We're finally joining the 21st century.
We're finally getting a DVR.
We've managed without one thus far, and actually without a VCR as well. Ryan has some chip or card or something in our desktop computer which is hooked up to our cable and "captures" tv programs we want to record. We then can watch our recorded shows on either the big tv in the basement because it's connected to the computer, or on our laptop over our network. It's not always the best quality (and sometimes the sound gets behind the video) but it's simply because it's a cheap card and Ryan's always saying he's going to get a better (more expensive) one. I do like the computer version of our video recording because it's forever on our hard drive until we want to erase it and we can burn things onto dvd's to let others borrow, or to be flexible about where we watch it. That's something you can't do with DVR'd tv. But we do have to program it to record, it doesn't automatically find the shows we like or pick similar shows it thinks we might like, like a DVR.
Anyway. Ryan's always hinted at how nice a DVR would be... even though we essentially have the same thing going on already. For free.
I've always vetoed a DVR because 1) I don't want to spend the money on it, and 2) we really don't watch that much tv and I almost feel like it would tempt us to waste time on more tv. I mean, I know watching it recorded actually saves time because you can watch it when you want to and without interruptions, etc. But I just feel like the convenience of that would have us recording and watching shows that we don't really need to add to our line-up. You know?
But the cable company called yesterday, speaking of our one year anniversary, to tell us our one year bundle (cable, internet and VOIP phone) is coming up on expiring and to set up a new package. Turns out they wanted to offer us more channels, plus give us the DVR and service for $2 less than we we've already been paying each month for the past year. So Ryan said yes. Of course.
And now we will join the rest of the world and be DVR'ers.
And I'm afraid I'm going to get totally and completely addicted to Days of our Lives again....
So what do you guys think? Do you have a DVR system? Do you think it makes tv too "easy" and convenient and you tend to watch more shows that you wouldn't make time for ordinarily? Or do you think it's the best invention ever and can't imagine watching "real" tv anymore?
Tell me your thoughts...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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12 comments:
We don't have a DVR. If we are going to be gone and want to record a show, we have to put in a VHS tape and record it. So old school! ha! When we were in STL we had one and I loved it. I am not sure why we don't have one now...hmmm. I might have to look into that! :)
My husband would be on the floor gagging right now. LOL
We have THREE DVRs in the house, and truthfully, we don't watch THAT much TV.
We have a big screen in the basement where we record all the "big" shows that benefit from being watched in the theater room, like Lost, Bones, House, etc.
Then, we have one in the family room where we record all the Doras and Max and Ruby (to have on demand at any time) and other family friendly shows.
Then we have one in our bedroom where we record the stuff like Ghost Hunters, How I met Your Mother, and other mindless crap we can watch before bed.
Plus being able to watch what we want when it is convenient for us is priceless. The best is fast forwarding through commercials!
Wow, I just made myself sound totally pathetic, didn't I? ;)
Couldn't live without it, seriously!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. It allows us to record what we want (without a hassle) so that when you do watch TV, you can always watch something you like, rather than just something random.
I tend to catch up on my shows when I'm feeding Callie. I also go through the guide at that time to see if there is anything that interests me (documentaries etc)
Plus, Morgan will only watch Sesame Street so we record them for him so that when we need to get something done like making dinner, he can watch one.
whoohoo for you! um, yes, you will now become totally addicted to days of our lives now. it's been on my dvr since we got it. :)
it is so nice to be able to dvr crap and watch it whenever. i tend to get waaaay behind and have a marathon days of our lives catch up session on sundays when matt is busy and tucker is napping. haha! i use it the most for things i want to watch - when i finally get a minute to put my feet up.
i don't think we watch more tv because of it. it just really rocks to be able to skip all the commericals and watch it whenever your little heart desires! :)
I actually think we watch more tv, in less time. I love our DVR, I hate commercials. I get to watch what I want, when I want to in less time than it would normally take. We actually haven't been watching tv at all and our DVR is super full. IN the winter though, it doesn't stay full long. In my opinion, if you are going to watch tv, you will do it regardless of a dvr, you know what I mean?
i love my DVR. does it make me watch more... um... i'd say maybe? before i had max i would say DEFINITELY, and maybe even when he was a newborn (all those feedings) but right now i think i watch less than ever (especially now that it's summer... we watch more in the winter). without the DVR i think it would be really hard to watch ANY show i really liked, because our schedule just isn't consistent enough where i could be on the couch at 8pm every wednesday to catch my show. so the DVR will catch it for me. i pretty much never watch live TV anymore, unless it's a sporting event, and even if we're free when something we want to watch is on, we tend to wait 1/2 hour so that we can catch up to realtime by skipping commercials. :) i used to use the 'suggest' option and i turned it off - while it sometimes found new things i liked, more often i just ended up watching things i didn't care about or deleted them anyway. so now, i have my favorites set to record on full seasons - grey's anatomy, project runway, the office, a few more - and i do oprah every day but i just check out what the show is and if it's something interesting, if not i delete it. that's pretty much it for me. right now i think there's only one primetime show on that we're watching and that's it.
i do think when max is a little older and watches shows that it will come in handy as well... we'll save up a few episodes can put one on on our timeline.
Some DVRs come with USB ports that now allow you to download your recorded shows to your computer, so that you then can burn them on dvd. I have heard that some companies charge more to have option. But in the past it has been nice to have the option to watch the recorded show somewhere else in the house over the network. I guess I will have to put a slingbox on the wish list now too.
I think DVR is an awesome invention and for anyone with cable its a must-have IMO. I think that with the average family's schedule nowadays that you couldn't possibly get your moneys worth with cable without it. KWIM? I know that (when we had our own house LOL!) if we hadn't had DVR I'd probably never have watched tv and there would be many times Ryan would have missed shows/games b/c of school and honestly, why have cable (or a tv for that matter) if you miss the shows you really want to see? I love it b/c I can schedule the shows I like, the shows both of us like and Ry can schedule his shows. And when I'm home alone I can watch my shows, when he's home he can watch his shows, and when we're both wanting to crash in front of the tube we can watch one of the shows we both like. All without having to schedule time in front of the tv, kwim?
Right now, though, we don't have DVR at my mom's house. I have been watching tv, however, b/c my mom has some rigged satelite system and gets free Pay per View movies. I have watched 27 Dresses like 5 times, only b/c there is never anything else on I want to watch when I'm stuck in front of the tube (feeding Hudson etc..).
When we move... we probalby won't get cable or DVR for awhile. We're going to be THAT broke. Uch. But, really the house has way too many projects for us to keep busy that we won't need tv for awhile. I'll miss DVR, but the "transition" of being at my mom's w/o DVR will help me not miss it so much. I'm sure once we resubscribe to cable/dish network and get DVR again I"ll be thrilled though LOL!
We do have a DVR. It was something I didn't think we needed or that I'd use that much, but now I'm so used to it that it would be hard to be without it. I don't watch much TV (and hardly NO TV in the summer), but it's so nice to know the shows you do want to watch will be there waiting for you after the kid's in bed, house is picked up, dishes are done, etc. It's always nice to fast forward through commercials, or whole chunks of shows if there are parts that are lame (think American Idol.)
One of my fave shows to DVR is Oprah. This annoys my husband to no end because currently we have a backlog of about 20 Oprahs on the DVR, taking up "precious space." Watching TV is not much of a priority to me in the summer, so the Oprahs will have to wait for a rainy day:)
I don't watch much tv to begin with, but I do like the DVR, especially if we are going to be out and there is something on.
I do have some shows automatically recorded, but since I don't have time to watch them, I end up deleting them anyways.
My bf loves it. He records everything from his weekly tv shows to his car/truck shows on the weekends. He's usually in control of the remote, so he knows what is on and when.
I love, love, love the DVR. the best, fast forwarding through commercials is so nice, the stopping live tv when the phone rings. rewinding if you didn't catch everything that was said. I don't know how we lived with out it.
We dont have a DVR, but we also don't have extended cable. Just the basic first 25 stations. We really don't watch that much TV and dont want it to become something that is always on in the evenings. Im sure one day the kid(s) will get older and want to watch cable and then maybe we might consider it then. Sounds like a great thing though. Pretty much like a VCR, but on DVD?
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