Pause my life? Not without my DVR.

How Modern Entertainment Technology is Shifting Time I was watching Adam Sandler’s movie Click the other night. In the film, he plays Michael Newman, a workaholic architect who tirelessly tries to keep his wife and kids happy. As fate would have it, Newman purchases a universal remote control that has the ability to pause, mute and rewind his life. The movie was worth noting because it made me think...how cool would it be to do the same things with my own time-shifting DVR? What’s a DVR? Read on! A DVR, or Digital Video Recorder, is a device that records live television. Think of it as a tape-less VCR, or disc-less DVD player, with the same ability to fast forward, pause, rewind and skip through commercials. For the most part, all DVRs are very similar. Most have a digital tuner that allows them to decode a television signal, various outputs that connect to all televisions and, most importantly, a computer hard drive for saving information. The hard drives range in storage size from 20 to 180 hours (such as DVRs from Dish Network). And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the remote is so easy to operate, I haven’t once yet thrown it against the wall. The DVR is generically referred to as “TIVO.” Just as “Xeroxing” has come to mean photocopying and “Googling” has come to mean internet searching, “TIVO-ing” has found its way into the English language as an expression for what DVRs provide. “Replay TV” and “TIVO” were introduced to the world in 1999 and have changed the way we watch TV forever. Are you still wondering how a DVR can manage your time, keep you sane and help you maintain all your relationships? Well, now you can finally watch your favorite TV shows based on your own personal schedule. In 40 minutes, a DVR lets you watch an hour-long episode of “Deal or No Deal” while eating your Wheaties for breakfast. A DVR lets you watch all the new movies you’ve been wanting to see on HBO and Starz, but have been missing because you just haven’t had time. A DVR lets you record “American Idol” while you watch the NBA playoffs; and with a high definition DVR, you can now record both HDTV and standard definition programming. Now when the phone rings, my thumb finds its way to the pause button, so I don’t miss a single moment of my favorite show. Better yet, when I’m feeling a little parched, I pause the football game and take my time getting to know what’s in my fridge. The only drawback? Sadly, my “mute” button on the TV remote feels neglected and is becoming increasingly jealous of the DVR “pause” button. You might want to get one of these remarkable life-savers and try it yourself. It may not slice and dice, but a DVR will allow you to record, pause, fast forward and rewind live television. Heck, if you didn’t like reading this article, wouldn’t it have been nice if you could have skipped right past it using a device like your DVR? Hmm...a remote that allows you to fast-forward your life. That sounds like it could be a good movie.