Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Bite the Bullet and Learn to DVR?

          You've probably seen a few commercials from satellite/cable providers like DirectTV, Dish Network, Comcast, or a regional equivalent. They've already had to get competitive and creative in toting their products' ability to DVR television shows. Apparently, as advertised, you can record up to five shows at once. Um, wow.
          To be honest, I scoff at such commercials. We use an antenna, and don't watch much TV. If my wife and I miss one of the airings from the fistful of shows we watch, we catch it on Hulu. The need to record five shows simultaneously is hard to imagine.
          However, I wonder if my poor understanding of a DVR machine could be a slippery slope to becoming a media/technological ignoramus. I know how to use and maintain social media, MP3 players, smartphones, versatile videogame systems, and most multi-function entertainment centers, but DVR (and TiVo, I suppose, too) is my blind spot. Could this lead to my becoming someone that doesn't understand technology as well as my children do? They're preschool age or younger, so who knows what they'll be using to listen to music or watch television in their teens.
          So yeah, maybe I should learn DVR. Maybe it will be as easy as when I recorded Star Trek episodes onto VHS tapes in junior high.    

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