Am I being left behind?

TiVo really has changed the way I watch TV. I don't really watch live TV anymore. I just set it to record the shows I like and watch whichever whenever. Most of the changes to my viewing habits are positive.

One possibly negative change is that I just don't know what movies are coming out. I used to always get innundated by trailers for the few weeks before a movie came out. Now by skipping commercials, I really have no idea. People ask me if I've seen X or am I excited about Y. Usually I have to say that I've never even heard of said movie.

At those times I sometimes feel like I'm missing out a little on popular culture... And then I watch some live television. It usually ends up being some sporting event like the NBA finals game 7, recently. It's then, when I see the same uninspired commercial every commercial break, that I realize that I gain more by missing all of those mindless commercials than I lost. If they made the commercial entertaining or informative, maybe I wouldn't mind watching them.

There should be a network policy that the same commercial cannot appear on the same program. I really feel they are insulting the intelligence of anyone watching. The network is driving me away with their belief that maybe I missed that commercial the first 9 times. Or maybe they don't expect anyone to watch any show for more than 15 minutes. In this case, I think that says a lot about the quality of what they are producing.

Then again, this might just be another step on the path to getting the information I want when I want it instead of having it forced upon me. If I want to know what movies are coming out, thousands of sites can tell me that. I just need to visit that site. And when I want to watch a tv show, TiVo lets me watch it when I have time, not when the network decides I have time.