New customer worried about DVR reliability

[petalutha]

Hello everyone,

We have had cable for 2 years, but after canceling our cable internet, the cable TV as a stand alone seems too expensive, not to mention there is no DVR service.

So I called dish network and set up installation for next week.

Today I was researching, trying to find out how best to hook up a DVD recorder to the DVR, when I found all kinds of sites, stating how unreliable the dish network DVRs are.

My questions here are as follows.

One, can anyone advise me on whether or not dish network is really as unreliable as some say? I don't know what DVR I will be getting (not HD, so I'm guessing the 625?) but from what I've read, all of them are quite susceptible to erasing all stored programs! Some people believe it is a problem more with the software conversion than anything. But regardless of what the cause is, I do not want to risk losing all my stored programs- that defeats the purpose of getting a DVR!

Two, is it better to sign a contract with dish and have the equipment covered (although from what I understand, you cannot upgrade to a newer model), or is it better to pay the $50 (the only difference in a contract vs non contract set up) and not be stuck (but running the risk of having to pay shipping on any faulty equipment.)

Before I contacted dish, I was looking into buying a DVR (w/o service) with a built in DVD burner and just continuing on with cable. Has anyone tried something similar? Although it would be more expensive, I would rather do what is most reliable.

I would appreciate any info before I embark on my satellite adventure!

Thank you.

 

[osu1991]

I have had two 508's that have worked flawless for three years. My 522 has been very reliable for over a year and my 625 has been very reliable for going on six months. I have never experienced the lost recordings that some have. I did have the occasional audio dropout on the 522, but those are rare now.

 

[boba]

I have had the 522 erase programs twice, the 625 and 522 run the same software I see no reason the 625 should be any different. I have had a Directv TiVo for about two years(actually I have 3) and never had a glitch with it. I wouldn't take a DISH product as a gift, they are all full of bugs some worse than others.

 

[fs2685]

I've had a 522 for almost 2 years. Just last week though I lost all my stored programs and event timers. At first I thought it was a software install that did it, but then it happened again just a few days later. Tech support said the hard drive was probably failing and agreed to send me a replacement unit. I'm no longer under contract so I had to pay shipping, $14.95 I think.

 

[LER]

I have had over the years 7100's, 501's and 721's.

the 7100's started to show their age, and I replaced them with the 501s, and then I got
a 721, and love it. I just replaced the last 501 with a 2nd 721. Never lost my recordings on the 50x's nor the 721.

LER

 

[chaddux]

My 522 has performed very well over the 13 months I've had it. There's been a few minor quirks along the way but none of them are major problems and none affect the functionality of the device. Most of the stuff you will read about will be minor (but irritating) things that occur such as brief audio drops.

 

[Anole]

more positive than negative

You'll find me bitching about the little firmware errors that Dish has put into the 5xx series in the last year, but...
I would not go back to watching on a non-DVR model.
My life has changed too much by having record capabilities, for that.

As for people who -store- programs on their DVR, those folks need to learn that any computer-based system needs to be backed up occasionally.
A simple $150 stand-alone DVD recorder is all it takes.
If it's so damned valuable you can't afford to be without it, then back it up!

Over a couple of years for myself and friends, with several PVRs, I can't think of a single time, during normal use, that we've ever lost recordings.
Probably 5 or 6 PVR-years.

The 522/625 PVR family has a whole different operating system from the 5xx series, so the two cannot be compared on a level playing field.

 

[webbydude]

As for people who -store- programs on their DVR, those folks need to learn that any computer-based system needs to be backed up occasionally.
A simple $150 stand-alone DVD recorder is all it takes.
If it's so damned valuable you can't afford to be without it, then back it up!

Oh thank God!!!! Among all of these points is a voice of reason.

 

[Van]

Keep in mind that when your reading forums that your only getting a few peoples perspective and that its easy to have multiple personalities on the web if that makes sense. Now I have a 508 pvr and I have at several times in the last year experienced audio drop out on recorded events on specific channels at specific times. I also have been employeed by Dish for over 5 years and generaly the dvr/pvr doesnt come up more than maybe once every other month on the average on a trouble call issue and most of the time its not a fault of the unit itsself.

 

[jtravel]

I have had a 522 for 9 months now and have never lost any programs.
It works great for the most part and I couldn't live without it.
annoying occasional audio dropouts has been my biggest gripe and thats really a minor
Issue.

 

[petalutha]

Thank you everyone - your posts were objective and informative, and I feel better about going with dish network and their equipment.

Do most of you sign contracts with dish network, or just do it month to month? I know there are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Thanks again.

 

[partymonkey]

I've had Dish and a 522 (dual tuner DVR) for 13 months now. I love the functionality, but I have had some trouble with the unit. Some minor trouble, such as audio drop outs and little video pixelation. Those seem to be more a function of the software release. At version 2.55 now, they are more prominent to me, I had a better environment with 2.53.

I had to have the DVR replaced by Dish two months ago, because the timers would erase or when they fired they would not save the recording. I also experience total freezes of the image a good number of times, requiring me to unplug the receiver. I believe that was a hard disk problem on the unit. However, if you hang around these forums long enough, you will see that this is not an uncommon problem. The new (refurbished) unit that I receive turns on its fan much more often than my original one did, leading me to believe that they have been adjusting the temperature settings on these units over time. (again, you will read about this issue as well).

However, I have never lost an existing recording.

I certainly like the convenience and functionality of the 522, I only hope it was a bit more solid throughout.

I lease it from Dish, and now I signed up for the Dish Protection Program because the service stopped working about a month ago, and a technician visit is 90 or 99 bucks, with the DPP its 6 bucks a month plus 30 dollar visit. (In my case, what failed were the attenuators that the installers put on some of the cables and my receiver could no longer perform a check switch successfully).

 

[supereal]

We have had the 522 (actually two, since a replacement for a bad box) for almost a year, and overall, it has been OK. The main problem we have is with a couple of channels, namely 300 (HBO main), and 183 (A&E) which tend to lose usuable signal more often than not. Our dish is unobscured and shows good signal strength, over 90 most times, yet still drops out. Strangely, if we call up those channels on TV1, it often brings back the desired channel on TV2 until we switch back. Rebooting doesn't help, but we sometimes have to do it to get audio and video on TV2. Replacing the receiver didn't help. We are now on L2.55 software, which didn't seem to change much, except to delay receiver commands.