• by Mitch Oscar , Op-Ed Contributor, July 1, 2008

Recently, my cable operator, Comcast, has been contacting its triple-play subscribers in my community to inform them that they have until Oct. 1^st to switch to their digital phone service or choose another telephony provider.  A friend of mine, Stephanie Bellofatto, called up to speak with a sales representative to find out about the new offering, which she understood included all of the movie channels and sports packages along with a DVR. The conversation went something like this:

"I don't need your DVR, I already have a TiVo," she said.

"Our DVR is the same as TiVo but it comes free with our service," the sales rep adamantly replied.

"Oh, really, well I have a lifetime membership with TiVo. Can you log on from any computer and schedule something to record?" she retorted.

"No."

"Can the DVR you offer be networked to my computer?"

"No."

"Can I transfer shows between TVs?"

"No."

"Can you store whatever you record on the DVR to your computer?"

"No."

"Can you convert anything that you have recorded to play on your iPod video?"

"No."

"Can you burn anything you have recorded on your DVR onto a DVD?"

"No."

"Then I would have to say your DVR is nothing like a TiVo. All yours does is record."

 "I guess you're right, it's not the same."