pause what they are watching. *


The way the products have been marketed or even "Pushed", I believe that any TiVo, DTiVo, Replay, DP or 721 user Timeshifts (especially since you have to go out of your way to get them). But I believe that some percentage of 50x users (who knows if it is 5% or up to 95%) that do what UOTM's Relatives do. Either they fell for the advertising without understanding it, or were guided to the 501 instead of the 301, etc.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

I guess we time shift 90% of the time. It started with VCR's but once we got a Dishplayer, my twin teenage daughters and my wife picked up on the concept right away. We now have a 501 and a dishplayer that are always full. 

Interesting fact: Earlier this year I got a 6000 for HDTV. I tend to watch HD live, but the rest of the family prefers to watch shows time shifted rather then in HD. A 921 would solve my problem, but selling my 6000 and Dishplayer and getting a 721 might make more sense. 

If they start charging $10.00 am month again for the Dishplayer (I am on the $99.00 3 year deal) I will be forced to do something.


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## STXJim (Apr 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Steve Mehs _
> *
> 
> Monday -
> ...


Steve,
On Monday night; you are correct.
-CSI: Miami-
But on Thursday night...its just >
*CSI*. No LV...and I know that you know that so give the original show the respect that it deserves.
BTW; I time shift _everything_ that I watch that has commercials!


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

Actually, if you go by the full title, it's *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*, although during the show, they put it up as *CSI:*. No, I don't know why they keep the colon in there.


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2003)

I never timeshifted anything untill recently.

I went back to school and I make sure to record Enterprise and Law and order episodes.

I've missed several of each, so I'm trying to convince the wife of our need for a Tivo / ReplayTV.

I'm bucking for the replay because I can then pull off the DVD ready MPG files and archive 'em to DVD


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## DarrellP (Apr 24, 2002)

I timeshift almost everything. If the PVR is busy I put it on VHS. 

My wife could care less about timeshifting.

The only thing I watch live anymore is Alias and CSI in HD.


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