# Switched from DirecTV to DISH 722k - Things I Miss



## Palsgraf99 (Mar 17, 2006)

I switched from DirecTV (R15 SD DVR) to DISH (722k) a couple weeks ago. I got an offer I couldn't refuse through my telephone service provider with a bundle package for internet, tele, and SAT TV . . . not to mention the cool HD for life at no extra charge. While I am certainly glad to have made the switch, there are some things I miss about my DirecTV receiver. 

1. The ability to record a show from within the EPG with one click of the Record button. The 722k takes you to the Event setup screen with all the options, etc. instead of just setting the event with defaults. 

2. Related to number 1, the ability to set a series link from within the EPG with two consecutive pushes of the Record button. You have to jump back and forth in the Event setup screen to do this with the 722k.

3. The ability to change the channel from with the EPG without leaving the guide . . . by scrolling to the left-hand side of the screen and hitting select on the channel logo/number. With the 722k, you have to select the channel, wait on it to load, and then re-enter the Guide.

4. The ability to hit Info on a program (either while viewing or from within the EPG) and then hit "Showings" or "Episodes" to see all the airings of the program or all the episodes scheduled to air if it is a series. The only way I have been able to do this with the 722k is to do a search for the program. 

Overall, the DISH unit seems a little less intuitive than the DirecTV units. It's hard to be objective after having grown so accustomed to the R15 over the course of 4 years. I just feel like I have to do a lot more button-pushing to accomplish tasks with the 722k. Any suggestions from veterans of the DISH receivers would be appreciated. I hope this helps anyone considering making a switch. I would still recommend the switch, but hopefully this will inform your decision a little.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

Is this the first time you've had to learn a new system?


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## Palsgraf99 (Mar 17, 2006)

Kent Taylor said:


> Is this the first time you've had to learn a new system?


Not at all. I'm not having trouble learning the new system . . . I've easily figured out how to make it do what I need it to do. I just find it to require a lot more button-pushing to accomplish these daily tasks, and I find it to be less intuitive than the R15.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Hmmm. Well if I want to set a recording I can't imagine _*not*_ going to an event setup screen these days. Half the stuff I record involves dealing with programming that would be cut off if I didn't adjust for that extra-10-seconds-to-3-minutes-overlap stunt the networks started a few years ago. I also record to custom folders to organize my viewing. Maybe I'm just a control freak.


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## renpar61 (Aug 5, 2006)

I agree with the OP on point 4: I often see a movie or show that I would like to watch entirely but has already started. Most movie channels keep airing the same movie at different times, it would be nice if you could access directly the future showings to set recording.


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## BarryG (Jun 25, 2006)

Yeah, I generally agree with the OP as well. Don't see why the default shouldn't be to just record the one program - why automagically assume I want a subscription? And if I push record after watching the first 5 minutes, why does 722K discard those first 5 minutes from the recording even though they're in the buffer?


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

BarryG said:


> Yeah, I generally agree with the OP as well. Don't see why the default shouldn't be to just record the one program - why automagically assume I want a subscription? And if I push record after watching the first 5 minutes, why does 722K discard those first 5 minutes from the recording even though they're in the buffer?


You have the option to record the entire program if it is still in the buffer.


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## SaltiDawg (Aug 30, 2004)

Kent Taylor said:


> You have the option to record the entire program if it is still in the buffer.


Kent,

Exactly.

The OP has operated one DVR for some four years and switches to a different box and says it is "a little less intuitive." Doh.

Were I to go from my current DVR to his prior DVR I suspect I would observe it is "a little less intuitive." lol


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## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

renpar61 said:


> I agree with the OP on point 4: I often see a movie or show that I would like to watch entirely but has already started. Most movie channels keep airing the same movie at different times, it would be nice if you could access directly the future showings to set recording.


Maybe not access directly, but on my 622 using the Search (# key) will automatically populate the search field with the name of the current program, so it is just a couple of key presses to get a list of all future showings in the EPG.


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## BarryG (Jun 25, 2006)

Kent Taylor said:


> You have the option to record the entire program if it is still in the buffer.


Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that this is going to require MORE BUTTON PRESSES? :grin:


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## lparsons21 (Mar 4, 2006)

BarryG said:


> Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that this is going to require MORE BUTTON PRESSES? :grin:


Well, the good part is that the DVR will respond quickly to those button pushes, unlike some DVRs I remember all too well...


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## renpar61 (Aug 5, 2006)

4HiMarks said:


> Maybe not access directly, but on my 622 using the Search (# key) will automatically populate the search field with the name of the current program, so it is just a couple of key presses to get a list of all future showings in the EPG.


I did not know this. Great info! Will try it tonight.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

BarryG said:


> Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that this is going to require MORE BUTTON PRESSES? :grin:


1) Record
2) Arrow right to "Options"
3) Select
4) Arrow up (or down) to the selections at the top (stop recording manually is highlighted)
5-6-7) Arrow down three times to "Record Entire Event"
8) Select
9) Arrow down (to OK)
10) Select

The hardest part is having the tuner already on the channel at the beginning of the program. That usually makes the option useless for me (tuning in a couple of minutes late). But the "#" autofill on the search works nicely and has been used often in my household.


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

30 second "commercial skip" button. Best feature ever!


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## UltraMagnus0001 (Sep 16, 2006)

I completely agree with Palsgraf99, also before the first upgrade then the video quality was crappy, but then after the first upgrade overnight it was on par with DirecTV. I had a DirecTV HR20-700 and it had more user friendly features, but it was sluggish. I liked not having to jump through hoops to do simple tasks on the HR20-700. 
1)I want to record a program and not have to go through a menu while watching
2)I want to just hit record series from the Info screen
3)I want to just select a program from the guide and record series. 
4)I would like the search to bring up matches as I'm typing rather than having to hit search after I finish typing a whole phrase.
5)The jumpback after FFWD is better on HR20-700 (I always have to skip back after a FFWD on Vip722)

I do like the 30 Sec skip on both receivers and Dish's VIP 722 is snappier than DirecTV's hr20-700.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

UltraMagnus0001 said:


> 1)I want to record a program and not have to go through a menu while watching


That relies on an assumption. DISH assumes that you want to record the rest of the show and that is a two button press (RECORD then SELECT to confirm). The menu comes in to play as an _option_ for those who don't want DISH to make the assumption for them.



> 2)I want to just hit record series from the Info screen


That's one of DISH's recording options. Press record, choose options then create recurring timer. It is in a different place but it is there.



> 3)I want to just select a program from the guide and record series.


Not hard. Find the program. Press Record. The default of new episodes is usually correct. Two button presses (Record, then select). Selecting a future program also brings up the Create Timer screen.



> 4)I would like the search to bring up matches as I'm typing rather than having to hit search after I finish typing a whole phrase.


That would be good and similar to the latest autofill web behavior. Hopefully without a lot of lag time slowing you down typing characters. DISH does this with the DISH on Demand download search.


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## SaltiDawg (Aug 30, 2004)

James Long said:


> ...
> 
> Not hard. Find the program. Press Record. The default of new episodes is usually correct. Two button presses (Record, then select). Selecting a future program also brings up the Create Timer screen....


James,

There actually is not a default of "New." It defaults to New *if* the highlighted episode is a New episode. It defaults to "All"* if* the highlighted episode is not a New episode.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

SaltiDawg said:


> James,
> 
> There actually is not a default of "New." It defaults to New *if* the highlighted episode is a New episode. It defaults to "All"* if* the highlighted episode is not a New episode.


Makes sense. The best default would be the option the user would most likely select to get that program and others like it.

Some "one off" programs (such as MLS Soccer on ESPN2) defaults to once.


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## speedlever (Jan 4, 2009)

James Long said:


> 1) Record
> 2) Arrow right to "Options"
> 3) Select
> 4) Arrow up (or down) to the selections at the top (stop recording manually is highlighted)
> ...


I've had trouble with this as long as I've had Dish and just haven't taken the time to investigate the issue.

I tried your instructions as listed above in a program already under way, but the option to record the entire event was grayed out.

Separately, events that I wish to record in the future (not presently being viewed) all too often get cut off at the end. For example, I have the Tour de France setup to record all new events. I tried to watch stage 4 yesterday but the last few miles did not get recorded. How/what do I adjust for that?


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

The entire program must be in the buffer to record the entire event.
Extend the end time if it stops recording too early.


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## speedlever (Jan 4, 2009)

Kent,

Understood about the buffer. But as to extending the time, could we continue this discussion in another thread so as not to take this OT?


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## clotter (Apr 12, 2008)

russ9 said:


> 30 second "commercial skip" button. Best feature ever!


I do miss is how the 722k doesn't back up a few seconds after the skip automatically.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

What does that mean?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

clotter said:


> I do miss is how the 722k doesn't back up a few seconds after the skip automatically.


For reading fine print of those ads ? 

dish skip: forward for 30 sec, backward for 10 sec, so you could use it.


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## clotter (Apr 12, 2008)

P Smith said:


> For reading fine print of those ads ?
> 
> dish skip: forward for 30 sec, backward for 10 sec, so you could use it.


Your right, this is how I do it. Just a minor inconvenience. The D* system just happened to be a good match for my hand/eye coordination and reflexes. They probably had this tested to match some low common denominator. Ouch


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## finniganps (Jan 23, 2004)

OP - so now that this thread has run...can you start another on things you prefer about Dish vs. Direct (are any of the following better - price, DVR, channels, customer service, etc) - I guess you already answered the price was better?


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## Jodean (Jul 17, 2010)

Well, dish has alot of features that are better than direct, you may not know them yet.

For one, i never even use the guide, thats more of a directv thing......i use the browse feature while watching a full screen image with bars top and bottom, i even setup all my recording using browse, i guess i just hate using a guide at all

I dont think the one extra button push for setting up a recording is really all that bad, it usually is setup to new episodes automatically and all you do is click on done once that menu shows up. In a direct menu to change the setup you have about 10 menus and button pushes to get it setup right, theres really too many options on the direct menu.

If you do happen to use the guide, dish has several different views you can use which ever fits your liking

The commercial skip is way better on dish, on direct you still watch the 30 seconds in fast forward, i know this can be changed but no way im doing that to 30 receivers i install every week, it should be defaulted to quick skip like on dish.

The things that are missing on direct are kinda important to me. One of them is the info on a show either one your watching or one out of the guide. Dish tells you which episode it is, what year it was made, if its in HD, CC, and a bunch of other stuff. Direct really has nothing in the info that i would want to know, they do have actors or something but to me thats worthless. 

I really do NOT like the bundled shows on the direct dvr list. Id rather see them all in the order they were recorded so i know what to watch, when they are all bundled i have no idea what just recorded yesterday.

direct does have the system on, off which is nice, but about half the time that feature doesnt work on newer or cheap flat panels so a bunch of customers of mine are unhappy they have to slide over to tv then hit power twice(who the hell came up with that???? the first push of the button brings up a screen telling you your remote is in tv mode, ya no **** i just moved the slider DUH!) then the second push finally turns the tv off) as far as i could tell there is no way to turn off remote reminders like you can on dish.

Then if you have a mirrored or home distribution like most dish setups are......if you have more than one rf remote on direct receiver, ya that really doesnt work well. I just did a 4 remote rf setup at a house but they want to use the off button on all remtoes to turn the tv off say in the bathroom, ya so the receiver also shuts off and when they go in the bedroom then they have to push on to turn the receiver back on. Really dumb!!!


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## good to be me (May 5, 2010)

having recently switched over from dish to direct, was not my choice but direct was my only option, i would say each has its advantages

dish does have much nicer equipment imo, i can't believe how slow my hr23 is, and if pressing extra buttons on the remote is a pain i find myself pained by this direct remote and having to either press a button and wait for the reaction or, cause of the slow responce i end up skipping over what i was trying to access and have to backtrack
also i find it a pain that upon accessing say the menu, i have to scroll down through it to get to an area i want, where as with dish, i could just go up and get to the bottom of the area

but with direct i also like the shortcuts it has, setting a recording is easy, i also like the idea of my list of recorded shows shows me what i have watched already and what is yet to be viewed, also the help menu on my hr23 is, well, a help, very informative

imo direct has totally fouled up the idea of what an ehd should be though, with dish i had a whole library of archived movies and shows, on a few different ehd's and was so easy just to plug one in and watch and yet still have access to the internal hd, with direct, well the ehd option is a royal pain and i lose the use of the internal hd

the direct remote, well that is just plain old fashioned, as stated above, the selector switch to me is just plain old fashioned


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## fudpucker (Jul 23, 2007)

Having had Dish for a while now, after having had DirectTV, long enough that the Dish interface is pretty "natural" to me, I agree with the OP. I use my DVRs to record (duh!) and the DirectTV DVRs make quick recording much easier. I record with the same options 90% of the time, and being able to simply push the record button when I see something in the guide I want to record once, and push the record button twice if I want to record it regularly with the defaults, is a simpler and faster (by far) way to do it. I'd go back to that in a second if it was an option.

The Dish DVR tends to give me more options, but they take more keypresses and don't appear to be designed for simplicity. So - for me, having used both systems - DirectTV is quicker and more straightforward, Dish provides more options but makes them less streamlined.

I don't take any of this stuff personal (I didn't design either system!) so I can understand why some people may prefer one over the other. I personally overall prefer the DirectTV interface, but I stick with Dish because I overalll like their programming better.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

renpar61 said:


> Most movie channels keep airing the same movie at different times, it would be nice if you could access directly the future showings to set recording.


I use the search button while on the guide entry to search for later showings. This could be improved, but I wonder at what expense.


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