When I look at current technology, my eyes begin to glaze over the alphabet soup. None of the names or acronyms is particularly descriptive and it seems you have to belong to a secret club to understand what the “THING” does. Such was the case with the letters “D”, “V”, “R”. I knew “it”, the DVR was something I needed, and my cable box had it, but I did not have a clue as to what it did or why I needed it. To my way of thinking I was as knowledgeable about DVR’s as I was about an alternator in a car. Once I embarked on my “cord cutting journey,” I realized that I needed to know these things. So, here’s what I have learned.

The letters DVR stand for Digital Video Recorder (also known as PVR for Personal Video Recorder. It is a piece of electronic hardware, introduced first by TiVo in 1999, that records video in digital format to a hard drive (storage facility). The DVR for your television or computer is also referred to as a network DVR. And for those of us who grew up with a VCR it is a huge step up in picture quality and consistency of picture because the digital information goes to the hard drive not the tape, which can degrade.

Now, in the case of television this means that when you are searching for shows to record and watch later you are actually recording the shows to the hard drive on your set top box. Some newer TV’s even have built-in DVRs. Your shows are actually copied and stored on your DVR. The other trick that DVR’s are able to perform is that they can record two shows at once and play back a previously recorded one simultaneously. Their recording and play back functions are entirely separate. Newer versions of DVR are also able to make recommendations to you based on your recording history. Cool huh? Once I learned this I realized that it was the DVR that I really enjoyed not the cable per se. I liked being able to have a library of shows waiting for me that I can watch at my leisure. I have favorites like “Gladiator” and “Seabiscuit” that just live on my DVR until I need them – my entertainment “comfort food”. Other shows like the news shows live on the DVR a day or two and I delete them. So here are a couple of considerations to make when deciding which Digital Video Recording device is right for you.

Prices for network DVRs vary. TiVo and Replay TV cost between $100 and $500 depending on storage capacity, then you have to pay a monthly service charge. Other set top box such as Direct TV provide the box “free” but you pay a rental fee and must use their service. In some cases you own the box, in others it belongs to your service provider. Also consider how you want to use your DVR. Do you want it to hold only a few shows that get deleted weekly or do you want to create a vast library for yourself? Storage capacity is important if you want the latter option. The more storage the more you will pay. Some boxes offer DVD recorders so that you can transfer your shows to disk, others include built in VCRs. Whatever the configuration take the time to decide how you want to use your DVR and then select the unit that is right for you.

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