The Many Benefits of Owning a DVR

Has This Ever Happened To You? OK.. it's Friday night, the kids are asleep, and a movie you've been waiting for is on Pay-Per-View for the first time. You buy the movie, grab a bag of popcorn, get all comfy on the couch, and ten minutes into the movie "RINGGGG" it's the _______ phone!!! (you fill in the blank).

Well, you can either:

1)Let the answering machine get it

2)Answer it yourself and miss the movie

3)Hit pause, answer the phone, talk for 20 minutes, then resume watching the movie exactly where you left off!

If you answered #3 then you must have a DVR in the family. LIFE IS GOOD!

For those unfamiliar with DVR's a short introduction is in order. The initials "DVR" are short for Digital Video Recorder. In a nutshell, a DVR is the modern day equivalent of a VCR with one major difference... it does not use tape. A DVR records audio and video onto a hard drive where they are stored in digital format. DVR's take recording to a whole new level by enabling you to pause, rewind, slo-mo, and instant replay live TV broadcasts, a priceless feature to have when watching sporting events or Pay-Per-View movies.

Can a DVR really change the way you live your life? Well, you'd be surprised about all the benefits adding a Digital Video Recorder to your Home Entertainment system can have. A DVR is one of those rare products that can have such a profound impact on the way we live our lives that we'll find ourselves wondering how we ever lived without it. Following is a list of some of the major benefits a DVR can add to your TV viewing experience, along with a brief explanation.

Take control of a live TV broadcast: One of the features that helped make DVR's famous is their power to control a live TV broadcast. By buffering the satellite signal, your DVR can pause, rewind, and slo-motion a live TV broadcast. When your done you can resume the program without missing a thing.

Never miss your favorite shows again: If your schedule doesn't permit you to be around to watch your favorite shows, just program your DVR to record them for you so you can watch them at your convenience.

Put an end to family squabbles: With a DVR in your life family arguments over who gets to watch their favorite shows on the big screen TV are a thing of the past.

Two of your favorite shows on at the same time? No Problem: If your DVR is equipped with dual tuners, you can have it record one show while you watch the other. If you are not going to be home, you can have your DVR record both shows (even though they are on at the same time) and watch them at your convenience.

More powerful yet Easier to use than a VCR: Most DVR's include a feature rich Program Guide that can extend up to 14 days into the future. The DVR functions are then seamlessly integrated into the guide to make recording your favorite shows a snap.

Skip over annoying commercials: With a DVR there's no need to sit through annoying commercials any more. While watching a recorded show, just hit the fast forward button and they'll fly right by. Some DVR's can fast forward in 30 second segments making it even easier to skip over unwanted commercials.

Play your MP3 music files over your sound system: If you've got an extensive array of MP3 music files on your PC, you can transfer them to your networked DVR and play them through your home entertainment system.

Watch digital photos on your big screen TV: Are you tired of having to huddle around a tiny computer monitor to view your digital photos? With a networked DVR, everyone can get comfortable and enjoy digital photos right on your big screen TV.

Both DirecTV and DISH Network offer Satellite receivers with Digital Video Recorders built right in. In addition, many cable providers are also beginning to offer this technology to their customers. Once you live with a DVR, I can almost guarantee that you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.

© Written By: Michael Casamento

Michael Casamento is the founder of SatelliteTVSmarts.com offering comprehensive comparisons, along with the latest News, Deals, and Information on Digital Satellite TV, and Internet Access.

For more information visit: http://www.satellitetvsmarts.com

This article may be freely reproduced so long as the above resource box is included in its entirety.

In The News:

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President-elect Barack Obama, second from the left, stands with, from left to right, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and National Security Adviser-designate Ret. Marine Gen. James Jones, at a news conference to announce his national security team, in Chicago, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bush administration holdover Robert Gates on Monday, and said he wants to consult with military commanders before settling on a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq.



AP - The U.S. economy has been in a recession since December 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research said Monday.

U.S. Army soldiers from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment pray before heading out on patrol in Baqouba, , 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)AP - Barack Obama says the U.S.-Iraq security agreement approved by Iraq's parliament puts the U.S. on a "glide path" toward reducing forces there.



House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., center and junk-bond pioneer Michael Milken, left, sing the ABC song with elementary school students from Visitacion Valley Elementary School in San Francisco, Monday, Nov. 24, 2008. Pelosi and Milken help present first grade teacher Mindy Yip an award of $25,000 for the 2008 Milken National Education Award. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising Congress will try to have a huge economic recovery bill ready for President-elect Barack Obama as soon as he takes office.



Molly Reyes, of Renton, Wash. holds her son Kendrick, 7 months, while watching police clear Southcenter Mall after two people were shot inside the mall, in Tukwila, Wash. on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008. Reyes said she was shopping when she heard two shots, then ran with a crowd into a store and hid for about 20 minutes until police came and escorted them out of the mall. on  A young gunman remained at large early Sunday following a shooting at the suburban Seattle shopping mall that left one teenager dead and another seriously wounded.   (AP Photo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Mike Kane)AP - Authorities responding to a shooting at suburban Miami mall say one person has been shot and taken to a hospital.



Shoppers are reflected as they enter the Nike Store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)AP - The Thanksgiving shopping weekend may not have been the disaster some had feared, but unprecedented discounts and tempered buying likely resulted in overall soft sales as a buying binge on Friday quickly fizzled. Now, online retailers are ramping up deals to turn skittish shoppers into "Cyber Monday" spenders.



Moshe Holtzberg, the 2-year-old orphan of the rabbi and his wife slain in the Mumbai Jewish center, cries during a memorial service at a synagogue in Mumbai, India, Monday, Dec. 1, 2008. Holtzberg will fly to Israel Monday on an Israeli Air Force jet with his parents' remains and the Indian woman who rescued him, an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said. (AP Photo)AP - Soldiers removed the last bodies from the shattered Taj Mahal hotel Monday as India formally demanded Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the 60-hour siege that left at least 172 people dead.



AP - Israel has gotten fed up with spam. Anyone who sends out messages without receiving the recipient's consent can now be slapped with a big fine.

In this Nov. 20, 2008 file photo, Reese Witherspoon, a cast member in 'Four Christmases,' poses on the red carpet at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, file)AP - Thanksgiving weekend movie crowds gobbled up the Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn holiday comedy "Four Christmases," which debuted at No. 1 with $31.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.



New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrives at a police station, Monday, Dec.1, 2008, in New York. Burress was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh. Burress shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub Friday night and was released from a hospital early Saturday, the Giants said. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)AP - Plaxico Burress arrived at a police station early Monday, where he was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.



President-elect Barack Obama announces that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be his choice for Secretary of State during a news conference in Chicago December 1, 2008. (John Gress/Reuters)Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defense secretary as part of a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership of world affairs.



A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 17, 2008. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as signs of further deterioration in the economy around the world punctured last week's market enthusiasm, with financial services companies and retailers among Wall Street's biggest drags.



Members of ZAKA, Israel's non-governmental rescue-and-recovery organization which specializes in collecting human remains to ensure a proper Jewish burial, speak with policemen after performing religious rituals in front of Nariman House in Mumbai's Colaba area, December 1, 2008. (Jayanta Shaw/Reuters)Reuters - India said on Monday it had called Pakistan's envoy and informed him that deadly attacks in Mumbai were carried out by militants from Pakistan and demanded swift action against those responsible.



Tommy, from Sweden, holds his son Patrick while waiting with other stranded passengers to check-in for their flights, departing from U-Tapao, at a makeshift airline terminal in Bangkok, December 1, 2008. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)Reuters - Thai protesters prepared to end their three-month occupation of the Prime Minister's office on Monday to consolidate their grip on the main airport ahead of a court verdict that could dissolve the elected government.



Workers wearing T-shirts with company slogans at Siemens MR Center located at the Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, November 25, 2008. (Bobby Yip/Reuters)Reuters - European leaders clashed on Monday over how much public money to spend on battling recession as data showed factories were slashing output in the United States, Europe and China.



Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington November 21, 2008. (Molly Riley/Reuters)Reuters - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package she hopes Barack Obama can sign when he becomes president on January 20.



Birmingham Mayor Larry P. Langford in an undated photo. (Handout/Reuters)Reuters - Federal authorities arrested the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday in a corruption probe surrounding a massive sewer bond debt that has forced Jefferson County to the brink of bankruptcy.



A woman shops at a Walmart store on 'Black Friday' in Oakland, California, November 28, 2008. (Kimberly White/Reuters)Reuters - Key retail stocks fell on Monday as investors feared that deep discounts offered by U.S. stores during the year's first holiday shopping weekend could sap profits and would not save a bleak season.



US President-elect Barack Obama (L) nominates Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-NY, as US Secretary of State during a press conference in Chicago, Illinios. Obama on Monday nominated Hillary Clinton to be his AFP - Barack Obama on Monday nominated Hillary Clinton to be his "tough," "smart" secretary of state and his former foe vowed to give her all to steer America through a perfect storm of global crises.



A Federal Bureau of Investagation (FBI) official leaves the police headquarters in Mumbai. India has formally accused AFP - India on Monday formally accused "elements" in Pakistan of being behind the devastating Islamic militant attacks in Mumbai and demanded that Islamabad take "strong action".




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