TiVo

TiVo (pronounced, in IPA, /tiː.vo/) is a popular brand of digital video recorder (DVR), a term synonymous with personal video recorder (PVR). more...

It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing (sometimes called "time shifting").

Operation

TiVo systems function similarly to VCRs, but use non-removable hard disk storage, and contain much more sophisticated software to record programs—not only those the user specifically requests, but also other material the user is likely to be interested in. Additionally, programs being watched "live" can be paused or "rewound" to repeat a sequence just watched. Unlike tape-based recorders, a program can be viewed while it is being recorded.

DVR function

A TiVo DVR allows a user to specify which programs to record by time, by program title, and by specifying combinations of genre, actors, directors, etc. Based on a database of programs available to the user — dependent upon his or her location and/or cable/satellite services he or she uses, and updated roughly once a day via phone or network connection to TiVo headquarters — it selects and records the desired programs. Programs may be stored until internal storage is filled, at which time the unit will dispose of older programs (unless flagged to be saved until manually deleted), to allow for new programs to be recorded. The program information is supplied by Tribune Media Services and the TiVo has data for approximately two weeks into the future.

TiVo has a "Season Pass" feature that instructs the TiVo to record a show through the entire season on a particular channel, with the option of recording First Run Only, First Run & Repeats, or All Episodes. An episode is considered "First Run" if it is airing within two weeks of the original air date. TiVo also follows a "28 day rule" wherein it keeps track of each program it records and it will not record the same program again within 28 days. The "All Episodes" setting overrides this rule.

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