We get this question often, in various forms. We have had callers who pull plug on their TiVo when they go sleep, and plug it back in when they wake up (or when they next want to watch TV). Others put the unit in “Standby,” assuming that the unit will stop recording.

Not that it’s worth much, but no one at weaKnees does any of this stuff. We all leave our TiVos on 24/7 (and we all have them connected to a UPS, too, just to beat it in a bit). Here’s why:

First, the TiVo is meant to be running all the time. The thing is meant to allow you to “set it and forget it” (to steal a catchphrase from some infomercial that I remember watching long before I had a TiVo)…so if you ask it record something that happens to be on at 1:30 a.m., it will record. If you shut the TiVo down, it can’t record. So our advice: Never routinely pull the plug.

Second, although “Standby” does serve a limited purpose, it does not cause the unit to stop recording. Rather, this function will do the following (all taken from TiVo’s website):

• Stops sending video and audio from the DVR to the TV.
• Causes the lights on the front of the unit to go out.
• Re-enables Parental Controls if they have been temporarily disabled.
• Enters KidZone Now Playing screen upon return from standby (if KidZone is on, and if your unit has this capability).
• Programs that are being recorded or are scheduled to record will still be recorded (if a program is being recorded the red light will turn on.)
• If you used an RF coaxial cable to connect a program source to the DVR and to connect the DVR to the TV, Standby mode provides RF pass through. This means you can watch channels on your RF program source while the DVR is in Standby mode.

Bottom line: Unless you need to take advantage of one of the items listed below, just keep the unit on.