One Shining Moment

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off today, and through Sunday, college hoopsfans will be glued to their television sets for some of the busiest days in any sports fans calendar.  This year, just finding the right channel can be overwhelming.

As usual, TiVo to the rescue.  We laughed when reading Steve Rushin’s story in Sports Illustrated on how to avoid finding out a score prematurely in today’s information age.  It was nice to be reminded that almost a decade ago then FCC Chairman Michael Powell called TiVo “God’s machine” and reflected on how that has impacted sports viewing to this day.

But that was nearly ten years ago.  TiVo has come a long way since, and here are some insights into how the TiVo® Premiere box, the world’s first smart DVR, caters to the college hoops fanatic in us all.

• Intuitive Programming Guide – With games on TruTV, CBS, TNT and TBS, let the TiVo DVR be your guide to all the action, with the gold standard user interface beloved by millions.
• The best Internet content, all on your TV — YouTube is an incredible resource for insider information, and only TiVo Premiere brings it to you on your TV alongside all of your other recorded and live TV.  YouTube, for example, brings you CBS Sports’ Channel which hosts hundreds of videos including breakdowns of each region.  And if One Shining Moment doesn’t give you goosebumps, then you just aren’t truly a college basketball fan.
• Personalized recording and recommendations – Want to make sure you catch every minute of your alma mater’s action?  Craving deeper analysis running across the various broadcast and cable networks this week? Be sure and set up a WishList® search on your favorite team.  The TiVo box also smartly recognizes when you’re recording sports, offering to add an hour to the recording time so you don’t miss Cinderella’s last minute buzzer beater.
• Bracket busting recording space – Watch a recorded game on your TiVo Premiere while two others record in the background, without erasing your favorite programs already recorded.  TiVo Premiere stores up to 45 hours of HD content, while the upgraded TiVo Premiere XL hosts up to 150 hours.
• Free iPad app – Tracking your brackets on your iPad while watching the game?  Augment that experience with the free TiVo app for iPad, a fun new companion that allows you to browse the full-screen program guide without interrupting playback, schedule recordings and see integrated search results.
• Soundtrack to the party – Having friends over for the games this weekend?  Skip the pre-game chatter and get everyone pumped by playing your favorite music, right through your home entertainment system, via Pandora on TiVo Premiere.
• Consolation prize — The world’s largest on-demand store – Team knocked out in the first round?  Don’t worry, there’s a world of other broadband options on the TiVo box.  Stream Hoosiers directly to your TV from Netflix, download flicks from Amazon Instant Video, or check out any of the thousands of sports-related podcasts available on TiVo Premiere

Let us know in the comments how TiVo is enhancing your NCAA Tournament experience.