Grgranny--Tivo is the latest greatest invention in TV technology (okay, right now I am a bit biased), it is a digital recorder with many programming capabilities. The one we have has 35 hrs. of storage space. There is a "Tivo" subscription service you need to have for programming. You can create a "wish list" or a "season pass" and Tivo will automatically record the program. For skating I created a Season Pass so that ANY and ALL programs with figure skating in it will automatically be recorded. You can program in your favorite shows or select your favorite actors and Tivo will automatically record them. You can pause live telvision and come back and pick up where you left off. Tivo can also record 2 programs at once, as well as record one show while you are watching another. You can also record from Tivo to VCR.
Tivo also "knows" what you like, so if you have say detective type shows on your wish list, it will automatically record other detective shows/movies that you might like. It is also simple to delete anything recorded you do not want.
We were constantly recording shows on video tapes and then forgetting which tape had what recorded on it, accidently taping over shows, etc (basically organizational misfits)...
That's Tivo in a nutshell! (more like a coco-nutshell!)
eliza88