Getting files from Dish DVR

[BobI]

I searched for an answer to this, but found nothing in the archives. What I would like to do is copy files off the hard drive in my Dish DVR522 satellite receiver. The Dish people say that their file system is proprietary, but I am wondering if that is the whole story. I was wondering if anyone here has done this and could pass along some tips on to me.
TIA, Bob I

[jglen490]

Re: Getting files from Dish DVR

I can't imagine their files, if not their filesystem, not having a proprietary structure. It's possible that they might use some variant of a common file system, but if their files are not proprietary then they would have been distributed all over the 'net by now.

[claydoh]

Re: Getting files from Dish DVR

I believe they are encrypted as well. The only way to get the shows off a dvr is to play them while recording, just as if you were copying a vcr tape to a hard drive

[Detonate]

Re: Getting files from Dish DVR

When I changed providers, I also wanted to copy what I had on the recorder. The only way I was able to do it was to play the movies to my computer through my Hauppauge PVR 150 TV card, and capture them. I used VLC for the capture and DeVeDe to record them to a DVD. It is very time consuming. But I know of no other solution. On the plus side, when I asked the old provider what they wanted me to do with the equipment, I was told it belonged to me, and I could do what i wanted, so I salvaged a very usable 160GB hard drive from the recorder.