I goofed up our Christmas present.... Me and the Wife bought a samsung lnt4065 from best buy for the bedroom, and our setup was a dvr622 in the den, so we could record programs from either the den or the bedrm, well I ordered just a plain jane vip211 hd receiver, and now the wife is upset that she can't set up and record from the bedroom any more, I just got off the phone with dish and they said sorry, you already have your once a year upgrade. So my question is, do the aftermarket dvr's interface with the programming guide on dish so that she can record her stuff from the bedroom? or is it like the old days, look up the guide then program the dvr manually?

There are no "aftermarket" HDTV DVRs available from Dish Network. The only choices you have for a HDTV DVR on Dish Network are the ViP622 and ViP722.

bummer, are there any non-hd options available, sorry I know this is the hd forum.

is it possible to run a separate a/v out from the vip622 in the den (low def ) and run it to one of the other inputs on the tv in the b/room so she could still watch and record her garden and home shows?

bummer, are there any non-hd options available, sorry I know this is the hd forum.If you can still find a Panasonic EH55V or an EH75V, it integrates nicely with Dish. All you have to do is set the programs to be recorded from the Dish guide, and the recorder will start and stop on cue, and even title the recordings. Works great.

is it possible to run a separate a/v out from the vip622 in the den (low def ) and run it to one of the other inputs on the tv in the b/room so she could still watch and record her garden and home shows?Yes. If the main tuner's aready hooked up to a TV via A/V cables, you could either run the a coax cable from that tuner to her TV, or, if the 2nd tuner's hooked up to another room already through coax (which is usually the standard way it's installed), you could run very long RCA A/V cables from that tuner to her TV. If the 2nd tuner's not already hooked up to a TV, you can just run coax from it. But the A/V cables would be the superior connection.

To work the 2nd tuner from the bedroom, you won't need any extra equipment besides the Dish 2nd tuner RF remote (which should've been included), but to work the first, you'd need a remote extender.

Extra-long A/V cables can be found for good prices at www.monoprice.com.

Thank you for the replies, The a/v cables appear to be the least painful.

There is a rumor that the Dish Network 211 will have a software download after the first of the year that will allow you to hook an external USB hard drive to it and will thus enable it to be a DVR. You still can not share programming from the den however. It will also require a $39 enabling fee.

I am in a similar situation. I have a 622 in my family room and got the 211 for the bedroom. After I got the 211 I realized how much I had gotten used to a DVR. As a result I hope the rumor I mentioned is true.

Rick R

I probably should also mention that there are also newer model SD Philips and Magnavox HDD/DVD recorders available that you can use to record with (and edit and transfer to DVD with as a bonus). But you will have to set all timers manually. It's pretty simple and painless to do so with both models, though (they have the same UI).

The Philips is available for $289.99 at www.circuitcity.com, and the Magnavox for $198.84 at www.walmart.com.