HR22-700 junk

[talos4]

Two can play this game:

Dish Network sells its VIP 622 HD DVR network box as providing clear, reliable and uninterupted HD. We are now on our 5th, count them 5, units. The box works with some problems for a month or two when the boot program loops on itself and the hard drive crashes. Customer service is scripted and suggests things like plugging it directly into a wall socket and not a surge supressor, that the wall socket itself has gone bad or the surge supressor has gone bad, that unplugging and replugging the unit will repair it. In fact the units have programming gliches and they overheat. Dish representativies finally simply have to send a new one. When the 622's are working there are pixilating freezes that during peak viewing times can occur every minute or so. The recording features loose sound or miss entire segments because the unit cannot keep up with the speed needed to continue recording and shut off. These units are inherently defective and fail to provide the service advertised and charged for by Dish Network. Customers all over the country have experienced the same problems. Dish now insists on the consumer to pay any expedited shipping costs leavng the consumer without service for three five days for their usual shipping times. There is no adjustment in billing for service outage. The failures cost consumers time, money and headaches in switching out defective units. We are considering a class action lawsuit to addresses DISH's rip off of its consumers purchasing these units and these services.

Victoria
Cypress, Texas
U.S.A.

Big Canoer

06-28-2009, 12:09 PM

I don't like my Dish Network VIP 722 DVR
About 2 years after I had to pay $500 for a HD TiVo DVR from Direct TV, Direct TV told me I had to switch to a different VCR to continue to get HD. Turns out that new Direct TV DVR does not receive OTA broadcast, for which I have an antenna.

So I switched to the Dish network and thereby got stuck with a VIP 722 DVR.

I don't like it very much for two main reasons. Maybe someone on here has solutions to these issues.

1. The thing is noisy; mechanical / fan noise is too loud. This thing is installed in a cabinet along with a high-end 2-channel audio system. I don't need the hear this noise. Turning power off makes no difference. What happens if I pull the plug while using the 2-channel audio system?

2. Setting up a DVR timer to record a season of a particular program is difficult compared to my former TiVo. On the TiVo, as you type in the name of the program, a list appears of specific instances of the program. As you type more letters, the list narrows down. You can then select the exact channel for the show - e.g. 1st-run only on HBOHD. You have positive confirmation that the DVR nows about the show you want to record.

On the VIP, you just type in the letters and hope if finds something sometime. Usually, when I try the "exact match" option, the software won't accept enough letters to complete the entire program name. Most of my recording is done from HBO HD, but I cannot specify that exact channel because dish uses channel 300 for HBO East SD and HBO HD. If I say use channel 300, it uses the SD version of channel 300. So I have to specify "any channel" and hope it finds the HD channel.

The result of all this is that the thing records all kinds of crap I don't want to watch.

When I wanted to record the "John Adams" mini series, since I could not specify the exact program, it also recorded "The making of John Adams" at least 30 times.

The other day it recorded Entourage - with Spanish overdub from HBOL (since I cannot specify HBO HD directly). I don't speak Spanish.

I miss my Tivo.

Anybody know how to solve these issues?
__________________
Terry in Sunnyvale


The point is NOBODY comes on to forums, Review sites, etc, to post about how wonderful their gear is. The nature of forums and such is to complain and find solutions to their issues or just to commiserate with others with the same pain as you.

BTW, As I stated previously, I DON'T have any issues with my HR22 that would cause me to come on to the forum to complain about D* and their poor equipment.

 

[darekd]

This Friday I'm getting two ViP722k's and switching to E* due to a few reasons.

I hope you don't regret this decision. I was with Directv then I switched to Dish and now I'm back with Directv. The only good thing about dish are speedier receivers and EHD.

Some problems with the 722 receiver:
- Few times a week I would get a show that was only partially recorded (common problem reported by many people)
- Show conflicts harder to detect
- FF doesn't do skip back
- Titles are truncated
- Show info is very short
- Playlist/series recording harder (less intuitive) to manage

Additional, picture quality is not as good on dish as it is on directv. It's not as sharp, it's darker and pixalation is more noticeable.

Also, dish is not cheaper any more.

Returning back to this tread, I like my HR22 and it works very well. It is not as fast as dish's receiver but it's more functional.

I'm running CE version.

 

[johnner1999]

I hope you don't regret this decision. I was with Directv then I switched to Dish and now I'm back with Directv. The only good thing about dish are speedier receivers and EHD.

Some problems with the 722 receiver:
- Few times a week I would get a show that was only partially recorded (common problem reported by many people)
- Show conflicts harder to detect
- FF doesn't do skip back
- Titles are truncated
- Show info is very short
- Playlist/series recording harder (less intuitive) to manage

Additional, picture quality is not as good on dish as it is on directv. It's not as sharp, it's darker and pixalation is more noticeable.

Also, dish is not cheaper any more.

Returning back to this tread, I like my HR22 and it works very well. It is not as fast as dish's receiver but it's more functional.

I'm running CE version.

Thanks

These three reasons might make stay with my slow as hell DVR's

- Few times a week I would get a show that was only partially recorded (common problem reported by many people)
- Show conflicts harder to detect
- FF doesn't do skip back

 

[cfb]

The point is NOBODY comes on to forums, Review sites, etc, to post about how wonderful their gear is.

And yet, here you are! Actually I see many posts here, on dbstalk and at tivocommunity praising their respective products and services. That doesnt make someone who has had problems experiences less legitimate, does it?

BTW, As I stated previously, I DON'T have any issues with my HR22 that would cause me to come on to the forum to complain about D* and their poor equipment.

Does that mean you've never had any issues, or just none that you feel compelled to mention? You've never rebooted your box, never had it freeze up or slow down? Never had it fail to record a show? Never had a guide data glitch? You werent a subscriber last year when directv sent out an update that locked up many customers boxes and they had to send out another update a few days later to correct it? You werent a subscriber last year when directv set the time and date to six months in the future and many customers boxes didnt record their shows for several hours to several days?

Interesting roundup of reviews. For some reason it seems that the dish network and tivo people show up to say they like their gear in much larger volumes than directv boxes. So it seems that people WILL show up to give a favorable review. Just less so if you own a directv box.

HR20
Cnet rating **
Epinions rating **
Amazon rating **

Tivo HD
Cnet rating ***
epinions rating ***
Amazon rating ****

Dish VIP 622
Cnet rating ***
Epinions *** 1/2
Amazon rating ***

I often write favorable reviews, along with unfavorable ones, because I like to share my good and bad experiences. My review of directv HR's is that if you've never used a DVR and/or are a current directv user, you'll probably find the HR2x a good product. If you're a dish or tivo user looking at the directv box as greener grass...I think you'll be frustrated and/or disappointed. If you're a heavy dvr user, I think you might find yourself very unhappy.

Its definitely better now than it was a 6-12 months from now, but its still a work in progress.

 

[talos4]

Here we go:

And yet, here you are! Actually I see many posts here, on dbstalk and at tivocommunity praising their respective products and services. That doesnt make someone who has had problems experiences less legitimate, does it?

Never said or implied that.

Does that mean you've never had any issues, or just none that you feel compelled to mention? Other than a hard drive failure in my HR21 No,

You've never rebooted your box, Nope, other than CE downloads.
never had it freeze up or slow down? Only when the hard drive was failing
Never had it fail to record a show? Nope
Never had a guide data glitch? Nope
You werent a subscriber last year when directv sent out an update that locked up many customers boxes and they had to send out another update a few days later to correct it? I was and believe me or not I was NOT affected.

You werent a subscriber last year when directv set the time and date to six months in the future and many customers boxes didnt record their shows for several hours to several days? See Above.

Interesting roundup of reviews. For some reason it seems that the dish network and tivo people show up to say they like their gear in much larger volumes than directv boxes. So it seems that people WILL show up to give a favorable review. Just less so if you own a directv box.

HR20
Cnet rating **
Epinions rating **
Amazon rating **

Tivo HD
Cnet rating ***
epinions rating ***
Amazon rating ****

Dish VIP 622
Cnet rating ***
Epinions *** 1/2
Amazon rating ***

I often write favorable reviews, along with unfavorable ones, because I like to share my good and bad experiences. My review of directv HR's is that if you've never used a DVR and/or are a current directv user, you'll probably find the HR2x a good product. If you're a dish or tivo user looking at the directv box as greener grass...I think you'll be frustrated and/or disappointed. If you're a heavy dvr user, I think you might find yourself very unhappy.


I still have an active Tivo in the house. At the time I got I loved it. My first HR series was the HR21, It took some getting used to but now I prefer it to the Tivo.

If I went to the tivo community and said that, I'd be driven out of the forum with my hair on fire.


Its definitely better now than it was a 6-12 months from now, but its still a work in progress.

Now that's something we CAN agree on. It's not perfect, never said it was, but in my opinion it's also not junk.

My system is networked, I use Directv2pc, I don't record 400-500 shows a week, no esata, and we watch very little live TV. each weeknight evening we watch recorded content 4-5 hrs a night when we're home. Weekends vary wildly of course there is always a race or football to record.

If that makes me an"average user" and not really able to fully appreciate just how bad the hardware truly is, so be it.

I also cannot take the time and effort to "research" this kind of info just to start a flame war with some of us "fanboy's"

 

[Jhon69]

when you do things like this just to make it work as it should,it automatically makes it an inferior product.we shouldn't have to walk on egg shells just to have these dvr's work properly. i find it the slowest while it's recording. imo doing these resets slows things down even more. now the guide has to repopulate and so on.

You will not hear any complains from me on this statement.But seeing that the HR2xs are basically DirecTV's first in house HDDVR should we cut them some slack?......Nah!.

 

[NotMe546]

I often write favorable reviews, along with unfavorable ones, because I like to share my good and bad experiences. My review of directv HR's is that if you've never used a DVR and/or are a current directv user, you'll probably find the HR2x a good product. If you're a dish or tivo user looking at the directv box as greener grass...I think you'll be frustrated and/or disappointed. If you're a heavy dvr user, I think you might find yourself very unhappy.

Its definitely better now than it was a 6-12 months from now, but its still a work in progress.

That a good way to describe them. :up

 

[cfb]

If that makes me an"average user" and not really able to fully appreciate just how bad the hardware truly is, so be it.

Its simply that the model you have, its contents, and the way that you use it dont incur any of the problems that others have. Or that you have problems like others, but consider them "normal" operating issues.

I also cannot take the time and effort to "research" this kind of info just to start a flame war with some of us "fanboy's"

I didnt know we were having a flame war, or I'd have taken it more seriously

I thought I was trying to explain a couple of things:

That there may be good reasons why some people have problems with this product and others dont.

That even a minority report of issues should be considered legitimate. I've certainly had issues and directv has acknowledged those issues and even fixed some of them. Whats the dilemma with accepting that its not a perfect piece of equipment and may not work well for some people?

Lastly, a community exists to extol the virtues, complain about the shortcomings and also to share information with new users. When I made the transition to directv's box, I had a bunch of folks that you would find like-minded tell me there were zero problems with this product and that it was better than what I was using. As a result of those expectations, I was disappointed with the reality.

So sorry you thought we were having a flame war. I thought we were sharing useful information that might eventually help us all figure out how to make the product better, and to help other users. Without complainers who tell everyone what went wrong, that wont happen.

 

[DodgerKing]

I have done everything, Change the negative and did a complete delete . I only keep about 90% on the drive. It is still slow. I may start sending it back once a week to Directv tell i get a HR20 0r a HR21 black.

It is probably your particular DVR or that particular model. My dad's HR21 and my grandpa's HR22 are both slower than my HR20 (all are faster than my piece of crap TiVo though). The HR22 is the slowest of all of them. There maybe something up with the HR22?

 

[DodgerKing]

Does that mean you've never had any issues, or just none that you feel compelled to mention? You've never rebooted your box

My TiVo(s), at least once a month. With my HR20, only during downloads of CEs and the 2 national issues due to a temporary software glitched sent out by them the entire 3+ years I have owned it.

, never had it freeze up or slow down?

With my TiVo9(s), all of the time. With my HR20, only during some CEs (slowdowns only, not freezeups) and the two national issues.

Never had it fail to record a show?

TiVo...every single day. HR20, never once missed a recording, ever

Never had a guide data glitch?

Not with the TiVo nor the HR20 (only once after a download of a CE)

You werent a subscriber last year when directv sent out an update that locked up many customers boxes and they had to send out another update a few days later to correct it?

Mentioned that above. This has nothing at all to do with the DVR performance. It was a national software mistake on their part.

You werent a subscriber last year when directv set the time and date to six months in the future and many customers boxes didnt record their shows for several hours to several days?

Was with them, never happened too me. Again, this is a programming issue with Direct, it has nothing to do with the performance of the DVR

Aside from the 2 nationally released temporary software glitches (which have nothing to do with the individual DVR performances) and my voluntary participation in CEs (which is quickly remedied by going back to the national release), I have never had a problem with my HR20 and neither has anyone else I know personally. TiVo's on the other hand...don't get me started on those pieces of junk.


Nice try in attempting to play gotcha. Have anything else?

 

[cfb]

Nice try in attempting to play gotcha. Have anything else?

Actually no, because frankly its not the game I want to play. I have very little interest in pursuing the fanboy ploy. Its quite clear that you feel that since you've had no problems, nobody else will either. And if they do, they ought to keep it to themselves? How unfortunate.

I've had the exact opposite experience that you've had. Somehow you've managed to avoid the dozens of problems that directv has acknowledged and to some degree repaired. Congratulations and good luck.

 

[DodgerKing]

Actually no, because frankly its not the game I want to play. I have very little interest in pursuing the fanboy ploy.

Typical response. When one is losing or shown to be wrong in a discussion or debate they often resort to making personal remarks or name calling. Never fails...

Its quite clear that you feel that since you've had no problems, nobody else will either.

No...
Don't assume anything. Especially when you use the word obvious in your assumption and your assumption is simply wrong.

And if they do, they ought to keep it to themselves? How unfortunate.

What are you talking about? Are you making another assumption again, or is this how you feel?

If you think this is my opinion can you please point out were I made any such statement? If you cannot, them please stop making up false assumptions about me..

I've had the exact opposite experience that you've had. Somehow you've managed to avoid the dozens of problems that directv has acknowledged and to some degree repaired. Congratulations and good luck.

You have made that clear already. I don't doubt what you said. I was simply answering your questions. To be honest, the only people I have encountered that have had problems with their HRs are those on these tech sites. The dozens I know personally do not have the problems related to the questions you asked.

talos4 can probably make the same claim as well...

 

[vurbano]

The Directv is juck. It is very slow on everything it does. I see the HR23-700 are out.Are they any faster and were can i get one

its JUNK not juck

 

[Rey]

its JUNK not juck

maybe he meant yuck!

 

[DodgerKing]

its JUNK not juck

There are probably many whom feel like jucking up their DVRs???

 

[vurbano]

It is probably your particular DVR or that particular model. My dad's HR21 and my grandpa's HR22 are both slower than my HR20 (all are faster than my piece of crap TiVo though). The HR22 is the slowest of all of them. There maybe something up with the HR22?

Yup when I had D* my HR20 was like a jackrabbit compared to my HR21 turtle. But yet the HR21 and HR22 were supposed to be newer and "advanced"

 

[DodgerKing]

maybe he meant yuck!

Or his own word for yucky junk called juck???

 

[Curtis0620]

If I want to record MLB network on the DISH DVR how would you do that?

 

[DodgerKing]

If I want to record MLB network on the DISH DVR how would you do that?

Don't think you want to go there as Dish has many channels that Direct does not have and has more channels in HD.

 

[Curtis0620]

Don't think you want to go there as Dish has many channels that Direct does not have and has more channels in HD.

Not any channels I want.

I don't care about Over-priced Premium Movie Channels.