TiVo: Best Christmas Gift You Could Give Yourself

I have been waiting a while to chat with all of you about the TiVo.

This device has single-handedly been responsible for giving me my life back. Don't get me wrong, I'm still as addicted as the next person, but at least now I can watch all my shows whenever and wherever I want.

For those not "in the know", the TiVo is a DVR (a digital video recorder). Forget about all those video tapes that are slowly degrading on your shelf. This puppy contains a hard drive which means no more tapes to insert.

Once your purchase a Tivo (Series 2 TiVo's are currently FREE), you pay a monthly fee starting at $20/month for the service. This may seem like a steep price, but the convenience is a big help.

The season pass is one of the greatest inventions since the wheel. It allows you to record a favorite series with one click...no further setup is needed. Every day/week your show will be recorded and stored in the "Now Playing" section of your Tivo menu.

The basic Series 2 model contains an 80 hour hard drive and allows you to record up to two shows at once. This is nice because networks seem to be lumping their popular programs all on the same two or three nights now.

TiVo has a lot of interesting features as well. You can download "TiVo Casts" which are video podcasts that are beamed to your TiVo via a broadband connection (USB wifi antena is sold seperately, but soooooo worth it). You can also check your local weather, listen to audio podcasts and sync to your computer's wifi connection to view pictures and listen to music.

The remote is one of the best remotes I have ever used. I got used to the remote/screen interface with only about 3 attempts to use it. I think (arguably) that the TiVo menu system is one of the most intuitive menu systems out there. When coupled with the remote, I can safely say that it's pretty much idiot proof.

If you really want to pamper yourself, and you have HiDef, try the new Series 3 Tivo that records in HiDef with THX certified sound. This is a must have for the serious video guru. Just be ready to shell out some cash for it.

If you have a PC and an iPod, you are able to purchase TiVo's $25 software package that allows you to download content recorded on your TiVo to your PC and iPOD. Those of us with Macs can use "alternate methods" until TiVo releases a solution (hopefully in the near future).

For parents, business people on the go, and TV fanatics...you have to get this. If you buy one present for yourself this Holiday season, this is the one that I recommend.

TiVo's website can be found at www.tivo.com (sorry Google is updating Blogger from the Beta version and the link button is not working).