A Look At HD Tivo

Have you ever heard someone say they were going to Tivo a program and wondered what they meant? HD Tivo is a term used to describe a high definition digital video recorder, which permits the owner to record television programming and store it to an internal hard disk for later viewing. So, the next time that someone says they are going to Tivo something, they are simply saying that they are going to record it so that it can be watched at a later, more convenient time.

HD Tivo units function much like  the VCR, which permits users to record programs onto a videotape. The modernized form, however, is HD Tivo. This unit is not only beneficial for recording, however, as it is also capable of pausing and/or rewinding a program already in progress. If, for instance, you have to step out of the room for a moment, you can pause the show and resume play when you reenter the room. The convenience of HD Tivo is unmistakable, which is why many entertainment buffs own this new video recording equipment and wouldn't think of turning on their TV without it.

Some HD Tivo units allow individuals to specify certain programs to record basing on specific criteria, including program title, actor, genre, time, etc. This availability depends on location and service, but is often beneficial to those who schedule future recordings ahead of time.

HD Tivo products have been manufactured by industry-leading companies, including Philips, Toshiba, Sony and others. To use Tivo, individuals are required to subscribe to a monthly service, which generally costs about $10.00 to $15.00 per month. Lifetime subscription plans, which were previously offered by Tivo, have since been ended in place of a new program allowing customers to receive the unit at no cost in exchange for prepaid service.

When subscribing to any service, including HD Tivo, it is important to read carefully the service contract and understand the service for which you are paying. The monthly costs, service and cancellation policies should be clearly outlined in any contract. Any question should be asked before signing of the contract and/or exchange of any payment. If a prepaid amount is required, it is unlikely that a consumer would be permitted to cancel their service during that time and still receive a refund. However, this possibility should be discussed with a Tivo specialist. Along with the unit itself, consumers will likely receive an owner's manual and detailed instructions on how to operate their unit. As with any new technology, it may take sometime to adapt to the features. By carefully reading the manual and paying close attention to the instructions of the representative, you should be able to Tivo in no time.

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Blu-Ray DVD - What is ?

Video technology has increased significantly over the past years, and is continuing to grow at an incredible rate. Digital Video Disc's aka DVD's are the most likely the last big jump in consumer video technology that everyone is familiar with. To keep up with the ever advancing world of electronics a new format of video storage will be released soon called Blu-ray.

Blu-Ray is a next generation optical disc that will blow the socks off what we all know today: DVD. Conventional DVD's use a red laser that have long wave lengths, which limits the storage capacity on a disc. Blu-Ray uses a blue laser which has much shorter wave lengths. Because the wave lengths on the Blu-Ray are much smaller it can focus on a spot with much greater precision, allowing for data to be packed much more tightly than the red laser DVD's.

Blu-Ray discs can hold up to 50GB of information which 10 times that of a 4.5GB DVD. 10 times the storage will greatly increase the amount of information that we can save on any one disc and will change the way we save information. Dual Layer Blu-Ray discs will be able to hold up to 4 hours of High-Definition Video. High Definition video is going to hit big here, Blu-Ray is an example of a technology that is going to make it happen. 50GB is probably comparable to size of many of our hard-drives, and to picture having all that information on a small disc that we can slide into a pocket and take wherever we want is a bit scary.

Expect to see Blu-Ray replacing DVD and VCR over the next few years, following along with the transition of video to High Definition Video. Video isn't the only thing that will benefit from Blu-Ray technology; I would expect that it will also become the standard for PC and other types of storage.

Feel frees to reprint this article since you keep the following caption and author biography in tact with all hyperlinks.

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