The Change Mariner

PluggedIn: TV viewers find TiVo addictive

San Diego Union-Tribune:

TiVo television recorders that allow viewers to replay programs and skip commercials have turned casual TV watchers into prisoners shackled to sofas, unable to keep up with the flood of their favorite shows.

"For something that is supposed to be relaxing and unwinding at the end of the day, you (think) 'Wow! I have a lot of shows to watch,'" said Scott Bedard, technology director at an online media company in San Francisco.

"Will I ever catch up?" he worries aloud.

TiVo's big selling point for many customers was the idea that they no longer needed to live their lives according to the TV schedule. What many failed to realize is the entertainment glut that is created by saving so many favorite programs.

"I love my TiVo and get separation anxiety when I spend too much time away from it," said Cori Martinelli, an economist with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in San Francisco.

She catches herself worrying, "Gosh, did (the show) record OK? Is something being deleted before I can watch it?"

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