The Digital Video Recorder (DVR) which millions of households use for time-shifting television is changing thanks to competition and technology, according to a story at the Wall Street Journal on Friday.

In the 1990s, the TiVo introduced TV viewers to the idea of digital recording, time shifting, and pausing live television. Slowly, this technology worked its way into the set-top boxes provided by the cable and satellite carriers.

Now, the WSJ reports that competition is heating up thanks to technical advances that fold in the Internet, in home broadcasting, and new ways to access and program the devices.

Despite the advances, the DVR continues to cause concern in parts of the TV industry. Some US$65 billion is spent on TV advertising, and advertisers are keeping a sharp eye on where to spend their money now that it's so easy to skip TV commercials with a DVR. Nevertheless, the device is here to stay and the carriers continue to lure customers with added features.

By the end of 2007, about 25 million of the devices are expected to be in U.S. households. Currently, the migration is to High Definition units.

Multi-room broadcast features are currently being sought by customers. Jim Roche, a Richmond, Virginia resident likes the Verizon multi-room feature. "My girlfriend and I have different TV tastes," he explains. "She can record something and go later watch it the bedroom" while he's watching something else downstairs. "So we're not fighting over the DVR at the same time," he says.

More and more users want to be able to program their DVR remotely. If they find out about something they want to record, they'd like to be able to connect over the Internet or access it with a cell phone. Subscribers to TiVo and AT&T's Homezone can already do that on the Internet.

With all the new technology, just like HD, it comes at a price. Verizon's multi-room DVR rents for just under US$20/month. Tivo's HD Series 3 sells for about $800 retail. (iPO notes that the price is expected to come down.)

Another issue is storage. HD takes up a lot of room on a hard disk, and people tend to accumulate content. Whether stand alone DVRs with massive hard disks, network storage in the house, or carrier based storage (as a service) wins out is still up in the air.

In concert with this technology revolution, Apple has put its stake in the ground with the Apple TV. Apple appears to be betting that customers will want to keep their living room uncluttered and keep massive video storage next to the Mac, perhaps in the den or a home office. The carriers, especially DirecTV, are countering quickly with increased HD offerings, something that is still in the future with Apple TV.