TiVo Community Forums Archives - Is TechTV worth an extra $7/month?

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Is TechTV worth an extra $7/month?
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Posted by: pmyers

My cable company wants an extra $7/month to upgrade me to the "tier" to receive TechTV along with some other channels (none of which sound good)...my question is, is TechTV worth $7? What shows are on there? I saw the TechTV promos on my tv and they sound pretty neat.

Posted by: cbordman

no, i can't think of any single channel that would be worth $7 a month.

Posted by: gleffler

Not IMO. The good shows on TechTV are Fresh Gear, Tomorrow's World, and (maybe) Eye Drops... but I wouldn't pay $7 a month to get those 3 shows.

(Obligatory "Have you considered DirecTV" comment)

/gleffler

Posted by: TheDewAddict

It depends. Some people really like it, others don't. Do you have any friends that have it? Go watch it for a while. If not, ask your cable company if you can only order it for a month.

Personally, I find that the shows on TectTV cater to 2 different crowds. 1)The novice who barely knows how to operate a computer, and 2) the expert, who knows just about everything, and wants to know everything.

I find I'm somewhere in between, and I either don't understand what they're talking about, or it's something that I've known for a looooong time. YMMV though. It's not worth $7 a month for me though.

Posted by: pmyers

Actually I have been considering DirecTV lately. Does that channel come in the standard package?

To be clear it $7/month for about 10 channels...one of which is TechTV but the other 9 or so channels are useless...Oxyegen Network, some off the wall ESPN, etc.

Posted by: gleffler

quote:
Actually I have been considering DirecTV lately. Does that channel come in the standard package?

Yes, it comes with every DirecTV package. The packages are here, FYI.

/gleffler

Posted by: pmyers

Thanks for the info.

Posted by: ClutchBrake

I just discovered it on DirecTV the other day. I didn't know I received it and had taken it off Channels I Receive a long time ago.
I am REALLY enjoying it. My favorites are Extended Play and Fresh Gear. However, it is a huge ripoff to want an extra $7 a month. No way I would go for it.
Get DirecTV and a DirecTiVo (or two or three). Tell the cable company where to stick it.

Posted by: shady

I watch "the screensavers" most nights while preparing dinner.

When my cable company removed techtv from my package, I had to make a similar decision as to whether I upgrade or not, but as they removed Speed Vision as well (the only place to watch Formula One) it was a no brainer

Posted by: Animgif

[Rant Mode]
If they would get their guide data correct, I would watch Screen Savers, Fresh Gear, Etc all the time...
[/Rant Mode]

Really, TechTV is a great channel, they just have very, VERY bad guide data...

Posted by: ikobi

quote:
Originally posted by gleffler
Yes, it comes with every DirecTV package. The packages are here, FYI.

/gleffler

Actually, it *doesn't* come w/ the Para Todos packages :(

Posted by: TiVoPony

quote:
Originally posted by Animgif
[Rant Mode]
If they would get their guide data correct, I would watch Screen Savers, Fresh Gear, Etc all the time...
[/Rant Mode]

Really, TechTV is a great channel, they just have very, VERY bad guide data...

I know there have been issues in the past with their guide data, but is that still the case today?

There's an opportunity to provide them feedback on their current guide data. See this thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...20&pagenumber=1

And remember...I'm not going to rant at them about past guide data problems. I'm not going to rant at all. :)

Take a look at their current guide data.

If there are opportunities for them to improve, especially really obvious opportunities, this is a chance to pass those suggestions along. :)

Cheers,
Pony

Posted by: avaloncourt

TivoPony,

Unfortunately yes. The guide data is still screwed up. I had a SP for The Screen Savers a while back and then the guide data suddenly went bad and the Tivo began recording everything. I switched to a manual recording setup. When they made the switch this month to reduce the show time to 60 minutes I let it set up an SP once again and it was good for 2 days and then tagged every episode for recording again. So, once again I had to put in a manual recording.

If I remember correctly Call for Help was the very same way.

Posted by: Animgif

TivoPony

Yes, the guide data is still screwy. I can set up a request for ScreenSavers and designate First Run only, however I end up with it trying to record approximately 20 shows per week.

I read the other thread you suggested. When I get home tomorrow evening I will check my guide data and let you know what I have. The last time I checked was about 4 days ago...hopefully they have cleaned it up since then!

Animgif

Posted by: BBQ Chicken

To answer the original question, no way.

Posted by: jones07

If the channel gives you pleasure what the heck. What else are you

going to do with seven bucks a month. Can't take it with you.

Posted by: TiVoPony

quote:
Originally posted by Animgif
Yes, the guide data is still screwy.

quote:
Originally posted by avaloncourt
Unfortunately yes. The guide data is still screwed up.

Really? Today? I just ran through a bunch of their shows and all the guide data looked complete. Set up some season passes, and everything was great.

Are you looking at what they have available now?

I will encourage them to keep up the good work. :)

But let me know if I'm missing something.

Thanks,
Pony

Posted by: TiVoPony

quote:
Originally posted by BBQ Chicken
To answer the original question, no way.

Sorry to take the thread off on a tangent.

Pony

Posted by: smak

Is the bad guide data you see (i guess it's no guide data) for this week, or towards the end of the 12 day cycle?

I've seen in the past that it will come into the guide data with no data, and than the data is filled in a few days later.

So your SP's would show every show, but then in a few days it would correct itself.

-smak-

Posted by: Opus

Actually, I've been seeing excellent guide data for TechTV recently, although it's only good about a week out.

But that's fine. If I look at the ToDo list 7-10 days out, my TiVo wants to record every showing (no data), but as those episodes get closer, the descriptions fill in and the duplicates drop out.

I got upset when my TiVo missed The Screen Savers on Monday, but then realized that it was a repeat (MLK day) and TiVo knew it and rightly ignored the episode.

Scott

Posted by: turls

I could be wrong, but I don't even think TechTV charges for carriage, so it is pretty silly for it to be in that type of tier.

It isn't even scrambled on C band, and that is a rare animal these days.

Posted by: innocentfreak

What else is in the package? maybe there is something else that everyone will agree that with TechTv it is worth it.

Posted by: FourDoor

The Screen Savers
Extended Play
Fresh Gear
and now...
Anime Unleashed

I have a season pass set to all 4 of these shows. I dont know if its worth an additional $7 a month but definitely worth it to switching over to DirecTivo as it is already included.

Posted by: nyy7

Tech TV is well worth it. Great network!!!

Bruce in Belle Harbor

Posted by: jones07

I watch Tech everyday. Yes it's worth it to me. Would not pay a dime for

the Lifetime channel But My wife would. See what I'm getting at ? :)

Posted by: dmdeane

Seven dollars a month? What's so terrible about that? I waste more than that a week on sodas (which are bad for me, and which I should stop drinking anyway, etc.).

I have not had guide data trouble in quite some time; there was a minor problem when The Screen Savers went down to only one hour, but that's it. Guide data of late has been excellent.

I find that I have been watching more TechTV stuff than any other channel. Mostly I skim it for tech news, and for reviews of gadgets or games I am interested in buying, or dreaming about buying when I hit the lottory jackpot. Mostly I watch:

The Screen Savers
Call for Help (but not much; mostly I skip this show)
Fresh Gear (excellent gadget reviews)
Extended Play (good gaming reviews)
Tech Live

I used to watch Max Headroom, and tried to watch Anime Unleashed, but I have too many other shows to watch to get into anime. I'm not much of an anime fan, but if you are, then that's another reason to get TechTV.

Of course, I only started watching TechTV when my cable co., RCN, started carrying it almost a year ago. It came automatically with whatever package I am currently carrying, so I did not have to pay extra.

Is it worth $7 a month? Yes, it is, if you are interested in technology and consumer electronics. If not, then, no, it is not worth it. If you are interested in tech news and tech talk, give it a try for a month. Surely you aren't worried about "wasting" a mere $7? You can cancel it if you don't like it.