Not true. Both sat companies have single wire DVR solutions. On Dish you need Dish Pro, on DirecTV you need SWM.
Does DirectTV have any receivers that compare
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Not true. Both sat companies have single wire DVR solutions. On Dish you need Dish Pro, on DirecTV you need SWM.
Any Directv DVR I owned was noisy as sin and terribly slow. I could never get the IR remote to work through walls either.
And you can run TV1 in UHF mode by flipping a switch in the remote.
Here's the "break it" items for me with D*:
1. No true Dual Live buffers. I totally watch TV this way. DLB lets me use PIP swap to watch one channel, pause, swap to the 2nd channel, pause, swap back watch, pause, swap back watch, pause, etc... D* has an ugly work around where you have to record one or both shows to accomplish this, but that does not work for me. I often pause on one channel, and surf on the 2nd buffer (kinda impossible to record what you're surfing). After experiencing true DLB, i really dont think I could watch TV w/o it....very efficient for catching up on one channel while the other is showing commercials. Also very handy during the election when i want to see what one news channel is covering vs another.
2. Two coax runs needed for each receiver. not currently an option for me, and until D* makes their single wire multi switch (or sw multi switch LNB) available to average customer like me, I cant go to D*.
3. No OTA with HR21, but there is going to be a standalone OTA box that will work with the HR21 "soon".
4. Ka band channels...i have enough issues with Ku band rainfade on E* with our monster thunderstorms in Texas. KA band is supposedly more prone to rainfade than Ku.
5. Upfront cost...D* is a about $300-400 more in upfront costs for ME.
As an aside, people complain about E* nickel/dime extra fees. E* still comes out cheaper for me.
Not anti-D* here at all, as in many ways i wish I had gone with D*, but I have played with an HR20, and hate it. And of course I wish that E* had every HD channel D* has, but I can barely keep up with what I do have available to watch right now.
1. No true Dual Live buffers. I totally watch TV this way. DLB lets me use PIP swap to watch one channel, pause, swap to the 2nd channel, pause, swap back watch, pause, swap back watch, pause, etc... D* has an ugly work around where you have to record one or both shows to accomplish this, but that does not work for me. I often pause on one channel, and surf on the 2nd buffer (kinda impossible to record what you're surfing). After experiencing true DLB, i really dont think I could watch TV w/o it....very efficient for catching up on one channel while the other is showing commercials. Also very handy during the election when i want to see what one news channel is covering vs another.
2. Two coax runs needed for each receiver. not currently an option for me, and until D* makes their single wire multi switch (or sw multi switch LNB) available to average customer like me, I cant go to D*.
3. No OTA with HR21, but there is going to be a standalone OTA box that will work with the HR21 "soon".
4. Ka band channels...i have enough issues with Ku band rainfade on E* with our monster thunderstorms in Texas. KA band is supposedly more prone to rainfade than Ku.
5. Upfront cost...D* is a about $300-400 more in upfront costs for ME.
As an aside, people complain about E* nickel/dime extra fees. E* still comes out cheaper for me.
Not anti-D* here at all, as in many ways i wish I had gone with D*, but I have played with an HR20, and hate it. And of course I wish that E* had every HD channel D* has, but I can barely keep up with what I do have available to watch right now.
And just how readily available are the SWM's to the general public? I'm willing to bet DPP technology can be had on any install...can the same be said for SWM?
I am not anti-D* in particular either. I have almost forgiven them for the HD DirecTivo disaster the wrought on me. I did not mention price because the OP did not, but I did save $199 up front with E* compared to the D* deal at the time, and my monthly bill is somewhere around $9 cheaper per month than it would have been with D*. YMMV.
Ted
Again, with a piece of hardware that is not widely available, you can get single wire capability on the latest DIRECTV receivers. The DIRECTV version (SWM) is even more powerful as it doesn't require home runs to the switch. It can be installed using one wire from the switch and quality splitters to up to eight tuners.
SWMs only do their magic with receivers released in the last year or so and there are no "legacy" adapters.
All I am really lacking with Dish is the Sci-FI HD channel. With that one missing channel (the only one missing that I actually care about anyway!), I would not even be looking at DirecTV, but without that channel in time for Season 4 of BSG, I am going to be looking at my options. Maybe Charlie will surprise me yet, but I doubt it.
It should be apparent that there ARE notable differences in DPP hardware vs. SWM switches and receivers. If you look back in history the DPP hardware has made installs possibe with 1 coax and didn't cost the new customer any extra $$$. DPP technology remains the most readily available, cost effective method to perform installs. Installations requiring cable runs in excess of 200' are reliable and maintain good signal levels. I'm sure that "D" will eventually offer easily obtained hardware to catch up with DPP. Just give them a little time.
AT one time, many moons ago, Direct TV did have the most cool hardware, that is the licensed Sony STB's of the 20th century. But that all changed years ago. The Direct TV guide grid is UGLY and more difficult to read. As for the incorrect reference about Dish only offering an RF output to a 2nd TV: Dish now has the ViP 612, an option that allows your 2nd TV to have true HD/S-video. One can have as many as 4 leased 612's per account. that's four "freebie" HD DVR's serving 4 HDTV's with true HD.
I loved Direct TV back in the 1990's, but the 21st century has seen Dish pass Direct by with overall better STB's with more sophisticated functions. The problem is that Dish is constantly pushing the edge of the STB technology and are first with the cutting edge features, and so they do encounter more bugs when first released. Direct TV isn't bad, but it is more of a conservative grandama's car. It works, but no bells and whistles, and Dish does get the bells and whistles working. The Dish ViP722, overall, is the best HD DVR out there (please Amazon to find the countless complaints regarding the Tivo Series 3: excruciatingly slow guide and response, no PIP, no dual buffers, many people on their 3rd Tivo Series 3 and pissed, same as Dish?--and when it dies after warranty, you get to pay parts and labor and shipping costing hundreds of dollars to repair if you don't want the over $500 Series 3 to become a door stop, and that is exactly what happened to my aunt's Tivo who is now with Dish because of Tivo's lousy warranty and no way to purchase and extended warranty for even a few dollars a month as Dish offers), and it is more affordable than the clunky looking Pro series of Direct TV HD DVR's that only the nobility can afford, and it is still somewhat inferior to the 722. In fact, CNET loves the 722 and has awarded it Editor's Choice. Please tell us which Direct TV STB has such status.
I loved Direct TV back in the 1990's, but the 21st century has seen Dish pass Direct by with overall better STB's with more sophisticated functions. The problem is that Dish is constantly pushing the edge of the STB technology and are first with the cutting edge features, and so they do encounter more bugs when first released. Direct TV isn't bad, but it is more of a conservative grandama's car. It works, but no bells and whistles, and Dish does get the bells and whistles working. The Dish ViP722, overall, is the best HD DVR out there (please Amazon to find the countless complaints regarding the Tivo Series 3: excruciatingly slow guide and response, no PIP, no dual buffers, many people on their 3rd Tivo Series 3 and pissed, same as Dish?--and when it dies after warranty, you get to pay parts and labor and shipping costing hundreds of dollars to repair if you don't want the over $500 Series 3 to become a door stop, and that is exactly what happened to my aunt's Tivo who is now with Dish because of Tivo's lousy warranty and no way to purchase and extended warranty for even a few dollars a month as Dish offers), and it is more affordable than the clunky looking Pro series of Direct TV HD DVR's that only the nobility can afford, and it is still somewhat inferior to the 722. In fact, CNET loves the 722 and has awarded it Editor's Choice. Please tell us which Direct TV STB has such status.
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Here's a link to a comparison. Comparing the HR10-250, HR20-100/700, HR21-700 and ViP622/722 - DBSTalk.Com
According to the latest Dish business rules, a new account may only have 2 VIP612's per leased account. Furthermore the 612 can only be added to the account as a 2nd or 3rd receiver at an up-grade charge of $99 each. The first receiver must be a VIP622/722.
Dish HD-DVR has some things I like. DirecTV HD-DVR has some things I like. There is no real good reason that makes me think one is really better than the other. Equal in most categories, with each one having some things that make it stand out over the other. If they could just come out with a HD-DVR that has all the good things from both units and none of the bad things then they would have a perfect machine. And yes both machines have bad things about them too.
Your driving a Chevrolet now and questioning about trading up to a BMW. It isn't an apples to apples comparison. The 722 and the HR2X are both dual tuner HDTV DVR receivers that is about the only common points. The Chevrolet is a family car and the BMW is more sports car so they don't compare directly. DISH is "el cheapo" selling concept Directv is more a luxury ride. For DISH you use the poorest quality out put "coax" for the second TV but save $5/mo. For Directv you use a second receiver for the additional TV it is $5 per month more but offers composite/"S" video and even HDTV depending on model chosen. Directv charges 1 DVR fee per account DISH charges for each DVR on the account.
They are different companies with different concepts about watching TV neither is perfect but if your used to DISH don't Expect Directv to be the same company they aren't.
The initial question was not so much about content, but equipment. From an equipment standpoint the 722 is not a BMW, it is more like Ferrari compared to the HR20 which is the Chevy in comparison. When ordering a DVR from D* you will be at the mercy of what is available. My installer told me he has not seen a HR21, yet. His company was receiving refurbished HR20s, only.
Having possessed three DVRs, I came to the same conclusion Cnet.com and its users came to: TiVo and the 722 are both very good, each having features that bested the other. The 722 edges out a slight lead, but is still lacking some key features and does require a little finesse to make it record everything correctly. Both have "point and shoot" features that automate the recording process very well. The HR20 is a work in progress. It is a DVR that requires a lot of user input to record programs correctly.
Before making the switch based on equipment, do read the reviews at Cnet.com. Make time to read the end users reviews. At last count there were nearly 400 reviews on the HR20. Many of those reviews come from field experts who have hands on experience with more than one DVR.
PS. The AMC-14 was a replacement satellite that also served as vehicle for the move to mpeg4, that is, not so much to expand content, but to maintain it.
Can you please expand on this? I don't know why you say that, when I want to record something I find it in the guide, hit record once for a single recording or twice for a series link, that's all that's required.
I switched to Dish for the expanded HD content and the cool Vip622 a little over a year ago. And Directv has moved into the HD content lead since then...so, its my fault guys!
As for the HD DVR comps, there were three things that pushed me to the 622...1) the two sat tuner from one coax feature (which some have said that D* now has too), 2) the TV2 output (which is perfect for my set-up, allowing full DVR capability and HD content on my EDTV in my kitchen without an additional tuner), and 3) the ergonomics of the remote.
Even if item #1 has been addressed by D*, the TV2 output is such a huge benefit for me personally, that I would have a hard time making the switch back to D* anytime soon. The remote is not a huge deal, but a year ago, D*'s remote felt very cheap and clunky. Pictures on their website indicate they haven't changed it. I love the look and feel of the E* remote...even more than my $200 Harmony.
Just my 2 cents worth...on a topic where there are no right answers...just opinions.
As for the HD DVR comps, there were three things that pushed me to the 622...1) the two sat tuner from one coax feature (which some have said that D* now has too), 2) the TV2 output (which is perfect for my set-up, allowing full DVR capability and HD content on my EDTV in my kitchen without an additional tuner), and 3) the ergonomics of the remote.
Even if item #1 has been addressed by D*, the TV2 output is such a huge benefit for me personally, that I would have a hard time making the switch back to D* anytime soon. The remote is not a huge deal, but a year ago, D*'s remote felt very cheap and clunky. Pictures on their website indicate they haven't changed it. I love the look and feel of the E* remote...even more than my $200 Harmony.
Just my 2 cents worth...on a topic where there are no right answers...just opinions.
I just remembered one other thing I like about my 722. In Single mode, I can use both the UHF and IR remotes for TV1. One is mine (IR) and one is my wife's (UHF). Works great!
Ted
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