I bought a Dish PVR 508 at a thrift store for $1.98 with no remote and took it home. I have Comcast cable but am going to switch to dish. Anyway, the pvr has programs recorded on it and they play fine. I bought a remote for it on ebay for $18 including shipping and it works. The system info screen says Dish Card 500 ready DNASP010 REV A21 I called Dish to ask if the smart card card has a balance on it, they were rude and refused to give me any information. How do I find out if the PVR and card can be used on Dish and whether there is a balance. I like the idea of not paying the extra $5 amonth. I'd appreciate any help.