DVR - Dish Network VIP722 - I Cant record a show and watch another - Also can you record with tuner # 2 first?

Question

I have a Dish Network VIP722. I was under the impression that it was able to record one show and watch another. Whenever it is recording one show it always says that i have to stop recording to watch a different program. Also, does anyone know how to make it record on tuner #2 before recording from tuner #1? Whenever you have two shows recording at once and you need to switch the channel you need to stop one of the recordings. It always stops recording tuner#1 but that is the higher rated show. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I have the same model, and while I figured out how to use it, all I can say is it's not obvious or clear - even when reading their documentation.

Someone really needs to drag the designers/programmers out back, and throughly beat them with sack of books about efficient human interface design.  This thing has so many instances of inconsistant behavior and just outright BAD design decisions in the first place it should be used as a teaching aid on how NOT to create an user-friendly interface...

Anyways...

By default, the DVR will use tuner #2 for recording, but if it finds 2 shows that are on at the same time, it will use tuner #1 as well.  You can still watch pre-recorded shows even if both tuners are being used for recording.  This is what it refers to as the "record one show, watch another" feature.

The confusion starts in that there is no way to tell which tuner you are looking using to display on your screen.  Whichever tuner you are watching on your TV becomes "Tuner #1" - regardless which chunk of hardware inside the DVR is actually being used!  This is WRONG WRONG WRONG and confused the heck out of me until I found the "swap" button on the remote.  It's located just under the Rewind button.  

This button lets you "swap" between tuners, so you can see what the other one is doing.  You can use the Info button to see if the current tuner displayed on your screen is recording that program or not.  The #1 and #2 concept doesn't apply here, as the Info screen ALWAYS says you're watching "#1".  Again, this is very WRONG and very STUPID.  If your current tuner is not recording a show, you can channel surf with it.

The DVR will display a small countdown to let you know it's about to start recording something.  Unfortunately, it doesn't distinguish between shows that will be recorded by "the other tuner" (which I don't care about), or if it's about change the channel on "this tuner" (i.e. the one I am watching) which can be annoying.

While you can hit the Select button (I think it is) to see what the DVR is about to record, once again, it doesn't tell you which tuner will be used.

Oh, what I'd give for a dual-tuner Tivo crammed inside a DishNetwork receiver...

Answer 2

I have had both the Dish DVR and now, smarter and wiser I have the TiVo with cable. I do not like cable over Dish but combined with the TiVo it is the best.

I know you can watch a Prue-recorded show and record another show on the Dish DVR I have done it. Yo just have to practice and the swap button is one way to help figure out what tuner you are using. There is another Dish DVR that is true dual tuner in HUD. They have changed the tuners many times in the past 4 years, it is hard to keep up with the current models. They also just lost a law suit to TiVo for stealing DVR technologies. Now they will have to come out with more DVR's to sidestep the lawsuit.

My advise is to get rid of Dish and get cable and TiVo. Pay for the year service or the lifetime agreement, the month to month is expensive. This is the best of what there is out there right now. I worked for Dish as a tech for years. They treat employees like underwear. Good Luck on what you are going to do. Dish locks you into so many terms and agreements that it is ridiculous.