Few questions about dual tuner DVRs

[lwilbur]

Ok my wife is loving the DVR, but we are running into a case where 1 dvr isnt cutting it. I try to tape my hockey games but all the time she has timers set up blocking me (DOH!)
I am thinking of a dual tuner DVR now to replace the 501 and to get rid of the 311 in the bedroom.
My questions are:
since there is no tuner in the 2nd room how in the heck does the remote change channels, open menu,etc from a tuner in another room. I cant recall any remote I have that has operated devices in other rooms (i use lots of same brand appliances). Is it a super remote or is it kind of kludgy?

I see the dish n it up seems to be pushing the 522's for $99 (I assume $99 plus $5/mth lease?)
Is there a cost savings by going to a dual tuner?
Right now I have:
501 - $5 dvr
311 - $5 additional receiver
811 - $5 addtnl rec, $5 lease

Any help would be appreciated

 

[RocketFoot]

The remote for tv2 is UHF. I believe it has a 200 foot range through walls and floors, etc...otherwise it looks and works just like the regular remote for tv1.

As far as saving money, you will lose the 2nd receiver charge...

Do it...you'll love it!

 

[DVDDAD]

Just a thought... If you get the 522, and put the 501 in the bedroom, you'll have three tuners which should ensure that you can always get something recorded that you want to watch.

 

[lwilbur]

but if i keep the 501 then i will keep the additional receiver fee plus another DVR access fee correct? ($10 more instead of losing the $5 additional receiver fee)

Having 3 may be an overkill but a dvr box sitting idle is kind of a waste also

It steams me to see all the addons - sad when your receiver fees almost equals the programming costs every month

So i could save money by:
installing a 522 - 1st tuner no charge, 2nd tuner $5 dvr ($5 additional receiver waived?)
ditch the 311 and 501

 

[SaltiDawg]

but if i keep the 501 then i will keep the additional receiver fee plus another DVR access fee correct? ($10 more instead of losing the $5 additional receiver fee) ...

No DVR Fee on a 501....

 

[lwilbur]

hmm i must have the 510 then ($5 dvr )

 

[Bob Haller]

personally I prefer to buy my boxes, i dont lease anything. I can then sell them for whatever they are worth when I upgrade the next time.

 

[bandoul]

I have a leased 522 for which I pay an additional $5 fee per month for the DVR functionality. Personally I will not go out and purchase anything that has a hard disk in it and risk getting shafted when it craps out. My 522 has been replaced twice under warranty so far. I also own a 322 for which I pay an additional receiver fee of $5 a month. Keep in mind that on both the 522 and the 322 you will be charged an additional $5 each if you don't keep them connected to a phone line because they are dual tuners. The end results I have 4 tuners; 2 of which can record different programing simultaneously to hard disk and the 3rd can record to VCR while I watch a live show on the forth. My wife is happy with this setup because she has a DVR all to herself. Having the spousal unit happy and off your back is worth the extra $$$. As to the remote, that was easy coz they are all programable. My 522 IR remote is set to address 1 and its UHF remote is set to address 12 while the 322 IR remote is set to address 3 and its UHF remote is set to address 13. That way each remote will operate its corresponding receiver. It sounds to me you only need one dual-tuner receiver, trust me, lease a 522 and it will be the best decision you ever made. Good Luck.

 

[swm61230]

You can also go find yourself a used 721 on ebay and then all you would ever have to worry about is an extra reciever charge. The 721 doesn't require you to have a phone line and it has no dvr fees asociated with it. Now you will have to have a phone line to do ppv and stuff but not one to avoid a fee. I loved mine and it worked/works great. And now they even work with the DPP stuff and even tested it out before I disconected it from me system. I have just upgraded/swaped out the 721 for a 942....Gotta love hi def.

 

[dagarrison]

Ctn & Sa

UPDATE:

I wish I would have gotten to this sooner when the problems began. Yes we had some problems with our channel however thos problems did not always exist with us. CTN is still on the air and quality is our #1 goal at CTN. What people did not know is that when we were on SA we had operated from our Master Control to @Contact(SA's uplink center contractor.) via 3 T1 lines which ment that all audio and video was digital from point to point. If you had audio problems I may have been trying to find the problem myself and nost of the time is was not at the Detroit Master Control.

CTN is in regrowth mode and will return to satellite soon. We currently have an larger viewing area in Michigan with over 3-4 times the viewers we had with SA.


Many Regards,
Darnell D. Garrison, 10Yrs with CTN
Sr. Engineer, Christian Television Network Detroit
ctnusa.org

 

[navychop]

The 721 also does not have a DVR fee. It is a dual tuner unit and has an advantage over the 501/508/510 series: You see the EPG at the bottom of the screen, the video at top right, and show synopsis top left. Very nice.

But all the non-MPEG-4 units will only be good for a few years, and then will be phased out.

 

[Jahntassa]

It is a dual tuner unit and has an advantage over the 501/508/510 series: You see the EPG at the bottom of the screen, the video at top right, and show synopsis top left. Very nice.

522 acts that way as well.

 

[navychop]

So then the 625 would also. Dish doesn't ship 522s anymore, do they? So someone looking to Dish for new equipment would get a 625 while they are available, then a ViP622 after all the SD only DVRs are phased out.

 

[Jared Twomey]

i have a 510, and a 522(625 basically the same)... love them both, but end up watching the 522 more... mainly because I can do picture-in-picture... have two shows paused at once, ect...
I would recommend the upgrade...