vip 612 ,is it usable?

[powerhouse1960]

There are a lot of negative threads on the 612 but has anyone had good luck with it?
I know it does not have pip but that's OK . However i do use the ota on the 722.
I know a lot of people like the 722 better but 7.00 a month more is steep for just a modulator.
Thanks

 

[sam_gordon]

I have a 612 and have been generally happy with it. I have occasional problems with the OTA receiver, but that's about it. The PIP would be nice (didn't realize when I ordered), but not worth swapping receivers.

 

[jfkittredge]

I was really surprised when I started reading negative feedback on the 612. Granted, I've only been using mine for six months, but I've been completely happy with it, I've never had a problem with the UI or the recording functions, I have more than enough storage space for my needs, and the unit seems totally reliable.

 

[TheKrell]

I did a Dishn' It Up upgrade of 2 VIP612's about a year ago. They were apparently new, and they have both been no better nor worse than my 722 in terms of anomalous events.

The disks are rather dinky, though.

 

[yaz96]

What's the disk size on a 612 compared to a 622, 722, 722k?

 

[jfkittredge]

30 hrs HD, 300 SD, if memory serves.

 

[RandallA]

I believe the disk size is the same as the 622.

 

[BobMurdoch]

If you only need a single tuner receiver, but you are worried about the small hard drive, why not go for the 211 and add an exterior hard drive?

You can get them fairly cheap now (both the receivers and the external drives), and you can scale up to however big a drive you need.

PLUS the new monthly receiver charge is substantially less.....

 

[Timpanogos]

My VIP612 has been just as reliable as my VIP722k. I have owned both for a year and a half. Absolutely no issues at all.

 

[Jonhern]

the 612 is a dual tuner DVR (three if you connect OTA), but with only one tv out, so it is not the same as a 211 with an EHD, which is one tuner (two with ota). If you want more space just add an EHD to the 612. Plus 30 hours is misleading, it can fit much more because dish video is compressed, from my experience it is between 2:1 and 3:1 ratio for hd video, say when I delete a 30 min hd program from the drive the time left only goes up by 10mins for sat recordings, OTA is 1:1. In terms of reliability, have had 5 come though in a few months, well one of the replacements would just not activate so really 4, and another most likely soon. Just had a dish tech here today, 3rd in two months, and he found that the wire was not fitted correctly, fixed it but I am seeing the same problem again that the last two had so will have to get it replaced, we have two, the other replacement seems to be doing fine. The funny thing is, correct me if I am wrong, it appears the new ones are the worst, cause all the ones which have failed I think were new. The way I am guessing is that all but one had the plastic sticker covers on the front plates out of the box, the one that did not is the one that is working fine and I assume is the refurbished one.

 

[rdinkel]

I have had two 612s (in addition to one 722k and one 622) for over a year. Some glitches on one of 612s, but nothing serious. The other one has been rock solid.

 

[dodger72]

i have had a 612 for over a year and had no real trouble with it

 

[dave_socal]

I upgraded to Dish network HD about 3 months ago and had Dishnet come out and install the new equipment including a new dish, VIP 211k and VIP 612 receivers.

Let me preface by saying that I had a standard definition Dishnet DVR for several years and can't remember having any problems with it.

I'm on the second VIP 612 machine already. The first one was frequently crashing and/or locking up, serious frequent pixilization and audio drop outs, and the video turned solid green for seconds at a time after backing up the playback to an earlier point.

The second machine is not crashing and freezing as much as the first machine, but it does on occasion and I get video freeze and still get video pixilization, freeze and audio drop out for seconds at a time when you "rewind" the program. The bad behavior of the machine makes the rewind feature unusable.

I've read in other forums that this all seems to be typical of the VIP 612 machines. I've had no problems with the VIP 211k machine.

dave_socal

 

[R0ss]

There are a lot of negative threads on the 612 but has anyone had good luck with it?
I know it does not have pip but that's OK . However i do use the ota on the 722.
I know a lot of people like the 722 better but 7.00 a month more is steep for just a modulator.
Thanks

612 is a standalone unit (single TV) and the 722 is a duo ( you have a tv 1 output and a tv 2 output plus you can also have OTA if you have an antenna. The 612 should also receive OTA so ifyour tv has pip you can run the ota output to your tv's RF input and you know have a pip signal. Not sure what you mean by $7.00 for a modulator. If I understand the new pricing you rprimary does not carry a "receiver charge" So if the only receiver you have is a 722 you should only have the DVR charge of $6.00, plus your programming fees.

Ross

 

[Jonhern]

I upgraded to Dish network HD about 3 months ago and had Dishnet come out and install the new equipment including a new dish, VIP 211k and VIP 612 receivers.

Let me preface by saying that I had a standard definition Dishnet DVR for several years and can't remember having any problems with it.

I'm on the second VIP 612 machine already. The first one was frequently crashing and/or locking up, serious frequent pixilization and audio drop outs, and the video turned solid green for seconds at a time after backing up the playback to an earlier point.

The second machine is not crashing and freezing as much as the first machine, but it does on occasion and I get video freeze and still get video pixilization, freeze and audio drop out for seconds at a time when you "rewind" the program. The bad behavior of the machine makes the rewind feature unusable.

I've read in other forums that this all seems to be typical of the VIP 612 machines. I've had no problems with the VIP 211k machine.

dave_socal

Similar problems here, have two with 6 different receivers coming through my house in 3.5 months. I think its the hard drive because the problem gets worse with time, works fine for a week or two then it all starts up again. I even refrained from adding the ota to one of the units as people on here have suggested but that did not work. If you have several replacements in a short period of time they will upgrade you for free, but i needed to call executive customer service. Will post what they replace it with, the weather has held up the last receiver i sent back and they need to wait till it is off my account to do an upgrade.

 

[Charade]

I upgraded to Dish network HD about 3 months ago and had Dishnet come out and install the new equipment including a new dish, VIP 211k and VIP 612 receivers.

Let me preface by saying that I had a standard definition Dishnet DVR for several years and can't remember having any problems with it.

I'm on the second VIP 612 machine already. The first one was frequently crashing and/or locking up, serious frequent pixilization and audio drop outs, and the video turned solid green for seconds at a time after backing up the playback to an earlier point.

The second machine is not crashing and freezing as much as the first machine, but it does on occasion and I get video freeze and still get video pixilization, freeze and audio drop out for seconds at a time when you "rewind" the program. The bad behavior of the machine makes the rewind feature unusable.

I've read in other forums that this all seems to be typical of the VIP 612 machines. I've had no problems with the VIP 211k machine.

dave_socal

My experience is pretty much the same. Now that I've had the 612 for about a month, it's the quirkiest of all Dish receivers I've owned. I don't like it. It's sluggish sometimes when changing channels. It locks up. It does not respond to the remote sometimes. It skips sometimes when it's been rewound. I don't know if it's hardware or software. I'm stuck with this receiver for two years unless I can convince Dish to swap it with something else. I need two tuners but I don't need to drive two TVs. I think I could swap the 612 out for a 722 and still have that as my primary which shouldn't cost anything.



When the wife notices problems, it's SERIOUS!!

 

[reddice]

The 612 is fine as long as you don't use the OTA tuner. When I first got it I tried the OTA tuner and had nothing but problems with random reboots, lockups and very poor reception.

Yes it has glitches with it skipping sometimes on HD content but I notice it does it much less now that it is cooler. When it is warmer it would do it more.

 

[llzel]

Don't connect your OTA to it, its messed mine up twice

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I believe the disk size is the same as the 622.

Correct.
The 622 and 612 Claim 30 HD and 200 SD
But these ratings were giving before Mpeg 4 went into effect. So You can get a bit more out of them then 30 Hours .
The 722 claims 55 HD and 350 SD. Same deal people have claimed getting more then 55 out of them.
Mine Not full, so I can't say.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

My experience is pretty much the same. Now that I've had the 612 for about a month, it's the quirkiest of all Dish receivers I've owned. I don't like it. It's sluggish sometimes when changing channels. It locks up. It does not respond to the remote sometimes. It skips sometimes when it's been rewound. I don't know if it's hardware or software. I'm stuck with this receiver for two years unless I can convince Dish to swap it with something else. I need two tuners but I don't need to drive two TVs. I think I could swap the 612 out for a 722 and still have that as my primary which shouldn't cost anything.



When the wife notices problems, it's SERIOUS!!

100% agree. It is the most Quirky.