Sling Extender
- Thread starter ZachS@DISH
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rapidturtle said:
Some folks dont have all hd tvs......less cable runs into the home.....Unknowledgeable customers.
But i agree.
Well I just did it. I ordered Directv. I paid a $200 upgrade fee to get a 922 because this was "coming Soon". I would have paid another $200 to get this product because I really like everything else about dish aside from no HD on TV2. My Directv install is scheduled for Friday. In the next week I hope I do not come to regret this but I guess time will tell. I will write an unbiased review in the next few weeks comparing the two services.
The processors are fast enough to read/write the data. In fact, Scott has said the "K" models are almost identical to the 922 and have the same processor. I don't think the processor was the problem. I think the older chips could handle 7 streams, and the current chips can handle 12 strams? I think the problem with the 222/222K was handling the traffic of 4 HDTV channel streams and "chasing play," etc. with anything less than the bandwidth eSATA provides going back to 2006 (this is why EVERY other DVR maker included eSATA in their DVR's for external HDD's), although today USB 3.0 would work just fine, but even the XiP's are slated to still have the older USB 2.0. Sometimes Dish is just CHEAP! And now we have the consequences.
Dish was VERY CLEAR from day 1 that these 222's were designed to be DVR units using external HDD, as well as non-DVR units, and that such feature was coming. They affirmed this a few more times as time went on, and even Ergan was telling us on the Tailgate Charlie Chat how the 222's were going to be just like the 211's and all they had to do was send a firmware update and we could all record using an external HDD. Such a feature could also SAVE Dish money as having to replace otherwise perfectly good boxes just because the HDD is bad is VERY expensive and accounts for a big part of his 2 (last I knew) massive equipment return and repair centers. You get the box, and you pay for the HDD and you pay to replace it. If that does not bring in enough money, Charlie can always increase or invent a new fee, just as he jacked us all up with the current fee structure.
I think that so much time has passed since the intent of the 222's being external HDD DVR's, that now the focus is on whole home DVR set-ups, and any money on R&D is best spent getting HDTV in many rooms of the house and really focusing on that as the primary competitive technology, just like so much time has passed since the inception of the Sling Extender, it is now anachronistic compared to the XiP technology. I just wish Dish would confirm that the 222/K DVR feature is dead, like the Sling Extender, so we can move on from there, as well. But, honestly, I have already made up my mind that they killed it a long time ago, anyway.
I don't remember it from the beginning - but could easily be wrong. I do remember it being mentioned on several chats - and also remember you could almost hear everyone else on the set cringe when he said it, so I never really expected it to come to be. First and foremost the 222 was probably meant as a mass replacement for 322s in EA markets and the many "one HDTV" homes, and they will continue to have plenty of accounts the 222 will be a good fit for going forward.
Savings on replacing drives is the ONLY real benefit a DVR enabled 222 would have been to Dish. Support issues with multiple USB drives would offset that some. The extra DVR and receiver fees more than make up for the hardware repair costs.
I still think the final decision more marketing driven than anything else. I don't believe you would have ever seen a 222 DVR without a DVR fee. Again, if you charge the fee, what's the point?
SQUEEZON said:
You can't compare this to the Marines. Loyalty works both ways. Why should we continue to be loyal to them when they don't deliver on their promises? There number one objective is to increase subscriptions. They don't care about satisfying current subs until their contacts are up.
No. Their number one objective, their fiduciary responsibility, is to increase profits. They have clearly shown that this can be done by reducing the number of subs. Of course, they will later need to stabilize or increase sub numbers. But adding subs just to increase that number is certainly not their objective.
Of course the objective of any successful business is to make a profit - and if that means getting rid of some customers than it is a good idea. Perhaps before the downturn these low end subs ordered lots of PPV making them profitable, and now they are all late on their bills and causing red ink.
But, Dish is falling behind on the high end. Everyone (DIRECTV/cable/FIOS/Uverse) is up with Dish in HD offerings now and quality of service (well in most of the country). They are all offering the next big thing in multiroom viewing. Dish was going to have a solution in the sling extender. They hyped it for a couple years before pulling the plug. How many profitable subs will be mad now and leave Dish? Especially if things go as Scott has hinted that the new XIP will be for new installs only? Dish is making it better to leave for a couple years and maybe come back than to stay with them...
By "us" you mean people hoping for the Sling Extender? All SatGuys?
The XiP813 appeals to me as something to mess with, to "put it thru it's paces" if you will. But as for functionality, I think my ViP722 units will suffice nicely. Maybe the whole house idea will win me over one day, to consolidate and have common access to EHDs. As it is, I must admit, I have certain series on more than one EHD and that will make it a bit more challenging when we start to view them. The UI would be nice, but isn't a driver in the decision. More HD to more TVs, consolidated, has value. Of course, that's what has made the Sling Extender OBE.
I just have this nagging feeling that we're missing something, something important as to functionality and appeal....
The new Boxee Box functions as a sling extender, maybe it will work with Dish boxes?
Slingbox.com - SlingPlayer for Boxee Box
Slingbox.com - SlingPlayer for Boxee Box
Works the same as the sling application on the google revue unit. It is the sling extender we wanted but you have to pay MORE for the sling pro hd or solo unit to pair it with the google box. I just bought one during the Best Buy Christmas sale and it was $60.00 off of the $299.99 price as well as used my $50.00 gift card and the $15.00 off Sliver rewards coupon. SO I only had to pay $175.00 for it. I can't wait to see how it works and if it works well. The one question I have ,after watching the video demonstration is this: Does the sling remote allow you to do trick plays like pause,skip back ,skip forward,etc.?
No it won't work with the Sling Adapter, but it will with the stand alone Sling Box product, and that's the rub. To make this work for us Dish Net subs would cost about as much as a new 922: over $200 for Sling HD Pro and about another $200 for the Boxee Box. OUCH! This is why I said in an earlier post that Dish could make up the death of the Sling Extender if it OPENED the Sling Player using the Sling Adapter that is designed for Dish Network boxes, but that is currently NOT the case.
I presume the 922 Sling Loaded won't work with the Sling Player app either (I am guessing the key is from which site this goes through: either the Sling site for the stand alone boxes or Dish Online or whatever the bloody site is now that is has changed often enough for Dish subs using Sling Adapter or Sling Loaded 922). If the Sling Adapter would function with the Sling Player App, I would get a Boxee Box and use it as my 2nd HDTV and for all the other apps (Amazon and podcasts, etc.) for the full value of the Boxee Box, although Roku still has more "channels," I think. But I just don't see Dish opening it up to us, sadly.
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