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SENSE-MAKING AND THE PERSONALVIDEO RECORDERDIGITALHoward Goldbaum, University of Nevadagoldbaum@unr.eduConvergence isn’t happening solely within the intersections of established mediaformats.Traditional media types may also be undergoing a convergence with large scalecomputer database-mining systems. The delivery of news, entertainment, andadvertising may one day be personalized by “sense-making” systems currently underdevelopment. Recent advances in personal video recording devices such as TiVo presentan interesting case in point.From its early days of advertiser-branded entertainment packages presented in astructured evening’s schedule, television’s paradigm has been modified to an extent notenvisioned by the first broadcasters. Advertising-free cable programming and the timeshiftingabilities of the VCR have created a user-fashioned commodity out of thebroadcaster’s product.An evolutionary change in user-controlled access to television content has now beenengineered by the advent of the TiVo system and its competitors Replay TV, RCA’sScenium, and UltimateTV from Microsoft.By incorporating concepts such as the program-in-progress pause feature, the“season’s pass,” and the TiVo-trainable “Suggestions” list, these machines offer a farmore customizable user experience than the VCR can provide.These programmable random-access DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders) or PVR’s(Personal Video Recorders) allow users to extend the concept of time-shifting to a nearreal-time basis. By beginning a TiVo viewing session 15 minutes after the program’sscheduled start time, it is possible to fast-forward through the commercials and finishwatching the program at approximately its scheduled conclusion time.Brian Lowry, in his on-line column for the Los Angeles Times (LATimes.com,1/22/03) labels TiVo “the ultimate script doctor,” and suggests that in addition to timeshiftingTiVo users can eliminate the boring segments of entertainment programs.The latest edition of the TiVo device will allow users, after payment of a one-time$100 fee, to program their TiVo’s remotely from a website. The new bells and whistleswill also let consumers share programming from different TiVo’s connected throughtheir home Ethernet or Wi-Fi network. This option will also let owners use their TV’sto play music or show photos that their TiVo’s can retrieve from their Macintosh orWindows computer hard drive.TiVo allows users to create personalized “Wish Lists” and “Suggestions” to customizetheir entertainment choices. The “Wish Lists” use a TiVo-created database of key wordsBEA—Educating tomorrow’s electronic media professionals 15