Problems with the 522?

[Pyrophoric]

I am getting a 522 next week yet was noticing a lot of people saying there are so many problems with the 522's. However, I notice a lot of those posts are dated around 3-5 months ago ...

My question is, are they still near as buggy as they were back 3-5 months ago? Are they even buggy much at all now?

Thx in advance

 

[Pablo_New]

As with most of E*'s receivers, they get better with age. When they get to the point where they are pretty much bug free, they get replaced.

I've seen improvements, especially in playback skips, over the last month or so; I've had mine since July '04.

 

[rhollinger]

I really don't think most people see most of the bugs. Most of the people here tend to be more power users and really push the units. With the exception of the audio dropout issue (that appears to have gotten better again with the latest software release) I very rarely see any issues. Some of that is because I have learned what to avoid just by using it (for instance, after changing the Guide filter, exit the guide and reopen it otherwise it tends to corrupt and can cause the need to reboot). I think I may intentionally reboot about once every other month but it may be even less frequent. I have had the system freak out on me and reboot on its own maybe 3 times in a year. I have called tech support once that I recall that was related to something that the system was doing.

Take what you read here with a grain of salt. I love my 522 in spite of any issues and for the $10-15/month that I save over D* it's worth an occasional reboot to me. BTW, I think I love it even more with the new Name Based Recording...

 

[Pyrophoric]

Well, I guess I could look at it this way ...

I am with Comcast cable atm and their digi box has more problems than you are talking about for the 522.

One HUGE!!! question though. How fast does the channel change on the 522?lol

Might sound silly but atm with my digi box it is sooooooooooooo slow. I mean you change the channel and it actually takes around ... 5-10 seconds for the picture to completely come in with sound and all.

 

[jaylow48]

Mine's pretty slow compared to my old D* receivers. I don't believe my 522 ever takes 10 seconds, but it will certainly take close to 5 most of the time?

jaylow48

 

[doogie]

I just timed mine... its 3.5 seconds to change channels.

 

[rhollinger]

I just timed mine... its 3.5 seconds to change channels.

Keep in mind the right arrow quick view feature (don't know what they call it). If you hit your right arrow it shows the show on the currently selected channel and you can scroll both to the right (future shows) and up and down (different channels). If you're surfing and the name of the show is all you really need you can surf very quickly this way and then hit select when you find the channel you want.

 

[Pepper]

Any digital receiver, and especially a DVR, is going to have a quite noticable delay if you are used to just pushing up and down to flip thru the channels. A satellite receiver must determine which transponder and satellite a particular channel is on, then switch the LNBFs accordingly, lock-on to the signal and begin decoding it. A DVR additionally has to begin buffering to the hard drive. Only after all this has happened do you get a picture on your TV. It may take a little getting used to but the guide is there for your convenience.

 

[maximum]

Keep in mind the right arrow quick view feature (don't know what they call it).

It's called Browse. I use it all the time when channel surfing.

 

[Pyrophoric]

Max, I saw your post of all the problems that you have had with the 522...

Have they all been fixed?

I am trying to figure out if I should get the 510 instead of the 522 atm. I love all the features the 522 is supposed to have but I dont want all these heaps of bugs.

I can take a few but if the 522 basically never works as supposed to then I would rather just get the 510.

What do you think?

 

[earth station]

I don't care what everybody else says, receivers at each TV is how it ought to be. The 522's idea is nice in all, but when we're trying to go HD, you can't send HD on a coax line from a box that's sittin' in some other room. When people upgrade to HD, the house is going to have to be wired up like we use to do it. It's not just going to be HD for one room, people are getting them for their freakin' bedrooms.

If HD didn't exist I'd be all for the 322/522 idea, or a 544 or something, but you can't use that same concept considering what people are going to want in the coming year(s). It seems like we're going backwards with the technology.

 

[Pyrophoric]

Thats true but either way if you want HD then the 522 isnt what you want anyways since it has no HD support.

 

[viqventeur]

I don't care what everybody else says, receivers at each TV is how it ought to be.

I agree. I have installed many 522s and I find myself usually installing the receiver where it is more convenient to me, the installer, (ex: near a phone connection, easier to bring in second sat feed) and not more convenient to the customer (ex: using the cable junction box for future modifications, installing the receiver at the higher quality TV location). Granted when the DPP Separator becomes available to me this will make the availability of using the cable junction box more , it will not, however, change the fact TV2 is almost certainly going to be connected via a RG6 cable. I would have the best connection available for each TV (ex: s-video, optical audio ). And to do this you need a receiver at each TV. Earth Station, I agree with you totally.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Big V - I install x22s where it's best for the customer. That's my job.

If what's "best" is off the chart, then it's an extra charge, or a compromise.

As for the HD situation, good point. Remote SD PQ is less of an issue.

The trick is to design the receiver setup with the customer PRIOR to the sale, which is something that only (some) local retailers do, not DNSC.

So, my advice to all is: do NOT order from E* directly or even from a fulfilment "retailer".

 

[hwbj]

My question is, are they still near as buggy as they were back 3-5 months ago? Are they even buggy much at all now?

I had my 522 installed two weeks ago, (this is my first experience
with satellite tv) So far I haven't had any real issues. I get the odd
one line of pixelation on playback, only lasts a split second and has happened infrequently. I've had the audio syncing mess up a couple of times after jumping thru some commercials, but that only lasted for a few seconds and I've had the sound drop out for a second a couple of times. All this during the playback of recorded events.

All of these were very minor, considering how much I've played
around with the remote, testing all the features I'd say the 522 is reasonably stable.

The 522 has given me some added flexiblilty, my picture quality is a bit better than I was getting with cable, so far I'm very pleased with the 522 and Dishnetwork

 

[DVHost]

Hey Guys,

New to the forums which are outstanding, thanks for making them possible! Also new to satellite TV service although I have been a customer of Sirius Radio for the past year or so. Good times!

I had my 522 and 510 installed one week ago today and I am very pleased thus far. I have not experienced any issues with my 522 to date and it has performed as expected. Actually it exceeded my expectations because I wasn't entirely sure what it was capable of until it was installed. It was a quick decision to get the service from Dish Network or is it E* (please confirm) so I didn't have much time to investigate its capabilities by the time it arrived.

Like I said, everything works great. On the other hand the 510 will drop signal extremely briefly every once in a while. I am not sure if that is the right description for it. I use coax connections to the TV and every now and then I will hear a quick pfisht and see the TV itself display channel 03 as if it was just turned on. Not sure what thats all about, otherwise I have a had a great experience.

The 522 is quite the machine and does a great deal more than I ever imagined these things could. TV is actually fun again! I use the 522 in dual mode and no problems whatsoever. However, still no 2.31 or 2.32 update.

I do not consider myself a power user. I only see myself recording shows every so often, otherwise, I'm just surfing the channels or pulling up the guide for obvious reasons. My usage habits have not caused any problems with the 522 or 510 for that matter.

I think the offer of America's Everything Pak, 3 rooms with free install, 522 & 510, no contract, cancel anytime with no penalties or fees was spot on and a great value. If you are considering this service, I couldn't voice a complaint for you at this time; thumbs high. The installer that came out did all the work in 16 degree weather, was a complete professional and may even become a good friend.

On the other hand, I did call customer service about the misspelling of my last name and I spoke to an absolute moron whom came across as a clueless grinning marionette- absolutely gave me the chills and left me wanting for zero future interaction. Nothing spry about this staff but don't let that dissuade you.