LOS ANGELES, US - Digital video recorders don't just save TV shows, according to a new survey; they save relationships.Some 79 percent of 1,000 DVR owners reported that the technology has improved their relationship, according to the NDS DVR Report.

The statistic was just one of many presented by NDS, a manufacturer of DVR technology, suggesting the machines are becoming increasingly integral in U.S. households.

For instance, DVRs were cited as the second most essential household technology item they can't live without, second only to the mobile phone. Among non-technological household items, DVR was beaten out only by washing machine and microwave oven.

"The results show how fast the DVR has become an indispensable part of many people's lives in the U.S.," said Steve Tranter, vice president, broadband and interactive delivery, NDS Americas. "It's one of those technologies that, once you use it, it makes you wonder how you coped before." --REUTERS