# Dish Network DVR and Recorded Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817 "2013-01-11T02:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/1 "2013-01-11T02:58:43Z")
Does anyone have any experience with capturing recorded DVR shows (streaming video) to enable backup to a computer? I know that I can easily attach a VHS recorder {shudder}, but I am able to stream recorded shows from my 722VIP to computers and other devices and I would like to keep the recorded events in a digital format, if possible. I don’t need high definition, but I would like something a little better than VHS tape {shudder} and I don’t have a VHS permanently attached to my system. I know that I can attach an external hard drive to boost the available storage space, but that’s not what I after. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/2 "2013-01-11T03:28:54Z")
It’s been several years since I had Dish and checked into it, but at the time, there was no way to do a direct disk-to-drive transfer. However, there are several varieties of video capture card that you can install in your PC, and connect to the output of your Dish receiver. You’d have to do the transfer from Dish to PC in real time, but once you’ve done it, you can easily copy the files to other PCs as fast as your hard drives can transfer any other file. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/3 "2013-01-11T03:40:50Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > It’s been several years since I had Dish and checked into it, but at the time, there was no way to do a direct disk-to-drive transfer. However, there are several varieties of video capture card that you can install in your PC, and connect to the output of your Dish receiver. You’d have to do the transfer from Dish to PC in real time, but once you’ve done it, you can easily copy the files to other PCs as fast as your hard drives can transfer any other file. That’s probably the only way that I can do it. I was hoping to be able to capture the streaming video without connecting a computer to my living room system for hours to download shows. And since my All-In-Wonder video card does not have an HDMI input, I’ll have to disconnect the component video to my system to attach to my computer. A Google search produces a number of software solutions that claims that capturing streaming video is possible, but they mostly don’t work. Thanks for your suggestion, **TonySinclair.** I thought about doing this early on, but I became focused on trying to do this without relocating my main computer. Lacking a good software solution, this is the next best thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/4 "2013-01-11T17:58:19Z")
There are forums at [dbstalk.com](http://dbstalk.com) where some may get quite technical about such matters. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/5 "2013-01-11T18:18:38Z")
I have a DVD/HD recorder, copied them, edited out commercials and burned to DVD. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/6 "2013-01-11T18:24:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have a DVD/HD recorder, copied them, edited out commercials and burned to DVD. A recorder would do the job well, but I don’t want to spend that kind of money. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/7 "2013-01-11T18:29:08Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > There are forums at [dbstalk.com](http://dbstalk.com) where some may get quite technical about such matters. Wow…lots of stuff there. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/8 "2013-01-11T18:47:56Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > A recorder would do the job well, but I don’t want to spend that kind of money. This isn’t too expensive, IMHO. I never has enough RAM to edit with a card in the PC. This is easy to edit on the hard disk recorder, and I can burn to DVD at high speed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/9 "2013-01-11T19:43:50Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > This isn’t too expensive, IMHO. I never has enough RAM to edit with a card in the PC. This is easy to edit on the hard disk recorder, and I can burn to DVD at high speed. 🙂 Which recorder do you have? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/10 "2013-01-11T20:14:44Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Which recorder do you have? [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxKS3RxH858) guy. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/11 "2013-01-11T21:46:37Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxKS3RxH858) guy. Nice. Not as expensive as I thought they would be, but still more than I can spend. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dish-network-dvr-and-recorded-shows/646817/12 "2013-01-11T21:56:06Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Nice. Not as expensive as I thought they would be, but still more than I can spend. I had rebuilt Sharpes that cost less, but they didn’t last.