I was wondering how the dual tuner works?

Yes, if wired properly. What model HDPVR?
I believe the 9241 only has a IR remote (I opted for the 9242) so I am not sure
The IR remote will require an extender, or going upstairs/downstairs to change the channel

I have the 9242 as well, so let me explain how that one works. It has two tuners, meaning it can decode two signals at once coming from the dish. You can use those two tuners any way you want: watch two different live shows on the two TVs, watch one live show while you record another, record two live shows while you're watching two other pre-recorded ones on your two TVs, and any variation of these.

The PVR has two outputs: TV1 is HD (or SD, but why get an *HD* PVR then?), and TV2 is SD. The outputs of the PVR can operate in two modes, controllable from a button on the PVR itself: either the two TVs are independently controlled, or they show the same thing. I mostly use the former, but the latter comes in handy when you know you're going to move from room to room in the house and want to follow a show, for example, or if you and someone else want to watch the same thing but have to be in separate rooms for whatever reason.

The second TV can be hooked up using either a coax or RCA (yellow/red/white) connection. It seems Bell installers typically favor the coax, but in my case I told him not to bother as I already had a wireless emitter that I planned on using (works great for my needs). Of course, being that the second TV is normally in a separate room, and the feed comes from the PVR, an IR remote would not be very practical (no line of sight). Thankfully, the second remote works with UHF instead of IR, meaning it will work through walls without requiring the installation of an IR extender solution.

So basically when the two outputs operate independently, it really works as if you had two independent PVRs in each room, only with the added benefit of having a shared hard drive and just general knowledge of each other. What I mean by that is that if you want to do anything that might affect the other TV (for instance, from TV1 decide to record a show using tuner 2 right now), you will be warned if TV2 is currently in use. You can then decide whether to proceed or abort.

Oh, I almost forgot also... When the two TVs are set to show the same thing, you can then use your two tuners for picture-in-picture functionality on the PVR. Meaning you can follow two shows at once on one TV (or both) using various layouts, toggling between the two tuners at the touch of a button (by that I mean watching a thumbnail image of tuner 1 overlaid on tuner 2's image and vice versa).

I hope this was the sort of information you were looking for, and if you need any more info then fire away!

thanks man very thorough, ok so ill go with the coax cable, i plug the coax in the back of hd pvr and connect it to my bedroom tv,then plug the other coax in the back then run it to the downstairs tv? and that brings both video and sound right?

Okay, so I wasn't very clear on how TV1 is hooked-up. You have four choices: HDMI or component (for HD), and composite or S-video (for SD). If you have an HDTV, use HDMI or component between the PVR and your TV, otherwise you'll just end up having a very expensive SD set.

For TV2, as I explained you have coax and composite. Like I said I haven't tried coax myself, but my understanding is that you just pick a channel (between 21 and 69) where the signal for TV2 will be sent over the coax, and you plug it in your TV using the cable input.

Normally if you have an HDTV and an SD set, you would have the PVR close to the HDTV.

thanks man youve been a great help, so when im downstairs on the tv2 i can whip out the uhf remote turn on the tv and watch tv like i would in my bedroom with the reciever?

Precisely.

So why did a CSR tell me I needed a receiver for each of my TV's when I signed up this week? I have 3 TV's and wanted to get the 9242 for 2 tv's and 1 standard receiver for a 3rd TV. Instead I am getting a 9242 and 2 standard receivers.

Probably because the 9242 is discontinued and the chances are that even if you manage to order one from Bell, the Installer will arrive with a 9241....

Note, that all 9241's I have seen so far are in brown box's, tis used to be an indication that the receiver was refurbished but I am hoping this is just a cost cutting measure.

Great explanation above, but can someone provide a smidge more clarification on the PVR portion?

here's my scenario
I want to have a 9242 on the main floor using output 1, but also serve my bedroom on output 2
If i record 2 shows at the same time, will they be available to both outputs after the recording is done?

I am assuming that it doesn't matter which tuner recorded the show, and that any recording will be available to any output..

can anyone clarify this for me?
thanks


(p.s. I tried to make a post earlier, but don't know if that got through, if it did, please delete this one)

Yes What ever is recorded on the PVRs hardrive is available to be watched on any Tv that is connected to the PVR. That is why I don't want to give up my 9200 and I managed to snag one of the last 9242s from the source. I have 3 Tvs connected on the TV2 side of my 9200. They all get to watch the same thing but rarely are all 3 of them on at the same time. Kitchen, bedroom and guest room