Recording with Dish satellite

You can very easily add DVR capability to your ViP211k with the simple addition of an external USB hard drive for a one time charge of $40. from Dish.
Dish hard drive for ViP211

When we had a 211K we added a Passport portable hard drive and recorded shows. It isn't a hopper but it did the trick...

We also added an external hard drive to our vip211 to add DVR capability. Dish charges a one time $40 fee to activate that. Although some have reported using a USB powered drive, Dish specifies an external powered (120 vac) hard drive. Ours is a 500 GB but I think the vip211 can take up to 1 TB.

I tried a non-powered USB hard drive and that did not work. had to use a powered one.
bumpy

We use a usb hard drive with our 211K. We have a "y" connector one usb goes in the 211K and the other in a usb charger.

Moved from Forum Technical Support

tennisgal33 wrote:

We would like to record tv shows while in the Motorhome. I know it's not possible with a vip211k receiver.

As others have noted, you can turn a 211 into a DVR -- kinda.

The 211 has 1 sat tuner & 1 OTA tuner. You could record a sat program while watching an OTA show (or vice versa), but you can't record a sat program and watch a different sat program.

tennisgal33 wrote:
We have Dish network service with a Winegard satellite antenna . . . Will a different receiver allow us to record? If so, which one?

If you have a Winegard Travler, then you can use any DISH receiver, like a 722 (2 tuners), Hopper (3 or 16 tuners).

Couldn't you upgrade to a Dish 711 receiver?? With that unit I can record on both tv's.

Bumpyroad wrote:
I tried a non-powered USB hard drive and that did not work. had to use a powered one.
bumpy

Same here. I did not have to pay the $40. Don't remember why.

TechWriter wrote:

tennisgal33 wrote:

We would like to record tv shows while in the Motorhome. I know it's not possible with a vip211k receiver.

As others have noted, you can turn a 211 into a DVR -- kinda.

The 211 has 1 sat tuner & 1 OTA tuner. You could record a sat program while watching an OTA show (or vice versa), but you can't record a sat program and watch a different sat program.

tennisgal33 wrote:
We have Dish network service with a Winegard satellite antenna . . . Will a different receiver allow us to record? If so, which one?

If you have a Winegard Travler, then you can use any DISH receiver, like a 722 (2 tuners), Hopper (3 or 16 tuners).

TechWriter and I have this discussion quite frequently. Though I too am both a Dish and Travler fan there are limitations to using them together in the Eastern US. If you want a Hopper in the East stick with a portable Dish antenna on a tripod.