Would you recommend the 921 if...

[Jason]

Would you recommend the 921 if I am not going to use the OTA recording feature? I do not have any local HDTV in the Detroit area so the OTA recording is useless to me at this point. I know that there has been a lot of problems with OTA recording, but what about just satellite HDTV recording? Does the 921 perform as good as the 721 does in this area? If not, what are the major bugs right now?

I am debating whether to stick with Dish or switch over to DirecTv. I am in the Pegasus area so my bill will increase $20 a month for the same exact channels as I have with Dish. That is the main reason why I am reluctant to switch.

Also, is TNT-HD really on Dish right now? Is it going to be turned on before the Eastern Conference Finals or will it be some time still? Any other HD channels scheduled to be added in the near future? I know DirecTv is going to add FOX HD in the fall...do you think Dish will be able to get any other networks signed soon?

Thanks.

 

[TheForce]

921 will work fine for you. If you are a perfectionist, then I recommend getting into another hobby as HDTV recording... well, there is no perfect solution anywhere with any provider.

FWIW- I am very happy with my 921 and I don't have a problem getting the 921 to record, even OTA channels. The 921 is not perfect but it is good enough for my needs.

 

[boy921]

Direct TV HDTV Tivo

Now this little fella has two OTA tuners. My may not have OTA now, but it is something that may trickle down your antenna in the future. I was thinking about switching to Direct too. No decision as yet, and from what I understand, the HDTivo is backordered too.

 

[nz87qm]

Lots of OTA HD in Detroit. I record it on my 921. By the way, Eastern finals are on ESPN-HD, TNT-HD has the Western Finals. I am watching the Western game now in HD. Pistons on Monday in HD!

 

[Mark_AR]

Regardless of the OTA recording or not, if you can put up with spontaeneous unit re-boots then I say go for it.

THere is no rhyme or reason, but every once in a while up to a few times a day you will have to walk away from what ever you are watching and go make a sandwich for about 5 minutes while the 921 re-loads its operating system.

That is the only real drawback that I hate that is not related to OTA.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Mark_AR is right - but GSODs (Gray Screen of Death) are becoming less frequent, and some have reported that a simple power button reboot once a day minimizes them.

 

[Sirius_Rich]

Tnt Hd

I like my 921 and have the same issues as described above. I'm in Houston and TNT HD is on. I was at the Team Summit in Grapevine when it was announced that it was on HD. I just got back and have not upgraded SW yet. There was a buzz around the Team Summit that not all problems were fixed. I'm going to look into it tomorrow.

 

[A_Noland]

I would recomend the 921, but be prepaired for a few bugs for another month or 2. For a while there I was ready to switch to D* for the TIVO, but after some reading I discovered that some of the features I have gotten used to from DISH are not on the D* Tivo. I love my UHF remote and guide browse. The Guide is very fast and will have the OTA stuff later this summer. Things should be very good in time for the fall TV season. I've had my 921 since January and have recorded at least 100 hours of HD programming. I don't use it for SD since I have a 721.

Btw, no faster then they are shipping the bugs might be fixed before you get it anyway .

 

[MikeD-C05]

Maybe that is why they are shipping them so slow. They want to minimize the bad word of mouth and the complaints ,rmas etc. If they do fix all the bugs in the next couple of months look for the production spigot to crack wide open and a flood of 921s to hit the market.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Maybe that is why they are shipping them so slow. They want to minimize the bad word of mouth and the complaints ,rmas etc. If they do fix all the bugs in the next couple of months look for the production spigot to crack wide open and a flood of 921s to hit the market.

You could very well have hit a home run with this post.