# PVR 921 No Longer Supported for New Activations????



## acruther (Aug 13, 2003)

I recently sold a PVR 921 to a guy and he said he was unable to activate it because it was not MPEG4 compliant. As far as I knew, I thought Dish wasn't going to MPEG4 until the end of the year and even then they were grandfathering existing HD receiver owners for a period of time. 

I called Dish and they said this was incorrect - that they even issue new 921s. Does anyone know who's right???


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

acruther said:


> I recently sold a PVR 921 to a guy and he said he was unable to activate it because it was not MPEG4 compliant. As far as I knew, I thought Dish wasn't going to MPEG4 until the end of the year and even then they were grandfathering existing HD receiver owners for a period of time.
> 
> I called Dish and they said this was incorrect - that they even issue new 921s. Does anyone know who's right???


They guy you sold it to was not fibbing AFAIK. The story that has been going around is that if you have one, you can add one. Otherwise, they *may* turn it up as an SD receiver. DBSTalk is littered with discussions about reselling the 921.

Given the variety of answers from Dish Network, I don't think Caveat Emptor applies.


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## mwgiii (Jul 19, 2002)

You/he MIGHT be able to get a waiver from [email protected].

Last I heard, they will add it to an existing account if they already have HD.


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## SummitAdvantageRetailer (Feb 20, 2005)

You can't activate a 921 for HD use (i.e. sign up for Dish HD Bronze and higher) if you don't already have an HD Pack (older package that goes for $9.99/mo) on your account. You can use it to record SD and HD OTA channels, but not Dish MPEG4 HD programming.

The above is true for everyone in the continental US but for those in Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, you can activate the older HD Pack but you will STILL need MPEG4 capable receivers such as the 411/ViP211 and ViP 622 HD DVR.


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## BarryO (Dec 16, 2003)

What if I want to add a 622, but keep the existing 921? I should be able to get the MPEG4 channels on the 622 and the current MPEG2 channels on the 921, correct?


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## mwgiii (Jul 19, 2002)

Correct BarryO

921 - Mpeg 2
622 - Mpeg 2 + Mpeg 4


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

BarryO said:


> What if I want to add a 622, but keep the existing 921? I should be able to get the MPEG4 channels on the 622 and the current MPEG2 channels on the 921, correct?


As long as you currently subscribe to the "old" HD package and your 921 is active, you can do this.


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## shirley.jones (Jul 27, 2006)

BarryO said:


> What if I want to add a 622, but keep the existing 921? I should be able to get the MPEG4 channels on the 622 and the current MPEG2 channels on the 921, correct?


REPLY::-

Hi,

Well ! If I am not mistaken you might be having old hd pakage of $9.99, as long as you have this pak on the account you can get these mpeg2 hd channels. if you are planning to add 622 which is mpeg 4 compatible you cannot watch mpeg 2 on 622,and if you add the mpeg4 hd channels you can watch it only on 622 but not on 921. so its 921 or 622 case. I f you take my advice you can replace 921 and lease 622 and 211 ,two mpeg 4 hd receivers from dishnetwork through their dishn'it up programme and can also benefit of having $100 rebate . with this you can get all together 29 hd channels. If hd locals are intoduced in your area then you can get both sd and hd locals @ $5 /month


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## rrrios (Aug 4, 2006)

YIKES! I was going to buy a 921 on e-Bay to replace my 811, but now I'm not so sure, what with all this talk of it no longer being supported. I don't have any HD pkgs or locals, just OTA HD.

Besides, since I only have one coax going to the 811 (the other off of my Dish500/Dish300 & 2 SW21 switches is going to my 4900), I'll need a Dish splitter to feed the two satellites into one coax and "re-split" it out the other end to feed each of the tuners on the 921. How much are those components vs running a second coax?

I considered upgrading to the VIP211 for "free" (after rebates), but don't like any of the current HD "Metal" (Bronze, etc.) pkgs as I have DishLatino, and E* discontinued the DishLatino HD "Metal" pkgs. I should have gotten the previously available HD Pack for $9.95/mo, but was told it's too late now.

Any suggestions?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

rrrios said:


> YIKES! I was going to buy a 921 on e-Bay to replace my 811, but now I'm not so sure, what with all this talk of it no longer being supported. I don't have any HD pkgs or locals, just OTA HD.


The 921 will work in this situation. From what I understand, the 942 will not.


> I considered upgrading to the VIP211 for "free" (after rebates), but don't like any of the current HD "Metal" (Bronze, etc.) pkgs as I have DishLatino, and E* discontinued the DishLatino HD "Metal" pkgs. I should have gotten the previously available HD Pack for $9.95/mo, but was told it's too late now.


You snooze, you lose.

The 921 would be your only shot at a relative upgrade to the 811. Note that the 921 cannot record analog (NTSC) channels. Support hasn't "gone away" on the 921, but you must be completely aware of the limitations.

Know also that receiving more than half of the Metal HD channels requires a second dish.


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## BarryO (Dec 16, 2003)

shirley.jones said:


> you cannot watch mpeg 2 on 622


??? Most Dish channels (all the SD ones) are MPEG2 encoded. I'm sure the 622 has an MPEG2 decoder.


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

> Originally Posted by shirley.jones
> you cannot watch mpeg 2 on 622


*Downward Compatibility*- The ability of newer technology to run older technology, while at the same time operate on the new technology where available.

Shirley, you must be a MAC user


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