[wakajawaka]

Totally. Once I showed my wife these features a number of years ago (early adopter), she was hooked. In fact, I'll bet once she sees the power of how it changes TV watching habits, she'll never want to go back. If she's someone who likes to "sit down at the appropriate time" to watch a show live, show her that recording a 1 hour show gives her an extra 20 minutes or so to finish up something else, then she can watch the same show in 40 minutes and skip all of the commercials.

Yeah like finishing the laundry or doing the dishes....

Also watching Live TV you can pause, rewind, instant replay etc. It's great for big sporting events like the Super Bowl. You can pause to go to the bathroom, get a snack, change a diaper or rewind to see that in fact it WAS Janet Jackson's boob on TV.

 

[nocturnalis]

DAMM! How hard is it to pick up your remote at a certian time and change to the channel you want to watch

If I want to watch a show some five hours away I want to be able to set the box to ump to the channel at that time. There are countless time when there are so many shows on TV and a commercial comes across for something that aira later on that I'd be interested in watching. At the same time during that same day a lot goes on like watching the baby and cooking dinner and a whole slue of other things that can justify why this feature is important to me and my wife. prime example Desperate House Wives. She watches that and want to watch it on live TV not the next day of a few hours later. Remeber we are new to the whole DVR bit.

More importantly, if you have a DVR, why the heck would you want to watch TV live?
Does the OP really like watching commercials?

It's not about watching commercials or recording. You are missing the point.

It takes one second to hit the record button on all the shows you watch in the guide. Just record the shows you want and watch, then watch them when you want.

It seems to me that you dont want to take the huge advantages a dvr has over a standard box. Once you get to know the functions the hr20 can do compared to your samsung you will be wondeing why you waited so long to try a dvr.

Also you should have two cables connected to it for the ability of recording two shows at the same time and watching a previose recorded show. Try to pause live tv on your samsung and then continue the show. That function alone beats the standard box. Just play around with the box for a couple of weeks the dvr will grow on you and your wife.

Thanks for the advice you everyone else with helpful input had to offer. I know who to PM questions to next time. I'm sure the box will grow on me but I am not fond of the lack of basic features. I am no novice to HT equipment and can figure things out in time but this specific feater is not there without hitting the record button. No big deal I'll just use what it has at the moment. I just thought to ask first. Also when you are acustomed to watching live TV all the way up til this point you can't help but the watch the show when it is on. For instance Flip that House, I'll watch that live then go to bed for work in the morning.

nocturnalis, I tried to convince my wife for months to get a DTivo, no sale, she just couldn't understand the benefits. As it turned out one of her friends got a DTivo and she was raving about how cool it was. Only then did I get the green light to get the thing (Which I did pretty much on the spot). After about a week she apologized for giving me a hard time about getting it. Now we have 3 of them.

Just wondering if you have any friends with a DVR unit of any kind? If so maybe they could walk you through all the benefits and basic operation. If not, spend some time with it and be patient. Sooner than later you'll "get" how to use the thing and you won't regret it. You'll probably become absessed with it like so many on these forums are.

Yes we do have friends with DVR's and I'll speak to them about it soon enough. Ultimately we'll just have to spend more time with.

Thanks

 

[wakajawaka]

It's not about watching commercials or recording. You are missing the point.

No, I don't think we are. Just think of "record" as the new and improved "jump".

 

[iceman2a]

If I want to watch a show some five hours away I want to be able to set the box to ump to the channel at that time. There are countless time when there are so many shows on TV and a commercial comes across for something that aira later on that I'd be interested in watching. At the same time during that same day a lot goes on like watching the baby and cooking dinner and a whole slue of other things that can justify why this feature is important to me and my wife. prime example Desperate House Wives. She watches that and want to watch it on live TV not the next day of a few hours later. Remeber we are new to the whole DVR bit.

OK. maybe jumped on you a little to hard to soon! MY BAD!
But your busy life is exactly why the DVR is the perfect box! Yes it lacks "autotune" feature! You just need to get over watching what you want to watch on the Network's schedule, and watch them on yours! Belive me, "It'll set you free" Good Luck!

 

[Rob55]

...but this specific feature is not there without hitting the record button.

If you're already used to going to the guide to select a program to set up a reminder, why should it be so different to record it instead, it's the same process. Just think of all the annoying commercials you be able to skip, like the "Head On - Apply directly to the forehead" commercial) . Also, my hunch is that you don't have a 2nd satellite feed on your HR20 if you have to watch what you record.

 

[nocturnalis]

If you're already used to going to the guide to select a program to set up a reminder, why should it be so different to record it instead, it's the same process. Just think of all the annoying commercials you be able to skip, like the "Head On - Apply directly to the forehead" commercial) . Also, my hunch is that you don't have a 2nd satellite feed on your HR20 if you have to watch what you record.

No second feed yet. Didn't get around to hooking that up yet.

 

[bonscott87]

If you're already used to going to the guide to select a program to set up a reminder, why should it be so different to record it instead, it's the same process. Just think of all the annoying commercials you be able to skip, like the "Head On - Apply directly to the forehead" commercial) . Also, my hunch is that you don't have a 2nd satellite feed on your HR20 if you have to watch what you record.

And if your wife wants to watch Desp. Housewives live that is fine. Setup a series link to DH and it will record every week. If you are watching TV at the time it will automatically switch to that channel and you can watch it live just like you did before. The only extra step will be for you to delete it later in your MyVOD list as you already watched it. No biggy. The box still works like you remember, it's just recording it when it switches the channel for you. It's a DVR, it's always recording the current channel anyway. So when you tune in DH, it's already recording it in the buffer. By setting up an actual recording you get the benefit of it changing the channel for you automatically if you happen to be watching TV at the time as well as recording it for later should you miss it for some reason.

The benefit now of having a series link is say you and your wife are out of town that night or something comes up and you're not home. The DVR is happily recording DH for you and it will be available in MyVOD ready to watch as soon as you get home.

 

[matto]

guys can you help me, i got a porsche, and it works terrible as a wheelbarrow replacement

 

[bluedogok]

We sometimes watch stuff live that is programmed in on a season pass and just delete it when we are finished watching it, since whatever you are watching currently is being recorded (in a buffer). Why not just set the show to record, then it gives you the flexibility of watching it either live or if you happen to miss it, the show is there waiting for you. This is how I have set up shows for my wife.

My wifes only gripe is with the NBC station, I want to watch stuff in HD but Lin won't let D* put the HD feed on the sat. I hated explaining that I couldn't rewind something she missed on Friday Night Lights last night, she went to the bedroom to catch up on the old SD Tivo and I switched over the HR20 the D* NBC-SD channel

 

[devellis]

Consider this hypothetical situation and three possible scenarios that can develop from it.

You realize at 6:00 that something you really want to see is on at 9:00 but are afraid you might get distracted (like, if 60 Minutes starts late after a game and the whole schedule gets off of the usual starting times).

Scenario #1: You try to remember to watch the clock as the evening progresses, but suddently you realize it's 9:25 and you missed the first half of the show. Bummer.

Scenario #2: You have a system that allows you to go into your guide and mark the show. Shortly before 9:00, the system tells you that it's about to change to the channel the show is on, unless you take action to defeat the change. Error averted.

Scenario #3: You have the HR20. You have already set it to record the 9:00 show. You suddenly realize it's 9:25. You have several options. You can switch from watching what is on currently and begin playing back the 9:00 show from its beginning. You'll probably finish the show only slightly behind the usual ending time because you'll be able to FF over commercials. Alteratively, you can finish what's on now, knowing that the 9:00 show is preserved for later viewing at your convenience, whether that's at 10:00, tomorrow, or next week some time. You have options.

Scenario 2 gets the job done. You will see your show on time. But scenario 3 also gets the job done. You'll either see the show pretty much on time (as soon as you realize it's past 9:00) or at some more convenient time. You won't be forced to choose between the currently viewed programming (which must be pretty good if you've totally lost track of the time) and the show you'd planned on watching at 9:00.

Scenarios 2 and 3 are different solutions, but they both work and the latter actually gives you more control and more choices. Switching from the familiar Option #2 to the unfamiliar Option #3 will take a small adjustment to your habits but I think it's reasonable to assume that its benefits will make the adjustment worth the small effort.

 

[Canis Lupus]

guys can you help me, i got a porsche, and it works terrible as a wheelbarrow replacement

did it come with a rear spoiler? those work pretty well for taking tree clippings from the dish install to the local dump.

 

[qlanus]

guys can you help me, i got a porsche, and it works terrible as a wheelbarrow replacement

If you take off two wheels and balance it just right, you can use it as a bicycle instead.

 

[matto]

did it come with a rear spoiler? those work pretty well for taking tree clippings from the dish install to the local dump.

thats a spoiler? i've been using it as a handle to push it (my wife is used to shopping carts)

 

[dkd]

nocturnalis,
I just checked my H10 (the non-DVR receiver). When you select a "future" program by pressing the Select button, a menu is given to you to "Autotune" to that channel with Start/Stop options ie. start Ontime, or Start 1 Minute Early, 2 minutes Early , 3 minutes , etc.
For HR20, you'll see the "Record" option instead. With this, the defacto Autotune is set to Ontime (or 10-15 seconds early) implicitly.
I hope it helps. My wife can't live without ReplayTV now a day, and that's all she watches. No more live TV! I don't think she will complain about HR20 other than it is one or two steps backward from ReplayTV/Tivo in term of ease of use and ability to skip forward/back at will, etc.