Friday, January 20, 2006
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9:59 a.m.
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Up until recently, the box that alters the way people watch television was restricted to use in the United States only. Tivo is a DVR (digital video recorder) and though it would be easy to pass it off as a new-age VCR, there is so much more to it.I picked up an 80hr Humax Tivo DVD Recorder through the States (read below to see the complicated process that is worth the effort). In addition to storing up to 80hrs of television programming, I can also burn and play DVDs of my favorite shows and movies. This frees up the hard drive and also makes for a tidy collection. My connection is simple: just a standard cable set up, but the package is so thorough that it contains a huge amount of telephone cord, a coaxial cable, a/v cables, a telephone cable splitter box, and cable to connect a satellite dish or cable box if you have one (I don't). This thing would work off an antenna.
Tivo also features some of the following: pause and rewind live TV, create a "wishlist" of shows you'd like the Tivo to record and it will do so across channels. If you like the Simpson's, simply ask the Tivo to record any and all instances of the show. There goes that 80hrs quickly. If you want a show that hasn't been on in quite some time, ask Tivo to look for it and even if it's two years later and the show comes on, Tivo will record it.Forget to program it before you left home? EMAIL the thing, and it will tape your show. It also offers full TV Guide program listings, can be connected to your home computer, play MP3s, display your pictures, and walk your dog. For any channel you're viewing, it stores up to half an hour in its memory so if you walk away and missed a scene, forgetting to pause the Tivo, just rewind. Many people will wait until 20 minutes into an hour long show before they sit down to watch it so they can skip commericals.
As for recording, you can record one channel and watch another, or watch a recorded show while taping another. It's pretty darn convenient. The Tivo remote is fully compatible with everything else nearby, so you can set it up to do everything at once.
Canada has it's own DVRs offered through Shaw and Rogers, but these are typically tied directly in to your cable bills and subscriptions and if you're like me and feel that Rogers controls too much of the free world, it feels nice to have a non-affiliated box to save your favorite programs with. Also, at this stage, Rogers does not have a DVR capable of playing and burning DVDs as well.
While Tivo recently announced that it now offers Canadian service, that doesn't mean that you should head to Future Shop to try and buy one. The process is still complicated, though Jamie says that an article in the Windsor Star indicates that they will soon be sold here in Canada.At this point, Tivo is only sold in the United States, and many retailers do not ship across the border. There are a couple, such as Weaknees.com, who will, but for those who have a US connection, this is what you should do:
1. Use MasterCard over Visa if you can. People have had trouble with the latter and I had no issues with MasterCard. Call them and get them to add a US address as a second BILLING address. Make sure you state billing, not shipping. Having someone to send it to is crucial, otherwise a stranger will get your Tivo.
The reason for this is that while Tivo supports Canadian users, their online store is not set up for Canadian credit card addresses. I recommend Tivo.com over US versions of Walmart or Best Buy, because Tivo has the best deals. You get a year-long subscription and $150 off the recorder straight away. If you just want a 40hr Tivo, you can get one with a year subscription for about $50 US.
2. Calling Tivo. It's a waste of time, because their service reps can't use your Canadian card data either. Also, the 1-800 isn't available to call from most areas in the GTA. I could do it at work through our telecom system, or if you really want to call, use a free web service like SKYPE.COM to call for you. Get the billing address changed, then just use that on their website. I had no issues with this, and it took about 5 business days for it to arrive at my shipping address.
3. The set-up: I went through this last night and it's LARGELY a painless process. There are a few hiccups that I didn't see on helpful forums such as TIVOCANADA.COM or http://forums.tivo.com.
When activating your Tivo online, you have to enter your address differently. It says how on the site, so I won't get into it, but your address will partly read LEO, WY, 82327. This is the default for Canada at the present.
During guided set-up with your Tivo, you'll hit a snag. It asks for your area code, give it and it identifies your city, but it asks for your zip code, and you enter 82327 and it lists Wyoming. When it asks for your local cable provider, it also reads a local Wyoming station which you should select, but it WILL MESS UP your listings. Here's what you do:
- Go through the guided setup selecting 82327 as the ZIP code
- Enter in your area code, then select the appropriate call in number that isn't long distance for you
- Tivo connects via telephone for a small program update
- Select the default Wyoming cable provider and channels it finds
- The guided setup states it's done and the update will take 4-8 hours to complete. You can watch TV only through the Tivo but don't stress it's not done yet.
- Navigate to http://research.tivo.com/72priority/ then enter your 15 digit Tivo service number. This should tell Tivo to download the latest software to your Tivo asap
- (I have not yet received my update, but the site says it can be up to 3 days)
- Now click your Tivo button, select settings, then "restart your Tivo", and select "restart guided setup".
- When you get to the ZIP code entry screen push the "enter" button on your Tivo remote, enter your postal code on the next screen
- Now select the local cable service provider
- Tivo connects, downloads your local program updates and you're done!
So, it's a bit of a pain, but I'm guessing it will become much easier once they're available in Canada. If you want one, I suggest you head to tivo.com in the near future and buy it from them. Total cost for me, once I had the recorder and a lifetime service agreement (you don't have to pay anything again, otherwise after the year of service it's about $13 US a month), was a bit over $500 CND. Bye-bye Christmas money.This thing is heavy as well. About 18 lbs. total. There are a/v inputs on the front and back of the machine, so if you so desire, you can hook up your Nintendo, Xbox, VCR, whatever into it. Handy, huh?
But that's it. A few steps, yes, but nothing too extreme. Hope it helps to any of you reading this who are interested. If you're not and I just did all this for nothing, then I hate you all.
Posted by
Parallel
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