Going for over a year without a DVR
I went from using a DVR to watch TV longer than anyone else on the planet to not using a DVR, a channel guide, or any on-demand television for over a year. Here’s my thoughts on it now that I’ve been off a DVR for a while.
I was the original Product Designer for ReplayTV, which was one of the first DVRs (Digital Video Recorders). I designed the user interface and many of the features for the first few versions. We developed it literally at the same time TiVo was being created. And internally we got our prototype ReplayTVs functioning at a usable state long before we shipped the product. If my memory serves me correctly, I estimate that I was using a DVR for all my TV watching just short of a year before any DVR was available to the public. I continued to use a DVR ever since.
That is, until the Fall of 2005, when I disconnected my ReplayTV for good. The reason? Well the ol’ Quantum Fireball hard drive in it was squealing like a pig. And I couldn’t bother myself to complete a hard drive upgrade. And all this added up to the fact that I thought it would be an interesting experiment in user interface and technology to go from using a DVR longer than practically anyone else on the planet, to being just a regular TV watcher, without DVR or a channel guide, for an extended period of time.
So now that I’ve been using my TV “the old fashioned way” for over a year, what can I take away from it?
The Channel Guide is more powerful than the DVR
I never would have guessed this, but the number one thing I miss is the interactive channel guide, not the recording functionality. I can live without recording shows. I can manage just fine without pausing live TV. But not having a Channel Guide cripples TV watching to the point of it being downright frustrating every single time I watch it. I have to resort to watching the non-interactive TV Guide Channel, and that is the absolute nadir of my TV watching experience. I’ll also use internet-based channel guides too (in fact I bookmarked titantv.com on my Wii). I occasionally channel surf, but that leads me to my second conclusion …
I don’t channel surf anymore
Using a DVR for 9 years really changed my television watching habits, even after I got rid of the DVR. Before having a DVR, I used to channel surf all the time. But no longer. Even though I have analog cable where changing the channels is super fast, I simply choose not to, opting instead to hit the Internet for TV listings, or submit to the pain of the TV Guide Channel.
No more appointment television for me
I also don’t do appointment television anymore. Before the DVR, I used to know what days, times, and channels my favorite shows were on, and I’d plan out my evenings and watch the clock to make sure I catch them. Of course, with the DVR that was no longer needed, and I simply plopped down in front of the TV when I was in a TV-watching mood and watched my favorite shows.
But now that I’m back to no DVR, I find that my TV watching has permanently changed. The aspect of TV-watching that stuck with me post-DVR is “watch TV when I’m in the mood” rather than “watch TV when my favorite shows are on”. This means I pretty much only watch TV when eating, and in the evenings if I don’t feel like working on any of my other hobbies. And that rarely collides with TV that I like.
I simply no longer do appointment television, not even for my favorite shows. I still do have favorite shows, but I can’t for the life of me remember when they’re on, and I often almost always miss them. But that’s life.
Conclusion: The DVR weaned me off of schedule-based TV for good
My yearn for a channel guide is really a hack to fix channel-and-time show delivery (which itself is a hack built on a legacy technology limitation). All my other new habits point towards caring more about when I watch over what I watch. Yes, I watched TV religiously before getting a DVR, but it’s clear to me now that I’ll never really go back to doing that again.
I know that once “series television” finds a good on-demand business model (meaning one I’m willing to pay for) and a good UI (no, torrents do not count), I’ll hop back into the swing of watching my favorite shows. DVRs like ReplayTV and TiVo are basically short-term solutions to overcome the limitation of schedule-based TV, but it’s going to be permanently solved via the Internet. There is no doubt in my mind that at the pace the Internet is evolving, it will overtake over-the-air/cable/satellite TV and became the de-facto standard for television.
EDIT: I changed some wording to not offend any of my fellow ReplayTV developers, or DVR fans.
I'm Hanford Lemoore. My parking skills are unparalleled.
May 15th, 2007 at 5:30 am
Have you considered picking up a TiVo or a TV Tuner card for your PC to run ReplayTV or other software? Or are you just going to wait it out until you’re satisfied with online video delivery?
You could currently purchase shows from iTunes, Xbox Live, or other services, but in order to get those programs to your television set, you’ll either need to have your computer connected to your PC or purchase a new piece of hardware like an AppleTV or Xbox 360.
So I’m just curious what specific improvements you’re waiting for before you’ll be ready to do some sort of on-demand viewing service.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
EDIT: Dunno. I’m not actively waiting for anything specific. I guess that it comes down to me not really craving television the way I used to, since there are valid options (A new DVR; appleTV, TV shows on DVD, etc).
See my lower blog comments for more insight on this; I’ve added a bit more.
May 16th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Its interesting to see how you came to the “schedule-free” tv conclusion. And also how that’s led to other changes.
I found the tv-watching + eating link to be pretty crazy, for a while in college, I would always watch tv while eating lunch and dinner. After a while, that association built to the point where the act of watching a TV show got me hungry. I’ve managed to change that association to something else (I rarely watch a tv show when I’m not programming or running on the treadmill), and now I feel a similiar longing for those new activities whenever I sit down and try to channel surf (it usually ends with me not watching anything).
I do agree with what you’re saying at the end, eventually some sort of stream/download on-demand internet tv service is going to kill off the schedule-based TV shows.
As a side note, has your tolerance for commercials decreased as well?
May 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I found this interesting. I’m also curious how you handle the commercials. I DVR (formerly with TIVO, currently with Replay boxes and a home-built SageTV box for HD) but find I don’t watch them much any longer. I do have 4 shows I watch: 24, The Office, Survivor, and Amazing Race. Never that evening… and many times I have multiple queued up unviewed. And it is when I skip the endless advertisements that I feel if I didn’t have DVR I would watch nothing, except maybe the HD channels on public TV that don’t have ads.
So how are you doing during the ads? My guess is you just don’t care much about TV viewing any more and so during the ads you walk away from the set and many times don’t come back.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Steve & Roho: No, my tolerance for commercials went right back up! I happily sit through them, chatting with my girlfriend, using my laptop, or taking a bio or snack break.
Brad: A bit more about what I’m waiting for: Right now my solution is just to watch whatever is on. It works, more or less. I think I’ll upgrade to an on-demand service where I hear that it’s easy to hook up and has the selection of shows I want. Admittedly I have not been paying much attention to how this has evolved recently.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Interesting experiment, but I think you might be quite different than the legions of other people. Most people are quite fine with the interface (I know I am for the most part) and they will evolve as the market evolves.
I bought a series 2 Tivo 2.5 years ago and fell in love with it. I do agree with you that it’s an interim hack to the future business model, but I enjoy the convenience now (and I don’t quite know when all the shows are on). I will hold on to this tivo for a long time until the next significant evolution. HD tivo doesn’t interest me yet (except perhaps for racing) even though I have an HD capable screen.
It’s cool that you did this, being that you are steeped in the technology itself.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Thank Justin. I know I’m pretty different than most users … was really just a personal experiment.
May 17th, 2007 at 10:14 am
>>Right now my solution is just to watch whatever is on. It works, more or less.
It may work for you, but I would never allow that for my kids. Last thing I want is them to be at the mercy of the current network schedule.
BTW, PVR actually reduces the amount of time the TV is on in the house for all members of the household. Not because ads are skipped but because you realize how many shows are junk when given the choice of “whatever is one at the moment” vs shows you know you enjoy on demand.
May 17th, 2007 at 11:48 am
>BTW, PVR actually reduces the amount of time the TV is on in the house
Totally! In fact, if I were a better writer that would have been more obvious in my post that:
1. Before DVR I scheduled my life around TV shows (so to speak)
2. With a DVR the TV was on much less but with the shows I love.
3. Now without a DVR the TV is on muche less, but with whatever’s on at the time.
So I got used to watching TV in a different way with the DVR. The weird thing is now without one, I still watch TV at the same times and on the same whims as when I had my DVR, I’m just not getting the same shows. I’m getting whatever happens to be on.
May 19th, 2007 at 8:39 am
Yea, its the wonderful “paradox of choice”, which seems to be applying here. With your DVR, you have a choice of shows, any of which you enjoy, but now its harder to pick which one VS now that you don’t have a choice, you kind of watch whatever as long as its moderatly interesting.
Oddly enough, I find myself doing the same thing with music vs streaming stations. When I have to queue up a playlist / or randomly shuffle the songs I have, I’ll skip a lot of songs, ones that I’m not in the mood to listen to. But with a streaming station, I’ll sit through whatever low points and enjoy whatever high points.
September 22nd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Wow how did you survive that? That is like giving up a cell phone for a year…NOT HAPPENING.