Considering DISH and 522

[Nimh]

Hello all,

I am considering getting rid of my DirecTV and Tivo 1 unit (mostly because they are jacking my prices up, but I admit I would love to tick of Viacom too). I am really interested in the DISH service but I have a couple of questions. I have found the answer to a couple of these already here on the forums but have also found other posts that make me wonder if the answer I found was right.

So here are my questions:

Q. The 522 is a new PVR that is phasing out the 721?

Q. The 522 has two tuners that allow it to record two shows at the same time, while playing back a third. The playback can be on one or two tvs. It does PIP but only if you are using it on one TV. Correct?

Q. The latest software update for the 522 (that is recived over the sat, -not- a phone line) allows for name based recording. What exactly does this mean? Does this mean something like the Tivo season pass is now available?

Q. What are the implications on the 522 and DISH in general for not having a phone line? The Tivo 1 unit I have has been moded to use Ethernet which is kind of nice. But from what I can tell there is no such option for the 522.

Q. I have heard various things regarding DirecTV vs DISH regarding picture quality. Is this one of those issues where if I goto a DTV forum I will here one thing and here another, or is there really a diffrence and if so what is it?

Thanks all, love the forums.

--- Nimh

 

[fbruno]

Q. The 522 is a new PVR that is phasing out the 721?

Not sure

Q. The 522 has two tuners that allow it to record two shows at the same time, while playing back a third. The playback can be on one or two tvs. It does PIP but only if you are using it on one TV. Correct?

In 1.61 (not the latest version since I don't have it yet, you can record 2 shows while watching 2 shows, watch 2 live shows, watch one live show on 1 tv, record on the other.

Q. The latest software update for the 522 (that is recived over the sat, -not- a phone line) allows for name based recording. What exactly does this mean? Does this mean something like the Tivo season pass is now available?

Not sure since they have not upgraded either of my 522's

Q. What are the implications on the 522 and DISH in general for not having a phone line? The Tivo 1 unit I have has been moded to use Ethernet which is kind of nice. But from what I can tell there is no such option for the 522.

If you get the 522 through the new user package, you do not own the equipment. Therefore you can't mod it. The only way around this is to buy a 522 off of ebay.

Q. I have heard various things regarding DirecTV vs DISH regarding picture quality. Is this one of those issues where if I goto a DTV forum I will here one thing and here another, or is there really a diffrence and if so what is it?

Never had Directv. The 522 quality is better than my stand alone TV w/ digital cable.

 

[Trav]

I just got the DHA plan from Dish installed today with the 522 receiver, so as a newbie I can't answer all of your questions, but here's perhaps a bit of help:

Right now, the 522 receiver can only operate in "Dual" mode, which means you can't control both TV tuners from one remote or one TV. You have to use the dual outputs as far as I know, though you might be able to use the PIP feature of your TV to hook up both outputs???

They told me at install that the receiver MUST be continuously hooked up to the phone line in order for the $5 fee to be waived for having 2 tuners. From the contract agreement, it seems to indicate that this is on a month-to-month basis so if you don't have it plugged in to the phone line one moth, you'll get charged the extra $5. I personally don't have a problem leaving it plugged in, but then again, I'm not really aware of what they send with it or why I would NOT want it plugged in???

I don't think the receiver has named-based recording yet... I thought I read it would be coming in a few months or so??

Travis

Hello all,

I am considering getting rid of my DirecTV and Tivo 1 unit (mostly because they are jacking my prices up, but I admit I would love to tick of Viacom too). I am really interested in the DISH service but I have a couple of questions. I have found the answer to a couple of these already here on the forums but have also found other posts that make me wonder if the answer I found was right.

So here are my questions:

Q. The 522 is a new PVR that is phasing out the 721?

Q. The 522 has two tuners that allow it to record two shows at the same time, while playing back a third. The playback can be on one or two tvs. It does PIP but only if you are using it on one TV. Correct?

Q. The latest software update for the 522 (that is recived over the sat, -not- a phone line) allows for name based recording. What exactly does this mean? Does this mean something like the Tivo season pass is now available?

Q. What are the implications on the 522 and DISH in general for not having a phone line? The Tivo 1 unit I have has been moded to use Ethernet which is kind of nice. But from what I can tell there is no such option for the 522.

Q. I have heard various things regarding DirecTV vs DISH regarding picture quality. Is this one of those issues where if I goto a DTV forum I will here one thing and here another, or is there really a diffrence and if so what is it?

Thanks all, love the forums.

--- Nimh

 

[ocaddict]

Hello all,

I am considering getting rid of my DirecTV and Tivo 1 unit (mostly because they are jacking my prices up, but I admit I would love to tick of Viacom too).

Good choice bro. You won't be disappointed.

 

[mjrusso45]

I'm a recent DHA customer and I have a 522 as well. Initially I was a little bothered by some of the problems with the 522, but I am a very demanding customer. I couldn't be much happier. (Name based recording will do it for me).

 

[fbruno]

As a follow up. If you've used Tivo for a while, do not expect to have the 522 be another tivo. It is more like a dumbed down version of Tivo. The major thing that would make me and my family happy is name based recording. Currently it just stupidly records whatever timeslot you put in. You select the timeslot using a shows name if you want, but if the shgow moves time slots the DVR will not follow it. You also cannot tell it to only record new shows, only keep so many, etc... If you can get over this, you'll do fine. Otherwise you might be disappointed.

Initially I was very upset and disappointed with my 522's. I've had to reboot them ocassionally, they stop showing video. And also the above problems. with 1.62 they fixed one of my biggest complaints and you can select which tuner you want to record using. If they get name based recording, then I'll finally be happy. Wishlists would be nice, but I'll settle for name based recording.

-Frank

 

[MikeD-C05]

Name based recording is suppossed to be in the works for the middle of the year. God knows how many bugs this will introduce in order to get this option. My suspicion is that the Gem Star/ TV guide settlement will have a use for this option. Possibly using the tv guide plus numbers tied to the shows in the epg guide. This would give us the same option as namebased recording without using the Tivo software. OF course I could be wrong.