# Nielsen study says most DVR owners watch live TV



## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

There was an article in the Washington post this weekend regarding how DVR use is not killing TV as doomsayers said it would. The article talks about how DVRs users actually watch more TV because they can watch shows that conflict with each other. It also goes on to say how certain commercials are being designed to cater specifically towards DVR users. The article goes on to say more DVR users remember what is being advertised than non-DVR users:



> A March survey by Millward Brown marketing researchers found that 42 percent of non-DVR owners recalled specific brands in commercials they had seen, such as Ford or Taco Bell. For DVR owners, the number was 43 percent.


Another surprising tidbit was that DVR users tend to watch live TV.



> It also turns out that DVRs are not killing live viewing or shuffling the weekly prime-time schedule, at least not yet. From Sunday to Friday, 84 percent of all prime-time television viewing in DVR households is live, according to Nielsen Media Research. According to the same data, 61 percent of all prime-time programming recorded by DVRs is watched on the same days it airs.
> 
> And in more good news for the networks, even though there are only six major broadcast networks compared with hundreds of cable channels, 77 percent of the shows recorded by DVRs air on a network such as ABC or Fox, rather than a cable channel such as ESPN or TNT, Nielsen reported.


I rarely watch Live TV. And I'd say I watch maybe 30% of the stuff the same day I record it.

I have noticed that SciFi is trying to "force" people to watch some of their shows live by putting giving aways codes in their show which work on their website for a very limited time. For example, Stargate Atlantis had a code that didn't work 20 minutes later when I happened to view the show (they actually took down the page). I wonder if other networks will follow suit.

Any way I agree with most of the article except the live TV part. Do you agree?


----------



## Croptop (Aug 19, 2006)

The only "live" TV I watch now are premium channels (The Movie Network for example). Anything that will have commercials gets recorded and watched later.


----------



## Stu_Bee (Jan 15, 2002)

I wonder what the results would be if they broke it down by DVR manufacturer.

I'd guess that Tivo viewers watch less livetv than cable co supplied DVR's.


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Interestingly, watching one live show while recording another is one thing I don't do - I have a cable box so everything goes through that. Maybe once every couple of months I'll go upstairs and watch while TiVo watches something else.

We generally watch news programs live. We just set up a SP for _Today_, but that was more so my wife could prevent the TiVo from getting bored and trying to change channels at 9AM.


----------



## petew (Jul 31, 2003)

The only live TV I watch is sports (Hockey and Baseball)


----------



## ping (Oct 3, 2005)

Stu_Bee said:


> I wonder what the results would be if they broke it down by DVR manufacturer.
> 
> I'd guess that Tivo viewers watch less livetv than cable co supplied DVR's.


Bingo. Standalone TiVo is obviously a DVR. DirecTV with TiVo is a DVR with satellite reception capability added on. Cable DVRs, Echostar DVRs, the new DirecTV DVR: they are all receivers with digital recording capabilty added on. They all seem to think you want to watch TV and ocassionally record something, so that's what people who have them do.

I never watch live TV and haven't for years. But now that I've been playing with the R15, I doubt I would have made that transition if that had been my first DVR.


----------



## dshinnick (Jun 6, 2003)

I'll watch CNN live, or the President's addresses; the last major event I watched live was the Rose parade last January! Viva Tivo.


----------



## HiDefGator (Oct 12, 2004)

CNBC. Recording it would not make much sense.


----------



## Croptop (Aug 19, 2006)

ping said:


> Cable DVRs, Echostar DVRs, the new DirecTV DVR: they are all receivers with digital recording capabilty added on. They all seem to think you want to watch TV and ocassionally record something, so that's what people who have them do.


My wife and I must be exceptions to that rule. Our first exposure to DVRs was with an SA8000 (You really had to jump through hoops to get TiVo in Canada back then) and within a few weeks, our live TV viewing had dropped off to virtually nil. Instead, we found that we were using the dual tuners to record two shows whilst watching something already recorded.


----------



## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

There are several programs that I watch "pseudo-live." That is, I start them a little late and catch up as I watch. But outright live? Not much apart from some sports or non-commercial programs occasionally.

I think the early adopters are all over time-shifting. But as DVR's get rolled out to the mass market through cable companies, lots of people stuck in their ways will continue to go by their old habits and only really use them like VCRs. At least for the near future.


----------



## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

The only thing I watch live is football.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

I wouldn't expect the poll results to be anything other than what they are....this is, after all, a TiVo forum. However, I answered yes....since I watch a lot of live HD OTA. That, of course, will dramatically change when I get my S3.


----------



## JYoung (Jan 16, 2002)

My brother's had a TiVo for over a year and still channel surfs.
Drives me nuts when I'm over there.


----------



## classicX (May 10, 2006)

News and the Weather Channel. Everything else is watched "late" (as hefe posted) or recorded.

Even if a show I watch is on TV and I'm bored, I will avoid watching it live and make every excuse I can to pause it and let the buffer build, just so I can FFWD commercials.


----------



## JustAllie (Jan 5, 2002)

morac said:


> Another surprising tidbit was that DVR users tend to watch live TV.


I am guessing that a lot of those DVR users don't have TiVos. If I had an annoying, buggy DVR, I'd watch more live TV.


----------



## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

At home, I still watch lots of live TV, totally bypassing the TiVo.


----------



## Ruth (Jul 31, 2001)

I never watch live TV. But I do frequently watch programs "partially live" like hefe described. IIRC, at least one previous study of this type categorized a viewer as watching "live TV" if any part of the recording was active, even if the viewer was ahead enought that she didn't watch the commercials. I am thinking you'd see different numbers if they separated those categories out.


----------



## ah30k (Jan 9, 2006)

I consider 'partially live' equal to 'live' when I answered that I do indeed watch a lot of live tv. I simply don't have that many scheduled recordings. I like to browse the guide to see what interests me then go to that channel. I buffer some up to zip through commercials. The DT is nice because I can swap back and forth between two tuners to avoid commercial breaks. Would you call this pattern 'live'?


----------



## Sparty99 (Dec 4, 2001)

I wonder how they're doing their calculation. Are the doing it by the amount of time you spend on live TV, or the number of programs watched time-shifted? Because if it's based on the amount of time, I've got no question that with the amount of sports I watch I'm probably watching more TV live than on delay. But in terms of the number of programs it's not even close - I watch almost everything else time shifted.


----------



## rhain (Nov 3, 2004)

The only time that I watch live TV is on a weekend and I want to check out a sporting event that I REALLY do not want to see in its entirerty (sp?).

Otherwise, I would say that my wife and I watch 99.5 % of our shows recorded

Robert


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

morac said:


> There was an article in the Washington post this weekend regarding how DVR use is not killing TV as doomsayers said it would. The article talks about how DVRs users actually watch more TV because they can watch shows that conflict with each other. It also goes on to say how certain commercials are being designed to cater specifically towards DVR users. The article goes on to say more DVR users remember what is being advertised than non-DVR users:
> 
> Another surprising tidbit was that DVR users tend to watch live TV.
> 
> ...


Of course. All the technology in the world can't make more hours in the day! Time limits the amount of TV I watch far more than scheduling conflicts. No matter how precisely and thoroughly they get recorded there are far more programs worth watching than I have time for.

If there's a program worth watching when I want to watch TV, I don't bother to record it. (But TiVo is dutifully doing its thing as back-up.)


----------



## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

Yes, I frequently watch live TV. When there's nothing that I want to watch on my Tivo, I usually set it to animal planet or CNN (or one of the other news channels).


----------



## alansplace (Apr 30, 2006)

i watch sunday and monday night football live and on some, but not all, hour shows i begin watching about 15 min after the scheduled start time (for commercial skipping purposes). often i watch a show live even though it's being recorded while a competing show on another channel is being recorded for later viewing.
--
Alan


----------



## Rod Adams (Jan 12, 2006)

Something to keep in mind is the number of non-Tivo DVRs.

Visited my sister recently, who had a TWC supplied SA DVR (dunno model or S/W versions). It got the job done, but was such a pain in the rump to use, I couldn't see myself using it the way I use my Tivos. 

My usage pattern is to get fairly large drives, so I can support ~100hrs plus at high quality. I then set up all kinds of SPs and ARWLs, and leave suggestions on. I then view that if I have to resort to Live TV to find something to watch, I have failed to adequately program my Tivos.

However, without the ability to build and manage the SP/ARWL/Suggestions effectively, and then browse the results in an easy manner, (including MRV), I don't see this pattern taking hold. Live TV would be the norm, and the DVR is just a fancy VCR, used for when you can't watch something live.

So, given the large numbers of inferior DVRs, I have no real trouble believing this statistic.


----------



## tgr131 (May 23, 2001)

I have an SA8300, and 2 DTivos. I end up watching stuff live on the 8300, b/c the guide sucks -- there's really no "cool" way to figure out what's on and grab it. I have several "season passes" scheduled on it. With Tivo, I can check suggestions and wishlists, and guide data, and always have something cool to watch. No cool surprises with the SA8300.


----------



## jhwpbm (Feb 28, 2002)

Watch 0% live TV - 100% TiVo. There is never a time when there is NOTHING in Now Playing, so no need ;-)


----------



## Puppy76 (Oct 7, 2004)

I haven't watched live TV in years, but Tivo didn't change that much. Prior to Tivo, I time shifted with two VCRs, and didn't watch much of any live TV then either. 

It's been pointless since the invention of the reasonably modern VCR with features like the ability to see where on a tape shows are, etc.


----------



## btwyx (Jan 16, 2003)

Ruth said:


> I never watch live TV. But I do frequently watch programs "partially live" like hefe described. IIRC, at least one previous study of this type categorized a viewer as watching "live TV" if any part of the recording was active, even if the viewer was ahead enought that she didn't watch the commercials. I am thinking you'd see different numbers if they separated those categories out.


I do that a lot, I wouldn't consider it "live". If I know when something is on live (somewhat rare in itself) and I'm very keen to watch it, I'll calculate the total ad time (roughy 20 min per hour of program) and start watching about that long after its started. If I get that right I'll finish the program when it finished, and never had to watch a commercial.

Major sporting events are typical for that sort of thing, I watched a lot of the World Cup like that. I also watch the evening news like that most nights, I'll pcik recorded programs to watch so they end around 10:20 and switch to the news.

The only time I watch something really live is when I happen to come in in the middle of something which looks interesting. I can't be bothered to record it and come back to it later. I'll just sit through a few commercials. My wife tends to watch live TV on her own, because she doesn't want to watch anything we might later want to watch together. I tell her that the suggestions are fair game.


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

morac said:


> There was an article in the Washington post this weekend regarding how DVR use is not killing TV as doomsayers said it would.


Here's _*another*_ Wa Po article  that says that at least we're skipping the political ads. I haven't figured out whether the two stories are consistent.


----------



## landrumdh (Oct 6, 2003)

one of my friends I convinced to get a DVR during the world cup (he got a TW DVR not a TiVo :-( ) watches mostly live TV.

He hasn't yet gotten used to watching recorded shows. He's slowly getting it as when I go over and he flips on the TV I remind him to check his shows listing.


----------



## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

pdhenry said:


> Here's _*another*_ Wa Po article  that says that at least we're skipping the political ads. I haven't figured out whether the two stories are consistent.


I suspect the broadcasters are sponsoring some of the studies we read about 

But yes, my wife would watch live TV as well. Took a lot of "well what is on Now playing?" to break her of the habit. She used to call the TiVo her channel changer


----------



## Troy J B (Sep 27, 2003)

I watch live tv. Primarily HD content though. Brought about due to my Series 2 being non-HD, and my not trusting the Motorola 6412 (after being burned too many times). I expect that to change once I get a Series 3.


----------



## jmoak (Jun 20, 2000)

I wouldn't expect the article conclusions to be anything other than what they are....this is, after all, an article in the Washington post, part of the "old" media. However, I answered no....

but JustAllie hit it on the head,


JustAllie said:


> I am guessing that a lot of those DVR users don't have TiVos. If I had an annoying, buggy DVR, I'd watch more live TV.


If you had three or four shows that you really wanted to watch every week, owned a dvr that could not be trusted to faithfully record those programs and when you tried to complain, you were told "Oh, that's just how dvr's are suppose to work",

I could easily believe you'd be watching more, not less, live television.

To paraphrase Rod Adams, given the large numbers of inferior DVRs, I have no real trouble believing this statistic.


----------



## FlWingNut (Mar 4, 2005)

It's funny..I hate watching live TV yet still do so sometimes. Sometimes there's nothing in the NPL I'm in the mood for. I do watch some sports live -- sports I know I'm not going to invest a lot of time into. In other words, my teams might not be playing so I know I won't watch the whole game so I get into it late to see what's going on, and get out early if its boring. When my team is on, I record the whole thing and jump into it "semi-live."

We watch local news live, too.


----------



## markandjenn (Sep 21, 2003)

The first thing I thought about when I read this article is "How do they know WHEN I am watching my TiVo?" The reason I ask that question is my TiVo is watchine TV 24 hours a day. I am watching about 4 hours a day. The 20 hours my TiVo is watching TV it is watchin it "Live". How would Nielsen know I am sitting in front of the TV or not? I would have to assume they would count those 20 hours as "live" and thus the data is skewed. In any regard, the data must be skewed because they have no idea if I am sitting there or not. I have to assume that they must have taken this into account when doing their analysis, but I have no idead how they would do it accurately with any real meaning. 

The only way that they can come up with such an analysis is to ask users when they are sitting in front of their TV. Those people must have a DVR, too. The number of Neilsen DVR families must be very few (considering that there are such a small percentage of US households with DVRs.) and their is a smaller percentage of Nielsen DVR families.

Either way, I can't buy 84%. It is just ridiculous. This analysis must have been sponsored by and advertising group that wanted to inflate the "live TV" percentage.


----------



## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

JustAllie said:


> I am guessing that a lot of those DVR users don't have TiVos. If I had an annoying, buggy DVR, I'd watch more live TV.


So you're saying you don't have version 7.3.1 yet?


----------



## tedbill (Feb 12, 2002)

I watch the local weather forecast live. I'll flip through the news channels now and then.


----------



## sakura panda (Apr 6, 2004)

I watch about half of my tv live; the other half is pre-recorded, either TiVo, a TiVo DVD or a "regular" tv series/movie DVD. Even with TiVo, I have a hard time finding shows that I want to watch, but I admit that I am recording more shows now than I did before I bought a TiVo.

--Katie


----------



## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

I watch the morning and evening news live. I watch my morning sports news and sports talk shows live, with the occasional 10 minute time shift while I get up in the morning. I watch all sporting events live - it's a Man Law or should be. Everything else gets TiVo'd and time shifted.


----------



## addie (Aug 22, 2006)

I don't have my TiVo up and running yet, but when I do, I will probably not be watching much live t.v. at all.

Heck, I still have everything programmed to tape on my VCR right now


----------



## alansplace (Apr 30, 2006)

addie said:


> I don't have my TiVo up and running yet, but when I do, I will probably not be watching much live t.v. at all.
> 
> Heck, I still have everything programmed to tape on my VCR right now


if your vcr is anything like all of mine have been then you are limited to 8 items at any one time to be recorded. so if your 'everything' now consists of 8 programs then be prepared to have 'everything' become an unlimited number!

welcome to the TiVolution! 
--
Alan


----------



## JustAllie (Jan 5, 2002)

bmgoodman said:


> So you're saying you don't have version 7.3.1 yet?


Actually, I do, and I haven't had any trouble.

I think "buggy" takes on a whole new meaning when you have a third-rate DVR instead of a TiVo.


----------



## cthree (Sep 24, 2005)

More interestingly, how many people lie? I'm not saying I sit there like an idiot watching commercials but if there is a show I want to watch (sports, new episode of CSI, whatever) and I'm watching TV anyway I will watch the first act, pause, make a sandwich, popcorn, pour a drink and come back 5 minutes later, skip over the commercials and resume. When I run out of recorded programming I may pause, pull up the guide, scan the listings, pick a few shows to record, get high, whatever and then pick up watching again.

I will also watch two shows at once. I que up the first on one tuner and pause it. que the second on the other tuner and watch till I hit a commercial. Pause it, switch tuners and play. Hit a commercial, switch back and so on.

I can't believe that people are going to not watch a program they are looking forward to seeing based on the idea they may need to pause it in the middle to buffer enough time so they can skip the commercials. There is so little worth watching I don't see someone watching back episodes of MXC while the game is on live based on principle.

Maybe the question is "do you watch commercials" as that is a little more to the point. Watching "live TV" is a little vague.


----------



## cthree (Sep 24, 2005)

markandjenn said:


> The first thing I thought about when I read this article is "How do they know WHEN I am watching my TiVo?" The reason I ask that question is my TiVo is watchine TV 24 hours a day. I am watching about 4 hours a day. The 20 hours my TiVo is watching TV it is watchin it "Live". How would Nielsen know I am sitting in front of the TV or not? I would have to assume they would count those 20 hours as "live" and thus the data is skewed. In any regard, the data must be skewed because they have no idea if I am sitting there or not. I have to assume that they must have taken this into account when doing their analysis, but I have no idead how they would do it accurately with any real meaning.


That is how it works. Volunteers use a keypad to indicate when they watch TV and what they are watching. It involves active user participation and doesn't come from scanning usage records and mining results. It's a survey.


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

cthree said:


> I can't believe that people are going to not watch a program they are looking forward to seeing based on the idea they may need to pause it in the middle to buffer enough time so they can skip the commercials.


I have a hard time believing that many people bother to fiddle around to skip commercials when a program that they look forward to first airs.



> ...if there is a show I want to watch (sports, new episode of CSI, whatever) and I'm watching TV anyway I will watch the first act, pause, make a sandwich, popcorn, pour a drink and come back 5 minutes later, skip over the commercials and resume.


I'll just watch the show and take breaks whenever a commercial comes on. But it's nice to have "trick play" available to pause or repeat something of interest at any time.


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

TiVo Troll said:


> I have a hard time believing that many people bother to fiddle around to skip commercials when a program that they look forward to first airs.


 The sooner you learn to stop watching TV shows live, the sooner you get 15% more TV watching per hour.


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

pdhenry said:


> The sooner you learn to stop watching TV shows live, the sooner you get 15% more TV watching per hour.


Shurley, you're kiddin'!


----------



## btwyx (Jan 16, 2003)

TiVo Troll said:


> I have a hard time believing that many people bother to fiddle around to skip commercials when a program that they look forward to first airs.


Where's the fiddling? I set the season pass, I start watching it 20min/hour after it starts.


----------



## btwyx (Jan 16, 2003)

TiVo Troll said:


> Shurley, you're kiddin'!


He is, its 30%.


----------



## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

TiVo Troll said:


> I have a hard time believing that many people bother to fiddle around to skip commercials when a program that they look forward to first airs.


100% of my TV watching is timeshifted and I use 30-second-skip religiously. I reflexively grab for the remote whenever a commercial comes on - even when I'm not home. I've done it at friend's homes with their TiVos. 

*Nothing* is worth watching live and dealing with ads. No show is that good, never has been, doubt their ever will be. The only thing I watch 'live' is breaking news.


----------



## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

btwyx said:


> He is, its 30%.


Yeah, I find that if you skip the credits and ads a lot of 'hour' long shows take about 40 minutes to watch, 45 on the outside. And half-hour shows are 20-22 minutes.


----------



## murgatroyd (Jan 6, 2002)

markandjenn said:


> The first thing I thought about when I read this article is "How do they know WHEN I am watching my TiVo?" The reason I ask that question is my TiVo is watchine TV 24 hours a day. I am watching about 4 hours a day. The 20 hours my TiVo is watching TV it is watchin it "Live". How would Nielsen know I am sitting in front of the TV or not?


Well, TiVo knows when I am watching my TiVo because I'm using the remote.

I mostly watch news and sports live, and we channel-surf every now and again when we've seen everything on the Now Playing List. I may pause at the beginning of the commercial break, wait a bit, then FF past them, stopping only to watch the interesting ones.

Nielsen probably treats TiVo owners like the diary families. They're collecting data on what you say you are watching.

Jan


----------



## Double-Tap (Apr 18, 2002)

If I could I'd fast forward past the Nielsen study. Live TV does not dominate in this household. About the only time I'm watching live television is when I'm working on the computer and not paying attention to the TV at all. I'd be curious how Nielsen is recording what is watched and how it's viewed. Unless they have optic sensors attached to eyeballs, there has to be a large margin of error.

I skip past most commercials, and if the show sucks a good part of that as well. There are some commercials, such as 'messin' with sasquatch' (think YouTube) and other comedic types that I'll rewind. They are few and far between.


----------



## TampaDon (Apr 26, 2004)

markandjenn said:


> The first thing I thought about when I read this article is "How do they know WHEN I am watching my TiVo?" The reason I ask that question is my TiVo is watchine TV 24 hours a day. I am watching about 4 hours a day. The 20 hours my TiVo is watching TV it is watchin it "Live". How would Nielsen know I am sitting in front of the TV or not? I would have to assume they would count those 20 hours as "live" and thus the data is skewed. In any regard, the data must be skewed because they have no idea if I am sitting there or not. I have to assume that they must have taken this into account when doing their analysis, but I have no idead how they would do it accurately with any real meaning.
> 
> The only way that they can come up with such an analysis is to ask users when they are sitting in front of their TV. Those people must have a DVR, too. The number of Neilsen DVR families must be very few (considering that there are such a small percentage of US households with DVRs.) and their is a smaller percentage of Nielsen DVR families.
> 
> Either way, I can't buy 84%. It is just ridiculous. This analysis must have been sponsored by and advertising group that wanted to inflate the "live TV" percentage.


Hi.

I'm one of the users they monitor.

Everyone in my family wears a small receiver that's about the size of a 'beeper' that records the current time, channel watched, program information, and broadcast time from the TIVO or live TV. TV stations and radio stations broadcast inaudible sounds that the receivers pick up. It then knows when you are watching, forwarding, etc. It records all TV signals, whether live or 'tape delayed', and all AM/FM radio stations. You plug the receivers into their chargers at night and the 'modem' makes a phone call and uploads the information to Nielsen during the middle of the night. They then release three sets of ratings. One is people that watch LIVE TV. The next is people that watch the same day as the broadcast. And the third is people that watch the show within seven days.

Oh - and I found some more info out....



> TiVo has responded to the challenge and taking on TV-ratings powerhouse Nielsen Media Research at the same time by beginning to track viewers' ad-skipping habits. A new division, TiVo Audience Research and Measurement, will cover almost every aspect of ad-skipping, including which ads are skipped, the exact second at which the skipping starts, and when consumers rewind to view a skipped ad. Industry heavyweight Nielsen has already begun tracking DVR data, breaking out viewership based on how long viewers timeshifted content.


and from LAST FALL...



> Initial reports will show ad-viewing patterns of a random sample of 20,000 of its more than 4.4 million DVRs.
> 
> Nielsen recently said that it will begin tests this fall to track the average number of viewers who watch ads during an entire TV program. However, it will not provide ratings for individual ads.


Don


----------



## hefe (Dec 5, 2000)

TampaDon said:


> Hi.
> 
> I'm one of the users they monitor.
> 
> ...


You've got the People Meter? Is that Neilson, or someone else?


----------



## TampaDon (Apr 26, 2004)

Hi.

Yes it is Nielsen. And I'm part of their Media Viewer Panel. I don't know the term People Meter, sorry. I can tell you there is no interaction required on your part. The receiver has no buttons or on/off switches. It simply shows a green light when it's out of the receiver and is being worn. It can be worn on your clothes and is sensitive enough to wear inside a pocket or carry in a purse or briefcase and still pick up the signals. And it's got some kind of 'gyroscope device' inside to know when you're not wearing it. After a pre-set amount of time the green light will FLASH to tell you to put it back on. And if you have excessive 'timeouts' you get emails reminding you to wear it at all times.

Don


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

megazone said:


> 100% of my TV watching is timeshifted and I use 30-second-skip religiously. I reflexively grab for the remote whenever a commercial comes on - even when I'm not home. I've done it at friend's homes with their TiVos.
> 
> *Nothing* is worth watching live and dealing with ads. No show is that good, never has been, doubt their ever will be. The only thing I watch 'live' is breaking news.
> ...
> Yeah, I find that if you skip the credits and ads a lot of 'hour' long shows take about 40 minutes to watch, 45 on the outside. And half-hour shows are 20-22 minutes.


I don't want to constantly be "on the go" seeking to watch TV "efficiently". For me your way of watching TV (I hope you usually watch alone; if you watch with others you're a "remote control nazi") would just kill any possible pleasure from it!

Sorry; for me TiVo is a tool, not a way of life.


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

TampaDon said:


> Hi.
> 
> Yes it is Nielsen. And I'm part of their Media Viewer Panel. I don't know the term People Meter, sorry. I can tell you there is no interaction required on your part. The receiver has no buttons or on/off switches. It simply shows a green light when it's out of the receiver and is being worn. It can be worn on your clothes and is sensitive enough to wear inside a pocket or carry in a purse or briefcase and still pick up the signals. And it's got some kind of 'gyroscope device' inside to know when you're not wearing it. After a pre-set amount of time the green light will FLASH to tell you to put it back on. And if you have excessive 'timeouts' you get emails reminding you to wear it at all times.
> 
> Don


A long time ago, before they stopped their TV ratings service, I used to be on *Arbitron's* panel. Evidently the *People Meter* is theirs.

At the time they used relatively low tech equipment akin to a cable box. It was always getting out of adjustment screwing up both viewing and VCR recording. When it screwed up it'd look like Macrovision.

I did it more for ego than any other reason. Why do you choose to put up with the crap necessary for Nielson?


----------



## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

TiVo Troll said:


> I don't want to constantly be "on the go" seeking to watch TV "efficiently". For me your way of watching TV (I hope you usually watch alone; if you watch with others you're a "remote control nazi") would just kill any possible pleasure from it!
> 
> Sorry; for me TiVo is a tool, not a way of life.


I enjoy it more when I skip the ads and get right back into the show. Ads break the narrative, and are just a waste of time. If I'm sitting there watching a show, then a 3 minute ad break comes on, what do I do for 3 minutes? I don't have to get up every ad break. So it is either sit and twiddle my thumbs, or jump right back into the good stuff. I find it far more enjoyable to watch TV and skip the ads. My friends with TiVo do the same thing. Heck, we have a friend who doesn't own a TV and when we get together and watch something even he now will zap the ads with the TiVo remote if no one else does it.  It is just automatic - pretty much everyone I know with TiVo, when I've been there with them using it, skips the ads. Mostly with 30-second-skip, some prefer FF.


----------



## TiVo Troll (Mar 23, 2006)

When I'm watching behind realtime I generally use FF at its second speed to catch up. That way, just in case there's an ad or newsbreak worth stopping for I see it zip by.

Some (non-TiVo) DVR's have adjustable skip intervals and Sony's even has adjustable compensating offsets for different FF/RW speeds. DVR's are neat toys and cool tools! 

I wonder if networks charge a premium for commercials right at the end or even at the beginning of commercial breaks?


----------



## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

I am a 2x FF myself since there are things in the break I might go back for -- but generally I am into the show and want to get back to it. I just never got into 30 sec skip as with FF I can make it hit right on the start of the show even if I did have a brain freeze and not start to bypass commercials for 7 seconds or whatever.

in fact we have a small ocntest in our family with people noting how well the FFer hit the begining of the show without going to far or making us watch the end of the break. 


I have noticed some networks now put a guick plug for the show you are watching in before the last commercial or so to make you think it is time to hit that play button. I bet they charge a little extra for that placement as well.


----------



## TampaDon (Apr 26, 2004)

TiVo Troll said:


> Why do you choose to put up with the crap necessary for Nielson?


Because they pay me $26 a month to wear the receiver. That covers the cost of all three of my TIVOs.

Don


----------



## classicX (May 10, 2006)

TampaDon said:


> Because they pay me $26 a month to wear the receiver. That covers the cost of all three of my TIVOs.
> 
> Don


They give you WEARABLE receivers now??? Does it have little optical implants to verify if you are actually watching the show too?


----------



## TampaDon (Apr 26, 2004)

classicX said:


> They give you WEARABLE receivers now??? Does it have little optical implants to verify if you are actually watching the show too?


Everyone in my family wears a small receiver that's about the size of a 'beeper' that records the current time, channel watched, program information, and broadcast time from the TIVO or live TV. TV stations and radio stations broadcast inaudible sounds that the receivers pick up. It then knows when you are watching, forwarding, etc. It records all TV signals, whether live or 'tape delayed', and all AM/FM radio stations. You plug the receivers into their chargers at night and the 'modem' makes a phone call and uploads the information to Nielsen during the middle of the night. They then release three sets of ratings. One is people that watch LIVE TV. The next is people that watch the same day as the broadcast. And the third is people that watch the show within seven days.

Don


----------



## ERooker (Jan 16, 2002)

Aside from footbal games, I have not watched live TV in 6 years.


----------

