MediaPost’s TV Board On Why A Cable DVR Is Not A TiVo

Posted on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 by MegaZone

I got a kick out of this post in MediaPost’s TV Board blog. A friend of the post’s author called Comcast about their digital phone service and got a pitch for a DVR. I loved the summary of the conversation:

“I don’t need your DVR, I already have a TiVo,” she said.

“Our DVR is the same as TiVo but it comes free with our service,” the sales rep adamantly replied.

“Oh, really, well I have a lifetime membership with TiVo. Can you log on from any computer and schedule something to record?” she retorted.

“No.”

“Can the DVR you offer be networked to my computer?”

“No.”

“Can I transfer shows between TVs?”

“No.”

“Can you store whatever you record on the DVR to your computer?”

“No.”

“Can you convert anything that you have recorded to play on your iPod video?”

“No.”

“Can you burn anything you have recorded on your DVR onto a DVD?”

“No.”

“Then I would have to say your DVR is nothing like a TiVo. All yours does is record.”

”I guess you’re right, it’s not the same.”

And that’s not even the half of it when it comes to TiVo’s features. Right on! All TiVos are DVRs, but not all DVRs are TiVos!

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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  • http://blog.urbanbohemian.com urban bohemian

    Brilliant. I had a similar conversation with RCN when I informed them that I needed to return their DVR in favor of a TiVo. Home network and internet scheduling were key points of the conversation and it sounded as though I was convincing the rep (who I didn’t ask if she owned a DVR) to get a TiVo unit of her own.