Skip the Programming

Skip the Programming

I may be one of the last media followers to get a TiVo system.  It’s probably because my husband wasn’t previously compelled to get one and he’s the TV watcher in the family.  He even knows what all the buttons on the remote do.  I had to have a birthday to get a DVR.  Now he knows what all those buttons do too.

Although I have yet to master it, and still defer to the “remote control freak”,  I’ve found one feature to my liking that is probably counter to what the vast majority of TiVo users value.

I sometimes like to fast forward through the content so I can see the commercials.  It takes a little getting used to fast-forwarding prerecorded programs and movies to spot when the commercial breaks start, especially at the triple fast rate.  Then I can “slow” fast-forward through the ads to catch who is advertising on certain programs, and get a feel for the ad targeting and content.  I can zip through a half hour program in minutes.

Supposedly my TiVo will offer me recorded episodes of the programs it predicts I will like, I doubt it can interpret my tastes from my viewing practices.  Maybe it could learn to just record the commercials.

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