I'm 95% convinced that this 522 will never materialize...

[xfile102]

522

Maybe we are all just crazy.

I hapen to work for a national retailer and we are Dish Network Partners. Because of this, we sell their products in our stores. I used to HATE Dish and support cable. But in last 8 months, we have sold no less than 6,000 522 Dual Tuner DVR Receivers just in my district, and about 16 of the 30 managers in our District also have them at home. Of those, We have had 1 unit, 1, that needed replacement because of Recording problems. After the replace, No issues. So It looks like a bunch of Tivo Fans have just hopped on over to the 522 board for the sole purpouse of bashing it, not actually sharing facts. A large number of our customers prchasing 522's were Tivo and Digital Cable box DVR owners. They always come back to tell us how much happier they are with the 522. In addition, to the comment that people without problems could ONLY be people who have hardly ever watched TV before, We have a 522 in every store that we use to Record Company Broadcasts and to demo for customers the Tuner and DVR functions. This is demo'ed almost 20 times every day. We fill the drive and empty it over and over. We Pause, Record, Rewind, Fast Forward, Play and record over it ALL DAY. NO HARD CORE TV WATCER HAS EVER put the 522 through as much abuse as we put our Demo Units through, and we do not have problems. 14 hours a day 6 days a week, 9 hours on Sunday, of rigorous testing. No Problems. So just stop expecting perfecion and realize that intermittent problems for random individuals out of the Millions of owners do not make the machine a piece of sh*t. They are just Individual Problems. It's Obviously not a perfect machine, but who's is? They have never had a problem acknowledging any issues and working to find a solution.

 

[mrschwarz]

So It looks like a bunch of Tivo Fans have just hopped on over to the 522 board for the sole purpouse of bashing it, not actually sharing facts.

Actually, no, we (or at least in my case) didn't hop over here to bash the 522. The facts about the 522 have been shared ad nauseum. Most of us are just venting our frustration.

I have both a 522 and a Tivo. When my original 522 started rebooting every time I pressed the guide button, I called the company that performed the installation. An overanxious installer gave my wife a long song and dance about my power being restricted, which was causing the 522 to reboot every time the Guide button was pressed. After that he replaced the unit with a new one and ran an extension cord to another circuit. Both of these things were unecessary because the new one on the new circuit did the same thing as the old oneon the old circuit.

In my experience, based on my own equipment and what I read of others on this board, replacing the 522 doesn't do anything but provide another DVR that has trouble with the software. From what I can see the hardware is consistent.

I have two basic problems with the 522. The first is the software architecture. The second is the execution of the design. People have a definite opinion about the basic architecture, but there really isn't any objective measurement whether one is better than the other.

There are features that the 522 has that I wish the Tivo has, such as the ability to sort the list of recordings. There are features that the Tivo has that I wish the 522 had, such as name-based recording (that the 522 is supposed to eventually get). For me, the list of things that the Tivo has is longer than the list of things that the 522 has. Because of this, in my opinion, I like the basic architecture of the Tivo better.

When it comes to the execution of the design, objective measurement CAN be made. I consider myself a typical user. All I want to do is record programs and play them back. After having a DVR for around four years, I almost never watch live TV. Because of this, most of my problems with the 522 have to do with recording and playing back. Among this list is:

Spontaneous reboots
missed timers
stutters and hiccups every 5 seconds or so
Recordings that, according to the on-screen timeline are 9,430,316 hours long
wrong program names in the headers
others

Someone earlier in the thread said that they were satisified with the way the 522 operates. Their expectations must be lower than mine. If my problems were only with the actual architecture, then it would be subjective. Any complaints I have on that account are only mine. I made the choice to go with Dish and I'll live with my choice.

Complaints about the execution of the design are a different story. Dish charges $5 per month for the DVR. If it doesn't do what it's advertized to do, they need to fix it.

If you truly have none of the second type of problem, you should definately not be a beta tester (yes, I know. We all are). Perhaps you have one of the models that the programming department uses for testing. Perhaps they should get one like mine.

Dish's goal should (or may be) to put out a new software version that fixes known bugs and doesn't create new ones. This can be done, but it takes a lot more testing than Dish is apparently doing before (not after) release.

I am not a flaming Tivo lover. My purpose is not to bash Dish. Dish gets a lot more of my money than Tivo. Dish gets more of my DVR money than Tivo.

Subjectively, Tivo's software architecture is better than the 522's, IN MY OPINION. Objectively, the Tivo WORKS better than the 522.

 

[cheezwiz]

Maybe we are all just crazy.

I hapen to work for a national retailer and we are Dish Network Partners. Because of this, we sell their products in our stores. I used to HATE Dish and support cable. But in last 8 months, we have sold no less than 6,000 522 Dual Tuner DVR Receivers just in my district, and about 16 of the 30 managers in our District also have them at home. Of those, We have had 1 unit, 1, that needed replacement because of Recording problems. After the replace, No issues. So It looks like a bunch of Tivo Fans have just hopped on over to the 522 board for the sole purpouse of bashing it, not actually sharing facts. A large number of our customers prchasing 522's were Tivo and Digital Cable box DVR owners. They always come back to tell us how much happier they are with the 522. In addition, to the comment that people without problems could ONLY be people who have hardly ever watched TV before, We have a 522 in every store that we use to Record Company Broadcasts and to demo for customers the Tuner and DVR functions. This is demo'ed almost 20 times every day. We fill the drive and empty it over and over. We Pause, Record, Rewind, Fast Forward, Play and record over it ALL DAY. NO HARD CORE TV WATCER HAS EVER put the 522 through as much abuse as we put our Demo Units through, and we do not have problems. 14 hours a day 6 days a week, 9 hours on Sunday, of rigorous testing. No Problems. So just stop expecting perfecion and realize that intermittent problems for random individuals out of the Millions of owners do not make the machine a piece of sh*t. They are just Individual Problems. It's Obviously not a perfect machine, but who's is? They have never had a problem acknowledging any issues and working to find a solution.

I call it!

Bull $hit.....

 

[Wishbone]

In my experience, based on my own equipment and what I read of others on this board, replacing the 522 doesn't do anything but provide another DVR that has trouble with the software. From what I can see the hardware is consistent.

I have two basic problems with the 522. The first is the software architecture. The second is the execution of the design. People have a definite opinion about the basic architecture, but there really isn't any objective measurement whether one is better than the other.

There are features that the 522 has that I wish the Tivo has, such as the ability to sort the list of recordings. There are features that the Tivo has that I wish the 522 had, such as name-based recording (that the 522 is supposed to eventually get). For me, the list of things that the Tivo has is longer than the list of things that the 522 has. Because of this, in my opinion, I like the basic architecture of the Tivo better.

When it comes to the execution of the design, objective measurement CAN be made. I consider myself a typical user. All I want to do is record programs and play them back. After having a DVR for around four years, I almost never watch live TV. Because of this, most of my problems with the 522 have to do with recording and playing back. Among this list is:
.
.
.
Someone earlier in the thread said that they were satisified with the way the 522 operates. Their expectations must be lower than mine. If my problems were only with the actual architecture, then it would be subjective. Any complaints I have on that account are only mine. I made the choice to go with Dish and I'll live with my choice.

Most of the problems seem to be with the software. We all see most of the same things at the same time... Audio not returning after a pause, A/V not in sync, Audio glitches, etc... I have had all of these at some point, most have been fixed by updates.

Others do appear to be hardware inconsistencies.... "Guide of death", "back" button not responding, missed timers, "1231237896 minutes remaining" and so forth... These seem to be constant problems to some users and are not fixed by any update so far. I am not getting any of these and therefore, I am a happy customer and not because of lowered expectations. My only problem is the occasional audio glitch and not as much as others have reported. Possibly one case for an hour-long show.

Some people here like the Dish dealer a few posts ago report nothing but nice things... Others like ChrisCoop have had nothing but bad experiences, and has these on all the units that he has had. He has been wonderful on posting screen shots of these so that we know he isn't a disgruntled ex-Tivo user. But due to the fact that I don't get a single one of these hardware glitches, and we do have documented proof of these on this forum, and I watch a lot of TV, I can only assume that there are hardware inconsistancies on this unit.

 

[rolandv]

Maybe we are all just crazy.

I hapen to work for a national retailer and we are Dish Network Partners. Because of this, we sell their products in our stores. I used to HATE Dish and support cable. But in last 8 months, we have sold no less than 6,000 522 Dual Tuner DVR Receivers just in my district, and about 16 of the 30 managers in our District also have them at home. Of those, We have had 1 unit, 1, that needed replacement because of Recording problems. After the replace, No issues. So It looks like a bunch of Tivo Fans have just hopped on over to the 522 board for the sole purpouse of bashing it, not actually sharing facts. A large number of our customers prchasing 522's were Tivo and Digital Cable box DVR owners. They always come back to tell us how much happier they are with the 522. In addition, to the comment that people without problems could ONLY be people who have hardly ever watched TV before, We have a 522 in every store that we use to Record Company Broadcasts and to demo for customers the Tuner and DVR functions. This is demo'ed almost 20 times every day. We fill the drive and empty it over and over. We Pause, Record, Rewind, Fast Forward, Play and record over it ALL DAY. NO HARD CORE TV WATCER HAS EVER put the 522 through as much abuse as we put our Demo Units through, and we do not have problems. 14 hours a day 6 days a week, 9 hours on Sunday, of rigorous testing. No Problems. So just stop expecting perfecion and realize that intermittent problems for random individuals out of the Millions of owners do not make the machine a piece of sh*t. They are just Individual Problems. It's Obviously not a perfect machine, but who's is? They have never had a problem acknowledging any issues and working to find a solution.

Yah right. I have some ocean-front property for you in Arizona pal.

One thing I don't think I ever mentioned was that I don't think I've ever had a problem while simply watching Live TV.

 

[xfile102]

BullSh$t?.....

I only know what I know. Maybe Dish put a different software version in our systems in the stores. And it is not Bullsh$t, come look me up sometime at my store if you are ever in Las Vegas. 4494 N Rancho Dr, Las Vegas NV. 89130. I will sell you a great Dish Network system with DVR. I stand by it.

 

[cheezwiz]

I only know what I know. Maybe Dish put a different software version in our systems in the stores. And it is not Bullsh$t, come look me up sometime at my store if you are ever in Las Vegas. 4494 N Rancho Dr, Las Vegas NV. 89130. I will sell you a great Dish Network system with DVR. I stand by it.

Sorry dude but you sound like a car salesman... And we all know how credible a car salesman is... You destroyed your credibility instantly by saying that all of us having problems are nothing but Tivo maniacs. You have OBVIOUSLY not thoroughly read the posts on this forum and many others. Why would someone making SO MUCH money on these admit that they are having problems.

By the way, do all your demo units have their recording capacity used up? If not, then perhaps you should set it to record until the hard disk is full and try what I have been posting about and see what happens.

And stating that up till now you recommended only cable REALLY makes me speculate some negative things about you...

 

[itsonthedish]

IF and when they come out with NBR for the dish dvr then and ONLY then will it be serious competition for TIVO. As it stands now, its a hit and miss situation - sometimes you dont even get what you thought you made a timer for. REALLY frustrating.

 

[ibleedblue]

Maybe we are all just crazy.

I hapen to work for a national retailer and we are Dish Network Partners. Because of this, we sell their products in our stores. I used to HATE Dish and support cable. But in last 8 months, we have sold no less than 6,000 522 Dual Tuner DVR Receivers just in my district, and about 16 of the 30 managers in our District also have them at home. Of those, We have had 1 unit, 1, that needed replacement because of Recording problems. After the replace, No issues. So It looks like a bunch of Tivo Fans have just hopped on over to the 522 board for the sole purpouse of bashing it, not actually sharing facts. A large number of our customers prchasing 522's were Tivo and Digital Cable box DVR owners. They always come back to tell us how much happier they are with the 522. In addition, to the comment that people without problems could ONLY be people who have hardly ever watched TV before, We have a 522 in every store that we use to Record Company Broadcasts and to demo for customers the Tuner and DVR functions. This is demo'ed almost 20 times every day. We fill the drive and empty it over and over. We Pause, Record, Rewind, Fast Forward, Play and record over it ALL DAY. NO HARD CORE TV WATCER HAS EVER put the 522 through as much abuse as we put our Demo Units through, and we do not have problems. 14 hours a day 6 days a week, 9 hours on Sunday, of rigorous testing. No Problems. So just stop expecting perfecion and realize that intermittent problems for random individuals out of the Millions of owners do not make the machine a piece of sh*t. They are just Individual Problems. It's Obviously not a perfect machine, but who's is? They have never had a problem acknowledging any issues and working to find a solution.

Interesting...I didn't know only Tivo fans bashed the 522. Missed the post on that one. I don't have Tivo, never even seen a Tivo, and I absolutely HATE this POS 522. I had a DVR through Time Warner Cable before and it was loads better. Why is it not seen as a problem that so many of us 522 users have problems with audio drops, a/v synch, color fades, vanished recordings, missed timers, etc? Are you scared that our rants are going to hurt your sales? If you've sold more than 6,000 units with no complaints, that should hold more merit with you customers than some of us message board whackos, right? Some things about the 522, such as no NBR or season passes, I knew going in. What I didn't know was that I'd be paying E* $57/month to be a friggin beta tester for them. In my opinon, E* sucks. I'll never, ever recommend them to anyone else and I'd have canceled months ago if I hadn't been duped by the install company into signing a $240 termination clause. For me February 23, 2005, can't get here fast enough. Goodbye E*, hello D*. And, yeah, I'll get a DTivo and from what I've read on here and other forums I'll probably be much happier. Don't insinuate that those of us having problems are full of it simply because you've not seen the issues. The problems are real and well documented. And for those of us fortunate to have received a POS box, it sucks. /rant