Purely from an installer point of view, I must say I really don't care for these 322 and 522 receivers. They are very difficult to install and consume a massive amount of resources (cable, connectors, etc). They are extremely time consuming and seem to be full of complexities and puzzles. It is frustrating and makes me consider going to work for Directv.
Worst of all, though, is how these 322/522's seem to often inflict a major amount of rewiring and hacking on the customer's home. When I first arrive at a house, the customer is usually excited and glad to see me. But quickly their excitement turns to apprehension as I tell them about having to drill several new holes and run a bunch of new cable. And if there isn't a phone jack nearby, well I will just have to hack into your existing phone wire or you'll have to go out and purchase a wireless phone jack. It is at this point that I usually hear the phrase, "Wow, they didn't tell me about all this on the phone...!"
So time and time again...usually when I'm sweating in the attic over my 3rd or 4th wall fish...I ask myself "What on earth was Dish thinking?"
The first thing I have to wonder is why Dish invented a receiver that is so remarkably incompatible with the vast majority of home in America? I haven't been to a house yet that is as 'plug-and-play' as the 311's or nearly every other Dish or Directv receiver. These 322/522's are even totally incompatible with the most modern homes that are being built 'satellite-ready'. Well, they aren't satellite ready anymore! I still have to run a half-a-dozen extra cables throughout the house just to get these clunky obtuse receivers to work! Didn't Dish think about these things when before they hoisted them upon the public?
The second thing I wonder is if these 322/522's are actually causing Dish to lose potential customers. Since we've started installing these things, the number of times we've had to tell customers that we simply can't install this sytem in your home has increased dramatically. This usually happens at apartments where we aren't allowed to drill any new holes. Or perhaps it is impossible to wall-fish a first floor apartment. It also happens quite often in homes where a 322/522 could be installed, but the customer is frightened or annoyed by all the extra construction and wiring that has to be done. I lost a job just yesterday that would've profited me about $150.00, but the guy simply wasn't impressed with the 322, and wanted just the standard 311's installed in four already-wired rooms. But as we tried to change the workorder, the idiots at SBC kept argueing with the man and refusing to give him the 311's! (that's not the first time this has happened to one of my customers). Eventually, the guy just got so frustrated he cancelled the whole thing. This wasted about 2 hours of my day and profited me nothing.
So, anyway, I would like to hear other people's opinions about install issues with these 322/522's. I would especially like to hear from someone at Dish as to why you have made a receiver that is so obtuse. What on earth were you thinking?
PS. To throw in a positive suggestion, these 322/522's would be enormously easier to install if BOTH tuners had UHF remotes. Then the receiver could be installed just about anywhere...especially somewhere close to the existing cable junction (back room, closet, etc). It would be less invasive to the home, less frightening to the customer, less time-consuming and exasperating to the installer, and easier to troubleshoot for Dish. That would be an excellent improvement!
Worst of all, though, is how these 322/522's seem to often inflict a major amount of rewiring and hacking on the customer's home. When I first arrive at a house, the customer is usually excited and glad to see me. But quickly their excitement turns to apprehension as I tell them about having to drill several new holes and run a bunch of new cable. And if there isn't a phone jack nearby, well I will just have to hack into your existing phone wire or you'll have to go out and purchase a wireless phone jack. It is at this point that I usually hear the phrase, "Wow, they didn't tell me about all this on the phone...!"
So time and time again...usually when I'm sweating in the attic over my 3rd or 4th wall fish...I ask myself "What on earth was Dish thinking?"
The first thing I have to wonder is why Dish invented a receiver that is so remarkably incompatible with the vast majority of home in America? I haven't been to a house yet that is as 'plug-and-play' as the 311's or nearly every other Dish or Directv receiver. These 322/522's are even totally incompatible with the most modern homes that are being built 'satellite-ready'. Well, they aren't satellite ready anymore! I still have to run a half-a-dozen extra cables throughout the house just to get these clunky obtuse receivers to work! Didn't Dish think about these things when before they hoisted them upon the public?
The second thing I wonder is if these 322/522's are actually causing Dish to lose potential customers. Since we've started installing these things, the number of times we've had to tell customers that we simply can't install this sytem in your home has increased dramatically. This usually happens at apartments where we aren't allowed to drill any new holes. Or perhaps it is impossible to wall-fish a first floor apartment. It also happens quite often in homes where a 322/522 could be installed, but the customer is frightened or annoyed by all the extra construction and wiring that has to be done. I lost a job just yesterday that would've profited me about $150.00, but the guy simply wasn't impressed with the 322, and wanted just the standard 311's installed in four already-wired rooms. But as we tried to change the workorder, the idiots at SBC kept argueing with the man and refusing to give him the 311's! (that's not the first time this has happened to one of my customers). Eventually, the guy just got so frustrated he cancelled the whole thing. This wasted about 2 hours of my day and profited me nothing.
So, anyway, I would like to hear other people's opinions about install issues with these 322/522's. I would especially like to hear from someone at Dish as to why you have made a receiver that is so obtuse. What on earth were you thinking?
PS. To throw in a positive suggestion, these 322/522's would be enormously easier to install if BOTH tuners had UHF remotes. Then the receiver could be installed just about anywhere...especially somewhere close to the existing cable junction (back room, closet, etc). It would be less invasive to the home, less frightening to the customer, less time-consuming and exasperating to the installer, and easier to troubleshoot for Dish. That would be an excellent improvement!