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Dish Network said that at the end of this month it will finally introduce a feature that will allow customers of certain of its single-tuner boxes to attach an external hard drive, upgrading their boxes into DVRs.
The capability was first announced nearly a year ago at the CES 2008 show.
Dish said its DVR Conversion feature is an option for current ViP211 or ViP211k customers. Those who have either of those two models must call Dish Network to activate the DVR feature. Customers pay a one-time fee of $39.99 to activate the feature.
Once activated, customers need to connect an off-the-shelf external hard drive between 50 GB and 750 GB. Customers can then access DVR menus similar to other award-winning DVR features, including name-based recording and search-based timer capabilities. Other features include a nine-day electronic programming guide, DVR functionality on both the satellite tuner and built-in OTA tuner, record and review conflict management, and the ability to playback a stored program while recording or watching another.
Separately, Dish said it will begin taking orders for its DTVPal DVR on Nov. 19. Deliveries, the company said, are projected to begin in mid-December. Dish says the DTVPal DVR is the only digital-to-analog converter box sold in the U.S. that offers digital video recording functionality.
The DTVPal DVR was similarly first announced at CES 2008.
The DTVPal DVR retails for $299. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has not authorized the DTVPal DVR for its coupon program, but Dish Network said it is offering an instant $50 rebate.
More Broadband Direct:
• AT&T completes Total Home DVR rollout
• BigBand signs follow-on with Verizon
• BlackArrow, Motorola integrate systems
• Dish comes through with promised DVRs
