Upgrade DTV receiver to R10 w/new dish or go DISH network?

[fogtownjohn]

Hi All,

I'm a newbie here & I hope this is not an overly repetitive post. The short of it: I have a single LNB dish & a DirecTV receiver connected to one TV and I am a renter. In about a year I will buy an HDTV & review the state of satellite HD programming. For now I'd like to add a DVR to my setup & it appears to me I have two options:

1. Upgrade to a DirecTV DVR R10, then buy & install a new a triple LNB Dish - for future HD? This choice requires a one year commitment, a $99 outlay for R10, plus $ for the new dish (I don't know $ or how to buy, install.)

2. Switch to Dish, get a 522 DVR & new dual-Dish & check them out before next years plunge into HDTV.

I appreciate your comments & thanks for your patience with this.

 

[lee espinoza]

Stay with D*, shop a round you can get a DirecTivo for a lot less than $99 or call D* see if they can help you out at 1800-600-8977

 

[VOOMER]

Add Tivo

Hi All,

I'm a newbie here & I hope this is not an overly repetitive post. The short of it: I have a single LNB dish & a DirecTV receiver connected to one TV and I am a renter. In about a year I will buy an HDTV & review the state of satellite HD programming. For now I'd like to add a DVR to my setup & it appears to me I have two options:

1. Upgrade to a DirecTV DVR R10, then buy & install a new a triple LNB Dish - for future HD? This choice requires a one year commitment, a $99 outlay for R10, plus $ for the new dish (I don't know $ or how to buy, install.)

QUOTE]

If you have a basic 18in dish and only have 1 line run, all you need is 1 more line from the dish to the receiver location to operate your Tivo!

Now if you are saying you want to keep your current rec. and add a Tivo ,then you will need the 2nd line run and the addition of a multiswitch to operat BOTH the Tivo and your Basic rec.

 

[kbohip]

As an owner of a Dish 522 DVR I say stay far away from it. The thing is about as buggy as can be, with audio dropouts and plenty of video pixelation. Also I've only owned mine for a few weeks and it's already froze up once.

My parent's R-10's are a lot more stable plus they don't have problems with audio and video. Take a look at the E* DVR forum and see how many people are having problems with their 522's.

 

[Hogarth]

As an owner of a Dish 522 DVR I say stay far away from it. The thing is about as buggy as can be, with audio dropouts and plenty of video pixelation. Also I've only owned mine for a few weeks and it's already froze up once.

My parent's R-10's are a lot more stable plus they don't have problems with audio and video. Take a look at the E* DVR forum and see how many people are having problems with their 522's.

I, too, had a 522, and concur wholeheartedly with kbohip.

If you like your existing TiVo at all, you'll hate the 522.

H

 

[boba]

You are an existing Directv customer so you won't qualify for the $50 rebate but you should be able to call Directv and get an offer from them for a TiVo upgrade. I suspect for $100 they will sell you a TiVo and provide the necessary dish and LNB upgrade with installation at that cost. If you want to move the existing receiver I believe they will charge something like $25 to relocate that receiver. Stay away from DISH you will be very unhappy with their buggy equipment. DirecTiVo isn't perfect but it sure is better than any DVR DISH has produced to date.

 

[jbcheshire]

Not all of the E* stuff is bad.
I've had a 501 for a while and it has been pretty solid. Others have said that the 510 and 721 are pretty good too.

 

[rad]

Not all of the E* stuff is bad.
I've had a 501 for a while and it has been pretty solid. Others have said that the 510 and 721 are pretty good too.

That's typical for E* hardware, the boxes which have been out for awhile finally will get fairly stable software, it's the boxes that have been out for around a year or less, or is still getting new features added, like the 522 and 921 are the ones that folks have the most problems with.

 

[Fredinva]

As an owner of a Dish 522 DVR I say stay far away from it. The thing is about as buggy as can be, with audio dropouts and plenty of video pixelation. Also I've only owned mine for a few weeks and it's already froze up once..

Probably pilot error!

I've installed dozens of 522's, we don't have any problems with them.

 

[dishrich]

Others have said that the 510 and 721 are pretty good too.

Well, as one that just got a brand new 721 (yes, it IS a virgin non-refurbed unit) after having it for about 5 days, it sounds like my fricken garbage disposal! I can't believe something with a hard drive can make THIS much noise - thank god it's in the basement. Although, the 501 has given me minimal trouble, it's NOT a dual tuner. But, I DID know what I was getting myself into & just had to see for myself what garbage this thing is - I ONLY have E* for my distants/SS, so if it end's up crashing, (which I suspect it eventually will) it's not the end of the world & I do have the $2 receiver replacement service on my account.

BUT FOG, please listen to boba & just get a D-Tivo. You WILL be much happier & you will LUV your Tivo after playing with it for about 1/2 hour.

 

[camachinist]

Since you're most familiar with D*, and it doesn't appear you have significant issues with them, I'd say to stick with them and approach them or a dealer for a DTiVo/switch/dish upgrade. You might PM or e-mail one of our resident dealers and get their opinion and offer and then compare to what D* is telling you.

Personally, I'm quite happy with our R10, save for the well-documented issues with guide speed and text clarity, and will likely add another in the next year, as well as upgrade the disk capacity, as we won't look at HD for another few years.

I'd say, if you can get online with a DTiVo for under 150.00 all-in, It would be worth it, even with a one year payout (my bet is you may use it longer, even if switching your primary to HD). It really does change the way you watch TV

Good luck!

Pat

 

[kbohip]

Probably pilot error!

I've installed dozens of 522's, we don't have any problems with them.

Right. Is that why so many people on these forums are having the exact same problems? Check out the Directv DVR forums and see how many people are having problems with those. I'd also like to know out of how many installs you've done how many people are having the same problems as me but just don't bother to say anything.

FYI, my 510 was a perfect machine. Dish has proven they can build a good DVR. I've also heard many good things about the older 5xx series and the 721. The 522 at least, in mine and other's experience here has proven to be a lemon.