Mar
12
DVR recorders are fast becoming an essential part of a home entertainment system or home theater system. This article will discuss the benefits of digital video recorders over standard video recorders and look at the future trend for the DVR.
The major difference between a digital video recorder and the standard variety is that recordings are stored on a hard drive as opposed to tape. This has a couple of benefits.
The first is that the storage capacity is vast. Some of the latest models have upwards of 400gb of storage capacity that will store around 600 hours of programming. You can record a whole series of TV shows without having to erase the first episodes. You can then watch the recorded episodes when it is convenient for you. The second benefit is that the recorded programs are far more secure on hard drive than tape so you won’t lose something special to tape wear and tear.
The DVR is also connected to some form of TV guide that is regularly updated. This guide can be accessed on screen and is far simpler to use than recording with a standard video recorder. The guide will have the name of the program and when it starts. By highlighting the program name and pressing record you can record the program. This can be done hours or days in advance. You can also set a record option on a series or regular soap so that the system records the program without you having to set it. In this way you can record an entire series or week of soap operas and then watch them at the weekend or when you have some free time.
You could say that with a bit of organization from you, it can turn TV into an on-demand experience whereby you watch what you want when you want to.
Another popular feature of DVRs are the ability to pause live TV or time shift TV broadcasts. You can also rewind live TV. This works by recording the current program onto the hard drive and then giving you the option to do what you want, from pause, rewind and fast forward. This is mainly used for sporting events or other live events but can also be useful in films if you missed a bit of the plot because the phone rang.
The latest digital video recorder offering is the HD DVR. This features the ability to store High definition content for playback at a later date. Of course you need an HDTV and high definition broadcasts to be able to benefit from an HD DVR. HDTVs are still quite expensive and not all TV stations broadcast high definition quality programs so this may be something for the future when the technology is more widespread.
Find reviews on the latest home theater components, including Home theater speaker systems at http://www.hometheaterreviewed.com . Adrian Whittle writes reviews and features on home theater equipment and accessories.
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