Any recorders that work with Dish?

[aroundincircles]

My DVR died, and I am out-of-contract with Dish. I really don't want to upgrade to their DVR and be locked into two years.

What are my options? (Cable is out because I live on a border, and Comcast does not broadcast my local channels, but ones for the next state over.) I checked out SiliconDust but read that it will only work with cable, so I guess that's out as well. Something like that would be perfect.

I would like to be able to record shows and save them on discs for viewing on a portable DVD player, if possible. If not, then a flash drive should work. I don't want to spend a fortune. I do have HDMI on my TV.

I'm new to this but can learn.

Thanks in advance.

 

[kornphlake]

You can probably get a DVR from dish without a new contract, it will just cost more. Why not sign a new 2 year contract though, it sounds like Dish is the provider you're going to stick with regardless, you might as well get a new DVR plus better rates.

 

[nsafreak]

Even if you're not leasing your equipment from Dish, and most folks are to be honest, the out of warranty replacement cost for any receiver is $50 + $15 the advance exchange fee. There is no way you're going to be able to put together a solution that'll record Dish programming for less than that. You can even avoid both of those fees by adding the service plan to your account for $6 a month and you can either take it off after paying it for one month and pay the $25 penalty or keep it for however long you want. When it comes to DVRs on Dish or DirecTV it just isn't cheap to put together a DIY option. It is do-able but it is not cheap.

 

[NutBucket]

Find a used one on ebay?

 

[lokiju]

I signed up as a new customer with Dish this year and did no contract. Cost about $100 to not have a contract and I'm renting the DVR without a contract.

Since you're an existing customer I'd not be surprised if you would be able to get a new DVR and pay the $5 or whatever it cost to rent per month.