Increasing the W.A.F. (Wife Acceptance Factor)

[mark_t]

I have a 4 tuner server, 2 pc front ends in client mode and a MVP, so content is viewable and schedule-able on all TV's in the house. It works great but I can't get my wife to use it. She is intrigued by commercial free TV, after comskip and clean do their work, but I just can't get to the "last mile".

We had a bad experience with a show we were watching a few years back and she hasn't been willing to use it since.

Love to hear suggestions or techniques others have used to increase the WAF.

TIA
Mark.

[stefan]

Unplug all other means of getting content to your tv sets. Force her

[K.S.]

you want USP?
- schedule her favorite shows as regular recordings, just schedule it all and let time work for you. after some time show her the results
- you're hopefully using all your clients with remotes? if possible, try using only 1 remote type (different remote setups i.e. buttons aint helping WAF much, mine is not so happy about that ;-)
- use it yourself in her presence, just like a perpetual selling apointment
(being able to watch all stuff everywhere around should really help along given some time)
- try adding something she likes (i.e. wether plugin, youtube, sudoku)

what is she using right now? only tv as is? some other device? if any other device, hopefully it has some faults, let that work for you too ;-)

[bits]

you want USP?
- schedule her favorite shows as regular recordings, just schedule it all and let time work for you. after some time show her the results
- you're hopefully using all your clients with remotes? if possible, try using only 1 remote type (different remote setups i.e. buttons aint helping WAF much, mine is not so happy about that ;-)
- use it yourself in her presence, just like a perpetual selling apointment
(being able to watch all stuff everywhere around should really help along given some time)
- try adding something she likes (i.e. wether plugin, youtube, sudoku)

what is she using right now? only tv as is? some other device? if any other device, hopefully it has some faults, let that work for you too ;-)

I did pretty much what you suggested about a year ago. Fortunately my wife and I like similar things but I made sure to get her favorite stuff. Once she watched a few shows that were commercial free she was hooked. I do not have HTPC...just a family PC with two cap cards and BTV streaming to a MVP and an LP2. I do most of the scheduling but she will stop by the PC and schedule when she really wants to be sure it is scheduled.

[nightwalker]

When i took away her bank of VCR's she was pretty much funneled into using it. I've done some simplification over time as I've watched her using it.

The suggestion about standard remotes is a very good one. I've also taken standardization a step further and run my MVP's into RF modulators, this allows her to use it as she always had, while going from room to room, she normally watches her soaps while doing her normal routine. I use a couple of very plain skins so there is no mistake about what she's looking for and needs to press, even as far as to give her on screen hints about what button to press for what in some applications.

We've gotten to the point that I've overheard her tell a friend or two about the system. I figure that I'm heading in the right direction, even if i don't get the word first hand. She's always a bit leary about giving me to much credit for fear that i'll automate something else.

She's forever asking me who is really in charge of the house, me or the computers? To tell the truth I'm never really sure, I just don't say that out loud.

[mark_t]

Wow. This is good stuff. I'll add the kids shows too.


Thanks.

[darisb]

Two things hooked my wife. Easy recordings without commercials, and the on screen TV guide. Her favorite show at the time was Dr. Phil and she was totally uninterested in my new PVR toy. I scheduled a daily recording of Dr. Phil and removed the commercials using comskip & comclean. I sat down after dinner one night and watched a show with her. That's all it took. A week later I did something to the system, and missed one of her shows. I knew she was hooked when she gave me hell for playing with the system and missing one of her shows.

[gEd]

My *planned* methods for increasing WAF are:

1. Making sure that you record the end of all of her shows all of the time. (99.7% of the time is not enough)
2. Stop hacking around with the pvr box and breaking things. (see 1.)
3. Stop adding new features and changing the look of it all the time.
4. Surprise her with a programme that you know she will like, that she didn't know was on. But also see 1 otherwise you will loose 2 x points.
5. Try and explain that the reason that you missed the last episode of This Life (after recording the previous 25) was because they renamed the show to "This Life: The Last Ever Episode".
6. Make the pc disappear completely.

[Carlito]

My *planned* methods for increasing WAF are:

5. Try and explain that the reason that you missed the last episode of This Life (after recording the previous 25) was because they renamed the show to "This Life: The Last Ever Episode".

LOL, this is exactly what happened to me except with Big Brother..they changed the name of the show from Big Brother: All Stars to Big Brother 7 (or something similar) and man did i not hear the end of that!

[sixgun]

Are you both referring to "This Life Ten Years On"? Aired on 2nd Jan 2007 @ 21:00-22:20

My girlfriend spotted it in the guide and recorded it for me.

If you're still missing it i don't mind sticking it on a DVD-R for you.

Regards.