I want the 522 but worried...

[theslag]

Hi all..

I am still a dreaded cable subscriber but want to go satellite, over direct or dish, i would like to go Dish Net, and the offer for the PVR 522 sounds great, due to the price. but with all the talk here,makes you wonder if its worth the effort? It seems that there are alot of problems out there, why do you all keep your 522? Why didnt you go direct tv and get the TIVO. Im still learning, so please go easy on me.

RB

 

[ShadowEKU]

Very opinionated qestion so... without further adu.

I chose Dish because the local cable company wants 180 per Digital cable box and on top of that was 5 dollars more than the AEP (Americas Everything Pack). Directv was the same basic price as my local cable with the addition of equipment costs.

I also Chose dish because of programming. They are about equal except for a few small differences. Im not a big NFL fan or NBA for that matter. I am a college Basket and Foot ball fan and Dish seems to carry more college than Pro.

The 522 and DirecTivo have some big differences.

The Directivo cant drive 2 tvs at the same time. the 522 does.
Directivo doesnt have built in PIP the 522 does in single mode.

the 522 is very Buggy. However I have had it for about 6 months (not 100% sure) and It has only gotten better. I did have to RMA a unit but I think it was due to a power surge becasue it killed the surge supressor too.

The 522 will be quite stable when they can get the software right. the 510 and other 500 line products are actually really really good and can record various times. new subscribers get the 510 with up to 100 hours of recording.

Again alot of this is personal opinion so take that as it is. But I chose dish because it was the best bang for my buck. Im leasing recievers for 5 dollars a month which i would have been paying to Direct on top of buying the recievers. If you buy your dish receivers you still have to pay the 5 per additional. but I lease everything except my 811 (long story).

 

[boba]

I have had a 522 since Dec. 2003, I have very little good to say about it. In 10 months DISH has not been able to cure most of the problems with this unit but they have issued software cures almost monthly. If I wasn't a DISH dealer and owned this receiver I would have parted ways a long time ago. As a dealer I can't sell this unit it can only be leased, so I am stuck with it. I also sell Directv, at home I have DirecTiVo actually I have 2 and in over a year I have never had to reboot either TiVo. Yes the Directv system costs me an extra $5/Mo. over what a leased DISH system would but the QUALITY built into Directv is worth $60/Year to me. Besides if I ever wanted to get rid of Directv I can sell my Directv equipment there will always be some residual value. Dish equipment always belongs to them so there is never any value to it. It is like renting an apartment VS. owning a home, kiss the rent goodbye each month or invest in your property each month. Regretfully a house should increase in value each month, but my Directv equipment just gets a month older.

 

[SteveC]

I am still a dreaded cable subscriber but want to go satellite, over direct or dish, i would like to go Dish Net, and the offer for the PVR 522 sounds great, due to the price. but with all the talk here,makes you wonder if its worth the effort?

I'm in the same boat as you. Dish prices are attractive, but I don't want to deal with the problems. I have four TV's, and can get Dish with 120 channels, a 2 tuner DVR and a 2 tuner receiver for basically no initial cost and the same monthly charges as cable. Because of the 4 TV's, Direct would be $10 a month higher, and I'd be limited to watching recorded shows on one TV unless I bought multiple DVR's. I'm also looking at DVR's that work with cable, but don't like the prices there either.

I plan on waiting until one of the options becomes more attractive.

Steve

 

[rhasselbaum]

Personally, I'd suggest taking what you read on this forum and others with a large grain of salt. I think many people with legitimate complaints use sites like this one to express their dissatisfaction, but it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a silent majority out there who are happy.

I've had very few problems with mine after 2-3 months. Aside from having to reboot it occasionally to solve transient A/V sync problems, it's performed well with the latest software. (Certainly no worse than my Hughes DirecTV receivers!)

The real test in my house is my wife, though. She's much less willing to put up with flaky electronics than I am and would be the first to complain if the thing wasn't working right. So far, she loves it.

 

[apocrapha]

Well here's my personal experience-after about six weeks now I've had no major problems with my 522. I've had the audio out of sync problem a few times but just stopping the playback and restarting fixed for me. Every once in a while the picture pixellates for a second then fixes itself..so far nothing that has made me unhappy with it. I might even say that I really like it. I know-please be kind. Just remember I'm coming from really crappy cable service so compared to that Dish Network has been excellent so far.

 

[chingon]

Personally, I'd suggest taking what you read on this forum and others with a large grain of salt. I think many people with legitimate complaints use sites like this one to express their dissatisfaction, but it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a silent majority out there who are happy.

This is exactly right, people are less likely to search out a forum to share if something works properly. I had directivo before the 522 and I like the 522 much better. I have had mine since 8/25 and have had no problems with hiccups and glitches others have had. I had video sync problems ONE day a few weeks ago with recorded programs, but this has been the only thing. I record nightly and watch them daily.

 

[chaddux]

I've had minor problems with my 522 which are annoying but they are very minor and quickly correctable. I would definitely recommend a 522 despite the flaws (which will be fixed in future updates). It is nice to be able to watch/record on two different TVs and then watch the recordings on either TV (or both at the same time with independent control) regardless of which one it was originally recorded on. Also, the single DVR fee is nice.

 

[theslag]

thaks for info

Thanks for all you info, Im going to give Direct TV a shot with the Tivo service, the reason are the problems with the 522 and also that its a time based recording system, not a name based. The only thing that I didnt like about direct is the year contact with Dish it was a no time contract. Thanks again for all your input.

RB

 

[Hogarth]

Hi all..

It seems that there are alot of problems out there, why do you all keep your 522? Why didnt you go direct tv and get the TIVO. Im still learning, so please go easy on me.

So-so Dish 522 == $0 up front cash.
Good DirecTiVO == $200+ up front cash.
HD DirecTiVO == $1000 up front cash.

For me, it was a simple matter of economics.
Dish has adequate programming, and the 522 is by far the most affordable two-tuner DVR on the market that can record ~100hrs of programming.

Is TiVo better? sure.
Is TiVo THAT much better? that's purely a matter of opinion. For me, no.

(And this is from someone who had a standalone TiVo for 4 years.)

 

[Wishbone]

So-so Dish 522 == $0 up front cash.

That's the reason why I chose it. I've never had a Tivo, so I don't know what I'm missing. The only issue that I really have is the occasional A/V glitches/stalls on playback. Normally I don't care when watching it (unless it becomes extremely bad), but it is unacceptable when recording it to DVD.