622 # 4, coming soon

[Hall]

Well, woke up this morning and tried to access the DVR menu on 622 # 3 and I get an error message about "data not available" and I knew this wouldn't be good. Two soft reboots didn't help, nor did pulling the power. Called Dish tech support and had a good phone rep who didn't put me through the usual bullsh*t... I told him I'd rebooted it twice, pulled the power to it once, and that it's plugged directly into a wall outlet and not a power strip. He asked for the reference number at the bottom of the "311" window, which is "0521", and said he's sending a replacement.

Then my wife suggests it's time to switch to someone with more reliable equipment... We had not much better luck with Time Warner's DVR not to mention I will NOT pay them their ridiculous rates.

I can understand equipment failures and Dish is real good about replacing equipment without much hassle, but it's just the recordings we lose every time this happens ! I sure wished there was a "list" available that gets sync'd up every so often. Something like Verizon offers for people's cellphone address books, "Backup Assistant". When I get a new phone, I simply go online, tell it to sync the address book to my phone, and there are all of my contacts and numbers instantly. At this point, my wife and I have to try and remember what episodes were on there and then I go download torrents of these episodes so we can keep up. Problem is, who can remember ?

 

[JSheridan]

You can add an external hard drive and keep your important recordings on it. Then if you have to swap receivers you can just hook up the external hard drive to the new receiver and you're in business.

As an aside, the DirecTV DVR's are not known for their reliability and we've found that generally in our experience the Dish DVR's are more reliable.

 

[wetz73]

Have them send you a 722 as it is more reliable. If they give you grief, ask to talk to a customer retention specialist as you are ready to cancel.

 

[eurosport]

Have them send you a 722 as it is more reliable. If they give you grief, ask to talk to a customer retention specialist as you are ready to cancel.

Exactly...after 3 times I'd refuse another 622 and make 'em send a 722.

 

[Hall]

We're only Absolute customers. They may not be too interested in keeping us...

And honestly, how is a 722 more reliable ? These are hard drive failures and sure, they're not the exact same HDD models in either unit, I just think DVRs are "hard" on drives.

 

[wetz73]

Just looking at the number of posts regarding failures of 622's vs. 722's, the 622's seem to fail more frequently.

 

[tigerfan33]

Chances are pretty good that you will get a 722 anyway. Installer here said that his company does not carry the 622 anymore. Dish has stopped making them.

Btw. My 722 is being replaced today only after one months use. Hard drive problems.

My 622 has been going problem free for 3 years.

 

[Hall]

Chances are pretty good that you will get a 722 anyway. Installer here said that his company does not carry the 622 anymore. Dish has stopped making them.

Remember, Dish will refurbish my 622 after I return it and someone else will eventually get it. Just like I will get someone else's returned 622.

 

[tigerfan33]

My installer just left. He replaced my 722 with a 722k.

He told me Dish only sends them 722k and the 612 dvr's.

 

[Hall]

Why do you have an installer swap your receiver ? They're shipping the receiver to me.

 

[RandallA]

We're only Absolute customers. They may not be too interested in keeping us...

And honestly, how is a 722 more reliable ? These are hard drive failures and sure, they're not the exact same HDD models in either unit, I just think DVRs are "hard" on drives.

There's a problem with the 622s PSU and that's why we're seeing so many failures. The 722s don't seem to have this problem. I've had 2 622s replaced in the last few months.

 

[tigerfan33]

Why do you have an installer swap your receiver ? They're shipping the receiver to me.

I had the install about a month ago by Dish and they are local. They told me if I had any trouble to call them and not Dish. He said they can handle most problems on the same day. I called yesterday and they were here today to replace it.

Hall. I think you put your finger on the problem. Refurbish.

 

[tigerfan33]

I had just gotten my 21.1 remote I ordered from Dish. Guess what one of the two remotes are that come with the 722k??
That's right. The 21.1.

 

[Hall]

I got in touch with Dish again, told them how "annoyed" my wife was about their equipment and that she wants to consider switching. It didn't sway them plus the fact that I'm an HD Absolute customer... And based on the conversations others here have had with Dish, threats of quitting seem to get you a "sorry to see you go" response ! In the end, I decided to suck it up and pay $75 for a "722". They call it the "Duo" model and my "recent activity" shows this:

04/01 04/01 UPGRADE CHARGE   $75.00
04/01 04/01 OTA MODULE       $29.99
04/01 03/31 UPGRADE CHARGE  -$0.99
04/01 03/31 UPGRADE CHARGE  -$29.00

When I saw the "OTA module", I immediately thought "722K", but then they took the charge off (??). I did an online chat and the rep told me it should be a 722K.

 

[RandallA]

Hall,

Do you really want a 722k? For $75.00 I think that's a good deal but remember that Scott and others are reporting that the OTA module is weaker than the 722 and the 622.

 

[Hall]

I recall Scott having that issue but others saw no change... In my case, I live less than 8 miles from the broadcast towers and get 98-100% signal strength currently, so I may be okay. Plus, they (Broadcom ?) are likely to improve this with s/w updates.

 

[RandallA]

I recall Scott having that issue but others saw no change... In my case, I live less than 8 miles from the broadcast towers and get 98-100% signal strength currently, so I may be okay. Plus, they (Broadcom ?) are likely to improve this with s/w updates.

Ah, you should be OK at 8 miles then. I think.

 

[shy_guy]

I was going though 622's like candy too. I'm on my third one now. Thanks to advice from people on here, I got a USB laptop cooling fan for $12.00; and now I am trouble-free for over a year.

 

[Hall]

Ah, you should be OK at 8 miles then. I think.

Just picked up a "tip" from that 722K thread regarding the OTA module. Do NOT install it until the receiver is all hooked up, downloaded current software, and is authorized. After all that, then install the module.

 

[Hall]

I got a USB laptop cooling fan for $12.00; and now I am trouble-free for over a year.

Interestingly enough, I had one of those for about a year. Problem is, they're not made to run 24/7, so mine died. During that time though, I don't recall having any issues.... Regardless, if it needs add'l cooling to run properly, that's a design flaw, and not something we should have to work around. My receiver is on a completely open, 3-4 shelf rack, and it's the lowest unit too, so no add'l heat from other components.