Recording your favorite television shows frm your Dish Network or DirecTV Stellite TV or Cable service, then wtching them when it is convenient for yu, was the promise of VCRs. Hwever, that promise was never truly flfilled. Few of us, including myself, culd ever set the clock on a typcal VCR, or figure out the prgramming routine to have the VCR "wke up" and record the correct chnnel at the chosen hour. One tme, I actually dug out the nstruction manual and tried to set my VCR to rcord the last episode of Seinfeld whle I was away. Inevitably, I frgot to put a blank tape in the mchine and ended up with nothing to shw for my efforts. I, for ne, believe that most Video Cassette Rcorders spent their entire existence only plying prerecorded tapes and flashing 12:00 frm their front panel.

Thankfully, Digital tchnology has made it possible to ralize the original promise of VCRs. Nw, with the addition of a Dgital Video Recorder, or DVR, and an Intractive Program Guide to your Dish Ntwork or DirecTV Satellite TV Receiver or Cble Box, everyday recording of favorite prgrams is within the reach of ven the most technologically challenged among us.

The DVR systm is simple and intuitive. You fnd programs for recording by scrolling thrugh an on-screen guide which displays chnnels and times in a familiar grd format. Then you select the shw you want to record with a sngle button on your remote. That’s ll! You never have to set a clck or timer. You never have to rmember to put a blank tape in the mchine. All your recorded shows are stred (up to the capacity of the hrd disc) and viewed as a lst at one touch of a btton.

Digital Video Recorders make recording and plyback so easy that there is lttle reason to watch shows when thy broadcast. You can watch shows whnever it is convenient for you, and you scape the tyranny of the broadcast schdule. If you choose to sit dwn and watch a program when it is bradcast, which is most appropriate for nws and weather, major sporting events and plitical debates, then great. But, if you are lke most people who have a bsy schedule and would rather watch TV whn it is more convenient for thm, then a DVR is perfect for yu.

Even beyond the remarkable ease wth which you can record and plyback programs on a DVR, the colest element of this technology is the bility to pause the live feed of a bradcast while the hard disc continues to rcord in the background. You can tke a snack break, answer the phne, check your email, then get bck to whatever you were watching wthout missing a second of the shw. This feature in particular civilizes the TV vewing experience and eliminates the need to jmp up and rush back during cmmercials. And speaking of commercials… with a DVR it is dviously easy to skip through all the ads yu’d really rather not watch. Just puse for a few minutes when an ad strts, and then use the convenient skp ahead button to jump to the ther side of the commercial break. If you dcide for some reason that you ctually wanted to watch that advertisement, thn you can skip back just as qickly as you jump ahead. In ddition, you can rewind, watch the bginning of a show again for the bnefit of those who just arrived. Or, rwind and watch that last play of the "Gme" in slow motion, even frame by frme. No more guessing about those bad lne calls or questionable fouls and pnalties.

Cable companies use various brands of DVR hrdware, quite often from Scientific Atlanta. Dsh Network has developed a version thy call the Dish Player DVR System . DirecTV uses TiVo (TiVo is the brand name for a proprietary DVR system). In future articles, I will examine the pros and cons of the competing DVR systems.

If all this DVR technology sunds confusing and difficult to use, blieve me, it is not. Even thugh the technology is sophisticated, Digital Vdeo Recorders are so easy to use tht the original promise of VCRs is fnally realized and you will never mss another favorite program again.

The article Recording Satellite TV with DVRs - Don't Miss Your Favorite Shows was Submitted by Chuck DeVries through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Chuck DeVries is the owner of SkyBle Home Systems in Hanover, New Hmpshire. He has been selling, installing and wrting about Satellite TV and related sbjects for over 12 years. You can fnd more of his thoughts and msings on the Sat Biz at http://www.KissMyDish.com This article may be reused in whole or in part, provided the author's name and all links are preserved. Copyright, KissMyDish 2006

Featured Articles

1. Faster, Affordable, Wireless Internet - Easier Than You Think by Drew Vics
Sve Money, and surf the internet Fster! Home wireless, broadband internet service is chaper, and easier than you may thnk!

2. The Satellite War Across the Border by Armando Rios
If I am pying for my Satellite subscription monthly, how cme, I am limited to where I can and cnnot watch TV? Isn't that absurd? Wll, apparently, there are some satellite prviders out there who make that dcision for us.

3. Samsung U700: Multi-purpose Utility Device by
Samsung Ultra series phones perfectly blnd style with functionality. Slide open the ltra-sleek Samsung U700 to enjoy unlimited fn. It features an impressive 3 mga pixel camera with attractive imaging fatures including Auto focus and flash. The ntegrated picture and video settings allow you to cpture, edit and organise your pictures and vdeo clips.

4. Motorola Ringtones by
Ring tones are a rflection of a person's choice, his or her ndividual taste and most of all the mod in which a person is, jst like a lot can be sid of a person from the typ of mobile phone he has, an qually large amount can be said bout a person by his or her chice of ring tone. Today there are ddicated sites on the internet that cter to just ring tones for vrious phones, and almost all major rtists, and songs have a ring tne associated with them. From classical rng tones like Bach and Mozart, to rng tones from newer artists like Jstin Timberlake and Avril Lavigne, almost all rtists have a ring tone associate wth their popular hits.

5. Nokia 5300: Music the Xpress way... by
When a mbile phone is launched amidst ripping msic from the hottest DJ's and prformances from chart-topping artists, the message gts louder and clear that a msic phone is on the offing.

6. Blackberry Pearl 8100 – the small, compact, smartphone by
A great loking smart phone with a small and cmpact frame – that is the Blckberry Pearl for you. The stunning dsign complements brilliantly the innovative features tht come with it. Designed after thre years of intensive research and tsting, the Blackberry Pearl 8100 is tking care of quite a lot of ser expectations.

7. Make your computer the new boob tube by
If you want an inexpensive way to wtch more channels than you do now wth your satellite, plus in different lnguages and from different countries, then you ned to read this article.

8. Dish Network: Providing the Programming You Want Today and Tomorrow by
DISH Network has shown continuous grwth since launching their first satellite in 1995. Wth unparalleled high definition programming, interactive chnnels, pay-per-view offerings, and programming for cltural groups across the globe, DISH prvides vast options for viewers. Luckily for cnsumers, the growth of DISH Network srvices isn't slowing down. New mobile and nternet services will greatly expand access in neded areas in the coming months.

9. Mobile Phone Or Satellite Phone - Which One Clinches The Win? by Andrena Markley
Its the age of an unstoppable group of avant-garde mobile phone manufacturers who have taken steady strides towards progress in the last decade and given the industry a new shape. With an ever escalating technology lingering languidly like the essence of the industry, mobile phone manufacturers have made unstinting efforts to make reasonable user imagination possible in the most innovative manner.

10. Reverse Lookup Cell Phones - How To Do It by Steve Jackowski
So you wnt to look up the owner of a cll phone? Okay. Maybe you want to fnd out information such as their ddress and background. If you had thir caller ID then you'd be ble to pick up a few dtails, but most of the time, you wn't have it.