what tivo does to me
Ok so its been just a few days now that i've had the pleasure of TiVo in my life. I've been enjoying the Pioneer DVR-810H-S in all its glory and finding out the little things TiVo is doing to me. I never really saw commericals as a terrible thing before the TiVo, sure they were in the way and all but just had to deal with them. Now however, they are pure evil, get away from my recorded material, i never wanted to record you. Seeing it all on the TiVo timeline you clearly get a sense for how much of the broadcast you just recorded is total trash. How dare you push the products on me, i'm trying to record here, helloo?!!?
So much trash on tv these days, some good but alot of trash. Figuring out what I want to record has been the first hurdle, thx to Bob & Clint I got down the basics of what I wanted. I've got a new spider sense now too. I watch tv and see promos for things and before I'd just go "oh well thats nice" but now I go "oooh i can record that too!" and quickly write that name down on a napkin to put into the TiVo later.
Seems like I'm more in tune with what will happen on the tv now, which is a bit unsettling since I never really cared for it much before. I'm also finding I spend most my time on the TiVo exploring settings and finding shows to record and not much actual watching of tv. I think I got my basic channels messed up, WSYX isnt what TiVo thinks it is, so I need to correct that, hopefully I wont need a phone line (but it probably does need it) to correct the confusion.
The setup was a bit less than desirable, I thought if I had a net connection going i could by pass all of the inital setup, but it didnt like my wifi adapater choices, and never presented a network option until after i hooked it up to a phone line to configure. Luckly, it was a total fustration cause I myself dont have a phone line, I had to swing it by the folks and connect there etc. This worked ok cause I'm trying to get the folks hooked on TiVo as well, but i worry my folks wont be able to read the screen from so far away to well. In the end they need a bigger tv and TiVo. Ok so we'll get to that soon.. wireless first!
So anyways in the end on my end, TiVo is connected network, yet with a cable at the moment until I get my wireless access point working.
On the recording side of things I find myself blowing shows away too quickly, I tried to stop that this weekend and record something on the dvd burner. Ok so enter Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory which is a really messed up flick, sure its happy its magical its also really distrubing at times, Gene Wilder plays the part as if hes Dr. Frankenstieen. So I put wonka medium mode on a dvd, running at 2hrs and 30mins on a dvd with 40% room to spare. Hmmm need to try more stuff at high quality. Quality is another thing i keep playin around with. Shows I blow away instantly, I dont really need to record them that high least thats my thinking. So simpsons, and such, low levels. Animation doesnt show the freaky cube magic as bad as people do. Its also kind of interesting watching the mpeg alogorythims at work, what doesnt move is nice kinda thing. I know strange but interesting to me.
So I have to say that recording on a blank dvd and then printing some selected dan art on it is really fun. Its forced me to record even more. And my stuff not these suggestions.
So I had suggestions turned on at first and it did ok like the first two shows. I wanted to catch some Adult Swim material off The Cartoon Network and it sent TiVo Suggestions for a loop and it start recording just about everything off that channel. Bad Bad Suggestions! Know anime from other shows, just know it! Ok i had to turn that off. :P
Another odd thing is no on or off button. I expect devices these days to have some kind of on and off button, more expensive the device the more I think i'd see a button but not on this gizmo. Which is kinda unsettling when you want to turn it off just unplug it from the wall and the whirling hard drive will slow down and be fine ok.. and coolio with you just yanking its plug. Sure ive done that on my home pc when i get a nasty blue screen o death or something but its gotta button, i just didnt use it, this thing has no button.
I think its nice, I dg the TiVo and its about time I got one. And Willy Wonka scares me and thats bad cause I love chocolate, the umpa luumpas dont scare me and I remember they used to as a kid. You dont see many films like Willy Wonka any more ya know, strange musicals with moral messages of goodness, scolding the bad bad kiddies of the world.
On another note, I'm boycotting CNN! Yes I will never watch or read CNN news again, or for a long long while. Yesterday I had it running in the background while I was crafting some cd art and in one interview section with an important US general who was in Kosovo or what not in the trial of Milosevic for war crimes trial and he was there etc, anyways CNN picks him up on video feed and starts nailing him to a wall on the latest news of Saddam found etc and how this general now feels about the war in iraq. The general was clearly against it and didnt feel like we should of done it without more world support from other countries etc and clearly said now as hes done in the past that he thinks it wasnt needed and there was no threat of saddam at the time etc. So CNN, in particular this interview woman Diane just repeatedly pins the guy in a corner on remarks that Saddam has been found and look how that shows you up ther general and yer negative view of the war. Then it proceeded to question him at least 3 times on the same frickin answer, and he fought her every time, he stood behind his word, he still thinks its a bad idea and got noticebly pissy with her that she kept fishing for some collapsing remark on his part.
Soo frickin typical for the press to dig and construct negative vibes since that is clearly selling papers and pushing the story. Positive has a life span of minutes where negatives can linger on for months. The whole press engine is messed up we have lost our way in creating a fair system of the press. Its owned by someone or something else.
Then she brought up a comment he made about Bush being an idiot regarding the war and made it look like and sound like as if all of the nation watching was there pinning him against the wall say "well you think hes still and idiot now huh.. now that we caught saddam.,.. huh.. well huh?!?! HUH?!!?!" and he answered quietly, yes I do think he is. I pray that general never speaks to CNN again after that battering of an interview, clearly CNN is owned by homeland security or the white house, cause its not free press, its push the war efforts press. Crap media. I couldnt beleive it, it was clearly distrubing to watch that interview and its amazing the power TV has.
Let the dogs of war continue to carve up this world.