I got my DishPVR 508 yesterday and I’m hooked! Similar in many ways to a TiVO, it has a built-in hard drive on which you can record up to 60 hours of digital programing. I can now put to rest several of my over-worked VCRs. All I do is set the timers and the box does the rest. I can “protect” any recording for as long as I want. I cannot, however, tell the unit to seek out programs based on actor, director, etc, but that’s okay with me. I can watch a previously stored while I’m taping another. I can’t record two shows at the same time on different channels (they do make a unit with dual receivers and a 120Gb hard drive, but it was $600!).
It’s extremely easy to use. It can do nearly all the things a TiVO can do: pause live TV, instant replay, watch the first part of a show while the rest is taping, fast foward through commercials (with a 30-second fast forward button), etc. (One they don’t tell you about pausing live TV on the commercials is that you have to start the recording process FIRST!)
I will still use VCRs to keep programs I collect and stuff I take to work and watch during lunch (Letterman, Daily Show, etc).
Damn, I love modern technology!