dvr: should i lease or buy?

emmeyekayeewhy

New Member
Original poster
Sep 24, 2006
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hey..... i'm looking to get a 2-room dvr upgrade and i was wondering whether i'm better off getting the dual-tuner dvr upgrade from dishnetwork or trying to buy an older dual-tuner dvr somewhere. i've read that with some of the older models, i wouldn't have to pay the dvr fee and/or the phone line fee. would it be worth paying the extra monthly fees to have the newer one? i'm more interested in reliability than fancy features for now. if i'm better off going with an older unit, what models should i look for? (preferably one where i wouldn't have to pay the dvr and/or phone line fee) i've never had or used a dvr before so my knowledge of them is limited. i know that with used receivers, i would have to check for any previous charges applied to them though. any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
 
just to get you started...

The 501 PVR had a 40gb drive
The 508 PVR had an 80 gb drive
The 510 PVR had a 120gb drive, as I reacall.
All have essentially identical guts, features, firmware, and differ only by the size of their hard drive.

The first two were grandfathered without the $5 monthly DVR fee.
Whether you can still get that deal on a new account or not, others will have to comment.

If I'm not mistaken (and someone will correct me) none of the newer, larger, sleeker units are fee-free.
And then there's the complication of dual tuner units charging you two DVR fees unless you plug in the phone line (reduces it to one charge).

I chose 508's a few years ago, and bought mine.
It was the right decision then.
I stand by that choice and haven't changed my mind.

They have a limited useful life, and are getting along.
Older 501's have been around longer, may be in worse shape, and often suffered from a bad front-end chip which needed replacement.
(the 508's and 510's did not have a problem)

If and only if you could get new 508's today from somewhere like DishStore, would I recommend going that way.
And that is the only potential way to avoid the &$%# extra DVD fee they invented.
(to be clear: I'm against the 501's and 510's , as described above)

Now you're looking at what? A 625 for standard definition ?
Two good places to look if you are buying, are DishStore and Sadoun.
Both advertize here, support this forum, and I've dealt happily with both.

As to the lease-or-buy question... it's pretty much a flip of the coin.
Others will post their opinions and reasons, and both sides of the argument are valid.
I think the decision to get a service policy is probably a more serious consideration.
And that should be based on feedback you read here on the reliability of whatever receiver you choose.
Nobody services Dish receivers (nobody I'd much trust), so that's a consideration.
 
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garys said:
The dvr fee is only waived if subscribed to AEP or higher, don't know if the 721 is dvr free as the 501 and 508 are. Dual Tuner dvr's are the only receivers charged if phone line not connected.

The 721 is a dual tuner receiver & there is no DVR or phone line fee
 
To follow up on Jordan's comment... If you're looking for a good DVR without DVR fees, get the 721. The only reason I sold mine was because I felt like I needed Name-based-recording. The 721 is a really good receiver.
 
thanks for the comments...i very much appreciate the advice. :)

what would be a reasonable price range for a 721? are they still sold new or just used? what would be the best place to look for one?
 
Well, I own all the generations of DVR's (except the 7000 series), and I say, forget the business about saving on the DVR fee. The new generation of DVR, such as the 625, are a huge enhancement to the DVR experience, mostly because of the Name Based Recording. You will save yourself a lot of headaches compared to the flakey 721 and way to basic 50x's. While the 721 has a few neat unique functions, overall the new generation of DVR's are superior in almost every way. And it will take you a long time to get your money back on an owned box. Quite honestly, owning only makes sense if you want additonal tuners (boxes) beyond the four tuner lease limit Dish provides. Please don't become a victim of false economy.
 
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If you've decided on a 721, do your homework , and read the threads on this (and other) forums about it.
Here's one with some historical comments...
 
Anole said:
If you've decided on a 721, do your homework , and read the threads on this (and other) forums about it.
Here's one with some historical comments...

haha, i'm not completely decided on any of it..... its all new to me. would $250 be a good or reasonable price on a 721?
 
I bought the 625 for $185., so I see it as in less than 2 years and it pays for it self.
Considering I was using a 1000, obviously I don't replace the IRDs to often. :eek: Other then the 1000 being slow it still had a better PQ then my local cable company gives.
Never mind it looks like a year or two later IRDs still sell for at least half the purchase price on ebay. In fact most sell for even more. I look at it as I'm way ahead. :)
From what I've read about the 721. I wouldn't buy it used. But thats me.
Good luck with whatever you buy.:)
 
DishSubLA said:
Well, I own all the generations of DVR's (except the 7000 series), and I say, forget the business about saving on the DVR fee. The new generation of DVR, such as the 625, are a huge enhancement to the DVR experience, mostly because of the Name Based Recording. You will save yourself a lot of headaches compared to the flakey 721 and way to basic 50x's. While the 721 has a few neat unique functions, overall the new generation of DVR's are superior in almost every way. And it will take you a long time to get your money back on an owned box. Quite honestly, owning only makes sense if you want additonal tuners (boxes) beyond the four tuner lease limit Dish provides. Please don't become a victim of false economy.

hmm..... i've been reading around a little and i'm starting to think you may be right on this. and the name-based recording seems like a good feature to have. suppose i wanted to buy one of the newer standard-definition (is the 625 HD?)dual tuner dvr.... which ones should i check out and whats the price range on them?
 
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