Cutline Speaks

Ode to my DVR

posted by Lauren on March 24, 2008

Oh how those three simple letters have changed my life. Though I'm certainly not the first to sing its praises, I still want to take a moment to express my adoration for this little device.

No longer am I ruled by timeslots, Must See TV, or appointment television. No longer must I wait for a commercial to go to the bathroom or run to the kitchen to get something to eat. I simply hit pause, and when I return, my programs are right there waiting for me like an old friend. "Its okay, take your time" the DVR says. "The longer you wait to un-pause, the more commercials you can skip over." Or, "You want to go back a few minutes and watch that scene again? Sure – I can do that for you."

I love coming back from a trip and knowing that all of my programs are recorded. No clunky VHS tapes or fiddling with the VCR Plus. (Yes, my family had one growing up and no, we never figured out how to use it.) While the DVR does have its faults (e.g. recording the same program over and over again even though I specifically requested only new episodes), I just blame that on the network's inability to properly label their programs and the massive amounts of reruns due to the writer's strike.

Now that the strike is over and production has resumed, I have a batch of new programming to look forward to, even if it means waiting for the Fall season for most of my favorite shows. At least a few of the good ones are coming soon.

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