So, I didn't buckle. I bought a new VCR. No DVR for now. But, I'm starting to have some second thoughts about my strategy. I didn't realize how tough it is for us dinosaurs.
I mean, I thought it was easy. I made my first ever trip to Target in the Bronx -- quiet an interesting little mini-suburbia they have there, consequently -- and found a decent VCR/DVD combo for about $70. Not bad, I thought. It had all the features I wanted, which isn't much. Or, so I thought.
As I got home to set it up, I realized there was no place to plug the cable into it. What's worse, my television in my bedroom, which I got for about $30 off of Craigslist, is so old that it has no place to plug the A/V lines into it. In other words, I had a useless $75 piece of metal sitting on my bed.
Thanks to the local Radio Shack, I found a little modulator thingie that let me plug the cable from the television and the a/v cables from the VCR/DVD player into it, so it works now, at least. Add about $25 for the modulator, plus $10 for a new cable to connect my cable box to the VCR, and the $70 VCR is now closer to $110. And -- and take note, hack comedians who still make jokes about how hard it is to program a VCR (Jay Leno, looking in your direction) -- there is absolutely no programming feature on it. So, I can watch tapes, but that's about it!
I'm still not sold on getting the DVR service, though. I'm finding out that I can live without taping things when I'm not home. All it ultimately does is encourage me to watch TV. Fight the power!
Oh, and I'm one song closer to a theme song, as thankfully, "I Wanna Be A Producer" came up and is subsequently off my list (and my iPod).
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4 comments:
my advice: get involved with the DVR. #1 it's all software on the cable box so there's no confusion on how to "hook it up". #2 it allows you to watch television when *you* want to - not when *they* want you to.
of course, it's a slippery slope to watching more television...but anytime I can't find something to watch on tv...what's on the DVR list?
happy (extremely) belated birthday, btw. i owe you a few drinks!
Hmmm, that's strange about not being able to program it. Are you sure the programming buttons aren't on the remote control, or maybe hidden behind a panel on the front of the machine?
I have a DVR, and while I like it, I've also had more technical problems with it than with any DVD player or VCR I ever had. Sometimes, I'd set it up to record a show, and it just wouldn't record it. Eventually, the hard drive crashed and I had to get a replacement from DirecTV.
But when it works properly, it's nice. For example, I wanted to see "Mad Men," but I hadn't had a chance. Then, AMC had a seven-hour marathon one Sunday a few weeks ago, and I was able to record all the episodes. So that was great. I can also tape all the Broadway segments from Regis & Kelly, the Today Show, the View, etc., and put them on a DVD.
I also find that I end up with a backlog of shows I'm probably never going to get around to watching. Just like when I got my first VCR, many years ago, I went wild taping movies, documentaries, all kinds of special programs that I thought I wanted to save forever. Eventually, I taped over almost everything!
Definitely on the drinks! :-)
And esther, I'm sure. I looked through the instruction manual (I NEVER do that) and there was nary a word on programming. No panels, no buttons. Nada.
So, I guess I'll get DVR. But I have to be a bitch and just get it for my bedroom TV. Unless my roommates want to pay for it on the living room TV, because I usually just yield that one to them.
Get the DVR! :-) Or just come up to our place and check out the DVR on our new tv. We went all perfeshunuhl with the new lcd thingie.
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