Skip to main content
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SERVICES
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH
Web CNN.com
powered by Yahoo!
Technology
Headline News

Sunday pause

By Erica Hill
CNN Headline News

What's this?
Contextual Link #1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectateur nonummy lorenzino. Interdum volgus videt, est ubi peccat...
www.contextual_1.com
Contextual Link #2
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectateur nonummy lorenzino. Interdum volgus videt, est ubi peccat...
www.contextual_2.com
Contextual Link #3
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectateur nonummy lorenzino. Interdum volgus videt, est ubi peccat...
www.contextual_3.com
Contextual Link #4
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectateur nonummy lorenzino. Interdum volgus videt, est ubi peccat...
www.contextual_4.com
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Technology
Television
TiVo Incorporated

(CNN) -- I don't watch much television. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against TV -- heck, it pays my bills! Like most people, I have my favorite shows, but because I work nights, I rarely see them during the week. Sunday nights, however, I rarely miss.

Last week, one of my closest friends and her husband were in town. We had dinner reservations for 7:30 Sunday night. I don't have a digital video recorder (DVR) like TiVo or Replay, but I do own one of those antiquated VCR-thingies (in case you're not familiar with them, think of it as a DVD player that uses large plastic tapes, without the DVD extras and easy scene-shuttling features). I didn't want to miss "American Dreams," so I found a tape, popped it in, and thought I set the channel correctly. I hit play and record, and off we went.

After a wonderful dinner and plenty of good conversation, it was home to the couch. After settling into my sweatpants, I was ready to settle into the couch to watch my show. If all went well, I would finish just in time for the replay of that night's episode of "The Sopranos." My Sunday evening was nearly complete.

Of course, I should have known nothing is that simple. Setting the VCR was never a challenge for me, even if I was getting it ready to tape a show on a different day. I don't buy that whole "women-can't-work-the-VCR" routine, either. My grandmother can program the pants off anybody's VCR. However, I will concede that it helps to practice.

My last VCR tango was likely in the '90s, when I would have never forgotten to push one very important button: TV/VCR.

Alas, this time I did forget. My dream of "American Dreams" was not to be (although luckily I got the rundown from my Mom -- she's the one who got me hooked). Maybe it was better in the end, because by the time we got home and I got my sweats on, I was too tired to stay up for "The Sopranos."

Still, it makes me think again about the pluses to a DVR -- no tapes needed, and once you set it to tape a show, it does it every time. On the downside, it may offer too much incentive to settle into the couch on a sunny afternoon, when I would be better off walking our dog through the neighborhood. Ahh ... the dilemmas of technology! Still, if I had it to do over, besides remembering the all-important TV/VCR step, I still would have gone to dinner -- an episode of true friendship is worth more than a TV show any day.


Story Tools
Subscribe to Time for $1.99 cover
Top Stories
Burgers, lattes and CD burners
Top Stories
CNN/Money: Security alert issued for 40 million credit cards
Search JobsMORE OPTIONS


 

International Edition
CNN TV CNN International Headline News Transcripts Advertise With Us About Us
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.
Add RSS headlines.