Couch potatoes know Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE:SFA) well. Its chips fuel those all-night viewing marathons. No, we're not talking about the Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) Frito-Lay variety. Scientific-Atlanta makes the microchip-guided set-top boxes that help you surf through hundreds of channels.

It's booming business for Scientific-Atlanta. Last night the company saw its fiscal second-quarter profits more than triple to $0.33 a share. Sales inched 18% higher for a $416.8 million showing.

What's even more encouraging is that, while the company's backlog has barely inched higher over the past year, its bookings for the quarter outpaced its sales growth -- surging by 38%.

While only 25% of the company's set-top backlog consists of the futuristic digital video recorders that give viewers program storage and show-pausing powers that TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO) owners know and love, that's a positive, too. It gives the company more room for growth as television junkies upgrade their gear.

We have sung TiVo's praises in the past. The technology's promise earned it a smart pick in our popular Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter. While Scientific-Atlanta is riding those coattails as a competitor by teaming up with forward-thinking cable providers like Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), it's an exciting field to be in, that's for sure.

Investors realize this. Scientific-Atlanta has seen its stock more than double over the past year. However, the shares are still trading below where they were three years ago. With its balance sheet flush with more than a billion dollars in cash and short-term investments, maybe this is a more productive place for couch potatoes to park their rumps.

Are you a couch potato? Are you glued to your set with calloused fingers after all the remote control clicking? If so, revel in it. What are you watching these days? Any new shows worth sharing? All this and more -- in the Television Banter discussion board. Only on Fool.com.