Oh My God, I Killed Tivo!

It is a sad, sad day in our home boys and girls as I just officially cancelled our Tivo service. Will you all please bow your heads and offer a moment of silence. If you have never experienced the wonder that is Tivo then you simply will not get the magnitude of this day and the devastation that comes from cancelling this service, for Tivo is so much more than a DVR; it is a friend. Tivo pays attention to your likes and dislikes and offers suggestions of things it thinks you might like to watch. It is always there for you to record your favorite shows. It conforms to be the kind of friend that you want it to be and is always willing to change if your needs have changed. Your friendship will never wane.


We first came to own a Tivo a little over five years ago. It was around the time that Friends was ending its final season and a local radio show was having a Friends trivia contest where if you answered a question correctly, you would be put in a drawing to win a Tivo system and a year of service for free. I don’t want to brag, but I live for Friends trivia and I was easily able to get myself into the drawing. At the end of the week, I was at work and it was time for the station to draw the winner. They drew the name and instead of announcing who it was, they called the winner on the phone. So the phone is ringing, and ringing when all of a sudden, I heard MY home answering machine pick up over the radio.   I started jumping up and down and was all, “A major award! I won, I won, I won!” I called the station from work to claim my prize and the rest is history.

Now when we first got the Tivo and had it all hooked up, we thought it was great and all, but we doubted that we would continue our service once the free year was up. Then I got pregnant. Aaron was born a few months before that free year ended and I have to tell you, I firmly believe that every single baby should leave the hospital with the standard diaper bag freebies and a Tivo. Aaron had colic and so we spent about two and a half to three hours an evening with a screaming baby, but when we got him quiet, Tivo had our backs and all of our shows were waiting for us.

About a year or so ago though, we changed cable providers and upgraded to HD service. Our current Tivo is not HD. In order to continue Tivo, we would need to buy an HD box which costs a lot of money. Also, it is time to renew our subscription and there is an option to pay a one-time fee for lifetime service, but that service is only good for the box that you currently own. So to make it all worth our while, we would need a new HD box AND pay for lifetime service which adds up to just way too much money at the present time.

So with a heavy heart, I called Tivo today and killed our best friend of the last five and a half years. I feel so dirty. Now if you would excuse me, I need to go and mourn the loss.

RIP

6/8/04 to 2/9/10

More than a DVR, but a friend.

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