Was about to leave DISH for Direct. I'm not sure after doing more research.

[Jimbo]

Just want to expand on this a bit.. You say you currently have FOUR 722's and claim that "cannot record 3 streams simultaneously" is a negative. Do you really record that many shows (and then are that many of what you record actually on OTA) simultaneously that the 8 tuners that four HR24's would give you isn't enough? Honestly I think the $50 per month you'll be saving in extra receiver fees more than makes up for that.

Matt, I think you quoted me instead of someone else, I don't have any 722's.

 

[lparsons21]

722 will record 2 SAT + 1 OTA, 722k will record 2 SAT + 2 OTA (with optional module). Very nice and one of the things I missed when I switched until I added a 2nd HR to my man cave...

 

[JerseyMatt]

Matt, I think you quoted me instead of someone else, I don't have any 722's.

I used your quote but I was addressing the OP..

 

[Jimbo]

I used your quote but I was addressing the OP..

gotcha.

 

[Mr Tony]

So DISH's Buffer doesn't work the same way D*'s does, knowing that, I like D*'s much better.
I would have thought that the Buffer is a Buffer, buffering all the time, guess not.

nope. E* DVR's do not buffer yet they still use the same power as when on

Your 722 only records 2 items at a time ? 1 OTA and 1 Sat or a combination of them .... If thats so, it's no different than D*, which is NOT what was mentioned from someone above.

no I have a 211k with Dish which is a single tuner unit. It can record one sat and one OTA at the same time (if you add an external hard drive). The unit doesnt have a hard drive but you can add one for a one time $40 fee and you can swap drives whenever you want.

 

[JUCJ85]

I've had DISH for two years. Installation is 4 VIP722's with OTA.

I'm seriously considering a switch because it looks like DISH runs about $25 a month higher than Direct and I'm tired of the 722's (which always suck power) being 24 x 7 hot plates.

I've put more time into this that I planned. Since there is a 2 year contract with non-trivial cancellation penalties and no obvious way to test drive the Direct end user experience I find myself feeling some pressure to not screw the pooch on this decision.

Here's what I've found so far....

Direct...

• + HR24 actually powers off and isn't an ongoing heat generator/ power draw.
• + Multi room DVR is pretty nifty. I'd get 4 HR24's and have a little peer-to-peer DVR network.
• + Cost (theoretically) should be lower.
• - AM21 requires channel to be in guide to get it, some channels missing (that we currently record).
• - Guide does not show three hours of programming on a screen.
• - Cannot record 3 streams at a time (722 does two Satellite streams plus OTA simultaneously).
• - New two year contract with cancellation penalties.
• - Have to let Direct "pull" from credit card to get cost savings.
• ? Not sure if I'll have any discount issues by buying from a local retailer/installer.
• - No BBC America HD (my wife loves this channel).
• - Many reports of HR24 being noticeably slower to tune channels that VIP722.
• - No grouping support for recorded shows.

DISH.....

• - More expensive per month.
• - VIP722's always on. Have had to install auxiliary cooling on each to keep them from frying (probably paying a higher power bill).
• - No multi room DVR.
• + OTA support brings in every channel for which there is a signal (no guide tie-in).
• + Guide shows a three hour window on a channel.
• + More than acceptable tuning speed.
• + Supports 2 satellite streams + OTA stream simultaneously.
• + Can "group" recorded shows (folders).
• + The current installation works fine.
• + They're not touching my credit card.

From what I've encountered so far it's a toss up on 1-800-BADEXPERIENCE for both DISH and Direct, the "phone company" experience.

Thoughts?

What do u mean showing 3 hrs of programming?

Also DirecTV always has special offers that will discount the first yr. And If signing up you need a 2yr deal, its standard.

 

[JerseyMatt]

The Dish guide can be set to show 6 channels x 3 hours, versus Directv's 6 channels x 1.5 hours. I don't know, some people just seem to have an aversion to using the right arrow key or something. The 3 hour guide is extremely cluttered and hard to read.

 

[Mr Tony]

and the font is very small and for some folks hard to read on the Dish guide.

 

[lparsons21]

But most Dish folks find it easy enough to read and like it...

 

[mdram]

But most Dish folks find it easy enough to read and like it...

only if they have never seen the directv one
i found it much easier to read when i switched, even though its not hd
and was wondering why dish tried to squeeze so much in the guide

personally i think a happy medium of 2 hours would be nice

 

[lparsons21]

I've seen both, and very recently too as you might have noticed.

Yes, the D* one is a bit more readable, but not enough more so to be handy. 1.5 hours is just a PITA to deal with imo. I like the 3 hours especially when I'm setting things up for prime time recording/viewing.

 

[Ozma]

Let's all say it together.....

User Selectable Option

I don't get why this should be dictated by the central authority.

only if they have never seen the directv one
i found it much easier to read when i switched, even though its not hd
and was wondering why dish tried to squeeze so much in the guide

personally i think a happy medium of 2 hours would be nice

 

[smitbret]

I've seen both, and very recently too as you might have noticed.

Yes, the D* one is a bit more readable, but not enough more so to be handy. 1.5 hours is just a PITA to deal with imo. I like the 3 hours especially when I'm setting things up for prime time recording/viewing.

Been with D* since March and the guide and look/feel of the interface is my single biggest complaint about the HR24. Sure, the fonts are bigger on D*, but the whole interface looks like it was designed by a grade schooler with a Commodore 64.

E* took the time to add things like drop shadows and implement some visible depth to the interface that makes it much more legible with smaller fonts. Readability is about the same from my 722 as the HR24 wiht the benefit of offering 2x the info. That comes in hugely handy when trying to program a Saturday's worth of overlapping college football games and trying to make best use of 3 tuners and keep one free for the missus to watch tv while I'm at work.

Maybe D* could call the local community college and have the graphic design department redo it.

 

[bobvick]

Been with D* since March and the guide and look/feel of the interface is my single biggest complaint about the HR24. Sure, the fonts are bigger on D*, but the whole interface looks like it was designed by a grade schooler with a Commodore 64.
.

You must not have seen the new HD user interface. It is excellent in my opinion. I like it much better than even Dish's 922 UI. Easy to read and navigate, and VERY fast.

 

[lparsons21]

You must not have seen the new HD user interface. It is excellent in my opinion. I like it much better than even Dish's 922 UI. Easy to read and navigate, and VERY fast.

I've seen pictures of it. Yes it looks very nice, but still has the 1.5 hour guide. And I still fail to understand why it takes a HD GUI to do basically what E* has been doing for years in SD <ducking>

 

[Jimbo]

I've seen both, and very recently too as you might have noticed.

Yes, the D* one is a bit more readable, but not enough more so to be handy. 1.5 hours is just a PITA to deal with imo. I like the 3 hours especially when I'm setting things up for prime time recording/viewing.

Can't figure out how to use the Right Arrow ?

 

[JerseyMatt]

I've seen pictures of it. Yes it looks very nice, but still has the 1.5 hour guide. And I still fail to understand why it takes a HD GUI to do basically what E* has been doing for years in SD <ducking>

It doesn't take a HD GUI to do it.. They've said the guide will remain 1.5 hours.

 

[Jimbo]

Personally, when setting up the things to Record, I generally use the VERY convenient Green and Red Buttons, +12 hours -12 hours.
I set things up for the next WEEK, usually not the same day ...

 

[lparsons21]

Can't figure out how to use the Right Arrow ?

Sure, but I want to see my prime time in all its full glory at one viewing, not fiddling with the remote to do that. It is a convenience thing.

 

[lparsons21]

Personally, when setting up the things to Record, I generally use the VERY convenient Green and Red Buttons, +12 hours -12 hours.
I set things up for the next WEEK, usually not the same day ...

Really? I set a day for my series and during the broadcast season there will be times that I have 3 or 4 showings over the evening. A 3 hour view is just convenient imo. And there is no valid reason that D* couldn't make some guide viewing choices available for us. Those Green and Red buttons don't do a thing for me when I'm working with a day. I will grant that it isn't anything I lose sleep over, I can deal with the 1.5 hour guide view, I just don't like it.