# Quick question about the DVR 510 system



## Shel (Sep 9, 2003)

Somebody told me you can watch a program and record another one at the same time... Is this true?


----------



## RAD (Aug 5, 2002)

Shel said:


> Somebody told me you can watch a program and record another one at the same time... Is this true?


You can watch one program, if it's already recorded, while recording another. You can't watch live TV while recording since there's only one tuner in it. The Dish 522 or 721 will allow you to do what you want.


----------



## Shel (Sep 9, 2003)

OK, let me get this straight...

Say I want to watch the recorded Roseanne, while recording Seinfeld, I can do that?


----------



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Shel said:


> OK, let me get this straight...
> 
> Say I want to watch the recorded Roseanne, while recording Seinfeld, I can do that?


YES!!! And with a 721 or 522, you can be recording Seinfeld and Roseanne and be watching a recorded Survivor all at the same time.


----------



## MizLiz (Sep 30, 2003)

Chris Blount said:


> YES!!! And with a 721 or 522, you can be recording Seinfeld and Roseanne and be watching a recorded Survivor all at the same time.


 Isn't thaT JUST great. I've already signed up for a 2-year contract ewith the DISH PVR 510; they never told me something better was coming up. Guess I got taken yet again.


----------



## boba (May 23, 2003)

MizLiz that is why you should research the forums, learn what you are buying.


----------



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

MizLiz said:


> Isn't thaT JUST great. I've already signed up for a 2-year contract ewith the DISH PVR 510; they never told me something better was coming up. Guess I got taken yet again.


Hi MizLiz and welcome to DBSTalk! :welcome_s

There will always be something better on the horizon with anything electronic. Don't be too upset. The 510 is good unit and will serve you well. Just the fact that you chose a DVR is a step in the right direction. Once you have used it for a while, you will wonder how you did without it.


----------



## Filip1 (Sep 3, 2002)

Mizliz,
Welcome! I have the 510. It is a fine machine that will record up to 100 hrs. Remember, the dual tuner 721 and in the future the 522, would probably cost you $400 dollars more than the $99 you paid for the 510. 
If you are anything like the rest of us, once you have used a dvr you will love it. Chris is absolutely right about that. Good Luck!


----------



## Guest (Oct 1, 2003)

Filip1 said:


> Mizliz,
> Welcome! I have the 510. It is a fine machine that will record up to 100 hrs. Remember, the dual tuner 721 and in the future the 522, would probably cost you $400 dollars more than the $99 you paid for the 510.
> If you are anything like the rest of us, once you have used a dvr you will love it. Chris is absolutely right about that. Good Luck!


As you guys stated the pvr is a big improvement over not having one. I just got the 510 for $99 and the monthly fee but its still a good deal. The 510 system is awesum sure there is a fee but buying a 508 for $299 isn't cheap either and its not as good.


----------



## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

MizLiz - I probably shouldn't be saying this in THIS forum, but if you had looked over at one of these "other" forums, you WOULD have found a PVR f/$99 WITH dual tuners, that has been out for some time... :grin: :grin: :grin:
http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65


----------



## Jacob S (Apr 14, 2002)

The 522 is not going to be $400 more than the $99 you paid for the 510 (in which was a GREAT deal) but the 522 will cost you $399 total. I dont know if Dish would let you deactivate the 510 while you are under the one year contract. If one could then you could probably sell the 510 for a profit (perhaps $200-$250) when the 522 comes out then you would only have the difference to pay yourself in which would be $150-$200. In the end you would have $100-$150 less than what you would have had in the 522, if this would be allowed. Did you have to sign a contract for getting the 510?


----------



## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

Filip1 said:


> I have the 510. It is a fine machine that will record up to 100 hrs.


Where did you get that "100 hours" figure? The latest spec sheet for the 510 says "up to 80 hours".

I have a 721 with the same size hard drive (120 GB) and it gets a little over 70 hours when I let it fill up.


----------



## tivosmart (Sep 14, 2003)

Sorry for advocating the enemy, but being a Dish Network customer for 5+ years and wanting to move to DVR/PVR myself a while ago I can't watch people willing to pay $99 + 2 yrs commitment for a single-tuner PVR or $299+ for a 2-tuner PVR, while both units have clearly less advanced features and lack name-based recording... I did a lot of research and ended up switching myself to Directv with a Tivo package: 3-LNB (prepared for HDTV) + 1 DirecTivo receiver + 1 Director (non-Tivo) receiver for around $80 including shipping/handling and the costumary free professional install.

Add to that $60 or so (after rebate) for a 160GB HD that I used to extend my Tivo to an whooping 170+ hours recording time (it comes by default with a 40GB HD, but there is room to add a new one), and you have a better deal than anything Dish can offer you.

But, you say, these are prices for new subscribers only... you can't compare apples and oranges, etc...

Well, I say to you, when I was switching Dish came to me with an offer of $99 + 2 yrs commitment for the 510, but I declined. I had already done my homework and knew it was a single-tuner unit, so if I wanted to watch live TV while recording my Star Trek episode in the other channel in primetime, I basically couldn't. All new Directv Tivos are 2-tuner enabled. Also, Directv seems to treat their current customers better, I could find 2 deals for current subscribers that are better than what Dish offered me:
1) Directv can add a new Tivo receiver to your household (no extra Tivo monthly fee) for $99 + $14.95 s/h. Why is this good? If you have the need for a new Multi-Switch with more outputs, this comes free with the Directv sponsored installation.
2) Or, you could go to CircuitCity and get a Directv Tivo for $99 + $50 rebate, but the promotion was running until yesterday, not sure if there will be others.
- both require just 1 year commitment, not 2 as in Dish's case.

What is name-based recording? You can choose what to record by the name of the show, instead of having to setup channel+time, and this will also give you the option, for example, to record your series episodes by episode name, meaning it won't record duplicate episodes or, another example, you can choose to record first-run episodes only and not the previous season episodes... limitedless possibilities...

Anyway, I have been a very passionate Dish Network customer against Cable in the past, but now that I proved the "forbidden fruit" of Tivo, I'm passionate for Directv+Tivo against both Dish Network and Cable.

So, my message is:

Before you blindly go with Dish's PVR's go see at the competition... it's going to shed new light at your decision. Take a look at this very site in the Directv DVR forum for more details and good deals.


----------



## Filip1 (Sep 3, 2002)

BillR, Sorry but you are getting your receivers confused. The new unreleased 522 is rated at 80 hrs. The 510, which I own, is rated as 100 hrs. The 721 is rated at 90 hrs. As you know, all dvrs recording space depends on the compression of the channels you are recording. But the amount of space you have when the hard drive is empty on the 510 is 100 hrs and is advertised as such!
Right now I have 78 hrs of recording space remaining on my 510. I have 20 hours of programming recorded.


----------



## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

The 522 should use the same 100 hour hard drive as the 510. I suspect it will when shipped or very soon thereafter.


----------



## Filip1 (Sep 3, 2002)

Bob,
I agree the 522 should have the same 100 hrs. as the 510, but so far, from everything I have read, Dish is saying 80 hours.


----------



## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

I think it will be a $$ issue, the bigger drive may be cheaper.


----------



## Filip1 (Sep 3, 2002)

Bob, It is not the size of the hard drive, they are both 120 gigs. It is the recording space they are allowing for each machine that, doesn't make much sense. At least on the surface. I wish one of our members with connections to Dish would ask why the 3 receivers with 120 gig hard drives all have different record times. I guess it could be software, but there is a large difference.


----------



## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

Filip1 said:


> BillR, Sorry but you are getting your receivers confused. The new unreleased 522 is rated at 80 hrs. The 510, which I own, is rated as 100 hrs. The 721 is rated at 90 hrs. As you know, all dvrs recording space depends on the compression of the channels you are recording. But the amount of space you have when the hard drive is empty on the 510 is 100 hrs and is advertised as such!


Filip,

No I am not. I have the NEW spec sheet for both the 510 and 522 in front of me and they both say "up to 80 hours" recording time.

The 721 may be rated at "up to 90 hours" but I bet you will be unable to find anyone that gets anywhere near that in "real life" recording.


----------



## Filip1 (Sep 3, 2002)

Bill R,
There must be a mistake on the spec. sheet you have obtained. I'm telling you, I had a 510 installed 3 weeks ago and it has 100 hrs recording space, when the drive is empty. This is also what I was told by the csr when I did the upgrade. As far as the 721 goes, everyone who has owned a Dish or Directv DVR for any length of time knows that you never get as much recording time as advertised. This is due to compression, and this was discussed at length the first year or so the Directivo and the 501 were on the market. You have been around these forums for a while, so I am sure you know all about the compression issues. The better the picture, the more space it takes up on the hard drive. Also sports, pay per view, etc eat up the space. This is on all of the dish and direct dvrs, not just the 721.


----------



## Neil Derryberry (Mar 23, 2002)

Dish might advertise 80 hours to leave space for VOD. I haven't seen the advertisement in question, but that is my guess.


----------

