Have 722 (bad DVR) how do/should I update?

Blastfurnace

Active SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Apr 19, 2010
20
0
Eastern Ohio
I have the 722. The one that you can hook your OTA antenna to. I think this is the one without the K?

About half of my DVR recordings will 'lock up' the receiver when I try to watch them. Everything freezes and you have to wait minutes for it to start again and if you don't quickly hit "View live TV" it will get 'stuck' again and again.

I figure the HD is going bad. So now I have to decide on a course of action but with the new hopper receivers everything becomes so confusing and convoluted I'm not sure what the best, or most economical, route is.

I love my 722. I NEED the OTA because it puts my locals on my dish guide and I can DVR them. I pay for locals through DISH but get MANY more OTA.

The 722 has the home distribution that I use to show my DISH on all 4 TV's in the house.

So what are my options? Can my 722 be fixed? Should I just try and get a new 722? Is the Hopper something that could do what I like without raising my bill?

Any and all ideas/comments are welcome. I need knowledge before I continue and maybe make a mistake.

Thanks!

Mark
 
Yes, you can get your 722 replaced. You can also upgrade to a Hopper and get the latest/greatest. It now has an OTA dongle that will work much like your 722. Extra fee going from one 722 to one Hopper would be $3/mo. Old Hopper is generally $50 for most customers, while the brand spanking new Hopper will set you back $200.
 
plus you would need joeys or a modulator to hook up your other TV's as I believe the hopper has no RF output like your 722 does....
 
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When I called Dish and had my 722 diagnosed as needing to be replaced I was offered a 722 or 722K for free or a 922 or Hopper for free with a new 2 yr commitment. I asked here on this forum about the 922 and 100% of the folks told me NOT to get the 922 so I tried the Hopper. I did not care for it at all. I found the recording steps and the look of the various recording pages to be non intuitive and the Hopper guide has channel symbols as well as the channel numbers making it look cluttered and overly busy. I sent it back and took the free 722 with no new commitment. Just my opinion on the Hopper. I probably would have gotten used to it, but not the channel flags. Dish had no problem with the change back to the 722.
 
Bottom line - if you are not looking to make any changes or spend more per month, you should be able to replace your receiver most likely with no charges at all, with the same receiver and continue on. If you want HD at the other locations in the house and with one more tuner assuming you get the OTA dongle, then the Hopper would be the way to go. That would cost you much more however because of the way you are distributing the signal all from one receiver, with only one place in HD. (Something like $24 more a month) (Though it is possible to get a signal to a TV without Joey or another Hopper, making it more like what you do now, and it would cost less, of course not the same as having complete control with a Joey or another Hopper)
 
Thanks for all of the quick replies. I figured the Hopper was going to be more money. I very rarely record two things at once but I always walk around the house watching my DISH on different TV's. I own my 722 and back a few months ago I called DISH and was told I could buy a new 722 for 100 bucks with no commitment.

I hate to call them without being loaded with information. I wish there was a 'chart' or a website that you could select what you want to do and it would list the equipment you need and lists all the up front costs and monthly costs.

So as for my old 722, Whats the best way to get my recordings off of it that are still good?

Thanks again for all of your help,

Mark
 
BTW, it IS possible to put together a system to continue your home distribution center with a Hopper.

And you don't need to buy a new ViP722. Dish should be willing to replace it, even though it is owned.

Do you have an EHD?
 
Just add the protection plan to your acct and Dish will ship you another 722. You just have to keep the protection plan for 5 months I believe or you're charged a fee.
 
I have an EHD but it's loaded with stuff. I would need to get one that's empty because of the formatting but don't you have to pay to hook an EHD to the 722?
 
How many HD TV's do you have? With the H/J you can have all your HD TV's display HD. After the 1st Hopper, there is a $7/mo fee for each Hopper or Joey. I have 5 tv's so I have 2 Hoppers and 3 Joeys. With the ota module on each Hopper I have 6 sat tuners and 2 ota tuners. Both Hoppers can be seen by each Joey or the other Hopper. If you use the PTAT feature on 1 of the Hoppers, you can record the big 4 on 1 of the sat tuners leaving 2 sat tuners and the ota tuner on that tuner for recording.
I upgraded from a 722 and 211 last Dec and am very glad I did.
 
Cool, How do you use the Hopper and get the home distribution center without using joeys. And what are the fees to do it that way. I currently have a 622 and it feeds the main TV with one signal and the other signal feed the rest of the house. We have multiple TV 4 HD and 2 standard but there are 2 people watching it is really hard to pay $7 for each additional TV when we can only watch 2 at a time. Thanks for any information. Sorry for butting in but if it works it could save me some money.
Gary
 
You would still need to pay at the minimum $7/mo for 1 Joey, or a 2nd Hopper, if you want 2 independent feeds. Just a single Hopper will only feed the main TV (any RF modulation out of the SD outputs to other TVs would be the same as the main TV).
 
Cool, How do you use the Hopper and get the home distribution center without using joeys. And what are the fees to do it that way. I currently have a 622 and it feeds the main TV with one signal and the other signal feed the rest of the house. We have multiple TV 4 HD and 2 standard but there are 2 people watching it is really hard to pay $7 for each additional TV when we can only watch 2 at a time. Thanks for any information. Sorry for butting in but if it works it could save me some money.
Gary
You could get one Hopper and three Joeys. For any of them, you can buy a cheap RF modulator to connect to the composite output for your two SD sets. Keep in mind it would be mirroring whatever is being watch on whichever unit you connect it to. You would also need additional remotes (21.0 will work) for use at the SD TV locations.
 
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There are just 2 of us also, but we regularly watch tv on 4 of the 5 that we have. I have Hoppers in the living room and my office/computer room, 1 in the bedroom, 1 on the kitchen counter and the other in our downstairs family room. Often the wife will be watching something in the living room, I'll be watching something else in the office, then I'll move to the kitchen while I prepare dinner or we will pause the living room to watch the news while we eat. Other times we will be watching something in the living room and then I'll put the same on in the bedroom when the wife goes to bed at the ungodly hour of 8 PM. So you'd be suprised.
 
Thanks Guys, It might work but not as easy or cheap as it is now. I'll have to look at home and see exactly how the 622 is set up now, and see which TV's may just get an SD signal OR just sell the HD's and I'll have no need for anything better ;)
Gary
 

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