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A nasty surprise lies ahead for users of personal video recorders.

TiVo and Replay market devices that are godsends to serious TV hounds. They connect at night to a program directory, then let you record 30 or more hours of programming to replay at your leisure. What’s more, they recommend or record programs based on your viewing habits – all the episodes of a weekly show, or all the films with a certain actor.

Last week, everyone’s TiVo in the US recorded a Sheryl Crow music video and two commercials for Best Buy that nobody asked for.

All British TiVos recorded a new sitcom that nobody asked for. […] continued

“Personal video recorders” (PVRs) are the hot new item in the television industry. Tivo and Sonicblue Replay are the market leaders. These boxes act like a super VCR. They record shows for viewing later, holding thirty or more hours of shows at a time. They present program directories; they keep track of the shows you watch and record things you haven’t asked for but that you might like. TV hounds quickly get to the point that they can’t imagine life without their Tivo or Replay.

The usual entertainment industry heavyweights – Disney, AOL Time Warner, the three TV networks – ganged up on Sonicblue and charged into federal court. […] continued

The home entertainment devices that will be hot next Christmas are taking shape. At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, a new company demonstrated the MoxiMedia Center, which combines a cable or satellite TV receiver, a personal video recorder (like Tivo or Replay), a DVD player, and a digital music jukebox, along with cable or DSL access.

Some analysts say Microsoft will have a device named HomeStation on the market by the fall. It’s not clear yet if the project will see the light of day, but the informed speculation is that it will play XBox games along with all the other features – personal video recorder, DVD player, digital jukebox, Internet access. […] continued

If you get a DVD player for Christmas, make sure to look into Netflix for your DVD rentals. NetFlix sends rental DVDs by mail and lets you keep them for as long as you want for $19.95 a month. You can watch as many movies as you like but you have to return old movies before you get new ones. There are no late fees.

According to this article, the company is in sound financial shape – a rarity for an Internet company. My experiences with them over the last eighteen months have all been positive – titles have been in stock, shipping has been exceptionally fast, and problems were dealt with instantly and with no questions asked. […] continued

So far there have been very few compelling reasons to put a DVD player into a computer. There’s only three things you might do with it:

You can watch movies. Your computer monitor will display the movie at a higher resolution than your television, but most people just don’t feel right sitting at their computer watching a movie. (I do it all the time, but I’m like that.)

You can look at the bonus computer features that are included on a handful of movie DVDs. So far that content has been utterly uncompelling – a few bad games or a screensaver, only accessible if you install buggy software from the DVD.

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If you’re bored, here’s a couple of things worth looking for online (especially if you have a broadband connection):

• AtomFilms.com, one of the more creative sites playing streaming movies over the Internet. Check out Creature Comforts, an oddball five-minute film from Nick Park and Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace & Gromit.
• 405: The Movie, a marvelous example of what can be done by real people using off-the-shelf software and typical PCs.
• JoeCartoon.com, which features sick, twisted humor and is definitely not for the faint at heart. If you’re easily offended, don’t click on the link! Click here instead for cute pictures of dogs!

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