DVR Issues

B and I have had a DVR for at least 4 years, maybe 5. I joke that it's saved our marriage, because we have little to no common ground in our TV-watching habits. But it has actually been a terrific thing for me to have. I can tape every new episode of my favorite shows without worrying that I'll miss something (terribly important when you watch as many arc-centric shows as I do). I can try out new shows that I can't watch as they air. I can go on vacation without trying to figure out how to program my VCR.

But we've been having a little trouble with our DVR this past month or so. About once a day, it will shut down, along with the TV, while we're watching. Within a minute or two, it turns back on, a little louder than it was, then the volume returns to where it had been. Meanwhile, whatever had been taping (if anything) is interrupted. Now that I think about it, it is possible that it also happened when we weren't home - once White Collar was interrupted twice.

B thought that perhaps there was something wrong with the surge protector that we were using, but that was soon disproved. We finally realized we had to call the cable company when we returned from Thanksgiving holiday to learn that a full day's worth of programming did not record. Thus, I missed the "fall finale" of V (I'll catch it online - but still!).

Surprisingly, the cable company was very helpful, trying to solve the issue from their end. When that didn't work, they came to the house, and traded DVRs. We now have a fancy new DVR.

But I really wish we could have salvaged our old one. Firstly, we lost everything we hadn't seen yet, including 2 episodes of Dollhouse and episode one of the season finale of Top Chef. I also lost all the Season 5 episodes of Lost that I had saved, but since the DVD set came out today, I'm not as worried about that. I would have deleted those anyway. Yet I lost something even more than saved episodes: my preferences. I will have to reset every series recording that I'd had in the past. The Closer, Burn Notice, Leverage, Lost, Fringe, Project Runway, V, FlashForward, everything. I can't count on my new DVR to know what I used to like. So when Chuck returns, I'm going to have to remember to set it up. Damn!