News You Can Use From TiVo, Volume 59

TiVo’s latest news letter.

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TiVo Subscriber Newsletter | Volume 59

Letter from the Editor


How on Earth does something like this happen? I, in
the name of Inigo Montoya, must know: “I received a TiVo
box
last year for the holidays and only recently got around to using
it,” writes Amy. “Can you say ‘procrastinator’? I, too, am finally
able to live a life without sacrificing my time. Thank you to you, and
to my sister and brother-in-law. They knew it would be a gift of a lifetime!”

Well, thank you, Amy, for the perfect segue…

This year, we’ve made it really easy to give the people you love something
they’ll love (just like Amy). It’s comedy, drama, movies, music, and more,
all wrapped up in one neat, little box. And starting today, at tivo.com,
you can save $100* on any TiVo®
box
(yes, including that coveted DVD
recorder with TiVo®
), plus help them get started with a TiVo service
gift subscription, so they can enjoy the entire TiVo experience right
away (unlike poor Amy).

Be very, very good and look for a menu item on TiVo Central today or tomorrow
titled “Save $100 On The Perfect Gift,” as it would make me
very merry to tell you more about it in person.

And one final thing: If you traipse through New York’s Times Square this
time of year, be sure to look up. You may find a familiar “face”
on a Jumbotron or two…

Misfit toys & Macy’s parades,
Shanan

P.S. Give
a 40-hour box with 3-months service for less than $140*!


Table of Contents
TiVo Tip

You Ask, We Answer

Need Help?

About This Newsletter

TiVo Hotlinks


Your Wish is Now a TiVo Central Online Command

“You should include “Record This” links in
the newsletter,” writes Jamie. “I have a Series2â„¢ box connected
to my home network so I can schedule recordings from the Internet. I would
love to be able to just click on the title of the show as I’m reading
about it and schedule a recording immediately.”
Well, all right then. From now on, every time you see a program mentioned
(or in some cases, a WishList search) in this newsletter or on tivo.com,
you’re just a few clicks away from personalized search results vis a vis
TiVo Central Online
so you can view upcoming episodes or schedule a recording for your networked
TiVo®
Series2â„¢ DVR
at home. Remember the ringing endorsement for Sunday
Morning Shootout
several newsletters back? Now’s your chance to
give it a shot. Are you Notorious for wanting to learn which
Hitchcock movies are scheduled, but promptly forget once
you crash on the couch? Now you needn’t go Psycho.
See — this new feature isn’t just for The Birds
now, is it? Or I guess it depends.

In addition, with “Tell a friend” you can e-mail a friend with
the details about your program search (for a specific episode, or a keyword
or actor search) and include a personal message from you. If you publish
web content on your own site, you can use the unique URL under “Link
to this!” to link your readers to their own TiVo
Central Online
search results, customized for their channel lineups.


We’re Going to Disneyland!


Now
you can show off your TiVo® service stuff when you visit the Innoventions
attraction at Anaheim’s Disneyland. Three guests go head-to-head to experience
the TiVo® service first-hand in a four-minute “game show”
designed to help visitors take a closer look at the amazing TiVo service
you already know and love. Later this year, the demonstration will also
include the much anticipated TiVoToGoâ„¢ feature, which will enable TiVo
Series2â„¢ subscribers to securely move their favorite programs to their
PC or laptop to watch anywhere. (Yes, it’s almost time…hang tight!) “The
purpose of ‘Innoventions’ is not to predict the future, but to look at emerging
technologies and show people how they can result in a better life,”
said Larry Wilk, Vice President responsible for the Innoventions attraction
at Disneyland. “TiVo is a natural fit in that its service has had a dramatic
effect on the way people watch TV and enjoy all types of digital entertainment.
The Innoventions attraction is a great way for our guests to find out more
about the TiVo service and how it can be relevant to their daily lives.”
And despite the fact that you’ll find the Innoventions attraction in Tomorrowland,
it’s clear you don’t need

a rocket scientist to explain that.

Kids’ Corner

“My kids, in first and second grade, have to learn
a lot of sight words and math facts,” writes Dustin D. from Elk Grove,
CA. “They are both visual learners, so in addition to paper flashcards,
I use the Home Media features with my Series2â„¢ box as an educational
tool. I create simple flashcards on the computer using PowerPoint (although
you can use any presentation or image editing program that you can export
to an image file JPG, BMP, PDF, TIFF). Just make the page size 720 x 480
pixels and make the image a solid color with black or white letters. Then,
open iPhoto or the photo application on Windows, and import those flashcards
into a new album. I also add a few fun flashcards in the album to provide
visual encouragement,” Dustin says. Then, thanks to the magic of
the TiVo
Desktop
software, all parents can access such an album by choosing
“Music & Photos” from TiVo Central. “What’s great about
this home media feature,” adds Dustin,” is that you can choose
to play the slideshow randomly, so they don’t get used to a certain order,
and you can set the duration at either 5 or 10 seconds. I find this more
enjoyable for my kids since it keeps their attention, it’s fully customizable,
and you can still monitor their responses since they will still answer
out loud.” Love it, Dustin! You get an A+.


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The Cable Guy Knows
“I just wanted to pass this story on to share
with your co-workers and maybe the newsletter if it’s deemed worthy,”
writes Trey C. of Baton Rouge, LA. (Editor’s note: Oh, Trey. You’ve no
idea!) “I recently got a call from my friend’s uncle who had some
questions about TiVo. As a proud owner of two TiVo boxes (14 hr and 80
hr), I was more than happy to answer Mark’s questions and sing TiVo’s
praises. I convinced him that TiVo is the way to go and was promptly recruited
by him to help him get set up once he bought his 80-hr box. While at his
house, Mark told me how he had called in a rep from the local cable company
to check some wiring and make another cable. When the rep saw the TiVo
box, he asked him if he could still return it because, in fact, the cable
company offers its own DVR now and, even better, it’s free.”

Mark then asked him if he used the cable company’s DVR. Sheepishly, the
cable guy admitted, no, he didn’t because, well… he actually preferred
TiVo, too. I wouldn’t have believed it had I not heard it with my own
ears,” Trey continues. “But it really doesn’t surprise me
when you think about it: Even the cable guy knows TiVo is the way
to go.”

Recommend It!

“Think 60 Minutes meets SportsCenter,” says Ted S. from
Philadelphia, PA. “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a magazine
show that covers topics of human interest but always with a sports angle.
Almost all of the features are extremely interesting, focus on the big picture
and make me care about the people involved without exploiting my emotions.
Recent stories include the dehumanization of native Americans in team mascots
and logos as well as the physical dangers associated with cheerleading.”
“But the true test came,” Ted explains, “when my girlfriend,
who will do everything to avoid anything associated with sports, overheard
it from the other room and called out, ‘Hey pause it, I want to watch that!’
The only problem is that Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
is a monthly show on at irregular times. But I don’t need to worry about
missing an episode with my Season Pass recording. I love TiVo!”
Got an opinion on great TV? Recommend
it
to your fellow subscribers with a compelling pitch that includes
a few reasons why the show is a standout. We’ll feature a new recommendation
every newsletter.




TiVo® Tip: Dish It Out


This year, plan early
and give yourself a break in the kitchen by getting the whole family involved
with Thanksgiving dinner. Use a WishListâ„¢ search to enter keywords
for your favorite turkey-day trimmings, like CRANBERRY, PUMPKIN, PARSNIPS,
STUFFING, etc. (use quotes with the PAUSE button to indicate exact phrase,
like “PUMPKIN PIE”), choosing “Arts and Living” as
a category and “Cooking” as a subcategory. Next use “View
upcoming episodes” to see which how-to shows serve up the best recipes
and schedule recordings as your tummy tempts you. Then, using the “Save
to VCR” option or “Burn to DVD,” dish out various assignments
to family members and get everyone cooking.


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TiVo® Tip: Fun with Folders

If you have a TiVo®
Series2â„¢ DVR, you can group programs in folders by show title or by
an auto-record WishListâ„¢ search. (If TiVo Suggestions is turned on
you’ll see a folder for those as well.) You can also organize shows alphabetically
(by date is the default). There are two ways to change the sort order of
Now Playing or turn groups on/off: 1) From Now Playing, press the ENTER
button on the remote control. From the Now Playing Options screen, change
the desired Sort or Groups options. 2) From Now Playing, use the remote
control shortcut to change the desired options. Press 1 on the TiVo remote
control to change the sort order. Press 2 to turn groups on or off. Got
a clever suggestion of your own? Be a TiVo tipster and tell us how YOU use
the TiVo service to get what you want
.
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You Ask, We Answer
Q: I seem to quickly run
out of recording space. Do you have any suggestions on how to maximize
the capacity of my TiVo box? —Rian in Colorado Springs, CO

A: The amount of programs that you can store on your TiVo
box depends on the model that you have as well as what recording quality
level you are using. Remember back when you used a VCR? (Those were so NOT
the days, eh?) You were able to record 2-8 hours on a tape depending on
what recording mode you selected (SP, LP, or EP). Your TiVo® box takes
it one step further by giving you four recording levels: Basic, Medium,
High, and Best (called Extreme on DVD-burner models).

  • For software version 5.0 and later: Press the TiVo button on your remote. Highlight Messages & Setup; then Setting; then Recording; then Recording Quality.
  • For software version 4.0 and later: Press the TiVo button on your remote. Highlight Messages & Setup; then Settings; then Preferences; then Video Recording Quality.
  • For software version 3.0 – 3.2: Press the TiVo button on your remote. Highlight Messages & Setup; then My Preferences; then Video Recording Quality.

Once you set the default recording quality, you can also change the quality
of a specific program at the time you schedule it by choosing “Options.”
If you would like the change the recording quality for a program that
you already have a Season Pass recording for, go to the Season Pass Manager
by going to TiVo Central, then selecting Pick Programs to Record, then
Season Pass Manager. Select the program that you want to change and then
select “Change Recording Options.” Adjust the “Recording
Quality” setting to whatever setting you prefer. We have more information
about this issue, as well as a list of which recording level works best
for certain type of shows here.

For information about changing
other Recording Options, such as how many episodes of a series you would
like to keep, whether you would like to record the repeat episodes or
not, as well as allowing for overtime for your favorite sporting events,
see this article.


Remember, you can get help with most of your technical questions by visiting
our support website.
You can also find answers and share know-how in these web-based
help forums
. For account-related issues, you must use Manage
My Account
or give us a call.

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The TiVo Top 10

Here are the top 10 WishListâ„¢ Actor rankings among TiVo subscribers,
based on anonymous, aggregated data, for the week ending 11/14/04.

1. Julia
Roberts

2. Johnny
Depp

3. Tom
Hanks

4. Harrison
Ford

5. Tom
Cruise

6. Cary
Grant

7. Mel
Gibson

8. Al
Pacino

9. Robert
De Niro

10. Clint
Eastwood

Back to top


Need Help?


Daily call issues
My clock is off!

Watch one show, record another

Channel lineup issues

New e-mail address?

Getting started with Home Media Features

Don’t see your question here?


Burying Six Feet Under

“Six Feet Under,” the HBO series about a Southern California family that runs a funeral parlor, will end its run after its upcoming fifth season. Alan Ball, creator and executive producer of the ensemble drama starring Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy and Rachel Griffiths, told Reuters he feels the show has run its course. “Working on ‘Six Feet Under’ has been enormously fulfilling creatively, but if the show is about anything, it’s about the fact that everything comes to an end,” Ball said in a statement. Production on the final season is set to begin this week.


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color=”#ff9900″>About This Newsletter
This newsletter is brought to you by
TiVo! Or if you
got the newsletter as a forward and you want to subscribe yourself,
sign up today.
By
submitting comments to TiVo, you grant TiVo Inc. a nonexclusive, irrevocable
right to use your comments in any way it desires without notice or compensation
to you.


color=”#ff9900″>TiVo Hotlinks

If you need help with any aspect of using your TiVo box or service, visit
our online Customer
Support
. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding this
newsletter, e-mail the editor. (Unfortunately,
due to volume received, not every e-mail can be answered.) Update your e-mail
address, snail mail, account preferences and more at
Manage My Account.
Search TV listings or schedule recordings with Online Scheduling
at TiVo Central Online.


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*After $100 mail-in rebate.

TiVo, the TiVo logo, and ‘You’ve Got a Life. TiVo Gets It.’ are registered
trademarks of TiVo Inc. Season Passâ„¢, and WishListâ„¢ are trademarks
of TiVo Inc.

©2004 TiVo Inc. 2160 Gold Street Alviso, CA 95002-2160.
All rights reserved. Please feel free to review our Privacy
Policy
.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
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