Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2009 > November > 13 > Entry
TV Guide launches ‘Online DVR’
So you missed the first 10 minutes of Tuesday’s episode of “V.” Say you don’t have a DVR — or that you forgot to set it (as I did … oops!) — what do you do? If you have access to a computer (and you do, or you wouldn’t be reading this) you can probably find your show online. But “V” is relatively new and, let’s face it … with online program guides, who besides a television writer really pays attention to which shows are on which network anymore?
You could surf on over to Hulu.com; they have a lot of shows. But not all networks distribute through Hulu. And the newest episodes of some pay and basic cable programs are only available online through pay sites such as Amazon.com or iTunes.
TVGuide.com aims to turn your computer into a DVR with its new “My TVGuide.com DVR” service. TVGuide.com already has an outstanding online program guide — it’s just like your TV’s online guide and its listings are customizable to your television service provider. The new service sports the ability to add shows to a virtual, online DVR that will alert you, when you visit the site, to new episodes that are available and allow you to watch them right there, without having to navigate to various network sites and find your way back.
The site claims that more than 700,000 videos are available to users, including full episodes of television shows, music videos, movies and web-only video content. It seemed pretty comprehensive — they offered episodes of both the new and the old “Knight Rider.”
I gave it a spin, adding shows from ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, as well as Showtime and the Discovery Channel for good measure. I was able to watch those first 10 minutes of “V” (with limited commercial interruption). Shows from last night were already listed in my virtual DVR, and it showed me how many episodes total from each show were available and how many were new, which was handy.
I was a little disappointed to click on “Mythbusters” and be told I could watch the show — provided by Amazon.com — for $1.99 (ditto for “Mad Men” and “Weeds”), and that show and others provided by Amazon pop up in a new window, which is a little annoying. But Amazon shows you the first few minutes for free and purchasing, if you decide to do so, is as simple as clicking a button (if you already have an Amazon account).
All you need to do to use the service is to browse to tvguide.com and register (it’s free). I suspect that “My TVGuide.com DVR,” and other services like it, will lead me to watch more television online. How about you?
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By Me
November 13, 2009 11:17 AM | Link to this
Why can't Time Warner get with modern times and offer similar services where I can go online and set up stuff to record without having to sit in front of my DVR?