Upgrade to dual tuner dvr?

bnewt

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Oct 6, 2003
1,457
496
Shepherdsville, Ky
If I upgrade to a dual tuner dvr from the 508, would I go to the 522/625 or to the 622. Presently, I am not interested in HD. I have read that the SD units, 522/625 are discontinued & the 622 would the "standardized" unit. Can any one confirm that?
 
I am not aware of the 625 discontinuence...the 522 is. Currently you can Dish It Up to a 625 for $49.00 vs 299.00 for a 622. So if you are not interested in HD (or won't be for a year), isn't it obvious?
 
The 625 will likely be available until the ViP622 production has caught up with demand. Then we'll likely see it dropped from E*'s offerings. E* will want to phase out all non-MPEG-4 STBs as quickly as possible.
 
When that happens there will be a HUGE uproar from those who want a DVR but don't want HD. They will have to start leasing those 622s without requiring a subscription to the HD pack ($20/mo.) at some point. They could still require a $6 HD access fee to turn on the OTA tuner for those who want OTA locals, but that seems sort of childish to me. "We're going to cripple one of the key features in this STB unless you pay us extra to turn it on. And if you want to have guide listings you have to pay even more!" They will end up nickle & diming us all to death.

Sorry to hijack this thread and rant about it, but the whole deal kind of makes me upset. We shouldn't have to pay an extra $20/mo for channels we don't want just to have the current flagship DVR.
 
navychop said:
The 625 will likely be available until the ViP622 production has caught up with demand. Then we'll likely see it dropped from E*'s offerings. E* will want to phase out all non-MPEG-4 STBs as quickly as possible.
Just wondering if they would really do that. I'm new here and not sure about all the various receivers but it seems like there are a lot of posts concerning really old equipment. Maybe they couldn't do it until there is actually a lot, like more than 90% HD compared to SD.
Just guessing here.
 
It's not the HD part- it's the MPEG-4 part. They will eventually shift completely or nearly so to MPEG-4 from MPEG-2. That takes the new receivers. The shift will let them get a lot more programming out with the same bandwidth. That translates into money in the bank. And since more programming will be available in HD, they'll need that bandwidth, and as it becomes more popular, they will save money by having the option of just upgrading your programming package to include some HD package, just like you upgrade from AT60 to AT120 today. Otherwise, they'd have to send out a new receiver, all too often.

No, it's pretty clear both satcos will move to all MPEG-4 & HD capable STBs as soon as possible. Those that don't want the HD function won't subscribe to it. The only reason for limiting ViP STBs to HD subscribers today is to restrict it to those that actually need it- and that policy will only last as long as it's in short supply.

A move to digital is mandated by law. A move to HD is not. We'll never see 90% of channels in HD in our lifetimes.

"...They will have to start leasing those 622s without requiring a subscription to the HD pack ($20/mo.) at some point. ..."

Yes, of course.

"...We shouldn't have to pay an extra $20/mo for channels we don't want just to have the current flagship DVR...."

Then why would you want the "flagship" DVR? Currently, that's the only reason for getting that DVR. Later, when it's in greater supply, it'll become the only DVR, unless they come out with a fancier model, and they won't require the metallic pack subscription. It'll just have the ability to receive certain programming (HD) that you may not subscribe to. Kinda like today.
 
FYI ... if you are only interested in SD programming, the 721 is a decent dual-tuner option, should be available for under $200 used and avoids the $5 DVR fee.
 
KAB said:
I am not aware of the 625 discontinuence...the 522 is. Currently you can Dish It Up to a 625 for $49.00 vs 299.00 for a 622.
Srry to tell you its $99 with a 18month extension, at least thats what they have been telling me. unless this is a very recent change.

called: well hell, i guess it is 50bucks. still dont know about the extension.
 
Last edited:
If you can get a 721 for $200- grab it. It would take a WHOLE LOT more than $200 to get me to consider selling mine. I won't part with mine until it stops working- either thru failure (which they would have to replace under the "insurance") or thru MPEG-2 finally going away, or complete adoption of 8PSK (the 721 does not recognize 8PSK modulation).

I'll admit, they've twice replaced the 721 I bought, due to failures. But this last one seems to be trucking along just fine. I'll gladly pay that extra $5 per month SD additional receiver fee. Hopefully, I'll get another 2 or 3 years out of it.
 

My 622 Just Arrived

New channel in dish

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)