Isn't it weird that we abandoned

[suarezguy]

The ability to record TV shows?

I guess people by now do have enough entertainment options, and have generally gotten a lot less interested in broadcast TV, but that is a big thing to just give up and not have anymore even over time. It probably was related with/correlated to decline in broadcast TV, though the studios would have felt mixed feelings thinking taped copies would/did diminish the advertising revenue and optimistic enough people which eventually buy the DVD which probably enough people are doing.

 

[Tosk]

Recording TV shows was just replaced with downloading. Either legally or...otherwise.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Why record shows when you can just watch the show whenever you feel like it?

 

[Owain Taggart]

It hasn't disappeared. It just got built-in to set-top boxes.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Streaming was the final nail in the coffin.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I still have my VCR (in fact, I've got several) that I continue to use to record various stuff. I do have a couple of streaming services which enable me to watch any episode of a series whenever I want with just a few keystrokes, but it's all part of my combined TV watching habits.

 

[J.T.B.]

The ability to record TV shows?

I'm not sure I accept the premise.

According to a report (PDF) by Nielsen Media Research (page 30), about half of US households had a DVR in 2020.

 

[auntiehill]

The ability to record TV shows?

I guess people by now do have enough entertainment options, and have generally gotten a lot less interested in broadcast TV, but that is a big thing to just give up and not have anymore even over time. It probably was related with/correlated to decline in broadcast TV, though the studios would have felt mixed feelings thinking taped copies would/did diminish the advertising revenue and optimistic enough people which eventually buy the DVD which probably enough people are doing.

Your premise is flawed. We continue to record shows via DVR, and do so in vast numbers. I can store a lot more on my DVR, with far greater picture quality, than I could on a videotape.

 

[Kor]

The ability to record TV shows?

I guess people by now do have enough entertainment options, and have generally gotten a lot less interested in broadcast TV, but that is a big thing to just give up and not have anymore even over time. It probably was related with/correlated to decline in broadcast TV, though the studios would have felt mixed feelings thinking taped copies would/did diminish the advertising revenue and optimistic enough people which eventually buy the DVD which probably enough people are doing.

I would say that was the case about ten years ago. Today, DVD is borderline obsolete. This is the age of HD-quality streaming services. Today's viewers will just subscribe to the services that have the shows they like, and watch them whenever they want to.
ETA: And as has been mentioned already, DVR is commonplace for those who want to record OTA broadcasts.

Kor

 

[Owain Taggart]

Your premise is flawed. We continue to record shows via DVR, and do so in vast numbers. I can store a lot more on my DVR, with far greater picture quality, than I could on a videotape.

Not to mention, multiple shows at once, depending on how many tuners one has on their DVR, which was impossible in the days of VHS.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

DVDs still have use to movie buffs because unlike music not all movies you want to watch are streaming in the same place. Movie streaming rights are far more volatile than music streaming rights.

But the thing is, when you record shows off the TV, you have to fast forward through the ads every time you watch it.

 

[Aragorn]

My TiVo skips the ads but it doesn't always do it. For the most part, it'll do it for the entire episode (minus the commercials between the end and the preview for next week), but every now and then it won't do it at all.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

IDVR is commonplace for those who want to record OTA broadcasts.

Is there such a thing as DVRs to be used with antennas?

 

[Kor]

DVDs still have use to movie buffs because unlike music not all movies you want to watch are streaming in the same place. Movie streaming rights are far more volatile than music streaming rights.

But the thing is, when you record shows off the TV, you have to fast forward through the ads every time you watch it.

I am a movie buff, and I will only buy a DVD if the movie or show is not available on blu-ray. To me, blu-ray is the bare minimum standard today.

Is there such a thing as DVRs to be used with antennas?

I've never used one myself, but I thought they could only be used for regular broadcasts but not for cable. Cable boxes might have their own proprietary formats for recording stuff? I'm not sure.

Kor

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The only BluRays I buy anymore are the World Series.

And I only do that because they let you replace the Fox TV broadcast audio (Joe Buck is one of the worst announcers in sports and I can't stand him ) with the teams' radio feeds.

Apart from that, though, it's all iTunes.

(For movies, anyway. I only stream TV shows.)

 

[J.T.B.]

Is there such a thing as DVRs to be used with antennas?

Yeah, I have one. The OTR HD is better quality than it ever was with cable, BTW

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I am a movie buff, and I will only buy a DVD if the movie or show is not available on blu-ray. To me, blu-ray is the bare minimum standard today.



Kor

I go for the blu ray if both are available, but for movies that aren't visual spectacles the difference isn't that important to me.

 

[Non Sync]

Biggest drawback to the commercial DVRs is the inability to save the recording in another format due to copyright laws and HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection).

 

[Owain Taggart]

Biggest drawback to the commercial DVRs is the inability to save the recording in another format due to copyright laws and HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection).

That's not really going to be a problem for most people though. The majority of people with set-top boxes would be ones still paying for cable, and most likely in an older age group that couldn't be bothered. My parents for instance record things daily and delete them whenever they've seen them.

 

[Starbreaker]

I have to admit I miss having a DVR a little bit. There was something fun about fastforwarding through commercials. Now there's only a handful of stuff that airs on cable or network TV that I even watch. I couldn't justify paying for one.