Wise Startup Blog

Tivo is one of the greatest inventions to come to us in the 20th century, aside from TV of course. Tivo as a company has been floundering ever since it launched, and continues to lose money, however, amongst Tivo owners, it’s rare that they aren’t in love with the device.

Watching Curb Your Enthusiasm (Tivo’ed, of course) the other night, Larry had managed to piss Cheryl off so bad that she decided enough was enough and she broke up/separated with him. You see, Larry was having issues with his TV, and had the TV repair guy over when Cheryl called from an airplane as she thought she was about to crash. In typical Larry fashion, he hung up with her, leaving her stranded on the plane, and about to die..

I know what Larry doesn’t know, and I’m going to share my favorite things about Tivo and why it keeps my girlfriend and me so happy:

Pause During the 2 Minute Warning

I’m a big sports guy, and as all you sports fans know, the most important parts of any sport, are the last 2 minutes of the game. Unfortunately, our better halves don’t know the complex dynamics of sports and conveniently always want to: talk, cuddle, “stop watching tv” at just that moment.

Thankfully Tivo has a PAUSE button. Really high-tech, right? Simply pause the game, and make sure to hit record as you don’t know how long you’ll be away from the TV. I know a lot of you resist this temptation and probably try to appease your girlfriend/wife with a couple of minutes and hope to get back to the game, but the best policy is to remove yourself from the game, spend time with her, and then you can come back together and watch the game. You’ll actually find the experience more enjoyable, and plus you can tell her about the whole game, of which she could care less

Record Her Favorite Shows

About to get in a fight about watching too much sports, action movies, porn? Nothing to ease her mind like putting on today’s episode of Oprah. Women LOVE Oprah, I have no idea why, they just do, it’s a fact.

Through Tivo.com you can schedule recordings from work, so take a look at what her friends are talking about on Facebook, and make a hitlist to record her favorite shows. Some of the shows on my list are:

- John and Kate Plus Eight
- What Not to Wear
- Oprah
- New York Goes to Hollywood/some trashy VH1/MTV show (these shows are best for making fun of the pathetic people on them)

Once you get your girlfriend hooked on the convenience of Tivo, she’ll forget all about the $1,000 you spent on the latest HD Series 3.

You Gotta Get a Tivo

Tivo is a great addition to any home entertainment center, and you’ll find it’s also a great addition to your family unit. For those of you who have Tivos, please share your experiences in the comments and for those of you who don’t, let us know any questions you have, we’re happy to answer them.