A friend just received a big, honkin’ flat-screen TV as a gift, and she asked me if TiVo was right for her. She describes herself as a “software person,” so I explained that the the basic model is
TV > computer with remote control > Internet.
Everything else is software.

Tivo is a computer with a remote control. It accesses Tivo and NetFlix, and maybe some other things. Roku is a computer with a remote control. It accesses NetFlix and Amazon, and maybe some other things.

A laptop is a computer WITHOUT a remote control. It accesses the Internet. It can play YouTube, Hulu.com, ABC.com, CBS.com, USAnetwork.com, TV.com and so on. If you can connect it to your TV, you can play that stuff on your TV. It DOES NOT access Tivo, so you can’t get your computer to record first run TV easily. (It can be done, but it’s a hassle.) And you may not want to fill up your hard drive with that stuff.

A laptop DOES have a DVD player. You can play DVDs using your laptop if you connect it to your TV.

Tivo is not a laptop. It is hardware (a hard drive and a remote control) and software. The software allows Tivo to know all the programs on TV that are available to you, and to record (a) the ones you select and (b) the ones Tivo recommends for you. Tivo does the same thing with TV that Netflix does with movies. It tries to figure out what you will like, then it records it for you.

The big question is: what do you want? I want to watch exactly what I want, when I want. Tivo records TV when it airs (remember, I go to bed early) and I play it back when I want entertainment (7 p.m.). For movies, I get ordinary DVD’s from Blockbuster or the library. And I go to movie theaters like the Roxy for independent movies, and the Rialto for major studio big budget releases.

If you want something different, you may want a different setup. I love broadcast TV. Some people only like movies. Some people hate going to the movie theater, they want everything in their living room. What do you want to see on this big honkin’ TV?