Yes it is a so called new 2010 MPEG2 only model used for limited time only for SD / WA / DVR installs on lease victims, no one would actually want to buy that old all refurb junker for the same price as the 625, the development costs are nill, a 512 is just an old worn out returned for spare parts 522/625 frankensteined with the TV2 output shut down in the firmware (could even be broken you would never know). Dish resurrects the beast for another day whenever someone agrees to chain it up for 24 months! ARRRRRRRG Run for the hills.
The reasons for your rainfade concerns in the EA are valid, till now lots of old weak satellites with faulty transponders in what has become until recently the graveyard of dish network satellites, then combine that with 8PSK which even after FEC has a worse SNR than the QPSK transponders. WEAK
There is no confusion on my part, MPEG2 SD is starting to convert to MPEG4 SD, they have stated with 61.5 and 118 SD stuff, there will be no intermediate 8PSK step either, when it goes it is going MPEG4/8PSK, dish needs to get more conus spots emptied so they can put up more spot HD locals inside of 24 months, as usual they are way behind the numbers, just begging for MPEG2 owned accounts to cancel their services prior to, to make up for too much lost time on their part.