Upgrading from DishPlayer 7200 to 721?
- Thread starter membrain
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 23
- Views 4K
hi again,
Just wanted to write an update - my 721 was installed on Friday. The installers brought a ladder that was tall enough to get to the roof but apparently Dish Network does not insure them to go on a tile roof (which is what I have). They tried to talk me into installing a second dish on the back porch instead of connecting more lines up to the roof dish, but I really wanted to avoid having two dishes. After some back and forth with their manager they agreed to go up there if I agreed they are not responsible for damage to the roof tiles. I'm curious if anyone else has dealt with this tile roof issue...
Anyway, the installation took a couple of hours. They put in a Quad LBNF and ran a 2nd line down from the roof for the 721 and a 3rd line so I could also hook up my 7200 later on if I decide to. I was hoping they would stay until the software download was done to make sure everything was working, but they left shortly after it started (It was Friday afternoon so I couldn't really blame them). The software took about 45 minutes to download, install and write to the flash (in the meantime I was stuck watching Channel 101. ugh. I should have left and done something else but I was hypnotized by the strange-super-cheery-pod-people-hosts. how many times can they change their shirts and their posh-living-room-sets in a single 30 minute program?). After the reboot I still wasn't getting my channels - it said I wasn't authorized. A 10 minute call to Dish Tech Support fixed that and I was ready to watch TV.
I'm enjoying the 721 so far. I was expecting the larger hard drive and PiP, which are great, but after using the no-frills interface of the 7200 for four years (and having a mild case of Tivo-envy when I went to my friend's house), I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of little niceties and improvements to the PVR interface. For example, being able to easily add a few extra minutes before and after the recording time of a program, and being able to designate a program as "protected" before it's recorded (the 7200 had a "Keep" feature but you could only check that option after the program was already recorded, not before). Also, while browsing through the guide if I see a program I like I can just put the cursor on it and hit "Search" and it fills in the name of the program for me so I can see when else it's on. These may be small changes but they make it so much easier for me to set up my recordings. The interface and features are still is not quite as slick as a Tivo but it's a big improvement.
thanks everybody,
membrain
Just wanted to write an update - my 721 was installed on Friday. The installers brought a ladder that was tall enough to get to the roof but apparently Dish Network does not insure them to go on a tile roof (which is what I have). They tried to talk me into installing a second dish on the back porch instead of connecting more lines up to the roof dish, but I really wanted to avoid having two dishes. After some back and forth with their manager they agreed to go up there if I agreed they are not responsible for damage to the roof tiles. I'm curious if anyone else has dealt with this tile roof issue...
Anyway, the installation took a couple of hours. They put in a Quad LBNF and ran a 2nd line down from the roof for the 721 and a 3rd line so I could also hook up my 7200 later on if I decide to. I was hoping they would stay until the software download was done to make sure everything was working, but they left shortly after it started (It was Friday afternoon so I couldn't really blame them). The software took about 45 minutes to download, install and write to the flash (in the meantime I was stuck watching Channel 101. ugh. I should have left and done something else but I was hypnotized by the strange-super-cheery-pod-people-hosts. how many times can they change their shirts and their posh-living-room-sets in a single 30 minute program?). After the reboot I still wasn't getting my channels - it said I wasn't authorized. A 10 minute call to Dish Tech Support fixed that and I was ready to watch TV.
I'm enjoying the 721 so far. I was expecting the larger hard drive and PiP, which are great, but after using the no-frills interface of the 7200 for four years (and having a mild case of Tivo-envy when I went to my friend's house), I was pleasantly surprised to find a lot of little niceties and improvements to the PVR interface. For example, being able to easily add a few extra minutes before and after the recording time of a program, and being able to designate a program as "protected" before it's recorded (the 7200 had a "Keep" feature but you could only check that option after the program was already recorded, not before). Also, while browsing through the guide if I see a program I like I can just put the cursor on it and hit "Search" and it fills in the name of the program for me so I can see when else it's on. These may be small changes but they make it so much easier for me to set up my recordings. The interface and features are still is not quite as slick as a Tivo but it's a big improvement.
thanks everybody,
membrain
The tile roof thing is understandable - it's way too easy to break those things. If it was me, I would've run the fourth feed line while I was at it - possibly asking you for some cash (say $10) to cover the cost of it. I hope there's no snow where you're at - it'd be a real b*tch to have to sweep that dish clean. 
As for "flash", the DVRs don't use it (for the primary program at least). They've got hard drives for that purpose - and most (all?) of them keep 3 copies of the software - main, backup, and downloading.
As for "flash", the DVRs don't use it (for the primary program at least). They've got hard drives for that purpose - and most (all?) of them keep 3 copies of the software - main, backup, and downloading.
