Multiple TV Shows Airing On Same Day/Time - Damn

Cafe Society
1

It is already starting.

This coming Monday - at the same exact time - are:

Blacklist - the new NBC show with James Spader that got pretty good reviews.
Hostages - the new CBS show with Dylan McDermott that is a shorter, 15 part series that also got pretty good reviews
Castle - an ABC show I like and will keep watching.

My DVR only can record two shows at the same time…so now I have to decide which two to watch.

I hate when this happens, but I am sure there will be a few other days/times where this happens this season as well.

2

Depending on your cable provider, it’s quite possible you will be able to watch one or more of these programs On Demand. I know I can watch Castle On Demand. So there may be hope!

3

If you also have On Demand, I always record the one that DOESN’T make it on to On Demand. For example, I record Criminal Minds, because they don’t show it on On Demand, but I no longer record CSI, because they do.

I know Castle is on On Demand, at least through Comcast. Since the others are new, I don’t know if they will be or not.

4

Many of the stations show their next-to-latest program on their websites, so you can at least catch up at a later date.

5

it is possible to have two tv sets on. you scan with your eyes between the two, you will automatically pay attention to the audio of the show you are looking at. essentially you are condensing the action of the two shows, cutting out the filler. twice as much tv time.

alternately you could wait for reruns which happen 3 or 4 times in a year with shorter run series.

6

Most networks put the video of the show on their web page the day after Broadcast. ABC.com would have** Castle**, for instance. Check NBC.com for Blacklist the next day, too.

7

They show TV shows on television?

8

Could you up your package to be able to record more than 2 shows at once?

9

There was a time when this used to be a problem, back when Vega$ (ABC); Barnaby Jones (CBS); and Quincy (NBC) all aired at the same time. Now we have DVRs, OnDemand, network websites, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and tons of other resources I’m not even aware of yet. It shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out a way to watch all three shows if you like. I have yet to find a show conflict that wasn’t fairly easily resolved. When all else fails, you can always wait and watch one show on DVD or streaming video once the season ends.

10

I totally forgot about OnDemand as an option - that will allow me to “sample” the new ones, which should make regular scheduling easier after I figure out which I like - but could still continue to watch them OnDemand if I like them all.

I forget this option is there, as I usually only use OnDemand to watch movies, not prime time TV series.

Thanks for reminding me!

11

The new Tivo units can record 4 or 6 shows at the same time.

My old Tivo can only record 2, but it’s possible to trick it into recording 2 while you watch a third. Program it to record the two longest shows, then start watching the channel that the shortest show is on, which will be buffered, so you can watch it while the other two record.

12

Another option; sometimes the major networks will rerun episodes of a new show on Fridays.

13

I’d skip Castle, since it’s been on for years and you’ll likely be able to watch them later. I’m in that mode now, actually - I like it, but it’s not pressing. Some rainy weekend I’ll catch up again.

14

ABC and NBC have the last four episodes of most (but not all) of their primetime shows available on their web sites.

If you live in a city served by Aereo, you can also use that as a backup DVR for when you want to record one more channel than your DVR has capacity for.

15

If you connected the cable from your cable service directly to your TV as well as to your cable box (for which you need a splitter), you could watch one show live, on the TV, while the other two are recording on the cable box.