Backstage on Sunday I heard Fred tell somebody that getting a Digital Video Recorder for their tv would be the best seven dollars a month they ever spend.
I've had a DVR for probably about a year now. It is, as Fred suggested, pretty awesome. And I didn't realize how much it shaped my viewing habits until last week when it went on the fritz 
for a few days. I had plans to come home last Thursday night from work, watch The Office and Scrubs - and then catch the previous night's episode of Lost that I had missed. Because my DVR wasn't working properly I ended up having to stream Lost off of the ABC website instead. Not a big deal at all, but at the time it seemed like a huge hassle.
So, the DVR is working again and last night Sara came over for dinner and a little TV. Having a DVR means we get to sculpt our viewing experience instead of having it dictated to us by schedules. Our Monday night viewing was as follows:
-An episode of Tyler's Ultimate (an awesome cooking show from the Food Network)
-An episode of Human Giant (sketch comedy show from MTV)
-A musical performance by the Avett Brothers from last Friday's Late Night with Conan O'Brien
-The last two episodes of Heroes back to back.
All with no commercials thanks to the handy fast-forward button (I've discovered that fastfowarding through commercials at the highest setting and stopping right as the show comes back on is an art).
So, what about you? If you have the option to sculpt your viewing experience, what's it look like? What would your perfect Monday night television block look like?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
How I learned to stop worrying and love my DVR
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3 comments:
Sculpt my viewing experience...an interesting concept. We have a "no TV during the week" rule for the kiddos. They focus better and we get to make more of our "together time". Of course, when they go to bed, mom must have tv to go to sleep.
I have a few shows I really like-The Office is one, thanks to Patrick and Fred, but if I miss it I download it on iTunes. When I was little I used to fall asleep to the Twilight Zone-something about the documentary-type voice that lulled me into neverland. Nowadays it is usually CourtTV or TLC (Miami Ink is a fav) or HGTV-anything with a running narrative, preferably a male voice.
But from Friday night to Sunday night it's usually Disney Channel or Nickelodeon running in all rooms. (sigh) So, no perfect Monday night lineup for me :)
Oh, how I love DVR. Pre-DVR? It was a television flipper. Now, with DVR, no flipping, just fast fwd.
Last night (Monday) for example, I get up with my wifey and assist in feeding. So at 12am, 3am and at 6am, I watched my episode of 24 because typically during 24, I am putting the "fellers" to bed.
Monday night is my 24 night. Ode to Jack Bauer.
Although we have a DVR, we aren't yet using it to sculpt our viewing. We typically still watch programs as they are broadcast, but use the DVR to make the break longer if we need it. We also like to use the DVR to rewind if we missed a line, pause if the phone rings, or pause if we want to discuss what's going on. Of course, we use it in case we miss the program (a la the old VCR days).
My favorite Monday night TV activity? 'Headlines' on Leno.
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