Anybody who knows me understands that I think the arrival of TiVo was a watershed moment in America’s history. TiVo invented the DVR and is still the best at it. I honestly can’t remember what it was like before I bought my first one (pre-ordered, by the way, so that mine was shipped on the day it made its debut). If I didn’t also love DirecTV with all my heart, I would have ditched them when they made me give up my TiVo-branded DirecTV DVR* in the interest of more HD channels**.
So. Are we all together? I love TiVo. LOVE IT!
Here’s the thing: I’d like to make a suggestion to TiVo and DirecTV and whoever is involved in making the schedule for DVRs. Please change the title of hockey games back to “NHL Hockey” in the schedule.
Back in the day, when I was working with the original TiVo, I would set up a Season Pass™ for the Dallas Stars games and then just not worry about it for the rest of the season. Back then, the title of a game on the schedule was, “NHL Hockey”. So I would set a Season Pass™ for “NHL Hockey” on FSN Southwest and one for My27. It would record any game that came up.
These days, the title changes with every game. Friday’s game will be called, “Columbus Blue Jackets at Dallas Stars” or something to that effect. A Season Pass™ for that title will, at best, get me two games this season.
You’re probably thinking, “Gosh, silly, just use a WishList™! Duh!”
Well, I have thought of that. It ain’t easy. A WishList™ or a Saved Search (on the lame DVR) will record every show that matches your search terms, so that sounds like the way to go. But there are a couple of problems with that. First, “Dallas Stars” catches a lot of junk about that stupid show, Dallas, from the ’70s. “Dallas Stars Hockey” will pretty much get all your games and some specials so it would be the phrase to go with.
The problem is, I have NHL Center Ice, the DirecTV Sports Package, and all the double channels for HD/Standard, so each game is on the schedule at least six times. SIX TIMES.
1. FSN Southwest HD
2. FSN Southwest Standard
3. Opposition’s broadcast HD
4. Opposition’s broadcast Standard
5. Center Ice HD
6. Center Ice Standard
And this season, Center Ice is showing both broadcasts for every game so that’s two more. And occasionally the NHL Network will jump in with a blacked-out broadcast of a Stars game.
Both my DVRs — the TiVo and the lame DirecTV — will try to either record them all, or just pick one randomly. If it picks #3, it’s blacked out. If it picks #2, I’m pissed because it’s not HD. On the TiVo box, it will at least ignore the standard channels because I don’t have them on my favorite channels list. The lame DVR makes no such distinction.
So here’s my request to DirecTV and TiVo: Please change the name of hockey games to “NHL Hockey” in the schedule. The teams can still be in the title that appears in the “info” so it’s still available to search.
It’s possible that a straight TiVo that isn’t related to DirecTV still uses “NHL Hockey” as the title. I’m not sure. If it does, that’s great. They should stick with that.
And while we’re at it, DirecTV DVR developers, please ignore the channels that I have unchecked in searches like TiVo does. I don’t want to have to scroll through titles from the foreign channels and titles of movies on certain channels in the 500s while I’m trying to find a cartoon for my 5-year-old nephew to watch. Do you mind?
That’s all I wanted to request. TiVo is still the best!
*I have actually heard news that DirecTV and TiVo are going to make up and start selling a TiVo version for DirecTV again. I cannot tell you how excited I am about that.
**Someday I’ll express my disappointment in the new dish that gives me all these shiny new HD channels, but in the process uses a more compressed signal (MP4). DirecTV execs apparently thought “the average viewer wouldn’t notice.” Well, this average viewer DOES notice.
We get our first ever DVR on Thursday with Verizon Fios. Your post has made me both very excited and a little nervous. Will I be able to figure out how to program it before we go to the game on Friday? We’ll see. Can I have you on stand-by Thursday evening? :P
Of course! I have no idea what Fios’s DVR is like, but I bet it’s easy to find a show and record it.
Seriously, how have you been watching TV these last 10 years? :P
You don’t want to know. Basically, we are PBS geeks.
No, HOW have you been watching TV? Do you have to, like, know when something’s coming on? And if the phone rings do you have to decide whether to answer it or miss your show? And if you’re stuck in traffic when the game starts do you just have to miss the beginning? Crazy!
;P Just kidding! (You’ll see what I mean by the end of the weekend. Your DVR will be full and you’ll be freaking out that you don’t have time to watch all that stuff.)
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I’m so glad that my second season of hockey coincided with me getting a decent paying job. Thankfully, I found a way to support my hockey habit and the Kid’s college fund. :P
Man, Patty, I just saw that they sent Fistric to OKC along with Neal. I sure hope that is only temporary having something to do with the cap. I can’t imagine what the behind the scenes story is with Fisty. I’m trying to not go into fret-mode. It’s only temporary, right? Right?
Do you have to, like, know when something’s coming on? And if the phone rings do you have to decide whether to answer it or miss your show? And if you’re stuck in traffic when the game starts do you just have to miss the beginning? Crazy!
I know! Seriously! How do people live like that? I just can’t even imagine. When we first moved back east, we tried to go the “cost-saving” route, and attempted to live a few months without TiVo. Well, what I learned is that I’d rather go without food.
I hope so! I can’t believe that they’d send him to Iowa, let alone OKC. I think that’s a rung lower. Surely they are just moving him out to rearrange then move him back. After all he’s shown them, I don’t see how he could have done something that warranted this.
Well, what I learned is that I’d rather go without food.
Word.
After all he’s shown them, I don’t see how he could have done something that warranted this.
I’m just stunned. It just has to be something with the cap. Neither of them can improve they skills by going down a level. It just makes no sense.