Her canned response so far seems to be that this is what the VCR is for.

Tivo is to VCR as a 5-disk CD-changer is to an empeg.

Imagine what it is like to never have to watch television again -- you only watch TiVo. You don't care what programs are on at what days and times, you don't even know anymore because TiVo takes care of all that.

Imagine turning on your TV and TiVo, and always having 20-30 hours of programming you want to see, and you didn't have to record it, because TiVo knows what you like, finds it, and saves it for you to watch at your leisure.

Imagine holding down the FF button on the TiVo for four seconds to skip a complete commercial break.

Imagine never having to swear because you forgot to put the new tape in your VCR and all you have is 62 minutes of a two hour movie?

Imagine not being a slave to the clock. Just try watching a program on your VCR while it is recording another program you want to watch. TiVo can do that...

Imagine always having at your fingertips synopses of every single program that is going to come through your antenna during the next two weeks?

Imagine never having to label videotapes, and then dig through them to find that episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" that you just know is on one of them, and then when you finally find the right tape, not having to fast-forward through five hours of other programming to get to the program?

Imagine not having to deal with a VCR recording of "When Salamanders Attack" that is on your videotape instead of the program you really wanted to record because the TV station re-scheduled it for an hour later and you didn't know?

If you are even a little bit interested in Television, TiVo is not something you can live without. I absolutely promise and assure you that after you've had TiVo in your house for a month, you would not hesitate an instant to trade both of your helicopters to get a replacement if that's what it took, rather than live without it. I am actually going to buy an inexpensive, used, small-capacity second TiVo to take care of the occasions when there are two programs I want to record that are on at the same time.

tanstaafl.