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pausing live TV is the coolest thing evar

V

vniow

macrumors G4
Original poster
Jul 18, 2002
10,266
1
I accidentally my whole location.
Back in July I picked up an old 30-hour Panasonic Showstopper for $20 at the Goodwill store. Unfortunately it didn't come with a remote so I finally got one earlier today and now I am basking in PVR goodness. Its not like I watch it a whole lot but I like to choose what and when I want to watch stuff. To top it off, this is one of the earlier ReplayTV based models, the ones before the monthly subscription so all I need is a spare phone line and I get free channel/guide updates every night! :D

Excuse me while I tinker some more...
 
vniow said:
Back in July I picked up an old 30-hour Panasonic Showstopper for $20 at the Goodwill store. Unfortunately it didn't come with a remote so I finally got one earlier today and now I am basking in PVR goodness. Its not like I watch it a whole lot but I like to choose what and when I want to watch stuff. To top it off, this is one of the earlier ReplayTV based models, the ones before the monthly subscription so all I need is a spare phone line and I get free channel/guide updates every night! :D

Excuse me while I tinker some more...
Click to expand...

Pausing live TV is definitely the best thing that has come to the TV world in a long time, it's even worth watching TV just so you can pause it. :p
 
yep, it's the only way to watch tv. our cable service offers a decently priced DVR and there's no way I could go back to real-time TV. I rarely record shows to watch later, I usually just pause a show at it's beginning for about 5 minutes then zip thru the commercials for the rest of the program.

sounds like your $20 box is quite a score.
 
Not only is the pausing part good, but the part I use more is just setting the DVR to record shows I want to watch.

Gone are the days of "oh, I MUST be home by 7:55 to catch Friends!" (Obviously, Friends isn't on anymore, smartasses. But you get my point.) DVRs let TV revolve around your schedule, and not the other way around.
 
clayj said:
Not only is the pausing part good, but the part I use more is just setting the DVR to record shows I want to watch.

Gone are the days of "oh, I MUST be home by 7:55 to catch Friends!" (Obviously, Friends isn't on anymore, smartasses. But you get my point.) DVRs let TV revolve around your schedule, and not the other way around.
Click to expand...

Ahh but we know you live for the reruns...or do you have all the episodes recorded already?...:p
 
OutThere said:
Ahh but we know you live for the reruns...or do you have all the episodes recorded already?...:p
Click to expand...
I don't watch Friends anymore... or Seinfeld, or any other sitcom reruns, really. I have a number of TV series on DVD, but none of the recent sitcoms (unless you count Family Guy as a sitcom).
 
A few years ago I was using EyeTV with my iBook. Now we have satellite cable with the dvr and I can't stand to watch TV without it. #1, I detest comercials. #2, I love knowing I can set it to record my favorite shows. I really dont watch too much tv, honestly the only things I watch are the law & order type shows, my nascar races, Family Guy and the Simpsons. (has anyone seen the ungodly amount of commercials broadcasted during a race???)
 
clayj said:
Gone are the days of "oh, I MUST be home by 7:55 to catch Friends!" DVRs let TV revolve around your schedule, and not the other way around.
Click to expand...

I was explaining the new show "How I met your mother" to a co worker and he asked me what night it was on. To be honest, I didn't know. I love tivo.
 
Congrats! Welcome to the goodness that is DVR. The only other thing as cool as DVR, IMHO, is on-demand. Here we get 11 HBO's, 1 HD-HBO, and HBO on-demand for $12/month. It's the best $12 I've ever spent. Rome by itself is worth the price.

It's like having the current HBO library at your fingertips. DVR and on-demand are a one-two punch of pure, mind numbing, entertainment bliss.
 
Pausing is cool and all, but I hardly ever watch live TV anymore. I use my TiVo to record all my favorite shows and watch when I have the time, minus the annoying commercials.
 
So I had just realised this thing had been sitting in my car for a few months since I moved, the hard drive died and I never bothered to find another one large enough to replace it with, plus I ended up giving away my TV since I didn't have cable at my new place and I only used it for DVDs which my computer took over so even if I did have a replacement I wouldn't be using it.

Aside from a damaged hard drive the unit works prety well, its an older model so its a bit slow to change channels but the programming works well and it didn't seem to have any bugs otherwise. A 40GB hard drive or more should do the trick, there's sites online where you can download an image of the latest software and load it on to the disk making it work again but again, haven't bothered to get one large enough to do the trick.

So I'm giving it away. I have no use for it, its not worth much but its a good thing to have if you like Tivo but don't want to bother with a subscription (just as long as this thing is hooked up to a phone line in the middle of the night you're fine). If anybody wants it and you're local (SF Bay) feel free to pick it up or if you're not, shipping's on your dime. ;)

I didn't think it was worth creating an entirely new thread about it in the Marketplace but I just want to see if it can find a home besides the back of my wagon.

-Ani
 
YES! It it is damn damn useful. yes! 2 damns. I just leave my EyeTV on, pause it, go and do something for 5-10 minutes then watch ad-free TV with no problems at all! So great. I really could kiss this new way of watching TV. It's up to you, and it's great. I mean I was watching Ghostship (good start, bad end, with David Jason) with my dad on the downstairs TV. Only I got hungry so I went out during the ad break to start making a bacon butty and started watching the show after the ads on the kitchen TV. FIFTEEN minutes later I rejoin my dad in the living room after trying to watch and cook at the same time.

Not good.

PVR is amazing. EyeTV was the best thing I bought in a long flippin time. Progressive Scan thrown in, I can't watch interlaced anymore without feeling a little sad inside, that goes for 1080i Xbox 360 too. If I didn't have a headache there would be a tear in my eye right now. no kidding. My PowerBook and EyeTV have changed my work output and TV viewing forever.

Though I don't sit down and watch TV anymore, as such. I never flick through channels in my bedroom. Just use my EyeTV for the good stuff (Doctor Who, Green Wing, Hollyoaks) all good and proper.
 
Never been big into pausing live TV, but the ease of scheduling and recording is the t*ts.
 
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