TiVO: Still the best after all these years

I'm a HUGE fan of TiVO, the premiere vendor in digital video recording (DVR). There's nothing quite like pausing live TV, recording two other channels while watching a pre-recorded program, and setting a "Season Pass" to get every episode of your favorite program--even if the network changes the timeslot, TiVO will pick it up! TiVO is most handy during football season. Want to replay that spectacular play? Run it in slow-motion? Frame-by-frame? TiVO fills the bill. My TiVO series 1 is a bit dated, but I still think it's the single best electronic convenience I've purchased in five years. The series 1, the first that included the dual tuner with DirecTV receiver, is quite accommodating to hacks--key codes you can enter to enable hidden features, like the infamous "Commercial Skip" feature. Other vendors are now integrating DVR features into their cable boxes, but make no mistake: there's no beating the original. The TiVO interface requires no training and the remote is programmable. The cost of entry is now just $99, not including subscription options.

TiVO provides two subscription methods: Monthly rates are about $10 and Lifetime rate is $300. Do yourself a favor and go for the lifetime rate--you'll thank yourself later! The new TiVO Series 2 has increased recording capacity (60-80 hours), and allows you to exchange programs, pictures, and audio among multiple TiVO receivers. The receivers must be connected to home network--this is very easy to do and requires a broadband connection and LinkSys wireless router switch. With recent precedings confirming the ability of consumers to exchange programming--a la ReplayTV--I expect TiVO to enhance its feature set soon. Notably, you can still purchase the Series 1 on eBay--many include the lifetime subscription as part of the price, since this is locked to the receiver via an encrypted access card. If you're still staring at a blinking clock on your VCR, get with the program and pick up a TiVO!

In the world of Internet radio, new technologies for manipulating media continue to blur the line between copyright infringement and fair use, and one recent development that may threaten the Internet radio community is software dubbed Audio Xtract. Think of it as TiVO for web radio. Supplied by St. Louis-based software marketer Jambalaya Brands, Audio Xtract allows users to record -- and subsequently mix, cut and edit -- music being played via an Internet stream. In other words, software owners can listen to Web radio streams, record the music and then "xtract" it into MP3 or other unrestricted audio files. The product retails for $50, or $70 for the advanced "professional" version. You would think the music industry would be over themselves by now. People have been recording radio onto tape for years. This new technology provides better quality and simply makes it more convenient. Better get your music before they "drop it like it's hot!"
Peace,
+THINKER