Exclusive: Scott Reviews the new Dish 322 & 522

Scott Greczkowski

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Sep 7, 2003
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This is going to surprise some people.

I am giving the SatelliteGuys.US Best of Show award to the new Dish 322 and Dish Player 522 receivers!

Going into this show I expected these two receivers to operate like a 301 and 501 with the ability to output one tuner to a separate TV.

Well I was correct about that however what I was not expected was Echostars new user interface, the look, operation and control of these units blew me away!

Both the 322 and 522 operate using the same basic software and many of the features are the same between the two units, so for now I will tell you about features both units have, I will then later tell you about the 522 exclusive features.

Both units feature the new sleek menus and guide, as you will see in the photos below these units have an amazing new interface which is a much welcomed change for a Echostar receiver. Navigation of the new menus and screens is fast and simple. These units have the best looking guide and menus found on any satellite receiver I have ever laid my eyes on, in fact I will go so far as saying that the screens look better then my long time favorite the original Dishplayer 7100/7200. Guys looking for WAF (wife acceptance factor) will get instant approval when they see these screens in operation, gone is the mechanical dull look that manu Dish Network Guides are known for, in fact I would say that the new layout and designs make watching TV fun.

Both units come with 2 remotes, one is a IR remote for use in the room where you will have the receiver, the second remote is used for the 2nd TV. The second remote is one of the new UHF Plus remotes and can operate the receiver from over 200 feet away.

The output for the second TV is unique in both units, first the modulator outputs an unheard of 10db of signal, enough to split the signal to all the TV's in your house with no loss.

Whats great about this is if your like me you currently have satellite receivers in rooms where you barely watch TV, well now with the 322/522 you can wire a few TV's together and be able to watch satellite TV on those TV's and the best part is there is no $5 additional outlet fee! (I can see a 522 replacing a few of my receivers here lowering my bill) :D

The output modulator also lets you select what channel you want it to output to! This agile modulator will let you select any channel for it to output to, both standard channels and cable channels, I can imagine some people using these to setup mini headends in their homes. :)

The operation of both units were smooth and if you have used a 301 or 721 before you will have no problem using these receivers (and these ones are easier to use because of the new interface) :)

The 522 is of course a DVR, when you have it connected to 2 or more televisions you can even share recorded programs between rooms. Imagine sitting in one room watching a movie, getting tired so you go up to your bedroom and watch the rest of the movie!

The 522 also has a Stereo Encoder built into its modulator, this means if your second TV is a Stereo TV you will get Stereo sound! I find this in itself to make the 522 a step above.

The 522 can be put in a mode so that it operated like a 721, then you get features like PIP.

The DVR options were easy to use and worked well.

I wish I could have taken one of those 522's home with me.

If you need a basic receiver with no DVR, I highly recommend the 322 and if your looking for a non HD PVR, I say skip the 510 and go for the
522!

I never expected to walk away from this show so excited over a product I had no interest in before I went into the show. :)

Below are some photos of the 322 and 522 in action!

And remember SatelliteGuys.US is your home for Real Satellite Information!

Enjoy!
 
Some more pictures.

(BTW I must appologize for the quality of the pictures, I went out and purchased a new 4 Megapixel camera for this show, and I took all the pictures in the wrong mode (outdoor mode) and could not use a flash because it would reflect off the screen so some pictures so some photos are slightly out of focus, I hope you understand.)
 
This does looks sweet. I've had the 522 in mind since its specs where listed a while back. Its good to see it living up to expectations.
 
Too bad the 522 will have the onerous monthly DVR $$$ penalty attached to it :x :(
When will the HD version be out????

One of the 'bad guys',
Andy
 
So Scott I have to ask what is the big news you have been alluding to over the past few weeks? Can you finally let the cat out of the bag? I'm hoping it has something to do with new HD channels and not just hardware info...
 
I have a question about the IR remote function. What if I have another Dish receiver, such as a 6000 located in the same room with the 522 how will the 522 know to ignore the IR commands from the 6000's remote? My understanding is that even if the 6000 is set to RF mode he remote is still sending out IR signals along with the RF signals, or am I wrong about that?
 
Scott,

Has the program guide changed too on the 322/522, or is it the same? If it has changed, could we perhaps get a screenshot?

Also, did you have the opportunity to ask whether the new guide and menus would eventually be made available on the 811 or 921?
 
Too bad the 322 is mono adulated. But otherwise I am even more excited about thes poducts than I already was! The only question is if existing DHP customers will ever get a deal on these new units. These look to be a real cable killer!
 
The 522 looks like a SWEET machine. The hardware design is super (a stereo agile modulator!). I hope the software is just as good.
 
Any way to add a second UHF remote control? For many they should of provided two UHF remotes. Easy basement install saving tons of time and money for installers
 
There are more than 8 IR remote codes. I believe some newer remotes do have or will have even more than the existing remotes have.

I wonder if the 510 receiver will receive a software upgrade to have the same look of the menu's that the 322 and 522 have. I also wonder if this is the look to expect on future 111 and 311 receivers to come out.

A while back there was some pictures of the new remotes (the 322 comes with a different one than the 522 due to the DVR features).

Will there be a 200 ft. UHF Pro upgrade kit instead of the 100 ft. range UHF upgrade kit we have now for these new receivers?
 
You will be able to order additional UHF remote so if you have the second output setup to each tv you can have a remote in each room.
 
The 522 sounds like a good receiver. With the ability to watch two TVs with two different outputs, it is a go for me. I will order one of these as soon as it's out.
 
Some customers may want UHF capability with the first tuner as well because they may want to split the first tuner to different tv's so that they can watch something different than on the tv's with the second tuner connected to it.
 
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