The List: Why Everyone Needs TiVo at 2:58 PM

This is the first of two Lists that will expound on the greatest innovations in visual media to date: TiVo and Netflix. I promise I'm not getting paid for this...I just want everyone to share in my joy. Those who know me know that I tend to get obsessive about things I like. Case in point: this list.

1. The Season Pass - One of the greatest features of TiVo is the season pass. It allows you to catch every episode of whatever program you like. You can record only first run episodes, first run and repeats, or all episodes including duplicates (the system automatically detects whether a rerun airs twice over a 90 day period, and won't record these "duplicates" unless you tell it to). This feature also come in handy for shows that air erratically, such as VH1's "Storytellers", or "Primetime Glick". And who says you have to watch every episode that TiVo records? There's about 60 season passes on my machine right now. You think I watch that much TV? No way. But if I'm ever in the mood for something, it's there. (Of course, some of those are shows that Jessica watches and I don't, or vice versa, but you get the picture.)

2. Ease of Use - Programming TiVo makes programming a VCR look like rocket science. You want to record something? Go to your main menu, "Pick Programs to Record", then use your remote to type in the letters of the program you want to see. You know all those commercials you see and you say, "I might like to check that out", but the next time you think about it, the program has already aired? That doesn't happen to me anymore. Whenever you think of it, you can program your TiVo to record it. For example, I love the Great Outdoor Games, but I never know when my favorite event (Big Air Dogs) is coming on (if you don't know what I'm talking about here, it's just an example, so bear with me). So I get a season pass to the Great Outdoor Games (which takes 10 seconds), and I never miss it.

3. Simultaneous Recordings - You can record two shows at once. Do I need to say more? Oh. You can also watch a recorded program while recording two others. By the way, there's 40 hours of space on the basic TiVo box. I've never filled it up. (That's a whole lot of hours.)

4. Flexibility of Schedule - Prime time means nothing to me. The only thing I ever watch at the time it airs is sports. If something comes up, or the wife and I suddenly get an urge for ice cream but it's time for "Lost", it makes no difference. I don't even know when most shows are on. I just tell TiVo what I want to see, and it hooks me up.

5. Pause, Rewind, Fast Forward - Say the Eagles game is on, and the phone rings. I don't answer it. So don't call me during an Eagles game. I don't like talking on the phone anyway. Now, on the other hand, say the game is on and I'm hungry, but the commercials aren't on. What to do? Just pause it. Pausing live (or taped) TV is something that you use way more than you think you would. At least that's been the case for me. And of course, rewinding is also great. Want an instant replay with the same camera angle, or do you want to put in slow-motion yourself? Go ahead. And with recorded programs, you can program your remote to do the 30-second skip. This rockets you through commercial breaks, since commercial slots are sold in 30-second increments.

6. It's Cheap - If you have DirecTV, it costs an extra $5 per month. This is what I have, and really it's not even the full version of TiVo (for some reason, DirecTV won't let you have that--but if you get it like it's supposed to be, you get tons more features than I even know about). Without DirecTV, it's $13 a month (not as cheap), or $299 for a lifetime subscription. Yes, lifetime. Maybe it's a lot to pay at once, but you never have to pay it again. Ridiculous. Also, they have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If TiVo isn't the best thing ever, you get your money back. You won't need it.

7. Ratings Accuracy - If everyone had TiVo, you could throw the Nielsen ratings out the window. It would be like everyone was participating in the Nielsen survey. Then we'd really know what people were watching.