Dish Network's DVR?

Question

Does anyone know if the DVRs, that Dish Network Supplies, has a USB port in them so i can transfer my recorded videos onto my computer because one, I am running out of space and two, I want ot put some of these vids onto DVD. If they don't, is there any other way to put them onto a computer?

Answer 1

Most of the DVRs supplied by Dish do not have USB, some of the newer ones might, but I am pretty sure that the older ones do not.

The way that I transfer video from my DVR to my computer is with a video capture device which has the three typical inputs that the back of a television has, video/r&l audio. You simply hook the DVR up to the video capture device and use the program that comes with it to transfer it to the computer which then will allow you to transfer them to DVD.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Dish network uses a proprietary format for storing the exact bits from the sat that make up a program. It is not simply a bunch of .avi, or .wmv files you can copy off.

(This is actually a good thing - the unit does not have to take the time to convert things to a compressed format, and when you play it back, the image is bit-for-bit identical to the original.)

Now Dish did offer a "PocketDish" which is like a hand-held video iPod. You hook up with a USB cable and transfer shows that you can watch while away from home on a small screen.

But when I looked into these, the feature only worked if you had their newer HD receivers, and I suspect there is some form of copy protection built in.

Face it - the networks would sue Dish if they made it easy to make digital copies of shows that you could then burn and sell.

You can always get a video card that accepts SVideo inputs, then hook to the DVR with a cable and record things off this way. There IS a quality reduction because you are doing digital->analog->digital conversion, but it would work.

Answer 3

The current DVRs have a USB port, and I believe they are activated for new customers. Otherwise you have to pay a one-time fee of $40.

Once activated, you can simply plug in any external USB hard drive up to 750GB in size. Once a drive is plugged into your DVR, you cannot use it with your PC (won't be recognized.)

(yeah, right...if you do a bit of research, you should be able to come across a program that will let you copy TV shows off this external HDD, and onto your PC in some sort of usable format.)

Answer 4

Your not supposed to do that because of copyright laws.

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