Dish Network offers a number of sophisticated technologies, but the best example of this company's innovation is ways in which it has made use of the DVR. A DVR is pretty much a computer that has been specially designed to record and playback video. As such they have all of the components of normal computers- processors, hard drives, RAM- along with TV tuners. Another way of looking at one of Dish Network's DVRs is that it's a satellite receiver with a hard drive built in and special software designed for the recording and playback of video.
DVR technology, as implemented by Dish Network, has tremendous advantages over using a VCR to record TV shows. Basically, these advantages come from the fact that VCRs are difficult and awkward to use while DVRs are very easy and intuitive to use. The major difference from the standpoint of usability comes in the form of the interface. VCRs invariably used numeric interfaces that were so difficult to understand that they required the use of an instruction manual and the only way to be sure that they were programmed correctly was to wait and see if they started a recording at the right time and on the right channel. Other major disadvantages included the fact that they could lose their programming in the event of a power outage and the need to exchange video cassettes for every six hours or less of recorded video. It's no wonder that most of us used our VCRs to watch movies rather than recording TV shows! By contrast, Dish Network's DVRs are extremely easy to use with the help of a graphic user interface and the ability to store instructions through power outages.
The really impressive things about Dish Network's DVR receivers is that they do things that people would never think of with VCRs. First of all, these devices can record video from more than one channel at once. This is made possible by the fact that these DVRs have more than one satellite tuner built into them. In addition, it's even possible to record two programs while watching a third that has already been recorded!
Another big advantage that comes from Dish Network's DVR technology is the option of programming on demand. Satellite TV technology isn't ordinarily very good at video on demand, but the DVR gives Dish Network a way around that. Instead of delivering a movie over the satellite link right when the viewer demands it, Dish Network broadcasts video on demand programming to all of its DVR receivers all at once and in the background so that it's right there on your DVR to watch when you're ready. This video on demand feature is called Dish On Demand and it's accessible on a pay per view basis.
The most unexpected use of DVR technology that Dish Network has been able to devise so far is the PocketDish. The PocketDish is a portable video device that can download video from certain models of Dish Network DVR's and play that video back on its own built in LCD screen or onto a compatible TV set.
With all of these amazing developments, you can see that Dish Network really is innovative when it comes to DVR technology.
