Every now and then, I’ll read a glowing review of a new TV show and think, “I should record that series and take a look.” Unfortunately, I almost never remember to do it (or I’m just too lazy) so I rarely watch anything but sports and reruns of “Cheers.”
I wouldn’t have this problem, however, if I lived in Chicago and subscribed to TiVo’s DVR service.
This week, TiVo announced a new service available for free to about 100,000 customers in the Chicago area. If a customer signs up, his TiVo will automatically record shows recommending by Maureen Ryan, the TV critic for The Chicago Tribune.
Ryan’s choices probably won’t appeal to everyone, but this strikes me as a pretty good idea.
TiVo and other DVRs have made it easy for people to record the programs that they know they want to watch, but no one has really figured out yet how to help people sort through the enormous number of programs available and figure out what they’ll like best.
TiVo has actually been working on this problem for years now.
All TiVo boxes notice what users watch, analyze patterns and automatically record shows they think users will watch. This service, dubbed TiVo Suggestions works terribly at first, but it gets better, particularly when viewers rate programs by using the “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” button on the TiVo remote.
But machine intelligence still has severe limitations, so it makes sense for TiVo to augment it with a human critic. The best TV shows get more exposure; TiVo customers get more enjoyment from their televisions.
If I lived in Chicago, I’d definitely sign up. Barring that, I really wish that DirecTV would install more software that helped my TV pick good new shows for me. I think my wife is getting sick of “Cheers.”
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