April 1st? Joke's on us....
First of all, let me say you guys run a great website, very informative. I only wish I had found out about it sooner! Now, rant on:
Last Spring, I bought the 921 from a local retailer (I know, you already know where this is going, right?) Anyway, since then, I have had nothing but problems with it. It is the single biggest regretful purchase I have ever made, and I had a Betamax! The software is so sloppy and unrefined it blows my mind.
To be fair, the 921 initially wasn't a POS. About six months after purchase, I started having problems. Initially, they were minor, like dropping locals or the inability to change the aspect ratio. Shortly thereafter, the hard drive failed.
I called up Dish (I don't think I have to tell you how annoying that "Better TV for all" propoganda got) and explained my situation. After going through all the "advanced tech support" like rebooting the system, unplugging it, making sure I had the TV on the right video input, etc. they agreed to send me a new one. 921 number two gets here and works great...for two days. After that time, the machine completely locked up, no power, nothing.
Again I call and jump through the tech support hoops. To be sure I did things right, they want an "official installer" to come out and make sure everything was hooked up right. Shockingly, it was! 921 POS number two!
By this time, I am just wanting my money back. I argued that the 510 DVR that we have had for over two years has performed flawlessly in that time. Here I buy one of their flagship receivers and nothing but failure after frustrating failure. I also said I was getting tired of moving around a 400 pound oak entertainment center housing a 200 pound TV among other gear. Request for refund denied.
Since I did not buy the product directly from Dish, they felt they were under no obligation to provide a refund. They actually suggested I try to take it back to the retailer! The problem is, the retailer ordered this unit specifically for me, and even if they replaced defective unit #2 for him, the chances of him being able to sell it were not good. Besides, it's not his fault they built a faulty product.
Their solution was to send me another unit. I finally asked, "So what happens when this one fails, too? Are you just going to keep replacing units until my year is up then so long?" I never really got an answer to that, but the CSR supervisor tried making a "new car" analogy by saying that when you buy a new car and something goes wrong, you take it back to the dealership from which you bought it and have it fixed. Essentially, that is what is going on here.
I couldn't take it anymore (or so I thought). I replied, "Yes, but how many times does the thing have to be fixed before you simply stop trying? And as for 'taking it back to the dealer for a refund' as you suggested I do for the 921, when a new car is deamed a 'lemon', the corporation that built the car buys the car back, not the dealership that sold you the car." The reply was, "Well I am sure this one will work fine."
So now we are on 921 #3. It has performed 'okay' at best, and is starting to display some of the problems #1 had shortly before its hard drive failure. I make my 1000000th contact to Dish and finally hear about the VIP622. I find out that on April 1, I can "upgrade" my 921 (which I bought for $525) to a VIP622 "lease" for "only $99" if I returned my old 921. Pardon me for not being excited to hand over more of my money. An outright purchase would be $299.
In any case, I said I might be interested. When the 921 works, the picture is great as well as the sound. But my patience is gone. It looks like the 622 is heading down the same road as the 921 with the "software" issue. But I still cling to hope that maybe they can get it right. So what other options are out there anyway?
Wow, sorry for the long post, especially for my first one. Thanks for listening and keep up the great work here!
Bryan
I ordered the 622 last week as a upgrade and was told installation would be Feb 28. They immediately charged my credit card the $299. I will not hold my breath for installation.
