I’ve noticed a long lag time with modern electronics when tuning to analog broadcasts, whether now-obsolete analog television or analog FM. Television sets and stereos from the 1980s, which often used electronic tuning, seemed to tune channels instantly. Today, a car or home stereo may have a lag time of a second or so before a station starts playing; it’s like PLL circuitry has gotten much slower in the past decade or two. Same thing with analog televisions of a few years ago; it wold take a few seconds for the station to be displayed, unlike televisions of the past with electronic tuning.
There’s also the obnoxious push-and-hold-it-for-a-really-long-time on/off switches that are the norm now, even when switches are located or designed where they would not be accidentally turned on or off.
In a reasonably frictionless capitalist economy, your first sentence is never true about anything. I shared a TiVo with a roommate for years, went for a year with Comcast’s free DVR, then went back to TiVo at $12.95/month. Since my TiVo has to IR blast the cable box to get digital channels, I often get a recording of the wrong channel, but it’s still better than using Comcast’s Motorola DVR. What TiVo should do is partner with Comcast and others to provide a seamless top-tier DVR bundle.
Gosh, this was the case in the bar that we were watching the emotional, final game at. Our TV was about 3 seconds behind the dining area of the bar, so we heard everyone else’s emotional outbursts before we even know what was going on. Three seconds in hockey is a long time!
If you are using a DVR, there is some delay there also. I have two TVs, one with a DVR, and the other with the standard digital tuner. If I turn them both on, the set with the DVR is noticeably behind the set with the regular digital tuner. It’s just a fraction of a second, but noticeable. It sounds like an echo.
Yeah, they should. Now available in New England, set to roll out in the rest of the country eventually. As I understand it, you can keep your existing DVR and Comcast can push the TiVo software onto your box. They’ll also send you a new remote control designed to work with the TiVo menu.
Thanks - yes I did. I have had Tivo before and did prefer it to Comcast, but I like having the DVR integrated with the cable box, so I will stick with Comcast.
I remember walking in Madrid on a hot summer night when all the windows were open. The final of the soccer Eurocup was being played and the streets were empty. Spain was playing Italy and the match went into overtime and penalty kicks. Out of the windows would come cries of “GOL!!!”… and a few seconds later, from those who had digital TVs, again, “GOL!!!”
Every score and every fail was repeated twice as I walked the empty streets.
I have had a digital tuner for some years now and I have no need to follow a soccer game closely because I can hear the neighbors roaring when anyone scores and I have time to look up to the TV and see it a few seconds later.
I will miss that when they finally shuit down all analog broadcasts.