I couldn’t agree more with Michael Blowhard’s On the DVR:
I wonder if people who haven’t yet sprung for a digital video recorder — a Tivo, or maybe a box that your cable company will rent you — understand how dramatically using one can change your experience of television.
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But for me what’s been most wonderful is the way the DVR — essentially some software and a hard drive — becomes the TV equivalent of your book or CD library. When The Wife and I settle in to do a little tube-watching, we don’t see ‘what’s on television.’ Instead, we check out what’s waiting for us on the hard drive.You can accumulate an amazing collection of shows with only a minimal amount of programming effort. It used to be common to say that TV was the enemy of true culture. These days … Well, if you use your DVR wisely, watching TV can become a rewarding part of a classy cultural life.
The list of what’s on his DVR seems eerily familiar.