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Friday, July 13, 2007

Television Viewers Enjoy Increasing Control Over Their Viewing

It seems as if when changes in technology appear, they appear all at once. For many years, nothing can be changing and then suddenly, everything changes. That is the way it seems to be happening with television technology. For many years television stayed pretty much the same other than the programming. Now, within the span of just a couple of years, we are undergoing the changeover of television formats to high definition television and the introduction of interactive television of all sorts. Interactive television capabilities are especially interested because they are appearing as a result of viewers wanting to be able to be a more active participant in their viewing experience. After decades of passively viewing television and accepting the programming schedules that networks executives have doled out, television viewers are now demanding to be able to better control when and what they watch. The digital video recorder is perhaps the most important change in the interactive television world. Dishnetwork offers two receiver with the digital video recording technology: the Dish Player DVR 625 and the ViP622 DVR. These receivers are taking off in terms of popularity as more viewers realize the benefits they can confer.
With digital video recording, television schedules are no longer in the hands of people in offices far away. It is up to the user to decide when he or she wants to watch a show, and even how to watch it. The digital video recorder gives the user the ability to record any show quickly and easily, even if the user is not very adept with technology. This works by letting the user find the show to record among the electronic program guide listings. Once the user finds the show, they can highlight it and press the record button. The DVR takes care of the rest. Because the electronic program guide already has all the information about the time that the show will air and the channel it will air on, the user does not need to enter any of this information. This makes the act of recording infinitely easier than with a VCR and lets even technophobes record shows easily.
Because DVRs make recording so easy, the viewer has a lot more control over watching programming. It now is possible to record a program just to be able to watch it a half hour later. Before, the frustration of dealing with a VCR made this impractical and caused most people just to watch programming even when the timing was not great. Digital video recorders also have other advantages such as letting viewers skip commercials. This is a great way to save time and to enjoy a program without being constantly interrupted. Also, the DVR lets the viewer control live television viewing. As long as the DVR is recording simultaneously with your television watching, you can pause, rewind, or replay whatever show you want while watching it. This means you can get up and make popcorn or check your mail and then pick up your show where you left off.

The digital video recorder is ushering in a new way of watching television where the viewer gets to make a lot more of the decisions as to what works best for him or her. So far, viewers seem to be enamored of this ability and seem to be happy with the direction that television technology is taking.

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