[July 4th]

Yes - TiVo completely changes the way that you watch TV. If I have it on FOX News and miss something that a guest or reporter said, I just rewind a few seconds and watch it again.

That said, unless you want the program guide, you do NOT need to pay for TiVo service. All you have to do is set the programs to record manually. There are plenty of free online program guides, so I just get the times from there.

[SamAdams76]

Yes, that's another feature I forgot to mention. You can actually "rewind" live shows even if you don't set them up to be taped. You can also pause a live show (such as if the phone rings or you need to use the bathroom) and pick up where you left off later.

Can't do that with a VCR!

I know about not needing the TiVO service. I get it anyway because it's convenient using the program guide to setup taping. But it's nice to know that I can always cut that expense if I had to and set things up manually.