I was at my gf's parents house, and I noticed that upstairs, they had a Dish Network remote that was controlling the TV (channels, guide, etc.) without the presence of a Dish Network box. I asked them how that worked but they didn't know. They just said that they have four TVs, 2 boxes, and that the remotes control the TVs that don't have boxes. How does this work?

Certain DN models can output two feeds at once, an HD feed where the receiver is located and an SD feed that can be fed through existing wiring in the house to another TV. I would assume the second remote is RF and only controls the secondary output. Some searching here should turn up more info on their hardware.

That is correct. And each output of the Dish receiver is independent. Output 1 can show a program in HD while output 2 can show a different program in SD. It's a neat feature if your have the proper wiring and multiple TV's.

At my house, my Harmony remote will control 3 different DirecTV HD receivers as well as a DVD player and a Kenwood 5.1 receiver. None of that equipment is in the living room though. It is stored in equipment racks in the theater while the living room only has the TV and the speakers. Basically, you can do anything you want with creative wiring.

-Robert

There's also a 322 model (which I have) that puts out two SD streams, so it's not only the HD/SD dual-tuners.

I assume they don't make models with two independent HD sources, correct?

Correct.

Thanks, everyone. I only ask because I'm strongly considering DN, and I obviously would like to limit the number of HD receivers I'd need to rent.

Its really amazing information. But i can't feel it in my house.