Note One: I have a 722 DVR as well as a 222k. To date, I have not had any issues with the 222k other than the Tech Issues as described below (including the local channel issue) however, the box has not needed replacement.
Note Two: I had Dish in 2007 and Early 2008. I had the 625 and 322. I never had a issue from day one. Installation went great (Installer even programmed remotes for VCR, etc.) Local Channels worked fine, etc.
Note Three: My mom's company (where I also used to work before being laid off) contracts with Dish Network to provide video service for their customers. They have well over 10,000 customers. She warned me that her company has been having a lot of service issues with Dish and that the company is moving to DirecTV. As having had Dish in the recent past, and knowing that my mom's company uses Dish Commerical (not the same Dish as regular customers use) I didn't pay much attention to this.
The Order: So, after pricing Cable, DirecTV, and Dish... Dish seemed to be the best fit for me. I also love the two room receivers because this would mean I would be able to watch my DVR recordings in my office as well as my bedroom. I was informed that since I live on the East Coast that I must get HD equipment. I thought this was a little odd so I called back a few times to speak to a few different people and each of them said the same thing and said there is no extra charge for the HD Receivers. Note: I do not have a HDTV in my home. So, I decided to go with it as I figured I would eventually get a HDTV anyway. I was also able to get the current promotion at the time. So, for the most part, the order went smooth.
Installation: Young kid came out to install my service. As I had Dish Network in the past, my house was already wired. He didn't seem to know where to start, so I explained to him that I had Dish Network before and that all he would need to do is to change out two splitters with two duplexers under the home. I showed him where the old dish used to be, and how it was fed to the duplexers. He did not have to run any coax, but would have to relocate to dish to the roof due to using different sat's. He was here for well over 6 hours. He was clueless, he tried hooking up my NON-HDTV using HD Cables (of course which got a scrolling picture) and didn't understand why it wasn't working. He was an idiot.
Tech Visit One: So, shortly after the install, I started having some issues. My local channels were breaking up very bad and had green blocks mixed in with the picture, and all my other channels were breaking up, even on a clear day. I called Dish and was told that my signal was way too weak, so they send a tech out. It was the same guy. He was here for 4 hours trying to adjust the dish to get a better signal. The local channels were still breaking up and he said he didn't know why and he did everything he could do. As soon as left, I called Dish Network to inform them of this and of course they had me do more troubleshooting. They said they would send out a regional manager to my home instead of the same Tech.
QA Visit: A day or two later, a guy starts knocking on my door. He informed me he was with QA and wanted to look over the install of the Dish. I explained to him the issues I had been having and that was when he admitted that there have been some complaints about the installer which is why he was going around doing QA's.
Tech Visit Two: This is when the regional manager came out to check everything. I explained all the issues I've been having to him. He checked all the equipment and the Dish. He said he made some adjustments. He informed me that the local channels issue (breaking up, green boxes, etc) is from the feed of the local stations and that there is nothing they can do about it. He also stated that the reason my other channels are breaking up and that I have a low signal is because Dish lost a satellite in orbit. I smell BS.
Note: So, by this point, I have had several techs in my home and have spent countless hours on the phone with Dish Network. At the end of this, my local channels are still having issues. So, I get to watch the 6 O'clock news with green boxes and skipping. Oh Joy! I might as well be using bunny ears!
First Bill: So, I get my first bill and I noticed that nothing was correct. I had to call dish to have my bill adjusted and the promotions applied. Oh Joy!
Dish 722 DVR One: So, This is my first box from dish, the one the installer hooked up. I started recording some TV Show's and movies. As I went to play them back, I noticed that they were skipping, freezing, and had audio loss. I also noticed the same thing when I tried to pause a live show and tried to play it. So, I called Dish which had me do general troubleshooting. They also had me go into Menu, System Setup, Installation, System Info, and press Details. On this screen, they had me read off some Values (numbered 0-10) I read off Value 7 which was -2. He said that my DVR was bad and would need to be replaced. He sent one via UPS.
Dish 722 DVR Two: So, I got my new DVR. I connected everything up and activated it. Moment's later, the box just shuts off for no reason and reboots. It comes back up and about 20 minutes later it does the same thing. I called Dish, did some troubleshooting and they said to try it again for a while to see what happens. As soon as I got off the phone, boom, box reboots. I waited to see if it would do it again... sure enough it did. I called Dish back and they said the box is bad, that maybe it was overheating or the power supply was bad. Yet another replacement was sent to me.
Dish 722 DVR Three: By now, I am starting to get a little tired of all these issues. Either way, I activated the box and all seemed well for about 3 weeks. I had 60 recordings or so on the box. As I had some free time, I decided to go back and watch some of those recordings. I noticed that a few of the recordings were doing the same as box number one was. I also noticed issues pausing on some channels. I called Dish, did the normal troubleshooting. He had me read off Value 7 which was -2. He informed me that it should be 4 and that the box would need to be replaced. I asked if he could waive the $39.99 activation charge for external hard drives (so I could back up my recordings) due to all the issues I've had and he said NO right away. I called back a day later and spoke with a supervisor and she waived the fee so I could back up some of my recordings. Thanks Dish.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 1: By now, I've just about had it. So, I called Dish to activate this box. It didn't activate and I could only view the Dish FYI channel. After 3 phone calls, and a ton of troubleshooting, a Tech was scheduled to come out to check my Dish because the box isn't taking the hit. I left the box to sit.
The Call: So, by this point I decided enough was enough and called Dish to cancel. I explained all the issues to the guy and he said that this is not normal for dish and that he would give me a month free ($83 credit) as well as give me $10 off each month for the next 12 months. This seemed like a pretty decent deal so I decided to stay.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 2: By now, It's been a couple of hours. I decided to go back to the TV and I noticed that the box was turned on (I left it turned off) so I turned on my TV and noticed the Dish FYI Channel was on. I figured "What the hell" and pressed the guide button. Sure enough, all my channels were listed and were working. GREAT! I thought. So, I called dish back and cancelled the tech appointment as all seemed well.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 3: So, I'm watching TV and had to step away for a minute so I paused the live TV (I'm sure by now you know where this is going) I then came back and pressed play... The picture was video and audio were skipping as well as moments of freezing. I tried another channel, same issue. I tried recording a show, same issue. I decided to do a unplug the unit for 30 minutes. I powered it up and sure enough, I had the same issues. I decided to check the Value 7 before I called Dish again. Sure enough, it was/is -2, just as the other two were. I called Dish and did the normal troubleshooting. She had me read her the values and told me that since this is a new box that they can't/won't do anything for 72 hours. She told me to record a few programs and see what happens during that time frame and if I was still having issues in 72 hours to call back so a replacement can be sent (again).
Current: By now, I've just about had it. I'm 2 seconds from canceling Dish and just going back to Basic Cable with Netflix. I really don't know what to do at this point. I think 5 receivers is more than enough, and even then, this still doesn't fix the local channels issue.
Note Two: I had Dish in 2007 and Early 2008. I had the 625 and 322. I never had a issue from day one. Installation went great (Installer even programmed remotes for VCR, etc.) Local Channels worked fine, etc.
Note Three: My mom's company (where I also used to work before being laid off) contracts with Dish Network to provide video service for their customers. They have well over 10,000 customers. She warned me that her company has been having a lot of service issues with Dish and that the company is moving to DirecTV. As having had Dish in the recent past, and knowing that my mom's company uses Dish Commerical (not the same Dish as regular customers use) I didn't pay much attention to this.
The Order: So, after pricing Cable, DirecTV, and Dish... Dish seemed to be the best fit for me. I also love the two room receivers because this would mean I would be able to watch my DVR recordings in my office as well as my bedroom. I was informed that since I live on the East Coast that I must get HD equipment. I thought this was a little odd so I called back a few times to speak to a few different people and each of them said the same thing and said there is no extra charge for the HD Receivers. Note: I do not have a HDTV in my home. So, I decided to go with it as I figured I would eventually get a HDTV anyway. I was also able to get the current promotion at the time. So, for the most part, the order went smooth.
Installation: Young kid came out to install my service. As I had Dish Network in the past, my house was already wired. He didn't seem to know where to start, so I explained to him that I had Dish Network before and that all he would need to do is to change out two splitters with two duplexers under the home. I showed him where the old dish used to be, and how it was fed to the duplexers. He did not have to run any coax, but would have to relocate to dish to the roof due to using different sat's. He was here for well over 6 hours. He was clueless, he tried hooking up my NON-HDTV using HD Cables (of course which got a scrolling picture) and didn't understand why it wasn't working. He was an idiot.
Tech Visit One: So, shortly after the install, I started having some issues. My local channels were breaking up very bad and had green blocks mixed in with the picture, and all my other channels were breaking up, even on a clear day. I called Dish and was told that my signal was way too weak, so they send a tech out. It was the same guy. He was here for 4 hours trying to adjust the dish to get a better signal. The local channels were still breaking up and he said he didn't know why and he did everything he could do. As soon as left, I called Dish Network to inform them of this and of course they had me do more troubleshooting. They said they would send out a regional manager to my home instead of the same Tech.
QA Visit: A day or two later, a guy starts knocking on my door. He informed me he was with QA and wanted to look over the install of the Dish. I explained to him the issues I had been having and that was when he admitted that there have been some complaints about the installer which is why he was going around doing QA's.
Tech Visit Two: This is when the regional manager came out to check everything. I explained all the issues I've been having to him. He checked all the equipment and the Dish. He said he made some adjustments. He informed me that the local channels issue (breaking up, green boxes, etc) is from the feed of the local stations and that there is nothing they can do about it. He also stated that the reason my other channels are breaking up and that I have a low signal is because Dish lost a satellite in orbit. I smell BS.
Note: So, by this point, I have had several techs in my home and have spent countless hours on the phone with Dish Network. At the end of this, my local channels are still having issues. So, I get to watch the 6 O'clock news with green boxes and skipping. Oh Joy! I might as well be using bunny ears!
First Bill: So, I get my first bill and I noticed that nothing was correct. I had to call dish to have my bill adjusted and the promotions applied. Oh Joy!
Dish 722 DVR One: So, This is my first box from dish, the one the installer hooked up. I started recording some TV Show's and movies. As I went to play them back, I noticed that they were skipping, freezing, and had audio loss. I also noticed the same thing when I tried to pause a live show and tried to play it. So, I called Dish which had me do general troubleshooting. They also had me go into Menu, System Setup, Installation, System Info, and press Details. On this screen, they had me read off some Values (numbered 0-10) I read off Value 7 which was -2. He said that my DVR was bad and would need to be replaced. He sent one via UPS.
Dish 722 DVR Two: So, I got my new DVR. I connected everything up and activated it. Moment's later, the box just shuts off for no reason and reboots. It comes back up and about 20 minutes later it does the same thing. I called Dish, did some troubleshooting and they said to try it again for a while to see what happens. As soon as I got off the phone, boom, box reboots. I waited to see if it would do it again... sure enough it did. I called Dish back and they said the box is bad, that maybe it was overheating or the power supply was bad. Yet another replacement was sent to me.
Dish 722 DVR Three: By now, I am starting to get a little tired of all these issues. Either way, I activated the box and all seemed well for about 3 weeks. I had 60 recordings or so on the box. As I had some free time, I decided to go back and watch some of those recordings. I noticed that a few of the recordings were doing the same as box number one was. I also noticed issues pausing on some channels. I called Dish, did the normal troubleshooting. He had me read off Value 7 which was -2. He informed me that it should be 4 and that the box would need to be replaced. I asked if he could waive the $39.99 activation charge for external hard drives (so I could back up my recordings) due to all the issues I've had and he said NO right away. I called back a day later and spoke with a supervisor and she waived the fee so I could back up some of my recordings. Thanks Dish.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 1: By now, I've just about had it. So, I called Dish to activate this box. It didn't activate and I could only view the Dish FYI channel. After 3 phone calls, and a ton of troubleshooting, a Tech was scheduled to come out to check my Dish because the box isn't taking the hit. I left the box to sit.
The Call: So, by this point I decided enough was enough and called Dish to cancel. I explained all the issues to the guy and he said that this is not normal for dish and that he would give me a month free ($83 credit) as well as give me $10 off each month for the next 12 months. This seemed like a pretty decent deal so I decided to stay.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 2: By now, It's been a couple of hours. I decided to go back to the TV and I noticed that the box was turned on (I left it turned off) so I turned on my TV and noticed the Dish FYI Channel was on. I figured "What the hell" and pressed the guide button. Sure enough, all my channels were listed and were working. GREAT! I thought. So, I called dish back and cancelled the tech appointment as all seemed well.
Dish 722 DVR Four PART 3: So, I'm watching TV and had to step away for a minute so I paused the live TV (I'm sure by now you know where this is going) I then came back and pressed play... The picture was video and audio were skipping as well as moments of freezing. I tried another channel, same issue. I tried recording a show, same issue. I decided to do a unplug the unit for 30 minutes. I powered it up and sure enough, I had the same issues. I decided to check the Value 7 before I called Dish again. Sure enough, it was/is -2, just as the other two were. I called Dish and did the normal troubleshooting. She had me read her the values and told me that since this is a new box that they can't/won't do anything for 72 hours. She told me to record a few programs and see what happens during that time frame and if I was still having issues in 72 hours to call back so a replacement can be sent (again).
Current: By now, I've just about had it. I'm 2 seconds from canceling Dish and just going back to Basic Cable with Netflix. I really don't know what to do at this point. I think 5 receivers is more than enough, and even then, this still doesn't fix the local channels issue.
