Dish Network has a HDTV DVR receiver that has a bit of a flaw, and I have the solution that I didn't find anywhere on the web, which is why I am posting it here. :)

The selling point on the receiver is that you only have to pay rent for one receiver to watch tv on two TV's in separate rooms. They give you an infrared remote for the "nearby" tv, and radio wave remote for the separate room to communicate with the distant TV. Well, for those who are changing from cable TV DVR's, you probably enjoyed on your old DVR the ability to watch one thing while DVR recording another ..or even recording two programs while watching a third that was recorded. When Dish was installed, the technician said that frankly it would not be able to do that with Dish. But in the users guide, on Page 57, it says that you can "set up the receiver to record two programs while watching one you've already recorded"

When I gave this a shot, it was catastrophic at first, until I learned the simple fix that nobody on the Dish 800 line could give me. When I attempted to do this as instructed in the manual, the box would flicker and actually emit a POP sound through the screen in such a way as to believe I was damaging my Vizio. The video would be of one channel you were recording, the audio would be of another or of the previously recorded...nothing matched up, and again, it was flash popping so much that it scared my 8 year old son. The only way to return to normal was a off / on reboot. Hell, I thought I broke the thing, and arranged for a tech to come back out, presumably to change out a defective receiver.

But here is how I was able to fix the problem so that with the Dish receiver you can watch one channel while recording another, or even record two and watch something already recorded.

First, go to single mode, not dual. (I had done this) But the key that is not in the guide, nor did they know on the 800 number is that you have to go to Menu / System Setup / SHARED VIEW and click on DISABLE VIEW. After you do that you will be much more satisified with the results, and happy about the Hundreds of dollars over cable you are saving. Trust me, get rid of Comcast or the like and save a ton now that Dish has your local channels. Having said that, I didn't have the money, but they offer a much better receiver if you pay for it. Click on the link above for a great upgrade.