DVR-522 "offer" for existing customers (??)

[brntwood]

As I was talking to an "account specialist" regarding my renewal of my existing Dish contract----and discussing the "unfairness" what new customers get versus existing customers. (I want to upgrade to receive HDTV and possibly a DVR) He mentioned several times that Dish is going to have an upgrade "offer" starting on Feb 15th., 2005 for existing customers. (he mentioned a 522) He said he didn't know the details.

Does anyone know what this "Offer" will be??

I currently have have a 500 and 3 311's. Want HD and POSSIBLY DVR (Must be on two TV's.)

Any comments?

Thanks!

 

[chaddux]

As I was talking to an "account specialist" regarding my renewal of my existing Dish contract----and discussing the "unfairness" what new customers get versus existing customers. (I want to upgrade to receive HDTV and possibly a DVR) He mentioned several times that Dish is going to have an upgrade "offer" starting on Feb 15th., 2005 for existing customers. (he mentioned a 522) He said he didn't know the details.

Does anyone know what this "Offer" will be??

I currently have have a 500 and 3 311's. Want HD and POSSIBLY DVR (Must be on two TV's.)

Any comments?

Thanks!

What contract are you "renewing" and why are you renewing it?

 

[brntwood]

When I originally signed up for Dish (1 year ago)--I signed a "1 year contract"--commitment. Now that my year is up--I wanted to possibly "upgrade" some things. (HDTV, LOCALS, DVR, EQUIPMENT, etc.) I keep seeing all the offers/prices, etc. on their (as well as others) Web sites. When I called and spoke to the service rep--she basically said---"After your year is up, you go to a month to month bill---same price--same equipment--same programming" If I want to "upgrade" any items it would be at their standard
cost(s). I asked "well what about all these things I'm seeing for better pricing than what I have"--she said "that's for NEW customers." I said--well after 366 days---I would not be a customer--than I'd could be considered "new"---she said NO!

At that point--I started to complain, etc. and was transfered to an "account specialist", who basically WAS willing to give me some of the pricing for "new" customers, etc. (Wonder if it had anything to do with me threatening to totally drop Dish and go with someone else??? ;-) Anyway--he (several times) said he is aware that there is going to be an "Offer" for existing customers starting on Feb 15, 2005----relating to DVR and the 522........But he did NOT know (or couldn't say) the specific details.

I'm curious if anyone knows what (and IF) this "offer" will be.

Thanks.........

 

[wony]

I don't know if this is a good idea for anyone, but I've purchased a new DVR 522 from ebay for $200. It requires a call to the customer service at Dishnetwork to activate it. All I had to do is give them the serial number and a smart card number of the new and the old (leased) receivers. It took me about 10 mins. with the customer service to do all that and the DVR522 was up and running. Since I no longer needed the leased reciever, I was told to return it to Dishnetwork and my $5 monthly lease fee would be waived.

I think this beats paying for all the startup and installation, and the monthly lease and DVR fees. So, if you are current customer, leasing the 322 reciever, I recommend purchasing the 522 at ebay, hook it up and activate it yourself.

 

[Mike_H]

As of Feb 1st, The DVR522 is available to "qualified" existing customers for an installation fee that varies (apparently).

There are also other deals for existing customers including 510 receivers, 811 HDTV receivers, and discounted HDTV televisions.

Specifically the current existing customer program is called Dish'n it Up.
If you log onto your account through www.dishnetwork.com you will get an option to view any equipment upgrades available to you. If you call again, take the technical support option (#3 I believe) and talk to a tech agent. They seem to have a software system that is better able to give them information and they also seem to know more about what's going on.

 

[brntwood]

I AGREE on getting my own boxes (Ebay, etc.) The only problem is as of last night--the cheapest I could find a 522 was for more than thru Dish. The other issue is ya gots to be REAL careful----there are a lot of receivers out there with $ balances on them from previous customers. If you get one of these--sure Dish will activate it--AFTER you pay the balance due.

From their web--NEW customers get the 522 for FREE. I looked in my account--the only "deal" it offers me in the "upgrade" equipment area is a 921 for $549--- (And some combinations with a monitor--which I don't need)

Nowhere do I see a "Dish'n it up" offer. I thinks I need to call them and "discuss" this some more. (In reallity---I would like th 921---but WAY outside my budget. :-(

 

[jdmart]

My wife and I are DHP existing customers and got the 522 for $49 total (existing customers may pay $99 or $149 depending on circumstances). We have 2 811's and wanted to swap out our 2 DVR's. Did not want to purchase STBs since MPEG-4 will be coming out in the near future and HD has a priority with us.

 

[DirtyMack]

I AGREE on getting my own boxes (Ebay, etc.) The only problem is as of last night--the cheapest I could find a 522 was for more than thru Dish. The other issue is ya gots to be REAL careful----there are a lot of receivers out there with $ balances on them from previous customers. If you get one of these--sure Dish will activate it--AFTER you pay the balance due.

From their web--NEW customers get the 522 for FREE. I looked in my account--the only "deal" it offers me in the "upgrade" equipment area is a 921 for $549--- (And some combinations with a monitor--which I don't need)

Nowhere do I see a "Dish'n it up" offer. I thinks I need to call them and "discuss" this some more. (In reallity---I would like th 921---but WAY outside my budget. :-(

If it's been longer than a year since you took advantage of any offer then you DO qualify for the 522. I had to speak to three different CSRs before i found on who knew what he was talking about. To upgrade to the 522 it'll cost you $99($49 upgrade+$50 installation), installation is mandatory. Just call them and tell them that your brother in law (me ) just took advantage of the deal, and don't get off the phone until you do to....

 

[wony]

I AGREE on getting my own boxes (Ebay, etc.) The only problem is as of last night--the cheapest I could find a 522 was for more than thru Dish. The other issue is ya gots to be REAL careful----there are a lot of receivers out there with $ balances on them from previous customers. If you get one of these--sure Dish will activate it--AFTER you pay the balance due.

From their web--NEW customers get the 522 for FREE. I looked in my account--the only "deal" it offers me in the "upgrade" equipment area is a 921 for $549--- (And some combinations with a monitor--which I don't need)

Nowhere do I see a "Dish'n it up" offer. I thinks I need to call them and "discuss" this some more. (In reallity---I would like th 921---but WAY outside my budget. :-(

Yes, that is why I paid $200 for brand new, factory sealed unit. I could have gotten the used one for about $80-90, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I got the new unit.

 

[SatinKzo]

I got a brand new in box 522 on ebay for $120 shipped. activated it through CEO, , to me it beats the lease deal. Look on ebay for a deal.

 

[Stargazer]

I got one for $139 shipped off of ebay. I dont think they are that cheap anymore though.

 

[tracyt]

Got my NEW one off e-bay... HAD to go to "executive" level to get it activated... After having an old 5000 for 7-1/2 years the customer service people told me it couldn't be activated on a "purchased" unit. Thanks to a post elsewhere here, I got in touch with executive level, and the guy was very nice and said it wasn't a problem.... I have not had any problems or issues so far and really love all of the features....

 

[Satellite_Gal]

Question about 522 config

OK Thanks to information here I got a 522 for $149 including installation.
I am pretty happy about it. Especially since like so many people here I called and complained a couple of months ago about the fact that they were not taking care of their existing customers and were sending the message that getting new subscribers was more important than keeping the old ones.

Anyway my question is this: Why can't I have the 522 driving only 1 TV and still record 2 things at the same time? The person on the phone kept saying you need to tell it which TV to record on but that's crazy, I don't need the TV to record just the receiver. After all there is one disk and 2 receivers so can I:
1- record something and watch something else live on 1 TV?
2-Record 2 things and watch one of them live?
3- record 2 things and watch something recorded in the past

I want to be able to give some guidance to the installation technician so any insight here would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[kbohip]

According to the excellent CSR I talked to today you can't watch something on one channel while recording on another. She said the 522 has two TV outputs and is primarily designed for two seperate tv's. I read the info on the Dish site about the 522 and it looks like she's right. I had no idea this was the case until I talked to her today.

It makes the 522 useless to me as I only have one tv. I'm going to sell my old 510 and pick up a 721 on Ebay instead. Not having to pay the stupid dvr fee anymore will be nice too.

 

[fibonaccov]

According to the excellent CSR I talked to today you can't watch something on one channel while recording on another. She said the 522 has two TV outputs and is primarily designed for two seperate tv's. I read the info on the Dish site about the 522 and it looks like she's right. I had no idea this was the case until I talked to her today.

It makes the 522 useless to me as I only have one tv. I'm going to sell my old 510 and pick up a 721 on Ebay instead. Not having to pay the stupid dvr fee anymore will be nice too.

I don't buy this - sorry but since the 522 has 2 tuners and if your TV supports it you should be able to receive 2 different channels at a time - whether you watch one while recording another or watch both using the PIP feature...

 

[Pepper]

I have mine connected to two TVs in the "standard" configuration, though most of the time it runs single mode meaning the same output is on both TVs. In single mode it operates almost exactly like a 721 and can indeed record one or both tuners while watching either or something previously recorded. So the CSR's y'all have been talking to are dead wrong.

 

[kbohip]

But can you watch one live program while recording another program on ONE TV? It would seem to me you'd have to be able to but even Dish's site doesn't really make this clear about the 522.

 

[Pepper]

But can you watch one live program while recording another program on ONE TV? It would seem to me you'd have to be able to but even Dish's site doesn't really make this clear about the 522.

Yes, absolutely you can do this.

 

[Stargazer]

There is a setting that allows you to record on TV2 (the second tuner) by default. You do this by going to:

> MENU > 8 (Preferences) > 6 (Record Plus)

Then you select Enable under Activation and then which tuner you would rather record it to under Record Preference as TV1 or TV2. If you mainly watch your tv from TV1 then you should select TV2. If you mainly watch your tv from TV2 then you should select TV1.

 

[Stargazer]

There is a setting that allows you to record on TV2 (the second tuner) by default. You do this by going to:

> MENU > 8 (Preferences) > 6 (Record Plus)

Then you select Enable under Activation and then which tuner you would rather record it to under Record Preference as TV1 or TV2. If you mainly watch your tv from TV1 then you should select TV2. If you mainly watch your tv from TV2 then you should select TV1.

Since there are only two tuners in the reciever that is the same thing as having two live shows. For each one that is recording you are using the live feed to do so. You can watch one live feed while recording another, record two at the same time while watching a previously watched show that is not live from the DVR Events folder.

OK Thanks to information here I got a 522 for $149 including installation.
I am pretty happy about it. Especially since like so many people here I called and complained a couple of months ago about the fact that they were not taking care of their existing customers and were sending the message that getting new subscribers was more important than keeping the old ones.

Anyway my question is this: Why can't I have the 522 driving only 1 TV and still record 2 things at the same time? The person on the phone kept saying you need to tell it which TV to record on but that's crazy, I don't need the TV to record just the receiver. After all there is one disk and 2 receivers so can I:
1- record something and watch something else live on 1 TV?
2-Record 2 things and watch one of them live?
3- record 2 things and watch something recorded in the past

I want to be able to give some guidance to the installation technician so any insight here would be appreciated.

Thanks