But I paid $199 fee for the 722. And I have read that some people, once the contract is up, their equipment is theirs...
I bought a new 722 off ebay for $300, and it is an owned not leased receiver. This transaction did not add any commitment since Dish did not subsidize the sale.
I installed it myself and activated it for free, paying Dish the extra $10/mo for the HD add-on. It became my primary receiver and, since I already had the DVR Advantage package, I didn't have to pay the extra receiver fee nor the DVR fee on my 722. (I did have to pay those for my 625, which remained on my account and became my secondary receiver. So all in all my bill went up $20/mo. YMMV)
Your $199 figure sounds too low for the purchase of an owned receiver. I have a lot of heartburn over such a high fee, and I would not pay it myself. If Dish is leasing you a receiver, then why do you have any fee at all, much less an exorbitant fee like that? A leased receiver remains Dish's receiver forever; we don't lease-to-own them.
I finally completed my conversion to HD by leasing two VIP 612 receivers from Dish. These cost me $25/ea shipped, and I installed them myself. Had Dish paid for the installation as well, that fee would have been much higher. Perhaps your $199 includes installation?