Home Audio Video Advisor

The X-Files Movie 2-Pack (I Want to Believe / Fight the Future) [Blu-ray]

Neilsen estimates DVR penetration at 20% and I estimate well over 80% for our readers. Which just happens to be the topic of our latest poll. Feel free to vote! Approaching my 10th anniversary with DVRs I have never been a fan of using suggestions (a TiVo feature) for finding new shows. However once I find a show that was been airing for a while I really find the DVR great for allowing me to catch up with what I have been missing.

My favorite is the cable networks’ marathons. Often they will run a complete season marathon before the new season begins. If you get real lucky they may even run every episode aired back to back just like USA Network recently did with Burn Notice. Within a couple of days the DVR gobbled up over 30-hours of episodes that I could catch-up with at my convenience.

Viewing them is much more enjoyable when you can skip over the commercials and instantly fly from one episode to another. Sure you could rent or purchase the DVDs but this way once you have viewed them you don’t have to sell them on eBay.

I certainly won’t admit to all of the shows I have mass recorded but the following are above approach.

• Burn Notice
• The Closer
• Saving Grace
• Two and a Half Men
• Torchwood
• X-Files
• Joan of Arcadia
• Dead Like Me

You get the idea. Often you’ll have to configure the DVR to record all episodes over time but Marathons are great. I still remember my first The X-Files. If I remember correctly I had something like six seasons to get through before the new season started and if you remember those were the great seasons of The X-Files.

Sony DVP-FX930 9-inch Portable DVD Player

Since Wimbledon is in full stride July 4th must be right around the corner. By the way ESPN is doing a great job of covering Wimbledon compared to the French Open as they have removed most if not all of the ticklers and graphics that do nothing but distract you from the action at hand.

For me July 4th signals summer and with summer comes the outdoors, vacations, and an endless number of reasons not to be at home. Fortunately with a portable DVD player you don’t have to leave your favorite movies behind or miss the just released blockbuster. If you have kids you probably already have one or more but for the rest of us a portable DVD player makes just as much sense.

Your laptop’s battery will not expire watching a movie and you won’t worry about sharing it with others. Simply pop in a movie and enjoy being carried away even further.

The portable DVD player featured here offers a six-hour rechargeable battery, 180-degree swivel screen and comes in six colors. As an added bonus you just might be able to view the videos taken during your trip. Burning them onto DVDs will even give you a good excuse to use your laptop and you know you’ll be looking for one.