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Don't touch that dial! Personal Video Recorders (PVRS) like TiVo may be changing how we watch the tube, but the video revolution is just getting started. In two short years, miracle boxes may help you rent software on demand, browse the Web in style, and vote somebody off the island.

Jeff Joseph, VP of communications for the Consumer Electronics Association, has one overused word to sum up the future of television—convergence. But this time it could be for real. "We're anticipating a deluge of multifunction, cross-platform devices over the next few years," he says. "HDTV, interactive television, the Internet, and PVRs will become increasingly popular and we expect many of these technologies to be combined into single units."

Though AOLTV and WebTV already offer basic interactive television services in selected areas, the first device guaranteed to bring the technically terrified into the new televisual fold is the PVR. A PVR combines a hard disk with an MPEG encoder/decoder and some clever software that makes your TV do amazing things. Two 30-hour digital recorders, the Philips TiVo HDR 312 ($399 plus service fees; www.philips.com) and the Panasonic PV-HS2000 ShowStopper with ReplayTV ($599;www.panasonic.com), hint at this future.

If you're not up for the wait, today's PVRs are definitely worth considering if you watch more than five hours of television a week. The ability to freeze live TV ensures you'll never miss another punch line or field goal, and integrated recording guarantees there's always something worth watching. Our trials with the devices made us converts in short order.

TV Is Your Friend

Both the TiVo and ReplayTV services require a relatively simple setup process. This takes less than an hour for each with basic cable; TiVo needs an extra couple of hours to index the downloaded information. Be warned: Installation with a digital cable box requires additional tweaking and an "IR Blaster" to control the cable box from the PVR, so check your cable provider and hardware compatibility before making a purchase. TiVo service also costs extra ($9.95 per month or $199 for lifetime service), while ReplayTV's service is included in the cost of the unit.

TiVo and ReplayTV basically do the same thing: store a broadcast signal on the hard drive in two distinct ways, namely real-time recording and scheduled recording. Real-time recording lets you pause the show you're watching and resume at your convenience. The Philips TiVo unit always keeps a half-hour of live recording on hand, while the Panasonic ShowStopper is limited only by hard disk space. Both allow you to scan back and forth through a recording while new material is being stored on the hard drive, allowing for instant replay or skipping through commercials. Like to watch Thursday night prime time on NBC but could do without the ads? Start recording at 8 p.m., sit down to watch at 9 p.m., and by 11 p.m. you've seen the same shows and bought yourself an extra hour.

Each service also records shows according to schedules and "themes" through a programming schedule that works just like the TV Guide channel. TiVo's scheduling interface is slightly clunkier to navigate than ReplayTV's grid, but both find shows by title, genre, and other criteria to create recording lists. How much can you save? Both units lived up to the 30-hour promise in basic mode and stored eight to 10 hours in highest quality mode.

Sit Back or Lean Forward?

So why not run out and buy one immediately? The impending convergence described by CEA's Joseph means one set-top box may not be enough by 2002. Microsoft TV, which promises to combine a PVR with interactive TV and Internet-on-television services, may be a more complete solution for bulging entertainment cabinets. Rachis is one of the companies integrating MSTV technology into set-top boxes, and Patrick Sansonetti, VP of business operations, expects widespread adoption of MSTV in 2001.

With nearly 10 percent of Microsoft troops working on the .Net initiative and Web versions of key products, MSTV seems a natural delivery vehicle for the next wave of Microsoft apps. Sansonetti, however, doesn't expect next-generation televisions to replace PCs: "We like to distinguish between the 'sit-back' and the 'lean-forward' experience . . . the .Net strategy wants information to be everywhere and connected across all devices, but we anticipate consumers will continue to use these devices in different ways. We don't see [PCs and televisions] coming together, but we do see them borrowing features from each other."

RIP: The Commercial

Of course, PVRs pose a real threat to what pays for television in the first place: commercials. The ability to quickly scan through prerecorded material and the potential for future devices to identify louder, more visually kinetic commercial content for deletion could potentially bring the televisual empire to its knees. One likely alternative might be a return to sponsored shows à la TV's golden age. Ready for Starbucks Presents "Friends"?

T-commerce, wherein interactive TV allows consumers to buy items seen on a show or to access additional value-laden content, could be another option. Much as Napster forced the music industry to reexamine funding and distribution strategies, PVRs will demand new revenue considerations.

Though they revolutionize the way we view television, the first generation of PVRs may become disposable technology: Rapid changes in television standards, gigahertz-speed PCs, faster and cheaper hard drives, and improving codecs suggest these units will be old-school within the year. ReplayTV has already announced 60-hour models, and 80GB hard drives mean 120-hour models should be just around the corner. We can't wait.

Jim Conley's mom still can't believe he's getting paid to watch TV.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.

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