Comcast DVR

There have been tales long told of how much I love my DVR.

While a year ago I was forced to download my favorite TV shows and watch them on my 15-inch laptop, that all changed once I got my Comcast digital video recorder. Being able to watch Lost, 24, and Battlestar on a 40-inch screen in HD whenever I want puts me in TV heaven (yeah, I watch Heroes too, but that's more like TV purgatory for me right now).

As with all relationships, though, this one sees its share of ups and downs. This past weekend, after returning from a four-day trip, I found no less than 25 episodes of Family Guy (another show I record) recorded. I'd seen most of them, so I thought I'd just get rid of them in one fell swoop. There must be an option to delete all episodes of a single show right? No, there isn't.

Not only did I have to delete each episode individually, each time I highlighted an episode to delete it, I needed to make four button presses to get to the delete symbol. I did this for all 25 episodes (well, 24 episodes; there was one where Brian starts dating Meg's teacher that I hadn't seen before). That's way too much time to spend deleting.

Other issues my DVR and I are grappling with:

I have it set to record all Family Guy episodes on all channels. Why is it, then, that HD episodes of the show on TBS never actually record?

More than a few times I've sat down, ready to watch an episode of one of my favorite shows in HD, only to discover the SD version was recorded instead.

When setting up a specific recording, why must the cable box be on the channel I want to record on? Why can't I go to a menu, find 24, and have the system ask me which channel I'd like to record it from?

I realize there are possibly ways around some of these problems, but I'm just not sure I'm willing to work on it anymore. Having access to all these great shows in HD is great. But it's kind of like dating a girl who can get you into really cool parties, and once you get there you only want to hang out with other people.

--Eric Franklin