I am going to admit something to you fine readers, something that I'm not very proud of, but need to put out there:My name is Joel Keller. I write about TV. And I don't have a TiVo.
In fact, I don't have any DVR; I have my reasons. But I do have two VCRs. Up until now, that's been more than enough; even with all the good shows that have premiered this year, I've been able to effectively timeshift and watch every show I've wanted to watch.
But after NBC announced its schedule shift yesterday, I have determined that Thursdays are going to kill me.
Between NBC and ABC, there will now be six shows that I will want to watch that night: Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Earl, The Office, Scrubs (my favorite show), 30 Rock, and ER. And, because I review both Grey's and Betty for this site, my ER-watching hour is when I need to write.
Actually, the night tires me out already, since I tend not to watch Betty until Friday morning; the one week I tried to watch and review both it and Grey's in the same night, I went to bed with a splitting headache.So, you're saying: two VCR's, two networks... no problem! Right, but then factor in sweeps super-sizing, World Series games, and NFL Network games, which are set to start in November, and you can understand why my head might start to pound. The way things are going, I'll be watching Thursday's programming well into the weekend. I just hope I don't fall behind.
There's absolutely no reason why this many quality shows (remember, Survivor and CSI are also Thursday staples) should be on during the same night. Does NBC really think that Scrubs and 30 Rock are going to get any ratings against the #1 (Grey's) and #2 (CSI) shows in the country? Why not put those shows on Tuesday night where they may have a fighting chance to get respectable ratings (Anna agrees with me on this)?
Anyway, trying to keep track of all this stuff is going to drive me nuts. I think I may finally break down and get a DVR so it can just record all this crap for me automatically. Anyone have any recommendations? Do I go TiVo or cable-box DVR? Should I just rig an old PC and make that a DVR? Let me know in the comments.
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-26-2006 @ 1:15PM
elf said...
Is Bit Torrent out of the question? I've found it to be very useful when I miss a show.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 1:23PM
Erosia said...
BitTorrent is the poor man (and woman's) TiVo. I also got a DVD player that plays .AVI files from the Internet that has been invaluable.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 1:41PM
jake said...
I for one am GLAD that NBC is bringing back the comedy lineup. Do you think that Scrubs does well on Tuesdays? It should do much better on Thursdays with a better lead in and I don't think NBC is expecting great ratings given its competition. NBC should never have given up Must See TV and I'm glad that someone over there realized their mistake.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 1:37PM
Tracy said...
What about Supernatural!?!?
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:03PM
Beth said...
I don't understand all this talk about Tivo. People are way too busy nowadays, watch the damn show when it's actually airing for goodness sakes!
Sorry, had to release~
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 1:41PM
Tucker said...
Get the DVR man, I used to BitTorrent all the time, but there's nothing like that "season record" button. I've had no problems with my cable company's DVR (Motorola 6-something) - it's got dual tuners, does HD beautifully. My biggest issue is that it doesn't have a 30-sec skip, but from what I understand not many do these days.
Sounds perfect for you in this case - have two "live" shows recording while watching a third pre-recorded. I really have no idea how I lived life pre-DVR (which, by the way, was only like 5 months ago).
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:43PM
Krista said...
Break down man. Get the TiVo. Not a DVR, the real thing, Ti-Vo. It will change your life, seriously, seriously.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:01PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Tivo. Dual tuner. Or get the series 3 if you like the HD. I have used many cable provided DVRs and found their experience to be less than spectacular. Tivo is well worth the cost. It makes watching TV efficient.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:09PM
JDub said...
Whatever you get (I have Tivo and would marry it if allowed by the laws of my state), it doesn't help with the fact that you still have to watch all of it. I work late or have events to attend most weeknights, so I end up spending my weekends trying to catch up with all of my shows. I have had to become more ruthless with what I will watch - I have all episodes of The Nine Tivo'd, waiting to see if it gets canceled before I watch any of them. It's killing me that I gave up ER a few years ago and now it's supposedly so good. I'd love to give it (and John Stamos) another chance, but a girl has to sleep.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:09PM
Dorv said...
Getting a TiVo was one of the best purchases I've ever made (Well, I guess, four of the best purchases). It allows me to watch a whole lot more than I could before, because I work nights. I'm one of those guys that knew how to program the VCR, because I had no choice.
I do get the chance to watch stuff live, from time to time. But sometimes Memorex is better than Live.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:13PM
SamMalone said...
"...and you can understand why my head might start to pound. " Sure it's not just PMS? http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/10/25/nbc-makes-giants-and-bears-fans-stay-up-late/#comments
Sorry, just had to throw that in there!
If you don't shy away from PC's, I think a Home Theater PC is the best option. Probably the most expensive initially, but no subscription fee, and just about as many tuners as you want. Plus you can mess with the files afterwards. Burn it to DVD, rip the audio out to an mp3, etc.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:17PM
Chris W said...
I made a pvr out of my computer, I have it record the shows in mpeg-2, and then i convert them overnight to avis (about 1/5th the size and just as good quality). That way I can watch them whenever or even transfer them easily to show other people.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:20PM
Shark said...
Get Democracy TV and a divx-compatible DVD player. I have a Tivo, and I find DTV to be a good tool when I have shows on the same schedule.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:21PM
gail said...
We have 3 vcrs and i see no need for tivo or other.
Someone please tell me why i should have tivo.
Where is NBC going to put Studio 60?
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:21PM
Cyndi said...
Tivo man you have got to get Tivo. I am like other posters in saying I don't know how I lived without it.
I told a friend about it last week and told her it was a better invention than the air conditioner I would give up my ac and my heat long before you could pry my Tivo out of my cold dead hands. Thursday has been a pain for me as well, this year I’ve given up CSI and that hurt but Supernatural and Grey’s mean more to me I am grateful to NBC for changing their schedule and not putting Studio 60 on Thursday’s at 9 that would have caused a meltdown of monstrous proportions.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:22PM
Celly said...
FYI: Ugly Betty Is replayed on the Soap Network at like 1am. This should help out...
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 2:52PM
Tara said...
Please invest in a Tivo! I dont know how I survived before I had one. Not only can you watch TV at your own convenience, you can fast forward through commercials! And when there's that part where a character says something really fast or something and everyone is looking around like, "What the f- did he just say?" Instead of wondering, you can rewind it and hear it again - even if you're not recording that show! Or like when you're watching Lost and you want to watch something in slo-mo because the writers like to play with you and flash subliminal images or something - you can rewind and pause!
I know what you're thinking, "I can do all that crap with my trusty VCR." Well, yes. But the quality wont be as good, especially when you're rewinding & fast fowarding and pausing. Plus, the TiVo is effortless. You can pick a series and tell it to record every episode that plays and it will automatically do it for you. It's called a "Season Pass." You can tell it to record only new episodes, or new episodes and re-runs. And if you get sick of the show, you can cancel it. If there's an actor or comedian you enjoy but only have cameos on random television series or talk shows, you can type in their name, and everytime they appear in a show, it will automatically record that episode for you.
TiVo is a god-send. And I have just scratched the surface here!
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 3:05PM
Bill said...
Tucker pointed out that the motorola DVR from his cable company doesn't have 30 second skip.
http://dcortesi.com/2005/05/04/motorola-dct6412-comcast-dvr-30-second-skip/
explains how to do it.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 3:30PM
malren said...
I have a TiVo and a Motorola DVR. I HATE, hate, hate with a passion HATE the cable company DVR. Searching, playing back, nothing about it is easy or intuitive.
Get. A. TiVo.
Reply
10-26-2006 @ 3:36PM
tv junkie said...
I feel your pain, Joel. I was both excited and wheezing when i see my favorite show Scrubs back on schedule...on the graveyard timeslot. I understand NBC's desperate attempt to get back its Must-See-TV Thursday, but what are they smoking? Thursday 9PM timeslot just isn't going to do any good for NBC now, did they do any market research on that before making decision? they are gonna get slaughtered. Scrubs/30 Rock never had much ratings anyway and now they're going to compete with Grey's and CSI? thinking about it makes me dizzy already. I hope Scrubs survived...I'm so confused on which medical dramedy i should watch...maybe Scrubs, and then see the repeat of Grey's on Friday... Note to Network TV exec: Thursday is overcrowded.
Reply