Dish Whole Home DVR Timeframe - Am I the only one seriously disappointed?

[mfoster711]

Rather than continuing to beat up Scott's thread on the new XiP receivers, I thought I would post this as a new topic.

It suddenly hit me today why I am so frustrated with the lack of a Whole Home DVR solution from Dish. You see, I realized that for years I had a defacto Whole Home DVR solution with Dish before everything went HD. I had a DVR in the living room and TV2 went to the other rooms in my house using a splitter to send the TV2 signal to multiple rooms. Yeah, I know, the other rooms would all have to watch the same show, but, the point is that I had one DVR and could watch the recordings on any TV in the house. In fact, over the years I told many friends they should switch to Dish because of their dual tuners and the ability to create a Whole Home DVR since Direct did not have anything like this. I had whole home DVR, I loved it and I was a very happy customer.

Then I bought an HD TV. And another. And another. And another. HD is the new norm. You can’t even find SD TV’s in stores anymore. This HD revolution is nothing that suddenly happened, it has been going on for years and Dish should have been preparing for it.

Ever since Direct came out with Whole Home DVR I have wanted it. But as a 10+ year customer of Dish I thought I would wait it out for awhile and see if Dish came out with something similar. But they haven’t. I read Scott’s post about the upcoming convention and “big announcements” so I thought I would wait to see what got announced before I made a final decision.

Now I have been reading Scott’s updates (by the way, nice job Scott). Dish showed off the new XiP receivers that will support Whole Home DVR. Yippee!! But, wait a minute, what did Dish really demo and announce? Let’s see, Dish showed off the new XiP hardware but the software hasn’t been written yet. Also, too my knowledge, Dish has not officially released any announcements about the upcoming Whole Home DVR. Instead, they just talked about it to industry folk at the convention. If you check Dish’s website there is nothing about the XiP receivers or Whole Home DVR. Dish officially announced and demo’d the 922 two years before it ever made it to market.

So, based on Dish’s recent record for delivering products years after they were actually announced, why should anybody hold out hope that these new XiP receivers will be available to current customers any time in the next two years? Seriously, why should I believe it? I can’t help to think of the old saying “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me”.

I am reluctantly leaning towards switching to Direct to get my Whole Home DVR back. I could try them for two years to see what they are like and if I am not happy, switch back to Dish. Maybe by then, Dish will have a Whole Home DVR that actually exists. I guess I am just looking for any reason not to make the switch. I am not big on change to begin with so I am honestly looking for some thread of hope that would convince me to stay.

 

[Richard Winfeld]

Don't worry... the new XiP receivers will be available "soon".

 

[3HaloODST]

While I think DISH needs to catch up, I have no problems currently with using EHDs to carry DVR content between receivers myself.

Hopefully the XiP will get here soon rather than "soon."

 

[MikeD-C05]

IF you want the whole house dvr concept NOW , then switch to Directv. If DISH ever gets their whole house dvr to market, sometime next year, it will be buggy and will take time to work them all out. So a two year commitment would be up with Directv by the time DISH has their whole house dvr up and working without substantial problems. As an early adopter of every new dvr that DISH has come out with ,including the 922 ,which I traded back in due to bugs and unfulfilled promised features, I have to say that buggy software gets old very quickly. I baby sat the 921 pvr the whole time I had it , including daily power cord reboots to get it to work properly. The 721 pvr was similar in problems, except the hard drives would fail quite often ,losing all recordings. The original pvr the webtv/dishplayer started quite nicely , but due to the Microsoft /DISH legal dispute, became a nightmare of RMAs that I spent $15.00 each time to ship. Let the new 813 get to market and let the bugs get worked out before you go with it, if you want a non anxiety tv experience.

 

[mdram]

go to direct and get it now
that way when your commitment is up, you should be eligible for free equipment from dish, and they may have it by then

 

[Tampa8]

I agree 100% with the posters. I'm not even directing this at Dish. Many new devices have software problems at first. So if this is that important, get Direct TV for now. Then you can decide if you like it better and stay, or go back to Dish when they have it all figured out. It's fine to compare like services, but you can't pick one thing and think that company should have it because the other one does. Each has their own way of approaching service. Dish and Direct are different in many ways. So why stay with a service if the other has something you want so much?

 

[skyviewmark]

As a Dish Retailer, I, too, am disapointed in this. I saw some fan boys immediately jump to defend.. But we here are a different breed.. We understand adding additional hard drives.. And switching between boxes.. But the average customer doesn't know how to do this.. And the average customer is now starting to ask about whole home DVR. And DirecTV made it easy.. So I am disapointed that Dish isn't already ready to market and install Whole House systems. My guess is the 813 and 110 solution will blow DirecTV away hands down.. But it has to get here first.. And that may be next year.. Or even the year after that.. Or just plain "Soon"

 

[mike123abc]

I do not think it is as big a deal as people think. Whole home DVR is just starting to come out, and it will take the consumers a year or 2 to demand it. By then Dish's solution will be working, and quite frankly it is (at least as announced on paper) a better solution than many other providers currently have. I say this as a person with a bunch of 211s with EHDs to provide HD/DVR on TVs and a 922 shared between the living room and MB (component/HDMI).

Dish's solution will arrive just in time. Yeah current adopters would be happier if it was done last year, but by the time most customers become aware of it, it will be a mature system.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

We here at SatelliteGuys are ALWAYS the early adopters. SatelliteGuys members are always the first to jump on this new technology. I think its safe to say that for most of us SOON is not SOON enough.

I know I want to 813's and 4 110's.

 

[JM42]

Its hard to be dissapointed when a real time frame hasn't been announced and any conservative estimate would lead to what the general consensus is. The fact they didn't show the XIP at CES spoke volumes and I thought then was the nail in the coffin for any chance of seeing MRV this year. That being said, I think Dish knows MRV is a big deal and will be pushing XIP out the door as fast as they possibly can (but thats even more reason not to be an early adopter).

If as Scott says they have shared playback working on the 922 then it would be nice if they could release it, but the marketing types are probably having fits over where they would fit that into the lineup from a marketing and pricing perspective when the XIP comes out.

 

[yaz96]

I do not think it is as big a deal as people think. Whole home DVR is just starting to come out, and it will take the consumers a year or 2 to demand it. By then Dish's solution will be working, and quite frankly it is (at least as announced on paper) a better solution than many other providers currently have. I say this as a person with a bunch of 211s with EHDs to provide HD/DVR on TVs and a 922 shared between the living room and MB (component/HDMI).

Dish's solution will arrive just in time. Yeah current adopters would be happier if it was done last year, but by the time most customers become aware of it, it will be a mature system.

Dish is already a year behind Direct, Comcast, and other cablecos with Whole Home DVR. Your 1 to 2 year scenario is approaching fast and I think not in touch with the new reality. People are more aware and are demanding the latest and greatest much sooner these days.

 

[mdram]

i wonder how many people call dish, ask for whole home, then decide not to because they dont have it
directv is advertising the heck out of it.

 

[navychop]

Let's see: If they don't announce until just before shipping, people complain that they weren't properly notified and were "tricked" into getting an older model.
If they announce early, people claim it's vaporware and start throwing the FUD word around.
They can't win, and they know it.

Somehow, I suspect this one will come out quicker than most realize, and will be more stable. We're due for it, and it has happened before. Beta testing in the field might be quite thorough due to the excitement this model generates.

 

[KAB]

It will roll out when they are ready to roll it out. Complaining and moaning won't change the date. If it is not soon enough, see ya!

 

[yaz96]

Let's see: If they don't announce until just before shipping, people complain that they weren't properly notified and were "tricked" into getting an older model.
If they announce early, people claim it's vaporware and start throwing the FUD word around.
They can't win, and they know it.

Somehow, I suspect this one will come out quicker than most realize, and will be more stable. We're due for it, and it has happened before. Beta testing in the field might be quite thorough due to the excitement this model generates.

The problem is, is they are ALREADY BEHIND the competition.

 

[Laddyboy]

Dish is already a year behind Direct, Comcast, and other cablecos with Whole Home DVR. Your 1 to 2 year scenario is approaching fast and I think not in touch with the new reality. People are more aware and are demanding the latest and greatest much sooner these days.

I tend to agree. My brother knows nothing about technology and has it from D* based on advertising. Every one of my three neighbors with D* has MRV now. I think E* may have thought Sling was their answer. It isn't, and they couldn't deliver it in a timely manner anyway even owning the company. Hardware is always the easiest part. That E* couldn't show a working version should make people cautious about whether this can get out the door any time soon. If they rush it out and its buggy like the 922 was, they could do even greater harm. For the life of me I wonder what they do there that they are always so far behind.This is something that could have been foreseen years ago. I've had networked media center PCs sharing content for several years. I know I'm not the only one. Did they just begin this project this year in reaction to D*? It sure sounds like it. They may know more about their market than we do. Maybe their research tells them this isn't a big issue for most of their subs. They could be correct. I don't know.

 

[csschrot]

So i have a serious question. Can you pause, skip and do all "trick play" stuff with different programs at the same time on the Direct TV Whole Home DVR? From what i understand no you can't. You can watch multipule programs but the "trick play" is limited to one if you only have one DVR correct?

If this is correct then is DISH really behind? They have a whole home dvr that is SD and yes we all want HD but to me DIRECT is more of whole home HD and not whole home DVR.

Now I don't have DIRECT at home so I'm going by what I have seen posted. If Im wrong then sorry for the misinfortion and delete the post. However I really don't think DISH is as far behind as people think. Plus this XIP systems sound to be more of what most of us would really want.

Don't get me wrong I want just as much as the next guy. However I don't think DIRECT would be the solution for me if it works as I think it works.

Thanks guys.

 

[yaz96]

If this is correct then is DISH really behind? They have a whole home dvr that is SD

And what would that be?

 

[Dr.Pepper]

We here at SatelliteGuys are ALWAYS the early adopters. SatelliteGuys members are always the first to jump on this new technology. I think its safe to say that for most of us SOON is not SOON enough.

I know I want to 813's and 4 110's.

This isn't just right, it's "dang right".

 

[mdram]

So i have a serious question. Can you pause, skip and do all "trick play" stuff with different programs at the same time on the Direct TV Whole Home DVR? From what i understand no you can't. You can watch multipule programs but the "trick play" is limited to one if you only have one DVR correct?

If this is correct then is DISH really behind? They have a whole home dvr that is SD and yes we all want HD but to me DIRECT is more of whole home HD and not whole home DVR.

Now I don't have DIRECT at home so I'm going by what I have seen posted. If Im wrong then sorry for the misinfortion and delete the post. However I really don't think DISH is as far behind as people think. Plus this XIP systems sound to be more of what most of us would really want.

Don't get me wrong I want just as much as the next guy. However I don't think DIRECT would be the solution for me if it works as I think it works.

Thanks guys.

any recorded programs can be trick played when viewing remotely
each dvr can serve itself and 1 other receiver at the same time
you cant pause live tv on non hd units with mrv, it must be recorded on the dvr
you can however start a live program recording on the dvr, then go into another room and pick it up, then pause it, ff it, ect