There are a lot of innovations that have come about as a result of Dish Network's tendency to look for ingenious and clever new ways to take advantage of existing technology, but none is more apparent than the ones that are related to DVR technology. At its most basic, a DVR is a computerized device that can record TV programming directly off of a TV signal and store it as digital video on a computer hard drive, but Dish Network has taken this capability to a whole new extreme and even added capabilities to it as well.
The first thing you'll notice about a Dish Network DVR is that it's extremely easy to program. That's because it takes advantage of the Dish Interactive Electronic Program Guide (EPG). The Electronic Program Guide acts as a graphic user interface that makes programming the device to record a specific program at a specific time as easy as highlighting the program in the interface and pressing the “Record” button on the remote control. This makes programming a Dish Network DVR a far cry from the laborious process of programming the old fashioned VCR. Another advantage is that thanks to the fact that all Dish Network DVR's have two digital TV tuners built in, you'll be able to record two programs at once or watch one live while recording another. In addition, you'll have the option of watching a program that has already been recorded while recording two other programs for later viewing. Of course, it should also be pointed out that one of the major advantages of using a Dish Network DVR is not only that it will allow you to watch TV at a time that's suitable for you, but it will also allow you to save time while watching TV by skipping over the commercials. With how many commercial breaks are on TV these days, you can save a substantial amount of time that can be used for other things or for watching more TV.
A more advanced feature that Dish Network has built into its DVR receivers is the ability to provide video on demand through its On Demand service. On Demand is a pay per view service that lets you start watching recently released movies immediately after paying for one. Ordinarily satellite technology isn't very good for video on demand applications, but Dish Network gets around the constraints by having your DVR record the content that's available on demand in the background so that it's already there on your DVR when you're ready to watch.
Dish Network has also found a way to use DVR technology in combination with portable video technology to let you watch TV wherever you go. Basically, if it's already on your DVR's hard drive, you can download entire TV shows or movies onto a portable video device known as the PocketDish. The PocketDish is a device that's made by Dish Network and can plug into Dish Network DVR's to download video over a fast USB connection.
All of these advanced features definitely make Dish Network an innovator in the area of DVR technology.
