Help with receiver purchase from a Neophyte

[artt]

Hi,

Im about to finally upgrade my 508 to an HD DVR, at my wifes request, and am confused with the current offerings. In my short research I see a vast about of
problems with the current systems. My 508 has been one of the best electronic purchases Ive ever made, and I was hoping that the newer equipment was as good. My 508 is 7+ years old and still works perfectly with the original HDD. And the service has been close to flawless.

I want just a basic DVR with HD capability. Dependability is foremost.

We can upgrade to HD for life and can upgrade the DVR for no cost (expect for the VIP 922) but Im really not sure what equipment to get.

Any insights or suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Art

 

[TheKrell]

I upgraded my 501 to a VIP612 and have been very happy. It's not as reliable as the 501 was, but it has two satellite tuners and one OTA tuner. It does a whole lot more than the 50x series ever did, including accepting an EHD via it's USB port, and downloading DishOnline content over the network (if you have that). Some folks will no doubt come on here in a few more minutes and frighten you away from the 612 because they've suffered a lot of dependability problems. I have a 722 and two 612's, and frankly I've had more trouble with my 722 than I have with either of my 612's. The 722 has mostly been trouble-free as well, but it has on two occasions separated by about a year decided to delete virtually everything on disk!

Be forewarned that your 508 and my 501 were grandfathered and incur no DVR fee. The 612 will trigger a $6/account fee. If it's a seconary receiver, it will also cost $10/mo rather than the $7/mo you may be paying now. If your 508 is the only receiver on your account and you replace it, then only the $6 DVR fee will be added to your bill.

 

[DefDude]

The biggest factor is if you get a new unit or a refurb. I always have had new units whether purchased or leased and have never had to have a replacement, but that's just me. I also agree the 612 is fine, I have a new one since feb no problems. They can all fail at some point , but you will have a better chance with a new unit instead of a used one that has been abused.

 

[artt]

Positive reviews of the 612 are good since this is the unit Im leaning towards. I will admit that its been nice not paying for the programing but that was bound to change and I suppose just a built in way of making the units look less expensive.

One thing though, after looking at the packaging options, I noticed a $6 fee for
"pause and record live TV" which is in addition to having a DVR receiver. Is this just the same fee or an additional fee. I thought the fee my 508 wasnt incurring was a "programing fee" and not a "Tivo" fee.

I will request a new unit if Im going to upgrade - thanks for the heads up.

Also, it sounds like spending the $6 service fee for replacement equipment is mandatory too. Man, lots of fees......

 

[navychop]

You will likely be happy with any ViP series box, especially those beginning with 6 or 7. But not the ViP922. And the ViP series prepares you for the EA setup, and the eventual WA migration to MPEG-4.

FWIW I have 2 ViP722 units, and several EHDs. I'm quite happy.

 

[tech3018]

just wondering about the western arc you had mentioned?

 

[navychop]

WA is for the satellites at 110/119/129. You can currently use almost any Dish receiver there. Next, they will require an upgrade to using only 8PSK models. Then, they will require using only MPEG-4 models (which are all also 8PSK capable). Just like EA does now.

Which arc you are on depends upon where your locals are transmitted from.

 

[TimberWolf]

Have you also considered a 211k w/an external hard drive? (no monthly DVR fee)

 

[artt]

Im open to any setup that provides reliable service and performs well.

It seems odd that Dish would not charge for the service even though it looks to be an identical usage issue or am I missing something.

Are there any advantages to using the 211 w/ external drive other than the lack of a fee and being able to easily replace the HDD (which is a big one I think)

 

[cditty]

I would say the 722 or 722K would generally be considered the best Dish DVR's.

 

[whatchel1]

My choice

My choice was & still is the 722k w/ the OTA module. The module will cost $30 there is a DVR fee with it. If you want then you could get 2 211k's w/ the ext HDD (there is an activation fee for the HDD). So with the exception of the monthly DVR fee it will be about the same for the upgrade.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I would say the 722 or 722K would generally be considered the best Dish DVR's.

Yes the 722k is the best working dvr that DISH has . The 922 is still a beta baby with no archiving to external hard drive support.

 

[artt]

Thanks for all the info people.

We are now looking into the future a bit and since we will be completing a family room in a year and will be going with a projection setup or large LCD, I am now looking at what to do.

It appears the 722 is well liked but cant be used with 2 HDTVs with separate programing at the same time - only HD and SD. So since we can get any unit other than the 922, it makes sense to get a 722 since we would have to buy an EHD if we get the freebie 211. So 722 now and then buy a 211/EHD later for the family room.

If my logic is flawed, please enlighten me.. I havent actually contacted Dish for all the specific pricing so I could be inaccurate in my calculating value.

 

[cditty]

Try for the 722K with an OTA module. That is what I have. If you hook up the OTA antenna, you can record 4 items at once (2 OTA & 2 Sat). That is very handy to me during the fall TV season.

It is a very reliable receiver.

 

[navychop]

In another year you could get a ViP922 or its successor, which might provide two HD streams.

I'd suggest staying within the 612/622/722/922 family, so your boxes can share EHDs. They can't share an EHD with the ViP211. Different systems.