On Thursday, EchoStar Communications and its Dish Network unveiled their newest HD DVR, called the ViP722.

The ViP722 is a more advanced version of EchoStar’s ViP622 DVR. The timing of the new HD DVR coincides with Dish Network announcing earlier this week that its HD lineup of programming had expanded to 38 national channels.

The ViP722 is a dual-tuner DVR receiver that powers two rooms, one in HD and the other in standard definition (SD). It has a 500 GB hard drive for storage, and the option of recording 55 hours of HD programming in MPEG-4, 350 hours of SD programming, and more than 100 hours of movies and shows with Dish On Demand, for a total of up to 500 hours of programming.

The receiver supports Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound along with a 30-second skip feature that allows subscribers to skip over commercials. The new HD DVR also includes an IP call-back feature ideal for customers who don't have a phone line, but still want the ability to order Pay-Per-View programming, among other functions.

Customers who are looking for additional DVR recording capacity can take advantage of the external hard drive feature now available on the ViP722 and ViP622. The external hard drive feature allows customers to expand their DVR recording capacity and create a library of favorite TV shows, movies and sports programming. By connecting an off-the-shelf hard disk drive, up to 750 GB, to the DVR through one of two USB 2.0 ports, customers can transfer, store and play HD and SD content saved to the external hard drive.

The ViP722 is available for free to qualifying new Dish Network customers, while the external hard drive feature has a one-time household activation fee of $39.99.