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Post by Skaggs on May 24, 2007 5:41:36 GMT -5
At 9PM, I settled down in front of the HDTV to watch the 2 hour American Idol Finale. We purposely started watching the recorded version of the show an hour after the original start of the show so we can fast forward through the commercials.
At 10:30, we had gone through 1:55 of the 2 hour show and the last commercial break came on before they announced the winner.
My 8300HD DVR stopped recording right in the middle of this commercial!!! The end of the recorded program occurred during the commercial. We couldn't believe it.
I had to get on the internet and perform a Google search in order to find out who won, after spending an hour and a half watching all the "filler" skits leading to the announcement of the winner.
This 8300 DVR is such a lousy piece of crap. When will TWC wise up and find some better equipment?
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Post by dkennedy on May 27, 2007 6:22:34 GMT -5
'Idol' defeats time-shifters with Finale made long, Tempers Short
May 26, 2007
By Charlie McCollum, The Mercury News
To say thousands of "American Idol'' fans were unhappy this week would be an understatement of the highest order. They were outraged, incensed and generally ticked off and every TV viewer should take permanent note of why. It wasn't that the wrong contestant won, but rather that Wednesday's TV finale ran nine minutes long. Folks recording it for later viewing found that the ending, including the announcement of Jordin Sparks' victory, had been chopped off.
That triggered a tsunami of vitriolic online postings and nasty e-mails to the Fox network and media outlets. While many comments suggested the time overrun was some conspiracy or just pure idiocy on the part of Fox, it actually was an object lesson for those who time-shift their TV viewing, either digitally with TiVo and DVRs or with old-fashioned VHS.
First of all, many live broadcasts "Idol'' was live on the East Coast run long. When was the last time the Academy Awards ended when it was supposed to? It's up to viewers to take that into account.
With TiVo, there are functions that can adjust the recording for you when a show runs long. With most DVR systems, including the Comcast system in the Bay Area, there is a little-known function that allows you to record 15 minutes past a scheduled conclusion. With VHS, it's wise to assume the worst for important shows and run the tape well past the end time.
Here's a sampling of reaction to the "Idol'' finale as posted:
on the Mercury News' Arts + Entertainment Interactive blog site: I have never missed a finale, but I missed the last minutes of this one. I feel like my friend moved away without saying goodbye. -Posted by LGM
My DVR automatically records 5 minutes over, so I was definitely in the clear. Out of curiosity, as the results approached, I paused the recording to check how many minutes were left. 10? 15? To my horror, there were only 2 minutes left, and I was just beginning to skip through the last segment of commer cials. With 16 seconds remaining, Ryan Seacrest appeared with Blake and Jordin at his side. And just as the camera pulled back to show the man holding the card which apparently contained the official count recording ended. -Posted by Patrick in Kentucky
What a bummer! I have every show recorded in its entirety, except the one that I have been waiting for the most. Fox if you're listening, you need to re-air the show so that my season recording is complete. -Posted by Angelisa
Why does anyone care who the best karaoke singer in America is, anyway? I stopped watching after Kelly won in the show's first year (the only one who actually has talent). This competition should be more like the Olympics anyway. Every four years is more than enough to find mediocre talent. I feel sorry for all of you suckers who wasted your time watching this drivel. In the age of the DVR, Fox knew exactly what it was doing. You better watch the show, or you will miss something. Oh yeah, the sponsors are also pleased because they are tired of paying big bucks to have you fast-forward through all those expensive Ford and Coke commercials. -Posted by Marc Sto
I will never watch American Idol again. First Clay Aiken, now Melinda Doolittle. American Idol is not a singing, or even a performing competition. It is a popularity contest; thus the word IDOL. -Posted by John Chapman
American Idol is treading on thin ice. First it was the whole Sanjaya joke and now this. I have watched every single second of American Idol for 6 years, and I am so disgusted! Thanks to youtube.com for allowing me to see the final moments. American Idol, get it together! -Posted by Sally
My TiVo was set for the 2 minutes like everyone else. Then poof, it stopped. I was getting really PO'd when I remembered that I was only a few minutes behind the live show and my TV was set on Channel 2. I was lucky, I was able to reverse the live TV back 5 minutes to see who won. I actually had my husband perform the reverse on the TV while I was looking at the floor because I didn't want to see anything. -Posted by Janice
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Post by bruces on May 27, 2007 10:56:04 GMT -5
The only episode of American Idol I ever watched was the first one of the original season. It is not for me. However for those of you who are fans, the latest software for the Tivo S3 asks whether to add extra time whenever you select a live show to be recorded.
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