I recently aquired this dvr. Other than the fact that you have the subscription fee to worry about. Its over a pretty cool unit. You can record one show, while watching a previously recorded show. Or you can simply turn the dvr off, and watch a show of your choice while the dvr still continues to record a show. So basically it will record a show while you watch a completely different live show. My experience is with cable tv only.

Why waste money on pausing ordinary TV when Dish Network offers a *free* DVR equipment upgrade to new subscribers? Once you go Dish, forget going back to off-air or cable. Call 1-800-333-DISH for all the details.