My System:
522
510
301
The installers were semi on time and were very happy with the fact that I had run all the cables they needed. All tehy had to do was put some compression ends on each cable, attach grounding blocks, and mount the dish. This step took no time at all, the installer actually aligned it without having to use a sat signal or anything.. just angled it fenagled a bit and got it aligned. I was impressed. then the inside came.. they didnt quite understand why i wanted the 522 hooked up to only 1 tv but after about 3 minutes of explanation they understood... plus they didnt have to run more coax. then they attached the 510 to the bedroom tv and the 301 to my office. They tested signal.. I get 96 on 110 and 102 on 119.. I was happy. Next they made the activation call after downloading the software. 30 minutes later they left with a small tip and my gratitude.
Equipment Reviews : General
Dealing with DirecTV before (as an installer and customer) I Knew kindof what to expect.. although the difference between local cable and the sat is unbelievable.. Ive never seen my local channels look taht good. (ive been away from sat for 2 years)
On the downside however... when companies release a piece of equipment like the 522 with a new GUI why cant they update all the others to the same gui... it cant be taht bad hard... hell i can write a gui for windows in a day almost...but i digress.
The lack of uniformity did not surprise me but was disheartening because i had to learn new channels and 2 new systems the same day... oi
The 522:
I know this is the system everyone wants to hear about so ill be as thorough as i can... more will come:
The GUI is excellent I like its functionality.. It did lock up on me once but a quick reboot solved that. Hasnt locked up since. I do like al of the features such as the tv in the menus so you can change options while you can still watch whats going on... that was smart. There isnt anything hooked up to the TV2 output yet... as soon as the cable company takes care of my cable ill route the tv2 output to all the rooms so i can watch something recorded in the family room everywhere else. Single Mode: after trying a billion rebots i still dont have the upgrade... i guess theres always tomorrow. Recordings: I ran a bunch of timers jsut to test reliablility.. so far so good.. I was impressed once the power flickered while it was recording the screen savers... the DVR got cut off but as soon as it came back up it recorded the rest of the show.. I lost 3 minutes but the DVR broke it into 2 recordings... thank god. the reason ppl were complaining about it not getting aqua teen hunger force is that in the guide there is nothing listed from 12-12:15 only 12:15-12:30 a manual timer got the recording while a select-record didnt. Overall i like the 522 but its not a tivo yet
510:
Everything is about as good as the 522 the 510 seems a bit faster but the older gui leaves to be desired... still not a tivo (DUH) but it works well and I have no problems with the unit.
301:
This unit has the same GUI as the 510 but of course lacks DVR functions No biggie.. I have this hooked in through my real Stand Alone TiVo and the 2 seem to work well together... I had to employ some tricks in the TIVO setup to get it to IR blast the channel change but after that issue was resolved it was smoothe sailing.
Overall:
To conclude: I am very happy with my system as it is now... hopefully Ill get the precious 522 2.01 upgrade and be able to use PIP soon.. I will hold my breath over the next 28 days but hopefully ill get it soon... Talk to you guys later
522
510
301
The installers were semi on time and were very happy with the fact that I had run all the cables they needed. All tehy had to do was put some compression ends on each cable, attach grounding blocks, and mount the dish. This step took no time at all, the installer actually aligned it without having to use a sat signal or anything.. just angled it fenagled a bit and got it aligned. I was impressed. then the inside came.. they didnt quite understand why i wanted the 522 hooked up to only 1 tv but after about 3 minutes of explanation they understood... plus they didnt have to run more coax. then they attached the 510 to the bedroom tv and the 301 to my office. They tested signal.. I get 96 on 110 and 102 on 119.. I was happy. Next they made the activation call after downloading the software. 30 minutes later they left with a small tip and my gratitude.
Equipment Reviews : General
Dealing with DirecTV before (as an installer and customer) I Knew kindof what to expect.. although the difference between local cable and the sat is unbelievable.. Ive never seen my local channels look taht good. (ive been away from sat for 2 years)
On the downside however... when companies release a piece of equipment like the 522 with a new GUI why cant they update all the others to the same gui... it cant be taht bad hard... hell i can write a gui for windows in a day almost...but i digress.
The lack of uniformity did not surprise me but was disheartening because i had to learn new channels and 2 new systems the same day... oi
The 522:
I know this is the system everyone wants to hear about so ill be as thorough as i can... more will come:
The GUI is excellent I like its functionality.. It did lock up on me once but a quick reboot solved that. Hasnt locked up since. I do like al of the features such as the tv in the menus so you can change options while you can still watch whats going on... that was smart. There isnt anything hooked up to the TV2 output yet... as soon as the cable company takes care of my cable ill route the tv2 output to all the rooms so i can watch something recorded in the family room everywhere else. Single Mode: after trying a billion rebots i still dont have the upgrade... i guess theres always tomorrow. Recordings: I ran a bunch of timers jsut to test reliablility.. so far so good.. I was impressed once the power flickered while it was recording the screen savers... the DVR got cut off but as soon as it came back up it recorded the rest of the show.. I lost 3 minutes but the DVR broke it into 2 recordings... thank god. the reason ppl were complaining about it not getting aqua teen hunger force is that in the guide there is nothing listed from 12-12:15 only 12:15-12:30 a manual timer got the recording while a select-record didnt. Overall i like the 522 but its not a tivo yet
510:
Everything is about as good as the 522 the 510 seems a bit faster but the older gui leaves to be desired... still not a tivo (DUH) but it works well and I have no problems with the unit.
301:
This unit has the same GUI as the 510 but of course lacks DVR functions No biggie.. I have this hooked in through my real Stand Alone TiVo and the 2 seem to work well together... I had to employ some tricks in the TIVO setup to get it to IR blast the channel change but after that issue was resolved it was smoothe sailing.
Overall:
To conclude: I am very happy with my system as it is now... hopefully Ill get the precious 522 2.01 upgrade and be able to use PIP soon.. I will hold my breath over the next 28 days but hopefully ill get it soon... Talk to you guys later
