Upgrade to a 721 or 510?

[briansanders007]

I have been thinking about upgrading to a dvr for the longest time. Whats a better box the 721 or 510? I know the 721 has dual tuners. Is there a reason why they stopped production? Any promo's on the 510? I want to replace one of my 301's.

 

[Martimus]

I have been thinking about upgrading to a dvr for the longest time. Whats a better box the 721 or 510? I know the 721 has dual tuners. Is there a reason why they stopped production? Any promo's on the 510? I want to replace one of my 301's.

I upgraded an older 4500 with a 721 and am happy I did it. The 721, although no longer in production, is a vastly superior receiver. Between the increase in capabilities and the fact that E* doesn't charge the $5/month PVR fee, I'm totally satisfied with my investment. Now if I could only convince myself its time to get rid of the 4500 and remove the OLD Dish 300 antenna from my roof. LOL

 

[briansanders007]

So there is no dvr fee with the 721?

 

[styxfix]

no fee for the 721, 508 or the 501. The 5XX DVRs are all the same except the size of the hard drive.

 

[Grandude]

I agree with Martimus. The 721 is the better receiver and can be found at a good price.
You will really like the guide. (and no DVR fee)
Don't forget that you will need two lines feeding it. Won't work with just one unless you get a DPP44 switch too.

 

[briansanders007]

here's a stupid question but I have three lines coming down from the dish. can I hook up a switch to one of these to "split it". I have a dish 500 and as far as I can tell three straight lines other than what's in the dish.

 

[WeeJavaDude]

here's a stupid question but I have three lines coming down from the dish. can I hook up a switch to one of these to "split it". I have a dish 500 and as far as I can tell three straight lines other than what's in the dish.

To Split a single cable to a dual receiver you need a DP44 switch. You cannot just split the line.

As to 721 vs. 508. Here are some threads discussing this choice. The 508 is the same as the 510 minus a smaller drive and no VOD fee.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=14039&highlight=721+508
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=14856&highlight=721+508

And you must have two signal lines running into the 721 for it to operate.

 

[GaryPen]

Is there a reason why they stopped production?

Yes. They finally got it working well. That is when Dish traditionally discontinues each model.

 

[Stargazer]

I like the 721 a lot more than the 510 because of the dual tuners, fastest EPG of any receiver I seen, PIP, style of the on screen menu's/screens, no DVR fee.

 

[dulzen]

i just hate how long it takes to restart 721s and 921s. the reason they discontinue-d 721 is that now they got 522.

 

[SimpleSimon]

here's a stupid question but I have three lines coming down from the dish. can I hook up a switch to one of these to "split it". I have a dish 500 and as far as I can tell three straight lines other than what's in the dish.

Insufficient data t answer. We need to know what's out there on the dish.

 

[Ddavis]

Just guessing, but with three lines from the dish, wouldn't he have to have a Quad something? If so, he could just add another line.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Likely, but not an absolute - there's too much ambiguity in how people word things.

 

[briansanders007]

I guess to be more specific I have a dish 500 with three lines coming straight down to two recievers and one is not being used. No switches from the dish other than what's in it. I got dish 500 about 9 months ago so it's the current dish 500.

Thanks for all your insight into the model comparisions. Since it's discontinued does that mean software updates are also stopped? Or will they only make minor changes if a system wide change is needed.

 

[Unthinkable]

Thanks for all your insight into the model comparisions. Since it's discontinued does that mean software updates are also stopped? Or will they only make minor changes if a system wide change is needed.

Software updates are still spooling for the 721. I think Scott G. posted awhile back that no new major features will be implemented in the future outside of name based recording sometime next year. We'll still get maintenance updates and bug fixes though. Don't think we'll ever see internet access enabled on them though.