Toshiba DR-2 DVD Recorder/Player with Simultaneous Play and Record
Difficulty resolved.
I just bought the Toshiba D-R2.  I have not been able to record movies from HBO and other pay channels from my Dish.  I've had no problems with the PVR and recording to a VCR.  Surely this product was designed to include movies from the movie channels.  Update:  After two weeks with this recorder I have researched the problem with recording HBO movies.  Its amazing how little dealers and others know.  I have found the problem with HBo--not the recorder.  I have been able to record movies from Starz and Showtime--but not HBO or Cinemax.  This machine has been a great buy.  I'm not electronically gifted but even I have learned about how well this recorder works.  Maybe others work as well or better but for the dollar you can't find a better one than this.  I change my rating to 5 stars.