Operating Costs: TiVo DVR Unit
Second in our energy analysis series is TiVo (Series 2). According to BusinessWeek, Nielsen (the TV ratings company) says that 11% of U.S. households (or 1.2 million) have a DVR unit. The most popular DVR unit in use today is TiVo.
We put two DVR's - The TiVo Series 2 and the new DirecTV Plus DVR - to the test for 7 days, running continuously, recording and playing back shows under normal circumstances. The results of the Kill-A-Watt energy analysis test are shown below for the TiVo unit, because it is more widely in use. The DirecTV unit used exactly 10% less power over the duration of the test; its numbers are not included below.
How much does TiVo cost to operate?
| Product type: TiVo Series 2 DVR Model: TCD540040 Analysis test elapsed time: 7 days Average continuous watts: 29 # kWh per day: .7 |
Most people don't turn off their DVR, and that's fine because it only reduces power usage by 1 watt! Although the lights go out on the front of the box, the "computer" is still running and hard drive spinning. So you won't save any real power unless you unplug it.