PVRs selling like hotcakes

[Chris Blount]

The number of households subscribing to personal video recording services has grown to 9.2 million, up about 155 percent from a year ago, according to a new study from In-Stat.

In May 2004, only 3.6 million households worldwide had access to a PVR service. This phenomenal increase in PVR households has benefited service providers such as TiVo and EchoStar.

According to the market researcher, hardware vendors had a windfall in 2004, with shipment volume jumping to 11.4 million units, up from 4.6 million pieces sold in the previous year. The phenomenal growth, a result of increasing awareness about time-shifting television programming, resulted in PVR revenue more than doubling to $4.3 billion from $2.1 billion in 2003.

Full Story (http://news.com.com/PVRs+selling+like+hotcakes/2100-1047_3-5720282.html)

[JohnL]

The number of households subscribing to personal video recording services has grown to 9.2 million, up about 155 percent from a year ago, according to a new study from In-Stat.

In May 2004, only 3.6 million households worldwide had access to a PVR service. This phenomenal increase in PVR households has benefited service providers such as TiVo and EchoStar.

According to the market researcher, hardware vendors had a windfall in 2004, with shipment volume jumping to 11.4 million units, up from 4.6 million pieces sold in the previous year. The phenomenal growth, a result of increasing awareness about time-shifting television programming, resulted in PVR revenue more than doubling to $4.3 billion from $2.1 billion in 2003.

Full Story (http://news.com.com/PVRs+selling+like+hotcakes/2100-1047_3-5720282.html)


Could it be that the general public is finally understanding a DVR is much more than a glorified VCR.

I couldn't tell you the number of people I have talked to about DVR's and their reluctance to use one because and I quote, "I already have a VCR, its the same thing".

My favorite is "I don't watch much TV". I say yes but if that is true then each and every time you turn on the TV you will have program you are interested in to watch. Actually a DVR should be even more required for infrequent viewers as all the programing they like would be waiting for them whenever you like.

John

[Bob Haller]

Could it be that the general public is finally understanding a DVR is much more than a glorified VCR.

I couldn't tell you the number of people I have talked to about DVR's and their reluctance to use one because and I quote, "I already have a VCR, its the same thing".

My favorite is "I don't watch much TV". I say yes but if that is true then each and every time you turn on the TV you will have program you are interested in to watch. Actually a DVR should be even more required for infrequent viewers as all the programing they like would be waiting for them whenever you like.

John
\
Same here, it frustrated me so I quit talking about them unless asked.

Sent my dad $ for a D TIVO in phoenix, he already had D. He bought garage shelving instead, saying we already have a VCR.

[KingLoop]

Could it be that the general public is finally understanding a DVR is much more than a glorified VCR.
I totally agree, time shifting is the best part for 2 reasons... 1.) I always have something to watch that's interesting, whenever I feel like watching T.V. 2.) I don't watch commercials anymore.

Sometimes an hour show will have 1/2 an hour of commercials. So I watch less T.V. because I watch less commercials.

[Phil T]

The only problem is when you record a show like American Idol or the Apprentice, and have not watched it yet, and your local radio station gives you the results, before you see the show!! :(

[igleaner]

Actually, my wife has just the opposite reaction to the DVR.

Now that we have had one in the house for 6 months, it still gets no use. Her excuse is that she prefers to watch her shows as soon as they come on, and not see them a day or so later.

I say, why not watch your Wednesday shows on Thursday without commercials? She says I want my Wednesday shows on Wednesday, as that is when I look forward to them and I don't want to see them any later than when they are being broadcast!

Go argue with that logic!!

[garypen]

Mmmmm. Hotcakes.

[pez2002]

Sent my dad $ for a D TIVO in phoenix, he already had D. He bought garage shelving instead, saying we already have a VCR.[/QUOTE]

[zmark]

Actually, my wife has just the opposite reaction to the DVR.

Now that we have had one in the house for 6 months, it still gets no use. Her excuse is that she prefers to watch her shows as soon as they come on, and not see them a day or so later.

I say, why not watch your Wednesday shows on Thursday without commercials? She says I want my Wednesday shows on Wednesday, as that is when I look forward to them and I don't want to see them any later than when they are being broadcast!

Go argue with that logic!!


It's not logic, it's programming... the brainwashing kind.

When I got my first PVR, it took a while to break free of the "scheduling" mentality. For my entire life I had been conditioned to sit and watch TV at a specific time, or rather at a time not of my choosing; we all have. Sitting down and watching primetime TV has become a ritual, one which is hard to break.


For eveyone who thinks this is bunk, consider the following: do you watch more or less TV now that you have a PVR? Is your PVR stuffed with hours of show that you just haven't gotten around to watching yet? If so, how did you find the time to watch them before you got the PVR?

[finniganps]

Actually, my wife has just the opposite reaction to the DVR.

Now that we have had one in the house for 6 months, it still gets no use. Her excuse is that she prefers to watch her shows as soon as they come on, and not see them a day or so later.

I say, why not watch your Wednesday shows on Thursday without commercials? She says I want my Wednesday shows on Wednesday, as that is when I look forward to them and I don't want to see them any later than when they are being broadcast!

Go argue with that logic!!

The way around that is to watch them after they've started. We do that all the time. Last night Lost was the 2 hour finale. We started it an hour late and fast forwarded through all the commercials. We do that with many shows if we don't want to wait until the next day. Downside to waiting a day is if people at work want to talk about it the next day, you have to watch it that night.

[igleaner]

Brainwashing is right!

I suggested she try watching her one hour program only 15 minutes after it actually starts and then fast forward through the commercials. She replied, it sounds good, but what would I do to kill time waiting for the 15 minutes to elapse?? She also says she doesn't mind sitting through commercials, so she continues to tune in the program at the regularly scheduled time.

I say, what then did I spend all this money on a DVR for? This invariably leads to an argument, where she walks out of the room, watches the little set in the bedroom and leaves the DVR setup completely unused.

I give up! At least I get to use the setup all for myself, maybe not a bad thing.

[CopyChief]

Last night Lost was the 2 hour finale. We started it an hour late and fast forwarded through all the commercials.

I did the same thing with Lost, but we started a little later. I bet you almost "caught up" to live TV -- there were so many commercials!

(Exaggeration on purpose.)

I'd say we're watching the same amount of TV with the PVR... maybe a little more since we can tape two things at once. I see the bid advantages of PVRs being:
1) You never forget what tape you've used
2) You'll never tape over the wedding video
3) And you can start watching before it's done recording

"Watching things whenver you want" is hardly new... that's a VCR feature, albeit one that's not quite as elegantly implemented.

[dfergie]

I have one Replay set for the noonday news everyday and it will keep 2 episodes before deleting... I usually watch a little later in the afternoon when home and can ff thru and then skip any duplications...

[finniganps]

I actually do watch more TV with the PVR (bad). I tape the Poker tournaments because the commercials are SOOOO long. I'd never watch it if I had to sit through all the commercials. If I see something that I think there's any chance I might like, I record it and watch it probably 60% of the time....before the PVR I wouldn't even think about it....My TV viewing is probably up 20%.

[Bob Haller]

I record the national news nightly and skim thru it for stuff of interest. No more than 15 minutes often less.

The push to DVRs is going to effect advertising rates, and stress the nets.

hard to charge for adds pweople arent watching

[Randy_B]

Safety in numbers!!! The more DVRs there are out there, the less likely that the MPAA will be able to bribe Congress into neutering them. The entertainment industry despise the 30 sec skip button!!!

[dfergie]

The industry scared Replay into removing automatic Commercial Advance... but the new models still do the 30 second skip...( and when streaming to the older models CA still works) :)

[Nick]

My PVR is saving me from inadvertently recording over my divorce tapes and porn videos, both of which are essentially obscene. :shrug: I keep my divorce tapes right next to my Survivor tapes, which are pretty much the same thing. :rolleyes:

I've had my PVR for five years. I love my PVR. I use the time I save zapping through commercials to watch more tv. Is this a great time to be alive or what? :grin:

How did the human race ever survive the Dark Ages without tv and electricity anyway? :stickman:

[JonBlack]

Actually, my wife has just the opposite reaction to the DVR.

Now that we have had one in the house for 6 months, it still gets no use. Her excuse is that she prefers to watch her shows as soon as they come on, and not see them a day or so later.

I say, why not watch your Wednesday shows on Thursday without commercials? She says I want my Wednesday shows on Wednesday, as that is when I look forward to them and I don't want to see them any later than when they are being broadcast!

Go argue with that logic!!

Either you watch too much live TV, don't understand the DVR or don't have a life :p

We don't really use the DVR with the logic of not having to watch commercials. Although it's good for that too.

1) It's been great because there are shows on simultaneously that we enjoy. In the past something had to give. Now we watch one live and the other later on. Or record both.

2) Also, it's nice not to be a complete slave to TV scheduling. I rarely used my VCR for recording shows because it required too much interaction. With my DVR I set a show for the season and forget it. If I forgot to watch it at it's regular (or irregular) time, it is there waiting for me.

3) In addition, if we are out shopping, dining, visiting, working, etc. I don't have to think about...hmm...I'm missing my show tonight. Many problems solved there.

4) I check sometimes for movies that play overnight on certain channels. Geez, I'm not going to watch a movie from 3-5 AM. I will record it easily to the DVR and watch it later.

100x better and easier than a VCR. That's serious logic.

[Laverne]

My PVR is saving me from inadvertently recording over my divorce tapes and porn videos, both of which are essentially obscene. :shrug: I keep my divorce tapes right next to my Survivor tapes, which are pretty much the same thing. :rolleyes:

I've had my PVR for five years. I love my PVR. I use the time I save zapping through commercials to watch more tv. Is this a great time to be alive or what? :grin:

How did the human race ever survive the Dark Ages without tv and electricity anyway? :stickman:Nick, why in the hell would you have tape(s :confused: ) of your divorce(s)??? :confused: :confused:


Back in the good ol' days, people used to be a lot healthier (or dead ;)), and know how to do stuff. :sure:

Yeah, I might like to have a receiver that has recording capabilities...BUT I think I'll wait. :sure:

[gor88]

Same here, it frustrated me so I quit talking about them unless asked.

Sent my dad $ for a D TIVO in phoenix, he already had D. He bought garage shelving instead, saying we already have a VCR.

I have learned that when it comes to "seasoned" citizens, like my mother, you most likely won't win them over with new technology. I thought about buying my mom a TiVo, but knew she would get mixed up trying to get used to it. :eek2:

You are definitely a good son, though, for making the effort to TiVoize your parents! :D :)

[Nick]

...I might like to have a receiver that has recording capabilities...BUT I think I'll wait. :sure:A PVR is much more than (not then) for recording. In fact, I use the other capabilities of my PVR probably more than I use the record feature.

With my DishPlayer 7200, I can.

pause - for when I need to do something else like answer the door, take a call, take a whiz, check the turkey -or- the bird in the oven :D, go out for more Diet-Rite & pork skins, or in for a quickie. I've paused to read on-screen text, jotting down important on-screen info like phone numbers, URLs, ingredients, recipes, and studying those cool monitor screens on 24 and Alias

skip-back - for those "what did she say?" moments and doing my own instant replays

jump-forward - for skipping commercials during delayed or pre-recorded programs, or for zipping through those boring sex scenes

record - season pass, set-and-forget NBR recording, and point & shoot instant record, no tapes to gather dust.

on-screen recording guide - no more buying, recycling or labeling of tapes, no searching, no poor VHS quality, no fussing, no cussing, no more accidentally recording over my divorce tapes

I also use my PVR to search for movies by title, actor or director, and for a weeks worth of upcoming Braves games with automatic channel change at each game time.

So don't ever say "...but I have a VCR". Comparing a VCR to a PVR is like comparing a golf cart to a beemer with all the toys. If you've never used a PVR, you simply have no idea how much you will love having one.

[zman977]

[QUOTE=Nick]A PVR is much more than (not then) for recording. In fact, I use the other capabilities of my PVR probably more than I use the record feature.

With my DishPlayer 7200, I can.

pause - for when I need to do something else like answer the door, take a call, take a whiz, check the turkey -or- the bird in the oven :D, go out for more Diet-Rite & pork skins, or in for a quickie.


Pause is also a great feature if you have a dog. Ours always seems to want to go outside when the best part of a show comes on. Or the most important part of a sporting event. I must say I lucked out. My wife loves both of our DVR'S. Sometimes she'll set shows to recored at the same time on both of them and I have to remind her that I get to use one too. :) When we first started thinking about a DVR she was against it until she saw one in action at a friends house. We switched from Direct TV to Dish Network two days later just to get the PVR 501. We added a 510 a couple of years later. The only bad thing is we have shows recorded from six months ago that we have not watched yet.
[

[Bob Haller]

Zmann, I heartily recommend a doggie door. We fenced in our yard and have 4 dogs. They have 2 dog doors to come and go. Dont have to walk them, or let them out. They come and go as they please. Although we can lock them in if necessary.

dog doors are right next to dvrs, for wonderful devices:)

[zman977]

We have a fenced in back yard but my wife does not like her running by her self outside. Our first dog was killed almost one year ago by two pit bulls while I was walking him. We did not have a fenced in yard then but when we addopted the dog we have now we fenced in our back yard. My wife is so paranoid about something happening to our dog that even with the fenced in yard, we have a six foot fence all around the back yard, she still does not like her running outside by herself. So one of us usually follows her out. If I had my way, we'd have a doggy door.

[Bob Haller]

with 4 dogs a doggie door is a necessity....

You can get a electronic door, dog wears small transponder on collar that ONLY allows door to open for them. other dogs etc, the door stays securely shut.

how terrible to lose a furry friend in a attack. they are so much people to us. sometimes I think jen cares more about them than me:(

[JBKing]

I couldn't imagine doing without a PVR after having one for about 5 years.

Rarely do we watch anything live, perhaps the local news on occasion. Not only do I save time by not watching commercials, but I no longer channel surf either. I used to sit for 30 minutes or more each night and just cycle through the channels, staying for a few minutes on something until a commercial comes on or I lose interest. So, cutting commercials and kicking the channel surfing habit gives me even more valuable time to spend on ...... you guessed it.... watching more TV! :D

As far as not being current on the latest episodes, we generally watch everthing the same day. By the time the kids are settled in and in bed, primetime is nearly over anyway! I never could watch TV with kids running around, and now we're not held captive to some programmer's time schedule. By the time you skip last week's rehash, opening credits and commercials, you can watch The Amazing Race or Survivor in 40 minutes or less.

I finally talked my parents into getting a DVR last year, both are 70+. I wondered how it would go over, but they have surprised me. Although they still watch a lot of live TV, they do get quite a bit of use from their DVR. Particularly with something that goes past the 9 PM hour. They go to bed early, so they'll record and watch the next day. I get a kick out of my dad. He's an early to bed, early to rise man anyway, but used to get up extra early to watch Imus In the Morning. Since getting the DVR, he records it everyday and sleeps in a bit more. That way he can get the extra rest, skip through the commercials, and still finish the program at about the same time he used to. :lol:

My 6 year old son doesn't watch anything live. He goes through his EPG every few days and records what he wants to watch. Even before he could read, he could still decipher the titles to his favorite programs. My parents actually had him show them how to use the DVR when they first got it! :)

[Laverne]

:lol: Kids today! True, there are probably some really important survival skills they don't know, but they sure do know their electronics. :yesman: With my kids being in sports/dance and school activities, everyone's always taking pictures. I always hear the kids saying :engel02: "I wanna see, I wanna see!" like we used to do back in the day with the Poloroids. :D

[socceteer]

PVR/DVR is the best invention in a long time.

Yes I watch too much TV and I love it. I have 3 DVRs in the house and my Finance is not a TV watcher, but she absolutely loves the PVR/DVR, she can rewind, pause and record easily what ever she wants.

My brother was on of those who lived with a VCR and thought it was good enough. I finally convinced him to get a PVR/DVR and his entire family thank me everytime they see me. They LOVE IT. My brother does too.

A friend from work also kept asking me what I thought about PVRs, I told him. even though he is very cheap and hesitant to get one because of the kids watching too much TV, he purchased one, a week later his wife made him buy a second one.

I do have to say that my favorite PVR is Replay TV for a couple of reasons 1) you can skip commercials when viewing 2) you can select to record a show from the internet. I hear that others are doing this now, but do not know which PVR does it

[Mike D-CO5]

I remember paying$ 650.00 for my first Panasonic top loading , old fashioned dial turning vcr in 1981. I thought I was in heaven then being able to record my daytime soaps- worked nightcrew back then.

When I got my first dishplayer dvr in 99 I thought COOL! Web tv on one side and then satellite on the other. It only recorded like 12 hours but it was alot like the vcr. I paid $1000.00 for the 921 in 2004 and it was still nothing more than a digital vcr.

I had a Series 2 Tivo in 2003 which worked pretty good with nbr except the picture quality was degraded on my big screen. I think I paid $199.99 + $250.00 for lifetime subscription. I think I made $300.00 by selling it on E-bay.

Last month I got the 942 dvr and I finally got it right. The picture quality is excellent with dvi on my hd widescreen 57 "Toshiba. The hard drive holds the same amount of recordings as my 921 did ; 160 sd /25 hd . But the ability to record 3 things at the same time is great; one ota tuner and 2 sat tuners. The nbr works just as good as my Tivo , as I have not missed any recordings. They are supposed to add the ability this summer to add an additional harddrive to the usb port. Then I can double my recording time. I truely LOVE this dvr! It is the best one I have ever owned from Dish. :D

Now, I just need to be able to add more hard drive space so I can record more . I am at work 4 on and 4 off , 12 hour shifts, so I can really record some tv for my off time. I never miss anything now. I only wish I had two 942s now instead of a 522 and a 942. Well worth the $700.00 I paid . When you consider I paid $650.00 for a vcr in 81, $50.00 isn't to bad on inflation costs with this new dvr in 2005. I paid the $700.00 by trading in my 921 to dishdepot.com for $300.00 and I sold my 2 old 721s for 400.00 on E-bay so I actually just swapped out the 921 and 2- 721s for the new 942 , when you consider the price.:sure:

[garypen]

I thought I was in heaven then being able to record my daytime soaps- worked nightcrew back then. Mike is a guy's name, isn't it?

[boylehome]

Mike is a guy's name, isn't it?
now-a-days, the world may never know. ;) Besides, about twenty centuries ago, I used to watch daytime TV. Let me tell you, they broadcast soaps live and some game shows were live. A couple of times nice objects fell out into into view. At that point, I was hooked, if you know what I mean? :lol: BTW, Mike D-CO5, in 1979 I paid $1.5K (lowest price) for an RCA VCR. It was all mechanical and only had two speeds.

[Slyster]

CHECK this out! :)

http://www.totalrewind.org/mainhall.htm

[garypen]

Excellent web site!

Coincedentally, I'm currently watching a Japanese docudrama mini-series about the JVC director credited with creating VHS. (Or, at the very least instigating his team at JVC to create VHS, and convincing a weary, unbelieving, and near-bankrupt JVC executive board to fund it.

[Mike D-CO5]

Mike is a guy's name, isn't it?

Okay smart alecs.

If you work nothing but 6 days on and 1 day off and you work at night from 9-6 or 7 in the morning then you can get hooked on soaps. I used to sleep at weird times of the day. In fact back then I worked like 3 years at night and learned to watch a couple of soaps on abc. I went to college from 86 - 90 and continued watching a couple of soaps that I fit in .So did a lot of my classmates. I still watch them now but with my dvr. Can't help it I love " All My Children" and "One Life to Live." My wife loves" Passions" so we watch it too now- with the dvr we cut out all commercials and characters we don't care for , and get through an hour in less than 30 -35 minutes. So sue me .:p

By the way the most important part of the day for the inmates at the Texas Prison I've worked at for the last 12 years , is when "Young and the Restless" comes on between 11:00 am - 12:00pm. All three sections of the cell block turn to this channel - in all the Dorms , 3 building , 4 building and 7 building . The only reason why 8 bldg and Ad seg don't watch it is because we don't allow tv in close custody and Ad seg. By the way it is an all MALE Inmate penitentory. Some of the inmates are some real mother f*ckers; murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, etc. I would love ya'll to make fun of them for watching soaps. :rolleyes:

[garypen]

By the way it is an all MALE Inmate penitentory. Some of the inmates are some real mother f*ckers; murderers, rapists, child pedophiles, etc. I would love ya'll to make fun of them for watching soaps. :rolleyes:Good point. OTOH, you know what these guys do to each other in the showers, right?

[Bob Haller]

Excellent web site!

Coincedentally, I'm currently watching a Japanese docudrama mini-series about the JVC director credited with creating VHS. (Or, at the very least instigating his team at JVC to create VHS, and convincing a weary, unbelieving, and near-bankrupt JVC executive board to fund it.

Did you know the industry HATED them later, as the product was WAY TOO GOOD.

Manufacturers prefer incrementally improving designs to assure more sales.

VHS was just so good from the start there wasnt enough ways to improve it, thus hurting sales over time :(

[garypen]

That surprises me as VHS was actually pretty sucky, especially compared to Betamax.

And, they have made a number of improvements over the years, such as increasing the number and decreasing the size of the video heads for better PQ, increasing record time, "hi-fi" audio, s-vhs, digital-vhs, etc.

[zman977]

[QUOTE=sometimes I think jen cares more about them than me:([/QUOTE]


I think the same about my Jenn too. Sometimes the dog gets a kiss before I do. :) . I'll pass the electronic doggy door idea on to her. Back on the DVR topic. My parents still use the "we have a VCR" argument. In fact my mom when Dish asked them if they wanted a DVR she said they did not want satellite radio. I had to explain to her what a DVR was. I tried to explain that it is much easier than a VCR and all of the other things you can do with it, but they still won't get one. I'll just have to keep trying.

[NThomas76207]

It's the wave of the future. Your own prime-time...at 3am lol.