I am needing some help for those that have D* and E*. I currently have 1 tv and looking to move away from Comcrap(really tired at gaps in audio). I want to be able to record 2 HD Programs at once I assume that is the max and have to either watch one of those or a pre-recorded program if 2 are currently being recorded. I would like to be able to have option for an external hard drive (assuming sata is the way to go due to data transfer rates). My TV is an LG 37" with 720p display. New at HDTV so want to get some info before making the switch to satelite.

I am needing some help for those that have D* and E*. I currently have 1 tv and looking to move away from Comcrap(really tired at gaps in audio). I want to be able to record 2 HD Programs at once I assume that is the max and have to either watch one of those or a pre-recorded program if 2 are currently being recorded. I would like to be able to have option for an external hard drive (assuming sata is the way to go due to data transfer rates). My TV is an LG 37" with 720p display. New at HDTV so want to get some info before making the switch to satelite.

Recording:
With D*, you can record up to 2 channels at once from up to 4 tuners (2 satellite and 2 Over The Air) while watching recorded content.

With E*, you can record up to 3 channels at once from up to 3 tuners (2 satellite and 1 OTA) while watching recorded content.

External HDD:
With D*, you can "replace" the internal hard disk with an external HDD by plugging in an eSATA drive. 500+ GB is recommended to get any bang for the buck. Some third party companies have released large RAID arrays for additional space and reliability to this end.

With E*, you can hook up a USB 2.0 Hard Disk, up to 750GB in size by paying a 1 time $40 fee for every receiver on your account. You can then move recordings to the external drive for later viewing. There is no limit on the number of hard drives you can connect, but only 1 at a time can be connected.

Ted

Here is the RAID array I mentioned in my previous post in case anyone is interested.

http://www.tenbox.net/

Ted