Need a DVR?

Digital video recorders (DVRs) have become the rage amongst television owners who want to record their favorite TV shows without investing in a DVD burner to do so for them. They are also known as personal video recorders or PVRs. Most units have hard-drives in them for storage space. Whether you record on the fly or have a pre-set recording, the unit will take care of all the hard work and save it for the duration you set forth.

DVRs and PVRs give the television viewer the chance to control what they are watching. You can pause live TV, you can rewind something you just missed or you can record a show to watch later. TV shows, movies, even commercials can be recorded. On some units, you can fast-forward through commercials or the DVR can skip recording them all together. As long as you use a HD-based DVR unit, you can store the information you record on it forever. Some units allow you to transfer recorded information to a flash drive or memory card as well as allowing you to burn the recordings to DVD.

There are two different ways you can get your hands on a DVR unit. You can buy one or you can rent one. Most cable providers now offer DVR rental services for customers for an additional charge per month, and they will service the unit as well as offer insurance on it should something go wrong. Talking to your cable provider is the easiest way to rent a unit and find out what the cost will be for you.

There are also a plethora of options out there as far as owning DVR units. Everyone from Sony to Samsung makes their own version of the units with different features and add-ons. ReplayTV and vivo offer paid DVR services and a wider range of features for those who are looking to do more with their recorded programs.

ReplayTV offers a monthly subscription service that varies from $19.95 and up for software and features with their unit. They offer six different plans through their web site and retailers across the country. You can also get Tivo service through DirecTV for a monthly fee. ReplayTV is also available through subscription, guides and other programming and downloaded directly into the box via an Ethernet connection.

DVR technology may or not fit into your life. It depends on how much TV you watch and more importantly how much television you miss. If you are the type of person who cannot miss your daily soap opera or prime time special, and you work or have other obligations, a DVR unit might be the perfect fit. However, if you plan on using your DVR once or twice a week, it might be a smarter option to either catch a rerun or use an old-fashioned VCR to record your programs. A DVR is a smart investment for anyone who watches a lot of television and does not always have the time to watch it when it airs the first time.