Scott Wilkinson

Ever since they first appeared, I've been a big fan of DVD recorders. You can jump to any point almost instantly, and the discs take up much less shelf space than VHS tapes. The only problem is the limited amount of material that will fit on one disc: At the highest-quality setting, you can record only one hour on a single-layer DVD.

Digital video recorders (DVRs) have become the central icon of a new religion I call TiVoism. Although TiVo is not the only brand of DVR on the market today, it's by far the most recognized, and has already entered the popular lexicon as both noun ("I just got TiVo!") and verb ("Don't worry; I'll TiVo Law & Order while we're out."). Those who become TiVoists (also known as TiVotées) are highly devout and tend to proselytize at every opportunity, with good reason: If you watch TV at all, a DVR can dramatically change your life, as it did mine.

<I>Avery Brooks, Rene Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, Cirroc Lofton, Colm Meaney, Armin Shimerman, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor. Aspect ratio: 4:3. Dolby Digital 5.1 (English), Dolby Surround 2.0 (English). 54 hours 31 minutes. 1992&ndash;1995. Paramount Home Video 056454, 05893, 05894. NR. $139.99 per season. </I>

As the age of digital television dawns, one link in the signal chain remains stubbornly analog: the video connection from the DVD player to the display. However, that is about to change. Many displays are starting to appear with a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) input. Now all we need is a DVD player with a DVI output to keep the signal entirely in the digital domain from source to screen&mdash;at least with fully digital displays.