My Dishnet DVR (not TiVo) Betrayed Me

Funny but true...

 

My Dishnet DVR (not TiVo) Betrayed Me

 

I can’t watch too many hours of tv every day.  I just can’t commit myself to sitting in one spot for hours watching various programs running the taste gamut from dreck to merely ok.  There are a few shows that come on that are bright spots on an otherwise s****y lineup.  I basically pay $85 a month to b***h about what parades on my tv.

 

One of the few shows I do watch is The Shield and I must say Vic Mackey is the f*****g man!  Oh, the whole cast is money; the storylines just weave in and out of Holy S**t! land, and it’s so gripping that to miss a show is like finding out your puppy got ran over by a car.  You kind of just, stare into space before letting out a primal scream and curse until you run out of breath.  But that would never happen to be as I have a satellite tv service that included a 100 hour recording box!  I may be a week, a month or an entire season behind of watching my shows, but thanks to my dvr, I was safe…

 

Or so I thought…

 

I started falling behind watching the 1^st season of The Shield when season 2 was going to start.  No problem-I had a dvr with 100 f*****g hours on it!  A season runs like 13 or so episodes, I could save a few seasons on it!  At first, things were ok.  I ordered the 1^st season on dvd to catch up while I recorded season 2. I caught up, watched the 2^nd season of the great show at my leisure as again I fell behind, but never fear: my dvr would save the day!  I told friends about this great show and some got into it while others just took me at my word.  “Idiots!”  I huffed at the non believers as I continued to record on my trusty machine.  At one point, I had seasons 2-4 of The Shield saved (heh!) along with a few movies as I had a life to live.  I was not going to be chained to any tv show.  Then my worst fear happened.  A friend of mine complained about his satellite company’s dvr just going on the fritz out of nowhere.  I nervously laughed, then checked my shows-they were still there.  “Maybe your machine is a cheap piece of crap!  You had a 30 hour machine?  HAHAHAHA!!!  How old was your model?!” I teased him, so secure that my model wouldn’t betray me. 

 

Weeks passed and I decide to catch up as season 5 of one of my favorite shows was about to start.  I cut my tv on and go to the dvr menu and noticed a lot of free space…”Very odd…” I thought as I remembered taping a few horror flicks but didn’t find them there.  More nervous laughter, with beads of sweat popping on my forehead and a panic attack on the horizon.  Ok, I scanned down the (used to be) long list of tv shows and movies until I saw episodes of The Shield and breathed a sigh of relief-until I counted the amount of episodes.  “Maybe seasons 2-4 were short…” I mumbled to myself, clearly in denial even after checking the FX channel online and seeing that there were indeed more episodes produced than were on my dvr. 

 

My memory is sketchy at times, but when I’m into something (a tv show, a book, etc…) I’m practically obsessed with it and have OCD (I think) it comes towards my interested thing.  I called Dishnet and spoke to a none too bright rep who, when I explained what happened told me to call again if something was wrong.  “Hell-o!!!” I was calling because something was wrong!  I asked the rep about the possibility of something being wrong with my dvr.  “Um, have you had problems with it before?” I was asked.  I wanted to choke the s**t out of him.  “I would have called if I had problems with it before!”  “Oh…”  Yea, that’s all I got-then some awkward silence before being put on hold.  Einstein came back and said (again) “Well, if anything else happens to the dvr, call and tech support should be able to assist you.”  I just hung up the phone and cursed the rep’s parents for their creation.

 

Needless to say, by the next day I noticed that the system had changed, upgraded or whatever and everything that had been recorded was gone!  I stared at my tv in apoplexy.  I almost threw the remote at the wall, but remembered how expensive it was and just tossed it on the couch in a hissy fit.  I ranted and raved to everyone about the situation whether they wanted to hear it or not!  I bought seasons 2-5 of the show and am currently half way through the 4^th season as the new season begins soon.  I continue to record on that damned dvr, but I just don’t trust it really.  So far, I only have six things on it without incident, but it’s only been two months so I don’t know.  I bought myself a dvd recorder and will use it for the programs I absolutely must have.

 

Dishnet dvr, you are being placed on “friends” status.  I love you no more.

 

Author's Note

Still rocking and rolling with it-for now :-)