Dish DVR - What's the Hype?

The Dish DVR is a collection of receivers that allow for pausing and replaying live television as well as recording any show or movie on your DVR unit. Skipping ahead to the end of a show when you are short on time or even using remote access to record a show you forgot was coming on are all features of the Dish DVR. Dish DVR offers subscribers the option to be able to access their DVR from any location with internet access by utilizing the Remote Access option. Simply Plug in the internet line to the back of your Dish DVR, and you can access it from any place.

Work, home, dinner at the in-laws: you can always use your internet ready cell phone to access the DVR and set it to record a show you forgot was coming on, or even to record an enTire day's worth of programming while you are on vacation that will be waiting for you when you return. There are however specific receivers that are required in order to use this service. These include the 522, 625, VIP 612, VIP 622, VIP 722 and the VIP 722k. If you do not have one of these qualified receivers, you can contact the toll free phone number and upgrade today.

With Dish DVR, you can even expand the amount of space you have on your HD DVR storage. Any Dish customers that have a DuoDVR VIP 722 or 622 as well as the Solo DVR VIP 612 receiver can have unlimited DVR storage by using an external hard drive. These can be purchased at most retailers of electronics or through the Dish Network compatible online access purchase links on the website. Each of these external hard drives are required to be connected with a USB 2.0 cable. When using the Dish DVR external hard drive storage space there is a onetime activation fee of .99 required on certain receivers including the 612, 622 and 722 DVR VIP units.

The units on the market that are compatible with these receivers includes the Seagate Showcase DVR storage expander. This unit will allow you to hold an additional 500 hours of space on your Dish DVR, and is a Plug and play setup style. This means you simply plug in the expander to your existing DVR and the DVR will recognize it and begin using it at that point. In order for the Dish DVRs to work with the external hard drives, the expanders must have at least 50 GB of space and a 1TB hard drive is allowed should you require one.

Regardless of your package, the Dish DVR allows for you to record, pause and play back any programming available to you. This includes live television broadcasts and sports, for those who don't want to miss a second of the plays. Bringing you more up to date electronic multimedia and programming is what Dish DVR is all about. Making you the master of your domain on your own time is what it allows.

---

Free Direct TV and Dish Network Deals - What's the Catch?

Are you interested in getting a free satellite tv system? Unless you've been living under a rock for the past five years, you've heard about the free deals that Direct TV and Dish Network are giving to their online customers. Sure these offers sound great, but what's the catch?

Dish Network and Direct TV are giving away free satellite tv systems and installation in up to 4 rooms to first-time customers. They're also offering free upgrades to their DVR and Hdtv receivers, and usually give discounts on programming or free upgrades to your programming package for the first few months. Obviously, these are great deals, but there are a few things you should know before ordering your new satellite tv system online.

Activation Fees?

Dish Network charges a one-time fee of .99, but you get it back as a credit to your first bill. Direct TV doesn't charge you any upfront fee, but you may have to pay for shipping if your deal doesn't include it. Both companies charge a small deposit if you have bad credit.

Do I have to sign a contract?

That's right! Since Dish Network or Direct TV is giving you quite a bit of free service and equipMent, they want to make sure you'll remain a paying customer until they've made their money back. This means you will have to agree to an 18 month contract (similar to a cell phone contract) with Dish Network. Direct TV's contract varies according to your system. You will sign a 1 year contract for normal or HD systems, and a 2 year contract if you opt for a DVR system.

Here's the bottom line.

Now, the authorized dealers of these two satellite tv companies don't exactly advertise the activation fees and the contracts required for these free deals. They just don't want to scare you away before you've seen the offers. Even with the contracts and activation fees, these are still great deals.

---

What's the Best Satellite TV Deal - DirecTV or Dish Network?

What's the Best Satellite TV Deal - DirecTV or Dish Network?

So you've finally decided to make the switch from cable TV and satellite is the only problem that you are not sure that satellite TV is currently the best deal especially with the brand name of two companies competing for your viewing pleasure of the TV. Right now the two most popular satellite TV companies are DirecTV and Dish Network. Both offer a variety of similar properties, as with enough differences for almost all consumers, including the hard to please TVWatcher.

Both satellite television companies offer over 250 channels of programming and are up to date with the newest technology to include high definition TV (Hdtv), digital video recording (DVR) features and other proprietary features specific to that particular satellite TV provider.

Perhaps the biggest difference is noticed in the programming packages and pricing structure that each company offers its potential customers.

DirecTV offers the following three programming choices for consumers to choose from if they are considering purchasing their satellite TV service form the company.

The Total Choice package, which runs about .99 a month and offers over 155 Channels plus 50 XM Satellite Radio Channels. Its next higher package is the Total Choice Plus package for more at .99 a month. This plan offers over 185 channels, 17 additional XM Satellite Radio Channels and 30 additional channels of family and general interest entertainMent. Its final programming package is the Total Choice Premier package, which runs a hefty .99 a /month but does provide over 250 channels, more then 30 premium movie channels and specialty sports networks plus DVR service is included at no extra charge.

Dish Network offers six different programming packages for prospective customers to choose from if they are considering purchasing their services.

The first package is the DishFamily package. This package offers a large variety of family style programming. It has about 30 channels that are offered. The next plan is referred to as America's Top 60. This plan has up to 60 channels of programming that should please most TV viewers. The next higher plan is America's Top 60 Plus, which is basically the same as the Top 60 but with the addition of the customer's local Regional Sports Networks. The next plan is proclaimed to be Dish Networks most popular plan and is called America's Top 120, which as you would expect has 120 different channels of entertainMent style programming. America's Top 180 is the programming plan that offers 60 additional channels of programming for consumers to enjoy. Finally Dish Network offers it's America's Premium Pak, which is its premium plan offering many more additions to the Top 180 plan.

Although it looks like both satellite companies differ greatly the truth is many of the programming channels are the same between the two satellite TV providers. As someone who has received programming from both companies I can personally say that both offer fantastic customer service, great prices, Fast installation and similar programming. The biggest difference for me was the sports programming that both providers offer.

In my opinion DirecTV has an edge in this category. Although Dish Network does offer the opportunity to receive regional sports programming it unfortunately can't compete with the sports programming packages that DirecTV offers its customers. The NFL Sunday Ticket is by far one of the premier draws for DirecTV customers and although Dish Network does offer more movie programming plans it simply doesn't have the programming to match the many different sports related channels offered by Direct TV.

---