Comments on: THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

2. Given that TiVo (at least the DirectTV version that I have) is satellite driven, why can't it recognize that the program in question isn't on and adjust itself accordingly-

Because there is no way for your TiVo to know. It dials up once per day to get guide data but it is a slave to the guide. There is no data coming from the dish to tell it what is really on. A TiVo, for all the bells and whistles, is really just recording time and channel just like a VCR.

By: Tiger

Tiger — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Re Paul's comment: However, is that not a feature that technology could be able to provide, just as they could require codes to be implanted at the beginning and end of commercial breaks to allow machinery to stop recording during commercial interrruptions. I seem to remember they had these strings of numbers that you could use to automatically program VCRs to record, so you input a sonic code into the soundtrack of the air play to identifies the beginning and end of programs.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

I started to address that but brevity won.

Yeah, you could encode a signal in there somewhere but that would require another new standard. I suspect all that will land in the final HDTV standards... Well, that is all but the commercial tags. Don't hold your breath on that one.

By: One Man Band

One Man Band — Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 +0000

Wither broadcast news?
I'm not so sure that only political junkies are interested in New Hampshire results. Certainly those who go to the polls next week might be watching to see how the candidates are doing and what they have to say...

---