Recording your favorite television shows from your Dish Network or DirecTV Satellite TV or Cable service, then watching them when it is convenient for you, was the promise of VCRs. However, that promise was never truly fulfilled. Few of us, including myself, could ever set the clock on a typical VCR, or figure out the programming routine to have the VCR "wake up" and record the correct channel at the chosen hour. One time, I actually dug out the instruction manual and tried to set my VCR to record the last episode of Seinfeld while I was away. Inevitably, I forgot to put a blank tape in the machine and ended up with nothing to show for my efforts. I, for one, believe that most Video Cassette Recorders spent their entire existence only playing prerecorded tapes and flashing 12:00 from their front panel.

Thankfully, Digital technology has made it possible to realize the original promise of VCRs. Now, with the addition of a Digital Video Recorder, or DVR, and an Interactive Program Guide to your Dish Network or DirecTV Satellite TV Receiver or Cable Box, everyday recording of favorite programs is within the reach of even the most technologically challenged among us.

The DVR system is simple and intuitive. You find programs for recording by scrolling through an on-screen guide which displays channels and times in a familiar grid format. Then you select the show you want to record with a single button on your remote. Thats all! You never have to set a clock or timer. You never have to remember to put a blank tape in the machine. All your recorded shows are stored (up to the capacity of the hard disc) and viewed as a list at one touch of a button.

Digital Video Recorders make recording and playback so easy that there is little reason to watch shows when they broadcast. You can watch shows whenever it is convenient for you, and you escape the tyranny of the broadcast schedule. If you choose to sit down and watch a program when it is broadcast, which is most appropriate for news and weather, major sporting events and political debates, then great. But, if you are like most people who have a busy schedule and would rather watch TV when it is more convenient for them, then a DVR is perfect for you.

Even beyond the remarkable ease with which you can record and playback programs on a DVR, the coolest element of this technology is the ability to pause the live feed of a broadcast while the hard disc continues to record in the background. You can take a snack break, answer the phone, check your email, then get back to whatever you were watching without missing a second of the show. This feature in particular civilizes the TV viewing experience and eliminates the need to jump up and rush back during commercials. And speaking of commercials with a DVR it is deviously easy to skip through all the ads youd really rather not watch. Just pause for a few minutes when an ad starts, and then use the convenient skip ahead button to jump to the other side of the commercial break. If you decide for some reason that you actually wanted to watch that advertisement, then you can skip back just as quickly as you jump ahead. In addition, you can rewind, watch the beginning of a show again for the benefit of those who just arrived. Or, rewind and watch that last play of the "Game" in slow motion, even frame by frame. No more guessing about those bad line calls or questionable fouls and penalties.

Cable companies use various brands of DVR hardware, quite often from Scientific Atlanta. Dish Network has developed a version they 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 sounds confusing and difficult to use, believe me, it is not. Even though the technology is sophisticated, Digital Video Recorders are so easy to use that the original promise of VCRs is finally realized and you will never miss another favorite program again.