What is TiVo?

With nearly all audio and visual products now available in digital form, isn't it time to upgrade your home television system? Today's inexpensive new technology means that recording your favorite television sitcom is easier and more convenient than ever, with virtually perfect playback quality. TiVo is the newest craze in the world of digital entertainment. TiVo Inc. is responsible for the line of products that claim to revolutionize the way we enjoy television.

TiVo is for everybody - from those who watch one hour of television a week to those that just can't miss the latest episode of The Sopranos. Sometimes the difference between these viewing trends is simply the amount of free time available to be a couch potato. This is where TiVo comes into play!

Digital Video Recorder (DVR)

TiVo's products have been hailed by many as the best Digital Video Recorders (DVR) on the North American market. A DVR is simply a device that allows you to record television programs onto a built-in hard drive for instant playback at any time.

Sure, this technology has been around in the form of the Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) since the 1960s, but the difference is in the letter D - Digital. Digital video keeps all of the original broadcast quality intact, leaving the grainy playback quality of a Video Home System (VHS) cassette in its dust.

TiVo's products come in a few different sizes that will allow you to record more or less based on your viewing habits. For casual users, the smallest hard drive available in a TiVo device is the 35-hour drive found in the basic hardware package. If you are expecting to take full advantage of the technology, then you would likely consider the largest models, the DirecTV TiVo hardware, that can handle up to 80 hours of digital video on their drives. The medium-sized drive will handle 40 hours, so there is no real "in-between" with the TiVo service.

TiVo works with ordinary cable, digital cable, antenna, satellite or combinations of any of the listed.