If anyone routinely pulls off a DishNetwork DVR to DVD I'd love to hear what equipment is necessary and how to do it.
I bought a routine VHS-DVD combo, the kind where the DVD side also records to disc (instead of just a playback DVD model).
1. From the back of the DirecTV DVR, you run a set of RCA cables (the red, white, and yellow-ended cables) to your TV. NOTE: I choose to run an HDMI cable to my TV, instead of RCA cables, because it obviously carries a better video signal to the TV.
2. From the back of the DirecTV DVR, you run a set of RCA cables to the VHS-DVD combo. This is your "burn" cable.
3. From the back of the VHS-DVD combo, you run yet ANOTHER set of RCA cables to the RCA input of your TV. This is so you can see, on your tv, what you're burning to disc.
4. Buy a pack of DVD-R (don't buy the +R version of recordable DVDs).
5. When you put the disc into the DVD tray, you have to do two things: (A) Select the TV input that will display the signal coming from your DVD player. (B) Select what type of quality you want (such as SP, EP, LP). The shorter your recording time, the better the quality.
6. Pull up the game off DirecTV (or Dish) and hit PLAY. Then hit the Record button on your DVD player. I usually let it record overnight or while gone to work, so if the game is 2:30 in length...I hit the special record button until it's to the 2:30 point. After recording for 2 hrs and 30 mins, it will shut off by itself.
7. Then, when it's finished up, you gotta' hit the Setup button on the DVD remote control. Choose the finalize option, so it finalizes the disc. If ya don't, it won't play on anybody's DVD player. I found that the discs do not play on computers very well, but tend to playback on regular DVD players OK.
I hope that helps anybody who wants to go buy a DVD burner. I think I might try to research the possibility of an HD DVD burner. Are there special HD DVDs, or do you end up using the regular discs? And is the quality worth it? This is an area I want to upgrade but have never fully researched.