# DVR and shows that start late?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 17, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769 "2008-04-17T19:32:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769/1 "2008-04-17T19:32:48Z")

</div>

Ok, I keep trying to record stuff on Sunday on CBS - and my DVR doesn’t recognize that shows start late after some sporting event or other runs long, so I miss most of Dexter each week. What do you guys do for unattended DVR recording to solve this problem, or do you just live with it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769/2 "2008-04-17T19:36:52Z")

</div>

[QUOTE=DirkGntly]  
Ok, I keep trying to record stuff on Sunday on CBS - and my DVR doesn’t recognize that shows start late after some sporting event or other runs long, so I miss most of Dexter each week. What do you guys do for unattended DVR recording to solve this problem, or do you just live with it?  
[/QUOTE]  
What I do is record the sporting event, then my show, and then the show after the one I want to see, hopefully getting my show somewhere in the middle. Just fast forward to where your show starts, and enjoy!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769/3 "2008-04-17T19:49:23Z")

</div>

I may have to do that - this is on the “series record” option that kicks in when I’m out of town or out of the house. Maybe someday they’ll figure out how to put e-tags at the beginning and end of a show so the DVR will start and end on time…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769/4 "2008-04-17T19:57:09Z")

</div>

If you are having a problem with a particular program, there is usually some kind of ‘extend timer beyond end of event’ command. The down side is it can increase the number of conflicts you have with other programs.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\
**Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dvr-and-shows-that-start-late/445769/5 "2008-04-17T20:24:09Z")

</div>

I’ve been bitching about this for a while now. It just happened again this past Sunday, when I missed the last half hour of _Cold Case_ because it never occurred to me that it might be running late that day. During football season, I almost routinely followed **Contrapuntal** ’s method if for some reason I wasn’t going to be home on Sunday night.