I Am A TV Junkie

Are You Clearing Your DVR Before The End of the World?

That's what I've been doing instead of blogging, which of course is also a somewhat pointless exercise when you consider we're 2 days from the beginning of the end.

Of course you realize that the end of the world happens in stages and I imagine even post-Rapture my readers will still be here. We're not going anywhere.

However, I don't know how much blogging any of us will get done in the days preceeding the, what is it, 100 year long war (wars?!?) that will break out over who gets ultimate control of existence. I'm trying to stockpile as much Nutella as I can, for trade.

Everybody loves Nutella. Hazelnuts, cocoa and pure unadulterated pleasure in a jar.

What I'm most disappointed about? We won't ever see the new season of True Blood on HBO as it starts on June 26. I hear great things, and the season four trailer is amazing. Just for kicks I've posted it after the jump.

It's a shame we'll never see it. If I had to be with one True Blood character at the end of the world it would be Pam. She'd be all snarky and dismissive and then she'd just off a bitch for kicks.

Oh, btw, you might wanna click over to After the Rapture Pet Care to take care of your little furry kids. Only $10 smackeroos and they take Paypal.

Such. A. Deal.

Oh, I just thought about how much I'm gonna miss Nutella, too. I hear in hell they use Nutella to lead you onto one of the Stairmasters lining the ninth circle of hell, but they never let you have any.

Never.

The Great DVR Surrender of November 2010

So I had to turn in my old DVR the other day and get a new one. It started to rebel.

Seriously, it did. Wouldn't record things I asked it to including a How I Met Your Mother two weeks ago, wouldn't delete an episode of Are You Being Served? as if it were a member of the Mollie Sugden Fan Club, and then finally the other day it screwed up recording Craig Ferguson's show. That was the last straw. No one and nothing screws with my Late Late Show.

Problem was, it had some stuff on it I would have really enjoyed seeing. Like, for example, the second episode of Sherlock, three episodes of Bones (from TNT and WGN, I'm trying to watch all five previous seasons in one calendar year) and a bunch of rugby including the start of the Four Nations matches which I recorded to scout for new Aussie-based gladiators for Starz' Spartacus series.

You know that USB connection on the front of your cable company provided DVR? You can see it above under the Motorola logo. It seems to me that the USB port could be used to port the shows on your old DVR to a new one.

Whenever I ask the customer service reps about the USB ports and what they are for I get a blank face and a shrug.

Does anyone out there have some knowledge in this area? I'd love to pick your brain.

Time Warner Cable Announces Remote DVRing in Selected Markets

From TWCableUntangled.com:

We’re thrilled to announce that our customers across most of our footprint can now use our Remote DVR Manager to manage scheduled recordings on their DVRs at home from a computer or browser capable mobile device.

As of October 18th, 2010, we will be launching our Remote DVR Manager in the following markets:

•  
  • Carolinas region
  • Northeast region
  • New York City region
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • San Diego/Desert Cities

As of October 29th, 2010, customers in El Paso, Austin, Corpus Christi, Laredo and the Midwest (excluding NE Ohio and Green Bay) will also be able to use our Remote DVR Manager. We should also be able to launch Dallas in the 4th quarter of 2010.

I'm trying to get more specifics right now, like for example "Will there be web access to this or is it just for smartphones?"

UPDATE: Web access, too, for those of you without smartphones.

Updates here on the post as I get them.

Video -- Current TV's Sarah Haskins Goes BTS (Back to School, Y'all!)

I haven't posted a Sarah clip from infoMania, my second favorite TV clip show (after The Soup, I'll reassess once Joel leaves next year -- just a prediction not a fact) since that segment of hers I posted that included the commercial with the subliminal "Oprah" in cleaner suds.

(I swear there was a subliminal Oprah, check it at this link.)

InfoMania homepage at this link where you can watch full episodes, including Sergio's White Hot Top 5 and Viral Video Film School with Brett Erlich. 

And Bryan Safi's That's Gay (more on Bryan at this link).

Sarah's very popular Twitter page is at this link. InfoMania airs almost constantly on Current, but it's new each Thursday at 10 eastern, right before The Rotten Tomatoes Show.

Just DVR them and they'll be there when you want them. And with a DVR, you can watch so much more TV (and s0 much less advertising).

I wrote this whole post just to exclude Ben Hoffman so that he could develop a complex about people ignoring him.

But I'm ultimately too nice for that, so click here to see his segment from this week where he goes to a cougar convention.

How to Watch American Idol on DVR -- The "Not Live" Blog

By Joe, your TV Junkie, age ... older than you.

Fast forward through the first 11 minutes, note that Jamie Foxx has a movie to promote so he's talking at Kris about his song this week from the Sinatra songbook.

Note that Kris is a cutie, yet WAY TOO YOUNG for me to be looking at like that. Nice suit, though, is that Ozwald Boateng? Suit was better than his rendition of The Way You Look Tonight.

Force yourself to watch the judges reactions, even if Randy has become the African-American bear version of Paula. I can't stand this Kara chick and OMG please move on from her. Paula's hair people always get her hair right for the week, nice sculpturing. Simon needs better clothes and stop wearing V-neck T's that look like they've been worn to bed the night before.

And, I think he has pec implants, btw.

Fast forward to 22 minutes in for Allison, I don't need to hear what Jamie Foxx has to say again. Someone to Watch Over Me is a great song for her and she's better than last week. She won't win, though, as they were scorched last year by the stupid remarks of a young Idol winner on an award show and someone with more poise will indeed win this season. Nice performance, though, even if she IS doing an impression of a band singer.

Randy, she does not sound like Pink with more octaves, she sounds her age. Still don't like Kara. Paula's still being overwritten for, as those remarks are not her off the top of her head. Simon's wrong, Allison's teen viewers will come through for her.

Fast forward to 34 minutes in for Matt singing My Funny Valentine, which is a hard sell and he's sharp right off the bat. Uninspired and I don't like the note he ends on, it's too within the chord structure and not outside as per the usual renditions.

More after the jump.

Once Again, I Gotta Stop Blogging to Clear My DVR

Sorry gang, if I don't start watching some television that I have on my DVR (let alone my hard drive) it'll disappear.

I can always find something to write about, but I love my shows, just like you. Gotta catch up with the rest of you.

So, talk amongst yourselves. Here's a topic I'm stealing from my pal Rommel's Facebook page:

Adventureland. Not a movie about adventure or land. Discuss.

Back later.

I have the best dog in all the world. There he is. Visit him at Dogbook.

"Remote-Free TV" on Fox Will Not Return, Which is No Matter to DVR Users

You know how when you watch Fringe and Dollhouse there aren't as many ads? Well, that's ending.

Who cares, I fast forward thru them anyway.

You will not monetize me, evil pirate Rupert.

Honestly, I'm just not very ad susceptible, though I have just bought a ton of Massive Dynamic stock.

Isn't it just sick that we're still waiting for another new episode of Fringe? April 7? I don't know if I'll hold up that long.

After the jump, cast members Jasika Nicole, Kirk Acevedo and Joshua Jackson talk about The Pattern and more at NY Comic-Con.

Haven't watched Friday's Dollhouse yet, but this week is that magic episode six that Eliza says will bring in all together. She promised, read it here at the Onion AV Club.

Question: Are Sci Fi Fans to Blame For Their Shows' Ratings Woes? Is It a Network Commitment Issue?

Topic du jour right now on a number of sites I visit.

At Slashdot ...

"Dollhouse. The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Fringe. Three science fiction shows that Fox commissioned, put on the air, and — in the case of at least one of them — has won rave reviews. But why does it seem that Fox is trying to kill some of its own shows with crazy scheduling decisions? How can Fringe survive after being pulled for two months, and what hope is there for Sarah Connor and Dollhouse on a Friday night?"

At Den of Geek:

I think that Fox likes to keep big name creators like Whedon and Abrams tied up and off the competing networks by any means necessary. Fringe and Lost would be huge back to back. You don't think the CW would love to have a Joss Whedon show to give it an actual audience to go alongside Supernatural? You don't think NBC would love to have something (anything) to put on the air instead of the awful Knight Rider or another iteration of Law & Order? The CBS show The Big Bang Theory promoted Sarah Connor more this week than Fox has in a month simply because they had Summer Glau as a guest star!

Hey, Ryan is talking about it on his Twitter account. Who's Ryan? I have no idea, I'm sure he's a very nice person and he's wearing a lovely tie in his photo.

(I told you I'd be using my Twitter account ironically.)

Back in 2007 a sci fi site called SF Signal was talking about how DVRs were killing the genre on TV because we are early adopters and not counted properly.

Yesterday at TVByTheNumbers.com I saw the latest figures on illegal torrent downloads of US series and noticed that five of the top six are scifi (including the entire Fox scifi arsenal) and the other is geek comedy The Big Bang Theory.

On top of that #7 is Chuck, a show that's always reportedly on the bubble, though I can't figure out why you aren't watching, it's rare that anything on NBC is so consistent these days.

And sure, I'm no angel in this regard, but as the guy who owns everything on DVD that once resided temporarily on my hard drive I feel like I'm supporting my shows quite adequately.

Here's another thought, I wonder exactly how many Nielsen homes have people in them who know how to do that? And if they did, and they liked science fiction shows on TV, wouldn't they make sure they were watching them traditionally to keep the numbers high so they could have more of this thing they enjoy?

Because as a Nielsen viewer it would be antithetical to their cause to illegally download a US show they liked because that behavior could eventually lead to its cancellation.

Video -- Haven't Watched Last Night's Heroes, But I Have the Last Five Minutes Right Here

Because from my morning research, I notice that a lot of you are looking for what your DVR cut off at the end.

It's right here below in this clip that I made at Hulu. After the last five ends, you can click a link on the screen to rewatch the whole thing.

I haven't seen it yet, and I haven't seen last week's episode yet, so I won't be catching up all that fast.

LINK

We'll discuss later, okay?

Big DVR Users News From US 2nd Circuit -- Networked DVRs Determined Legal

NY Times:

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York said Monday that the so-called network DVR, which records programs on a faraway computer rather than on the device itself, does not violate copyright law.

The ruling, a turning point in a two-year legal battle, represented a major victory for Cablevision, which wants to offer network DVR services through its existing set-top boxes. It also dealt a significant blow to the media companies that had sued to stop the technology, which include Turner Broadcasting and the major TV networks.

I don't know of other cable outfits that have discussed this technology, though I have been following this story for a while, Cablevision being my (sentimental sniff and wipe of a tear) my first cable system.

More on those network DVRs, from the same piece:

Most DVRs, popularized by TiVo, rely on an internal hard drive to record television episodes. They enable users to play back programming and fast-forward past ads. The network DVRs developed by Cablevision have the same capabilities but without the hard drive. Instead, they record the programs on the cable operator’s centralized servers, saving money and avoiding the trouble of installation.

“Cablevision has been innovative here, and I think other cable companies will follow them,” said Tom Eagan, a senior media analyst at Collins Stewart. (Comcast and Time Warner, which are the country’s two largest cable providers and potential beneficiaries, declined to comment.)

Since I'm a Time Warner subscriber, I'm depending on my Long Island readers (meaning my relatives, or you Jim Renehan) to keep me informed.

In Chicago, You Can Read Your TiVo Now

And providing those words will be Mo Ryan (pictured above) from the Chicago Tribune.

NY Times:

TiVo, a leading maker of digital video recorders, is expected to announce on Wednesday a partnership with The Tribune that will deliver the recommendations of Maureen Ryan, the TV critic for The Tribune, straight to the TVs of users who sign up for the service.

The deal, to be announced the same day as TiVo reports first-quarter earnings, is the latest in a series of service enhancements. Brian Coyne, an analyst for Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Company, said the Tribune partnership was “another expansion of TiVo’s feature set.”

Mr. Coyne added, “They continue to seek to differentiate their product relative to what they’re calling generic DVRs” that cable or satellite customers receive from service providers.

For example, if they were to pop over to the new USA Network series In Plain Sight, they might read this from her:

It’s encouraging that in recent years, cable networks have taken chances and given us so many complicated women – some of questionable character – on shows like “Damages,” “Weeds,” “Saving Grace” and “The Closer." But McCormack’s character is so clichéd and irritating that it’s hard to stay interested during her scenes. The show’s premiere episode runs 76 minutes, but it feels longer.

So, it doesn't always encourage one to use their TiVos, but it does instruct them how to use it wisely. And Mo has pretty good taste in stuff, so give her a technological whirl.

Video -- What's on Felicity Huffman's DVR? How 'bout Tichina Arnold? Brooke Shields?

Or maybe you wanna know what Kyra Sedgwick likes.

Watch this Hollywood Reporter video.

LINK

My HIMYM DVR Error, a Rookie Mistake

First, let me say how nice it was to have new multi-camera sitcom eps to watch. I know that I gushed over Canterbury's Law and I'll continue to keep up with the show by recording it or at Hulu, but I was really enjoying The Big Bang Theory's first season when it left and despite the stunt casting and oddly because of the catch phrases, How I Met Your Mother is as watchable as ever.

(And, I like to support NPH, upcoming in the Harold & Kumar sequel.)

Ratings were good, too, even up against that dancing show on ABC. Not great, but good.

I didn't see the end of HIMYM, I didn't set it to record, I relied on my remembering I had paused live TV, and then by the time a got to the next break, I clicked over to Bloomberg to check the Dow, dumping all that live TV in the process.

What did I miss?

What the Buck?!? Salutes Our New American Idol

Michael has a lesson to teach all you DVR users. Watch till the end.

LINK

Fox and TiVo Want to Play with the Commercials on Your Recorded Shows

Check this out from Advertising Age:

Will updating time-sensitive ads when they're played back on digital video recorders be the answer to commercial engagement in a live-plus-seven age? Jon Nesvig hopes so.

The Fox sales chief said he filed a patent to develop a proprietary technology with TiVo that would allow advertisers and agencies to replace their own ads in a commercial pod with updated, timely spots on commercial playback.

So? New commercial, old commercial ... still a commercial that I would probably fast forward through, no matter how timely.

Seems like a no-brainer. Fox might want to spend their money more wisely than this. Also not wise, the Fox ploy of putting this micro-shows on between commercials. Have you see this Oleg the Cabdriver thing that pops up every now and then on Fox? Does that make you wanna stick around for an ad?

Me, neither.

TiVo, or DVR From the Cable Company?

So, have you addressed this issue yourself? 'Cause I'd like to know what conclusion you came to and if you're happy.

Is the TiVo install and use seamless? Do I need to run the TiVo box through my broadband connection? Or does it just hook up to my digital cable box?

Is it just easier to use the thing the cable company (in this case Time Warner) provides or are there benefits to going the other way?

Also, you know all those people who are picking clips off their favorite TV shows and posting them at YouTube, exactly how do they do that? Is that a PVR software package and tuner that one hooks into their PC, or are they making DVD-R copies on their standalone recorders and hand-porting the stuff to their PCs, editing video in Final Cut or one of its analogues and then posting to YouTube?

I guess for almost 6 on a Saturday night, I have a lot of questions. Anyone feel like answering any of them?