Just A Guy Thing

If you use either Netflix or TiVo, you already know how much they can transform the TV watching experience. Suddenly you are no longer at the mercy of network schedules or even having to trek to the video store. You get to watch what you want when you want it.

Could it get any better? Oh yes. Now you can watch Netflix movies and television series right through your TiVo. Feel like watching the first season of The Office? No problem – a few clicks of the mouse on Netflix’s new “Instant Queue” and the entire first season is tee’d up and ready to watch via TiVo. Click on TiVo, go to the “Video on Demand” area and there you’ll see all the episodes. You can pause, fast forward and rewind just like on a regular TiVo show.

Over 12,000 movies & TV episodes from Netflix are currently available for the Instant Queue service. The only hitch is that you need a TiVo HD, TiVo HD XL or TiVo Series3 DVR with a broadband connection.

I went through the activation process a few days ago and it couldn’t have been easier (unlike Amazon’s lame Unbox service, which will be reviewed in a future article). If you already have a Netflix account, you just go onto TiVo and get an activation code. Paste that code onto a special page on Netflix and you’re ready to go. I’ve been glued to the TV ever since.