Digital Video Recorder

Today I’m grateful for the digital video recorder on cable.  This little convenience has freed up our time and kept us in the loop.

My husband loves sports.  No duh!  When a “big” game was on he would glue himself to the TV for hours and woe be to the person who might suggest leaving the house. . .with him. . .during the game.  He would prefer I just got out alone.  No problem with the DVR.  We record the games even if we are home because he can zoom through the commercials and watch a three hour game in less than two.

I follow a few programs on network TV and have the DVR set to record every new episode.  I watch them whenever I want to, not when the network says I have to.

I remember the first color TV we ever had.  We thought we had died and gone to Heaven.  Then remote controls came, then VCR’s and rented movies and now DVR and movies available on computers and/or phones.  I have no idea what will be next.  Movies imbedded in our eyeballs? 

I don’t want to be a slut for programs like “American Idol” or “Dancing with the Stars”, but I am.  “Scandal” has me clutching the chair.  “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Parenthood” often confuse and frustrate me.  I have no idea why I like “Nashville” so much, except it feels personal because we visited the Grand Ol’ Opry a few years ago.  I got the husband hooked on old episodes of “Judging Amy” with Tyne Daly.  He yells at the characters like they were our kids.

I like being able to record the news and watch it later.  I do the same thing when the president speaks.  The grandkids love when I record a few “America’s Funniest Home videos”, even if they’ve seen them a dozen times and Tom Bergeron’s hair has changed color between programs.  “Downton Abbey” is a guilty pleasure, but the mumbling in a British accent can be frustrating.  I get impatient with the cross-talk and interrupting, but with the program recorded I can re-wind a hundred times to decipher the dialogue.  I wouldn’t want to miss anything. . .and I’d miss the end of every show if I didn’t record it because I think I have narcolepsy.  If a show is on past 9 p.m., I’m gonna nod off.  It’s a given.

My phone is still “stupid” and won’t be exchanged for “smart” for as long as I can hold out.  I don’t have a really great camera or a video camcorder and won’t be able to afford one for a while.  I don’t need every gee-gaw and gadget that comes off of the robo-assembly line.  I’m just grateful for the DVR.