New Customer Install - given a 522 DVR instead of a 625 DVR?

mtindor

Member
Original poster
Jun 26, 2009
6
0
Ohio
Is it customary for new customers who order an SD DVR to get a 522 instead of a 625?

I was disappointed when everything was set up to find out that I was given a 522 instead of a 625 - even though on Dish's own site they don't even list a 522 as one of their current DVRs. There's no ethernet on this and no digital tuner. This is not what I ordered.

If I call up and complain, is it likely that they will give me what I expected in the first place?

During the order on the phone last Friday I specifically asked the gal who took my order if i was going to get a DuoDVR 625 and a Duo311. She indicated that I was getting a DuoDVR 625 and a Duo322.

Dish also acknowledged on the phone during my order that I wouldn't qualify for local networks (because my market area isn't on Dish) but that I could get the East or West network package from All American. They told me to call All American after my install was complete, give All American my dish account number, and that I would have at least some networks.... didn't happen. All American said I didn't qualify.

Mike
 
522 and 625 are SAME DVRs, difference is only 120 vs 250 GB disk.

And if you were me, and not you, would you be calling them up and indicating that you wanted a current DVR that they list on their site [that provides more DVR recording space] ?

Other than that, as long as I'm not "missing" any "features" by having a 522 instead of a 625, I'm alright with that.

I used to have a 510 I believe (whatever would have been a current DVR two years ago) and I think I was able to record 100 hours on it as well and never recall filling it up.

I just don't want to find out one day that my 522 is outdated and not supported and that they then want to charge me for an upgrade to a 625.

Mike
 
625 have a phone jack that I have to have my landline connected all the time otherwise they will bill me $5 every month. Have no idea what that is for. Check if ur 522 have such a setup also.
 
A lot of my confusion was based upon initially clicking on the available DVRs on dishnetwork website. They listed the SD DVR (625) and some HD DVRs. Then if you click on the "remote access" area it talks about being able to access the DVR remotely to schedule recordings and such. I thought it meant for all the DVRs shown on that page - obviously they only meant it for the HD DVRs.

So you're right, I was wrong and confused - No ether on the 625. No biggy here. It was just something I would have checked out if it had been there, but i won't miss it.

I see some documents (on another website) that say there is an onboard digital/analog tuner for off-air broadcasts. But then I see no mention of that in the documentation I received with the 522. It only says that there is a sort of passthrough for off-the-air signal so that it could be passed on to the TV (for the TV to handle the digital off the air chores). So I'm confused about that now.

Does the 522 itself have any sort of digital tuner for off-air? Or does it simply allow signal from an antenna hooked to it to be sent to TV1 so that the TV can handle it?

mike
 
The only difference between the 625 and 522 is that the 625 can record 150 hours where as the 522 can only record 100.

There is some VOD stuff on the 625 but there really is no hardware or software difference between the two units.
 
According to the 625 product brochure:

Integrated off-air tuner for reception of local digital/HD and
analog broadcasts
• Requires separately purchased antenna

So is this true? Does the 625 indeed have a built in digital tuner for me to pick up the OTA channels?

If so, this is a significant difference [to me] between the 522 and 625.

Can somebody verify for me whether the product brochure is correct and that the 625 does indeed have a built in tuner?

Mike
 
^^^ i have a 625...& there is no option to tune in OTA. There is a signal pass through...but I dont use that option since if the TV have to tune the channels...why have have the cable connected directly with the TV. I guess that option is there for people having very very old TV with 1 input only....
 
^^^ i have a 625...& there is no option to tune in OTA. There is a signal pass through...but I dont use that option since if the TV have to tune the channels...why have have the cable connected directly with the TV. I guess that option is there for people having very very old TV with 1 input only....

Thanks for the clarification. That's ashame that dish has to resort to false/deceptive advertising. If the 625 has no actual built in off-air digital tuner, then they should not even remotely suggest that it does. I had Dish from 1998/9 to 2007/8 - nearly ten years. Then i got sick of their practices (although I think their satellite service is great). I decided to give them a try again, and it's disappointing to see that they can't tell me what they REALLY offer and instead they have to resort to making false claims about what their equipment does.

Well, given what you say, there is no reason for me to worry about getting the 625. But I still stand by what I say - it's deceptive for their product brochure to list that it has an Integrated Off-Air Tuner for reception of local digital/HD broadcasts.

Mike
 
This product brocure on the Dishnet site doesn't say anything about integrated off air tuner.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/pdf/product_brochures/625_Prod_SheetWeb.pdf

If you're quote came off a web page on the Dishnet site, then maybe it was an honest mistake by the web programmer.

That's interesting. You're right, the version you show does not have that. And no, I did not get mine directly off of the dishnetwork website because I could not find a product brochure on there.

I don't know if i'm supposed to be "advertising" other sites - the brochure I was looking at was here:

http://www.dbsinstall.com/PDF/lit/625_Prod_SheetWeb.pdf

Granted, that is not a Dish Network official site. But somehow, at some point, they had to have gotten that product literature from DN. And in that Product Brochure (with the same exact name to the file as the one on dishnetwork.com), the only thing I see different is the presence of the Off Air Tuner info on the dbsinstall site and the absence of Off Air Tuner info on the dishnetwork.com brochure.

Oh well. Guess it was something they planned to put in and must have distributed brochures for to retailers before they released it - and then for some reason [probably technical in nature] omitted it from the actual distributed boxes and updated their local brochure to remove it as a listed feature.

Mike
 
It could have been great to have OTA in DVR 625.....given that many times specially at night....I have conflict...& OTA tuner & recording option as in VIP receivers...could have eliminated that.

But all in all till now I am very satisfied with Dish service...specially the DVR 625. Its a fantastic DVR...& touch wood...the box have not given any trouble till now (accepted that the box is still young & less then 2 years in my home)
 
Same thing happened to me last year when I did a DIU...paid extra for the 625 and the installer came with a 522. Once I saw that it wasn't what I wanted (this was after he'd left), I fired off an email to Dish (via one of those "secret" C/S addresses) and they took care of it.
 
I would just like to know what happened to the 625s and where in the hell did all these 522s come from??
 
I contract from a Dish RSP and when we are out of 625's we do use a 522 receiver in its place. We have to use what we get from Dish Network. The only difference is the record time.