Life, Liberty, and my pursuit of Happiness

I’m Never Going Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

At last, I can watch my favorite commercials without sitting through all those annoying shows.

Concise storytelling. Striking visuals. Hapless, overfed man-children in comical situations. These are the things I love about television – or rather, used to love about television, before it turned into a cheapo cesspool of “reality” freakshows. Nowadays, the real artistry comes in thirty-second chunks. Turns out that soda companies, breweries, car-insurance firms, and fast-food chains are the only entities left with enough money to make anything worth watching.

And I’ll be watching, believe me, with this TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR. How satisfying it is to fast-forward past Bret Michaels and Simon Cowell to get to the latest humorous vignette about that scamp Jack in the Box. This TiVo’s 250GB hard drive can store approximately a hella-ton of commercials for savoring over and over. I’ve practically worn out the pause button examining the mise-en-scene of that Dr. Pepper commercial with the midget KISS impersonators. Eat your heart out, Fellini.

Even better, this TiVo Series 3 HD DVR doubles as a YouTube player (with a home network with Internet access). Have you ever seen how many commercials are on that site? I could literally watch them until the sun expands and engulfs the Earth in flames, without ever repeating one. It also streams Netflix, Blockbuster, and Amazon video, but until they offer more commercials, I’m not interested.

First, though, I had to have 2 CableCARDs installed so my TiVo Series 3 DVR could handle digital and HD cable. You’ll want to check with your cable provider first, because many of them require that the cards be installed by their technicians. If you’re lucky, while you’re on hold, you’ll get to listen to commercials for the cable company. I love radio commercials even more than TV commercials because they have to be twice as aggravating to make up for the lack of video.

I really only have one complaint: TiVo, can you exert your influence to require broadcasters to devote more time to commercials? Even on the most ad-heavy cable channels (I love you, TV Land), there’s still 40 or more minutes of programming every hour. This shocking imbalance means important voices are not being heard. Somewhere out there, some scrappy young filmmaker is coming up with the next “smunchy” or “wazzzup”, and I want to see it. Over and over and over.

Warranty:

• 90 Day TiVo Labor
• 1 Year TiVo Parts

Features:

• Control Live TV - Record, Play, Pause, Rewind, Skip Ahead, & Slow-Motion with razor-sharp HD clarity
• Season Pass Recordings – Record every new episode of your favorite show
• BLOCKBUSTER On Demand – Browse and rent the movies you want to see from the comfort and convenience of home
• Amazon Video on Demand – Download movies and TV shows directly to your TiVo box
• Netflix – Stream a library of 17,000 movie titles and TV shows through Netflix’s Watch Instantly Service (with a Netflix unlimited membership)
• YouTube Videos – Watch millions of YouTube videos directly on your TV
• Rhapsody – Access 4 million songs in your living room with a subscription to the Rhapsody service
• Online Scheduling and TiVo Mobile – Schedule last minute recordings from a PC or a cell phone
• Home Media Features – Access internet radio, podcasts, movie times & tickets, and digital photos & mp3 music files on your TV
• TiVo Search (an exclusive TiVo feature) – Use this powerful internet based tool for search and discovery of broadcast and broadband programming content
• Multi-Room Viewing – Start watching your favorite show in the living room and finish it in the bedroom
• TiVoToGo – Fill your iPod mobile digital device or other portable media device with movies and TV shows for free!
• Internet Video Downloads – News, sports, weather, technology, music, education, and more sent directly to your broadband-connected TiVo DVR–free of charge
• 250GB of disc capacity for 300 hours of standard recording time or up to 32 in HD
• Expandable Storage – Increase storage capacity with TiVo Verified external eSATA storage available from Western Digital
• Dimensions: 12.6" (D) X 3.3" (H) X 16.5" (W)
• Weight: 13 lbs.

Specifications:

• Surround Modes: THX
• Compatible Formats: 720p, 480p, 480i, 1080i
• Remote Control: Illuminated Full Function IR 36 Button
• Tuner: (2) CableCard, ATSC

Inputs and Outputs:

• 2 CableCard Card Slots
• 1 Rear HDMI Output
• 1 Rear Optical Output
• 2 Rear RF Inputs
• 1 Rear RJ45 Ethernet In/Out
• 1 Rear SATA IN/Out
• 1 Rear RJ11 (Telephone Line) In/Out
• 1 Rear Analog Audio/Video Output
• 1 Rear Component Video Outpuut
• 1 Rear S-Video Output
• 2 Rear USB Port In/Out

Additional Photos:

• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR
• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR Front Controls
• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR Rear Ports
• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR Remote Control
• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified DVR Box

In the box:

• TiVo Series 3 HD THX Certified 250GB DVR
• Remote Control
• Users Guide
• Composite Cable
• Component Cable
• HDMI Cable
• Phone Cable
• Phone Splitter
• Coax Cable
• Power Cable
• 4 AAA Batteries

TiVo® service is required for the TiVo DVR to function and is sold separately. TiVo service and payment are subject to the terms and conditions available at www.tivo.com.

TiVo service is accessed through a standard telephone line or broadband connection. In some areas, local and long-distance toll charges may apply.

Considerations:

• Certain features require a wired or wireless home network with Internet access (wireless home network connection requires the purchase of a separate TiVo Wireless Adapter)
• A TiVo Series3 DVR requires CableCARD™s (provided by cable operator) to work with Digital and HD Cable
• To receive two digital cable channels at the same time and record up to two channels simultaneously, the TiVo HD DVR requires the installation and activation of either two (2) Multi-Stream CableCARDs (M-Card) or two (2) Single-Stream CableCARDs (S-Card)
• Many cable companies require the CableCARDs to be installed by their technicians
• Supports virtually all cable operators, Verizon FiOS, and ATSC antenna
• Does not support satellite service, AT&T U-verse, or cable Video On Demand

AP - Asian stock markets were little changed Wednesday even as surging Chinese exports pointed to a pickup in global trade.

Reuters - Asian stocks hovered near six-week highs on Wednesday as Chinese data showed exports and imports in February were better than expected, while the euro and the pound suffered on renewed concerns about Europe's fiscal problems.