Why I need to buy a new TiVo

I take pride in my reputation of knowing the ins and outs of as many consumer technology products as I can. In order to uphold that reputation, I have to make sure that I keep up with the latest and greatest technology by actually purchasing and using said technology.

One of the telltale signs that it is time for me to purchase something is when I conduct a 1-on-1 coaching session with one of my clients and discover that they have better technology than me. That happened to me today.

I have long been a big fan and supporter of TiVo and think they are heads and tails above the competition in the digital video recorder (DVR) market. In fact, I have four TiVo units in my house. Only one problem. My TiVo units aren’t “native”, or standalone TiVo boxes, meaning they weren’t sold to me directly by TiVo. Instead, what I have are DIRECTV receivers with TiVo software, referred to by techies as Directivos. And because of a dying relationship between DIRECTV and TiVo, the TiVo software on my receivers is extremely old and outdated.

So when I walked into my client’s home today and saw a brand new (and beautiful I might add) high definition, dual tuner, “native” TiVo box, I fell in love with TiVo all over again. It’s then that I also realized that my client had a better TiVo unit than I have. There’s the sign.

So next week, I’ll begin calling my local cable company to inquire about switching to digital cable and integrating it with brand new, “native” TiVo units.

For those of you keeping score at home, the new TiVo units do not work with DIRECTV so switching to cable is my only option to return to TiVo-land, besides reverting completely back to rabbit ears.