Is there a "Guide" for Dish DVR?

[netsfan]

Just wondering if there was some kind of Web resource guide / tips/ tricks, etc. for Dish DVR. I just got it and am playing around with it but my installer didn't really show me anything and I'm not really sure how you're actually "supposed" to use it.

Is there a way to change the quality on recordings (like Tivo) to store more or less? Is the only way to record to set up timers through the Guide? What is DishPass?

Sorry to post so many questions, but I'm kind of excited! Thanks!

 

[WhiteForMe]

If you didn't get a manual with your IRD, Check here!

http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/products/userguides_manuals/index.shtml

 

[Pepper]

As far as web resource, tips, tricks, methinks you have already found it. The search menu is your friend.

 

[netsfan]

Actually, I realized I was looking at the manual for my secondary receiver, as that's what my installer left out, and you can't tell by the cover. I just looked in the box and found the DVR manual, and am reading through it. Thanks!

 

[Kaydigi]

What model number do you have?

Like 510, 522, 721 etc...

 

[SimpleSimon]

One specific answer:

No, there is no quality setting. The recording on the HDD is bit-for-bit what is falling out of the sky and into your receiver.

 

[Slyster]

Dishpass is AMAZING. I have like 50 dishpasses. Example: Setting a dish pass will tell your DVR to "record all programs with 'fusion' in the description".... or "record all episodes of 'mythbusters'"... and it strikes out dupes.. so you don't get duplicate recordings. At this stage.. I don't even know what will be recorded on a given day... it's always a surprise.. and I see things I wouldn't have found any other way.

I don't have to search through the guides anymore. Of course some limitations are things like "seinfeld" which would record like 50 episodes per week.. so for that show.. I still have to use search and record just the ones I haven't seen.

The KEY is that these DISH Passes last forever! They aren't just a 1 or 2 week deal. This is a great thing.

 

[Shadowtester]

You can narrow down your Dishpasses so that the are workable one of the best ways is to limit the channels. I currently have 64 dishpasses set up on my DVR522 all set up to a specific channel some set for only new events some for all events and now with the new option of how many events to save it will make it even easier to manage the monster rerun dishpasses like that. The next improvement I would like to see is the ability to have mulitple dishpasses for the same show on the same channel for example.
I have one dishpass for Stargate SG1 on Scifi I would like to make it two 1 at a very hight priority for new events only ie current season and one at a lower priority for all events as a filler for the older shows. That way I would not have to manually skip the Stargate reruns that affect other network shows I also like monday night can be a real pain.

 

[Shadowtester]

netsfan
Sounds like you came from a Tivo if so think of the dish passes like season passes and as for quality setting there are none just like the Direct Tivo for DTV The signal is never converted to analog prior to storing on a hard drive so you do not need to convert the signal back to digital and compress it like you do for a stand alone Tivo. It only gets decompressed and converted to analog when you view it much more efficient and maintains a higher picture quality.

 

[netsfan]

Thank you guys for all the tips!

I cannot get used to DVR! I guess I am one of those guys who doesn't really follow many shows religously, and just watches whatever seems interesting on TV by flipping channels (which I can't do now that there is a 5 second delay in changing channels! lol). I bet I will get used to it in time though. The Pause feature is really handy, even if I don't fully utilize the Dishpasses, etc. so at least I'm getting something out of my $5/mo!

 

[Pepper]

Thank you guys for all the tips!

I cannot get used to DVR! I guess I am one of those guys who doesn't really follow many shows religously, and just watches whatever seems interesting on TV by flipping channels (which I can't do now that there is a 5 second delay in changing channels! lol). I bet I will get used to it in time though. The Pause feature is really handy, even if I don't fully utilize the Dishpasses, etc. so at least I'm getting something out of my $5/mo!

Get used to using the guide button to find what you want to watch, this eliminates the annoying delay of flipping channels and improves WAF (wife acceptance factor) by allowing her to continue seeing what was on while you look through the guide.

Once you have weaned yourself from channel surfing to guide surfing, you can then start using guide in the future, and let it set record timers whenever you select something to watch.

You'll know you're spoiled when you are driving down the road and reach for the skip-back button on the radio and realize it hasn't got one...