I’m sorry, but the 512 era is toast.
The ViP612 would be, at first, the least painful option. IF they allow it.
But the “better” long term solution is to, for this instance, the Wally.
However, let us consider the age. He might well have a ViP612, IF they allow it, for the rest of his life.
But I suspect the ViP series has about a year or two before Dish MUST cut costs on the support of obsolete equipment and stops ALL support. No s/w updates. No swap outs. If it stops working, upgrade, perhaps at cost.
Declining subscribers means no support for old equipment. It means no more MPEG-2 SOON. And it means we can expect MVEC across the board not too far in the future.
If that is the case, and my Vip 211k will no longer work. What is there that will replace it with. the outboard HDD and OTA tuner, for no extra fee for having it? The Wally with the OTA dongle? Has Dish fixed all of the issues with it? The internet thing is fine, but I like the outboard HDD, OTA tuner, and no receiver fees.