I read this article recently discussing the fact that some recent TV shows are scheduled, not exactly on the hour or half-hour, but off by a minute or three.  Apparently this really hoses TiVo, because that extra three minutes at the end keeps it from recording the next show, which started three minutes ago.  The thread includes various conspiracy theories about how the networks could be doing this deliberately, to block shows on other channels, or just to screw with TiVo owners.

Now, I don’t buy the conspiracy theory, but this still just pisses me off!  I, like many others, have developed quite an addiction to the time-shifting power that the TiVo gives me; anything that reduces that power makes me see red.  If the networks cared about me, their customer, they would schedule their shows in a sane and orderly manner.  (Reminds me about how the WWF kept making me miss the last five minutes of CSI – GRRRR!)

Ultimately, I believe there are technological solutions, if the networks fail to act.  I’m already eager to get a TiVo that will let me record multiple shows simultaneously, so I don’t have to see one show at the expense of another.  That technology would also solve this overlap issue.

(Actually recording simultaneous shows isn’t that trivial – in addition to needing multiple tuners, decoders, and encoders, you might also need multiple hard drives; I’m not sure a single hard drive can successfully handle two write-streams at video speed.)