522...is anybody happy with theirs?

[Farmdog]

I am expecting my install of a 522 and 322 on Jan. 9th and i just started ready this board and from the postings, it looks like i am making a big mistake?

I know that people tend to post more when they are unhappy, so i thought i would ask if anybody is pleased with the 522.

As a frame of reference, i am switching from analog cable. The big reason for the switch was to get digital audio/video and a DVR. I chose Dish over Direct due to the no cost DHP and lower rates (only one extra receiver charge instead of 3).

It is probably not too late to cancel, so any prompt feedback would be appreciated.

 

[John Corn]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys.

Well honestly I'm thinking of getting one when I can get my hands on one.
Right now there only available to new customers

It's a new DVR from Dish, I think alot of people expected more from it when it was released, like any receiver I'm sure it has it's bug and is a bit quirky from time to time. Hopefully it will get better as Dish releases software upgrades for it.

I'm sure it will be better than cable!!

 

[yessirrom]

I have one and it seems o.k. I had a replay forever and it is very basic in comparison. Mine has recorded all that I have scheduled. I like the second room function. I can banish the kids from the living room or hide in the bedroom to watch recorded stuff. I put a lock on the system and it even works for recorded shows (nice). Kids cannot accidentally tune to bad stuff, live or recorded.

I sold my Replay but would go back if an intergraded tuner for Dish was available...

 

[928gt]

I just got my 522 on Wed (bought on Ebay) and I couldn't be happier !!!

IF you are looking for a reciever that gives you totally separate control in 2 areas (like Den and M-Bedroom) and still share the DVR recordings made from both areas the 522 cannot be touched by anything I have seen. There are a few little bugs, but nothing that effects the operation as far as what it is designed for and after talking to an engineer at Dish these little bugs will be taken care of very soon.

FYI, I also have a 322 (also from Ebay) that I use in my garage and workshop and it is also a great little box that does exactly what it was designed to do.

Dave

 

[Mark_AR]

I've had mine for 2 weeks now and in spite of some problems I still like it a lot.

With 100 hours of DVR time, it will take a while to fill it up.

 

[Farmdog]

Guys,

thanks for the kind welcome to the Satellite Guys. I plan on visiting much more now that I have found you. I am very impressed by the amount of knowledge and experience you guys bring to this board.

Thanks also for the info on the 522/322. I am feeling a little better about my decision. As a guy who has never had satellite, as long as my picture and audio are an upgrade over cable, and i don't lose recordings due to bugs/crashes, i am sure i will be happy.

I'll keep checking back for more opinions.

 

[richardn]

I think most of the complaints came from people who wanted to use it to provide Picture-in-Picture to a single TV. This is supposed to be a feature, but it isn't enabled yet. I got it to feed two separate TVs, and it does that extremely well. I also had a ReplayTV and absolutely loved it. I wish Dish would license the ReplayTV service like DirectTV does Tivo.

richardn
811 & 522

 

[Farmdog]

richardn-

can't you still get a PIP (and the other single mode benifits) by sending the Tuner 2 RCA output to TV1?

 

[dlsnyder]

richardn-

can't you still get a PIP (and the other single mode benifits) by sending the Tuner 2 RCA output to TV1?

Yes, that is the only way PIP will work right now. You will need to have both remotes handy when doing this as there is currently no way to switch between the two output channels on one remote. That capability will be enabled in an update possibly as early as this summer.

 

[mjrusso45]

TO the folks who had ReplayTV and went with the 522, how does the feature set compare with that of the Replay? Is there a 30 sec skip button? I never use the Zones on RTV, but the search capability was nice. Any opinions on the direct comparison of the 522 vs the Replay?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The 522 does have the 30 second skip button.

 

[boba]

The 522 UHF remote can control both tuner 1 and tuner 2. The UHF remote has a blue area at the bottom with the #2 on it. Remove the battery door and remove the blue section turn it over and reinsert the green side up. It now controls the Tuner 1 as long as they are set to the same address.

 

[AppliedAggression]

The 522 UHF remote can control both tuner 1 and tuner 2. The UHF remote has a blue area at the bottom with the #2 on it. Remove the battery door and remove the blue section turn it over and reinsert the green side up. It now controls the Tuner 1 as long as they are set to the same address.

Wow, lots of ppl wanted to know about this. But does it control tuner 1 via IR only or does it use UHF to then control tuner 1?

 

[mjrusso45]

I also see that you can buy another UHF remote for the 522 on Ebay. Gonna pay out the a$$ for it though. $60.00 !

 

[Randy_B]

Any hints on when the 522 will be made available to current subscribers?

 

[chingon]

I have had the 522 and 322 since 8/22 and love them both. I have had hardly any problems at all and record daily.

 

[JFS7931]

The 522 does have the 30 second skip button.

How long will THAT last???

 

[Stargazer]

Maybe next year the 522 and 322 will be made for existing customers in the Dish'n It Up promotion.

 

[TuxCoder]

The 522 does have the 30 second skip button.

How long will THAT last???

Well, it's lasted at least the 11 months this thread has been around.

 

[timandheike]

My experience with the 522 so far

I've had Dish for about 3 weeks now. I have a 4 room setup, living room / master bedroom using 522. 2 Children's rooms using the 322. The 322 has worked perfectly. The 522 on the other hand has had the following problems.

Audio/Video gets out of sync after fast forwarding, pausing, etc. Hitting the 'skip back' button almost always puts it back into sync.

Recordings seem to get out of sync as well. In other words, you'll tell it to record a particular show. Then you notice that something entirely different has been recorded. I don't know if the DVR isn't adaptable to programming changes or why. It seems to me that a DVR record time should be based off the name and not the time. That way if a program change happens, it can still record it. I don't know for sure if that's what's happening. I only know that my wife and I have seen recordings for shows we know we didn't schedule.

I need to reboot the machine every 3 to 4 days. I'll turn it on, and notice that it says it's acquiring signal, and it loops and loops, but it never comes to an end. I check the 322, it's working fine. So I reboot it, and voila, it finds the signal. This past Saturday, the TV2 on the 522 worked fine upstairs, but nothing downstairs. Again I had to reboot the system.

This is not my first experience with a DVR. My first one was through Time Warner Cable. Their DVR had a few issues as well. But I never had an audio/video sync problem. I did have to periodically reboot theirs as well, but no more than once or twice in a month.

I am annoyed with this 'keeping a phone line plugged in thing'. From what I've read, it doesn't work too well, and they sometimes try to charge you anyways. And you have to prove your way out of it, not the reverse. The burden of proving that you don't have it plugged in should be on them. I'm also annoyed at the fact that they don't support VOIP. I have voicepulse for my residential line. Fortunately, I work from home and have a standard POTS line for my work. But otherwise, I wouldn't of been able to get Dish. They need to get with the technology. Alot of people are migrating to VOIP and cellular only and away from traditional POTS lines.

On a positive note, the picture quality of having a Dish certainly surpasses Time Warner's digital quality.

Thanks,

Tim