How to Block Commercials
By Erick Kristian
Television was invented as a delivery vehicle for commercials. For years, viewers have been subjected to the onslaught of advertisers hawking their wares. Fortunately, with the advent of Personal Video Recorders or PVRs, viewers can skip the experience of commercials entirely. There are two ways to block commercials: one is by watching programs on a time delay and the other is by recording programs with the PVR and watching them later. A PVR with commercial blocking capability is required.
Purchase a PVR that offers commercial elimination, time delayed viewing and recording. Most new models offer these features. The PVR should also be compatible with the cable or satellite provider in your area.
Connect the PVR to the TV and/or cable/satellite box. The exact setup method will vary by model and other services. Some cable and satellite providers offer their own PVR boxes as part of the cable/satellite box.
Select a program to watch. Enable the time delay or commercial elimination function. The viewer will have to watch the program on a 10-minute delay to avoid the commercials. The PVR will let the person know when they can watch for uninterrupted viewing.
Select which programs to download to the PVR's hard drive. Once the shows are downloaded, the commercials will be eliminated automatically. You may need to enable a setting that does this prior to the download. Watch the recorded shows commercial free at your leisure.
References
- "Practical MythTV: Building a PVR and Media Center PC;" Stewart Smith and Michael Still; 2007
- "Beginning TiVo Programming;" John Brosnan and Kyle Copeland; 2007
- Club MYCE: New Philips DVR Filters Out Commercials
Writer Bio
Erick Kristian began writing professionally in 2008. He has a strong background in business and extensive experience writing fiction and articles related to spirituality and self improvement which are published on growingeveryday.com. Kristian has written several screenplays, produced numerous films, published books and written numerous articles on a variety of subjects. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Schulich School of Business.