# 921 upgrade poll



## paulcdavis (Jan 22, 2004)

What do you think you will do with your 921?


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## IowaStateFan (Jan 11, 2006)

I don't plan to upgrade until I can get the networks in HD (either local or distant). The extra cost for the programming is just not worth it for me.


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

I was dead set on upgrading for awhile. Then I cooled off and realized there's nothing that Dish is offering that I really care to see. I almost never watch the existing 5 HD channels and almost all of my HD viewing is OTA which I get perfectly. So I'd be giving up my owned 921 for a leased 622 and paying $20/month extra for programming I won't watch. I'll just keep the DHPP and have my 921 replaced every time it dies.


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## zer0cool (Nov 24, 2004)

Hmmmm.... so I wonder how many times your dead 921 will get replaced with another 921 before they have to upgrade you to something else?
MY 921 is currently on Ebay. i thought about keeping it for the spare bedroom, but the TV in there gets used maybe once a month, so I might as well try to recoup some of my upgrade costs.


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## ClaudeR (Dec 7, 2003)

kmcnamara said:


> there's nothing that Dish is offering that I really care to see. So I'd be giving up my owned 921 for a leased 622 and paying $20/month extra for programming I won't watch. I'll just keep the DHPP and have my 921 replaced every time it dies.


Same here, even dropped the HD package, now my AT60 is $41 per month (Locals and DVR fee). I don't even have the DHPP because it is also overpriced.

I would like to see the rebate form and terms of 622 upgrade. Can I call April 1 and schedule for September install? If the 921 craps, I can call and move it up, or I can change my mind and cancel. Any thoughts?

zerocool - looks like the 921 has been getting around $250 plus shipping on fleabay. Hopefully you don't end up losing money by the time fleabay and paypal get their fees.


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

I'm keeping mine. I don't subscribe to the HD pack so they wouold hit me with an additional $6 fee for having a leased HD receiver w/o HD programming  

I got the 921 to "futureproof" my E* system. The 4000 I had since 1997 lasted until Nov. 2004. My real reason in getting the 921 was to get the OTA digital locals including the subchannels. I get that now (except for the guide data  ). In hindsight I shoud have stayed with the 4000 (all it needed was a yellow card)


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## madbrain (Dec 10, 2004)

Missing option :
Keep it deactivated (along with the entire dish subscription), and use it as an OTA HD DVR .


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## sharond999 (Jul 12, 2005)

kmcnamara said:


> I was dead set on upgrading for awhile. Then I cooled off and realized there's nothing that Dish is offering that I really care to see. I almost never watch the existing 5 HD channels and almost all of my HD viewing is OTA which I get perfectly. So I'd be giving up my owned 921 for a leased 622 and paying $20/month extra for programming I won't watch. I'll just keep the DHPP and have my 921 replaced every time it dies.


I agree with you 100%. BTW, Dish told me that those who choose not to "TRADE IN" the 921 would have a $299 down payment to be able to "lease" the 622. I believe there is also a $6 lease fee per month, but so many things would change, I'm confused about the exact cost on that issue (I currently have a 921 and an old 301 system, apparently, both of which would be replaced by the 622 if I went for this "deal").


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## dwcobb (Oct 13, 2005)

I wish there were an option to upgrade to the 622 and take the 921 out back and shoot it. That would be my preference ; ).

I won't miss my 921 one bit.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Mine is getting demoted to the basement to an SD TV. I'm returning my beat up 6 year old 4900 for a $25 credit as well....... I am now a 100% PVR household now......


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## DucTape (Feb 18, 2006)

BobMurdoch said:


> Mine is getting demoted to the basement to an SD TV. I'm returning my beat up 6 year old 4900 for a $25 credit as well....... I am now a 100% PVR household now......


I'm jealous 

Which is odd because I like most around here started watching TV via ota analog complete with sparklies and ghosting and of course no remotes.:lol:

You had to spin the dail and spin the phone.


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## IowaStateFan (Jan 11, 2006)

DucTape said:


> You had to spin the dail and spin the phone.


Don't forget actually having to get out of your chair to spin that dial :lol:


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## Rodney (Aug 22, 2003)

I will keep my 921 which, I should cross my fingers, has been working perfectly since I got it. I should point out that it is my fifth replacement. All the others were absolutely horrible. All previous 921s had a receiver ID that started with R0058 or R0059. I raised so much hell when a defective 921 number four arrived that they sent one with a receiver ID starting with R0068. This one will not be returned.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Checked your 9 day guide lately?


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

BobMurdoch said:


> Checked your 9 day guide lately?


Still not working, better than yesterday where I only had about an hours worth on guide data. Today, it's back to about 18 hours worth of guide data.


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## PanamaMike (Mar 31, 2004)

The new one doesn't have RGB out, so this won't work for me. Will stay with 921. When will the MPEG4 thing become an issue?

Mike


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## RocketNJ (Jul 29, 2003)

Dish is upgrading my 921 to the 942. I know the 942 is a discontinued product also but I do not want to spend $20 extra per month for the old Voom channels with the 622. There's not enough content on there that I feel would justify the cost. Aside from ESPN and ESPN2 during football and baseball season and the ocassional concert on Rave there's not much else that I would care for.

They were willing to upgrade me to the 622 for the 18 month comittment to the HD package plus the $299. I told them I didn't want the HD package so they said there would be a $6 per month "enabling" fee. I told them I will not pay to fix their buggy POS. I told them I wanted something that would do everything the 921 was advertised to do at no additional cost to me. After about 45 minutes on the phone with various people I got a gentleman who was a supervisor in the executive office. He arranged the swap for the 942.

From what I've read so far the 942 is a LOT less buggy than the 921 and it is more feature complete, including the elusive name based recording and Dish Home. Dish should take the 942s they will receive on trade-in (the 622 upgrade deal) and refurbish the 942s and make them available for swap for 921 owners that want to swap. This way Dish could get rid of the POS 921 and fire the software team writing the software for the 921.


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## oljim (Aug 6, 2002)

I just got my 622 from Dishdepot, going to keep my 921 with the old HD pack. 
My bill went up less than $6 to add the 622 with the old HD pack and AEP on both my 921 and 622


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

RocketNJ said:


> Dish is upgrading my 921 to the 942. I know the 942 is a discontinued product also but I do not want to spend $20 extra per month for the old Voom channels with the 622. There's not enough content on there that I feel would justify the cost. Aside from ESPN and ESPN2 during football and baseball season and the ocassional concert on Rave there's not much else that I would care for.


You know, that's not a bad idea. I'm in the same boat where the only 622 feature/programming I'm interested in that I can't get with my 921 is sat-delivered HD locals (which I can get just fine OTA). I wonder if I could get a 942 to replace my 921 and keep my existing programming (AT180+Locals and original HD pack)? If I ended up dropping the HD pack, does Dish charge a fee to keep the 942 OTA going?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RocketNJ said:


> Dish is upgrading my 921 to the 942. I know the 942 is a discontinued product also but I do not want to spend $20 extra per month for the old Voom channels with the 622. There's not enough content on there that I feel would justify the cost. Aside from ESPN and ESPN2 during football and baseball season and the ocassional concert on Rave there's not much else that I would care for.


Depending on what you use your 921 for, you might want to consider putting your foot down. Make absolutely certain that you won't lose HD OTA functionality (if it matters to you) if you don't subscribe to an HD Pak. It is rumored that at some level, the 942's OTA tuner may be disabled by programming choices where the 921 OTA tuner will continue to work. I don't know this for a fact, but if true, it could be a deal breaker for some.


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## IowaStateFan (Jan 11, 2006)

PanamaMike said:


> The new one doesn't have RGB out, so this won't work for me. Will stay with 921. When will the MPEG4 thing become an issue?
> 
> Mike


It will become an issue when the channels you want to get are only in MPEG4. For some that is today, for others it may never become an issue. AFAIK, E* has only said that *new* HD programming (including locals via satellite) will be in MPEG4. While there have been rumors on the message boards that they will switch existing MPEG2 to MPEG4 in a year or so, I haven't seen anything at all from E*. Maybe somebody else has heard something.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

PanamaMike said:


> The new one doesn't have RGB out, so this won't work for me. Will stay with 921.


 The "new one" does indeed have "RGB out". All the new HD receivers support both "component" and "digital" outputs. The HDMI to DVI adapter may or may not be included.


> When will the MPEG4 thing become an issue?


That depends on how you get your HD locals and whether or not you want any of the existing or future MPEG4 HD offerings.


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## kmcnamara (Jan 30, 2004)

harsh said:


> The "new one" does indeed have "RGB out". All the new HD receivers support both "component" and "digital" outputs.


RGB is not the same thing as Component. 2 different things entirely. The 942 and 622 do not have RGB out capability. The 921 had RGB out but only because it used a DVI-I port which includes both the digital and analog RGB signals. The 622 and 942 use a HDMI and DVI-D port (respectively) which is digital only.


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## rdopso (Jan 26, 2004)

All I can say is that some of you have a great deal more patience than me, but then I am only on my second 921. After putting up with the 921 guide issue for the past two weeks, there is no way in hell I would keep mine for any reason. It will be traded in on a 622 come April 1, and I will pray and sacrifice chickens in the hope that the 622 is better than the 921.


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## RocketNJ (Jul 29, 2003)

harsh said:


> Depending on what you use your 921 for, you might want to consider putting your foot down. Make absolutely certain that you won't lose HD OTA functionality (if it matters to you) if you don't subscribe to an HD Pak. It is rumored that at some level, the 942's OTA tuner may be disabled by programming choices where the 921 OTA tuner will continue to work. I don't know this for a fact, but if true, it could be a deal breaker for some.


I guess I'll find out by Tuesday if the 942 will work OTA HD without the HD pak. It should but then again we are talking about Dish Network....

If the 942 stops functioning for playing and recording OTA HD without the HD pak you can bet I'll be raising hell with the Exec Office supervisor who authorized the swap to the 942.

With all the problems the 921 users have suffered through I wonder why a class action lawsuit was never done? All I ask for is a receiver that will function as promised when I bought it. Nothing more, nothing less.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

RocketNJ said:


> If the 942 stops functioning for playing and recording OTA HD without the HD pak you can bet I'll be raising hell with the Exec Office supervisor who authorized the swap to the 942.


Keep us up to date on how it goes. This is a burning issue for owners and wouldbe owners of the 942.


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## RocketNJ (Jul 29, 2003)

harsh said:


> Keep us up to date on how it goes. This is a burning issue for owners and would be owners of the 942.


Will do. I would have upgraded to the 622 had they offered a compelling HD package. Aside from ESPN and ESPN2 during football and baseball season and a few concerts on Rave, there was not enough content I would watch to justify spending $380 additional ($20 per month x 18 months).

I get all the high def OTA channels out of New York City so I have plenty of OTA content to watch.


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## barryl (Mar 5, 2006)

paulcdavis said:


> What do you think you will do with your 921?


I think you should include another choice in the survey.

"Trash it and go to cable".


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## Zarom (Jun 4, 2005)

I've asked them to do that for me via Ask The CEO, but have had no reply. Is that how you got the upgrade?



RocketNJ said:


> Dish is upgrading my 921 to the 942. I know the 942 is a discontinued product also but I do not want to spend $20 extra per month for the old Voom channels with the 622. There's not enough content on there that I feel would justify the cost. Aside from ESPN and ESPN2 during football and baseball season and the ocassional concert on Rave there's not much else that I would care for.
> 
> They were willing to upgrade me to the 622 for the 18 month comittment to the HD package plus the $299. I told them I didn't want the HD package so they said there would be a $6 per month "enabling" fee. I told them I will not pay to fix their buggy POS. I told them I wanted something that would do everything the 921 was advertised to do at no additional cost to me. After about 45 minutes on the phone with various people I got a gentleman who was a supervisor in the executive office. He arranged the swap for the 942.
> 
> From what I've read so far the 942 is a LOT less buggy than the 921 and it is more feature complete, including the elusive name based recording and Dish Home. Dish should take the 942s they will receive on trade-in (the 622 upgrade deal) and refurbish the 942s and make them available for swap for 921 owners that want to swap. This way Dish could get rid of the POS 921 and fire the software team writing the software for the 921.


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## RocketNJ (Jul 29, 2003)

No, just went through the normal HD DVR CSR, then to the executive office, and finally the exec office supervisor who offered the swap to the 942.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

If they don't get the 9 day EPG back soon, I may enjoy destructing mine. I plan on keeping one activated and I may sell the other.


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## KrazyEd (Oct 8, 2004)

I have been a DishNetwork subscriber for about 10 years. Never leased a
receiver. There is no way I am going to trade a receiver that I paid over $1000
for along with MORE $$$ for the privilege of RENTING something else. There wasn't
a lot of HD content from Dish that I was watching, so, now, use the HD part mostly
for OTA recording. I get MORE local stations, ( including sub stations ) OTA than
with the locals paid for with Dish. If Dish offered a reasonable PURCHASE option,
I MIGHT consider a new unit. Otherwise, this is probably the last piece of
equipment that I will be receiving from Dish. If my receivers ( 301, 522, 921, &
6000 ) stop working, I will stop using Dish. I have spent MANY thousands of
dollars with them for the HONOR of being bent over. I see no reason to
continue the abuse with other HD options out there.


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## UTFAN (Nov 12, 2005)

April 1, or thereabouts, we're going to swap our 921 for a 622.

HOOK'EM!


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## ebaltz (Nov 23, 2004)

boylehome said:


> If they don't get the 9 day EPG back soon, I may enjoy destructing mine. I plan on keeping one activated and I may sell the other.


For those of you who bought the 921 for $1000 now is the time to start your clash action lawsuit for fraudulent advertising in that the 921 no longer has a 9 day programming guide as it clearly states in the advertising and product manual.


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## IowaStateFan (Jan 11, 2006)

KrazyEd said:


> I have been a DishNetwork subscriber for about 10 years. Never leased a receiver. There is no way I am going to trade a receiver that I paid over $1000 for along with MORE $$$ for the privilege of RENTING something else.


Just for the record, purchasing any receiver from E* for more than the lease price rarely makes sense. *Everyone* - both owners and lessors - *is paying *the $5/mo lease fee on our first receiver. It is built into the programming price. There is no discount on the programming for "owners". IMO, there are only two cases where owning makes sense. 1) If you want more tuners than E* will lease to you, or 2) if you believe the receiver will hold its value enough to recover the extra upfront costs when you sell it later. Personally, I don't think that the receivers will generally retain enough value to make it worthwhile. Now if E* was willing to "sell" us the receiver for $99, I'd rather own too.


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## Rovingbar (Jan 25, 2005)

oljim said:


> I just got my 622 from Dishdepot, going to keep my 921 with the old HD pack.
> My bill went up less than $6 to add the 622 with the old HD pack and AEP on both my 921 and 622


Hey oljim, can you explain this a little more. How much did you pay for the 622? Is it leased? What was your old package and bill? What is your new package and bill?

We currently have a 921 and 522 with AEP, locals, the basic HD package, and a Dish 500. Our bill is about $116.

We would need the 622 with Dish 1000 ($780 through DishDepot). Are you saying we would only have an additional Receiver Fee of about $6 per month?

Thanks,
Jeff


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## oljim (Aug 6, 2002)

Paid $649 no lease had the old $10 HD pack, have a 921, added the 622 took a 721 off my acct still have old HD pack bill went up $1.00
Did not add any new dish, old pack is on 110


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

oljim said:


> Paid $649 no lease had the old $10 HD pack, have a 921, added the 622 took a 721 off my acct still have old HD pack bill went up $1.00
> Did not add any new dish, old pack is on 110


So if one goes this route, will you be able to get the locals in HD from Dish once they are available as long as you subscribe already to the locals?


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## oljim (Aug 6, 2002)

That is what they told me, I had Voom but dropped it.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

oljim said:


> That is what they told me, I had Voom but dropped it.


I sure hope you are right. That would probably be the way I would go as I have no interest in VOOM, but do want my locals in HD.
Brian


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## RocketNJ (Jul 29, 2003)

Just an update. Got my 942 from Dish to replace my buggy 921. Here's a quick comparison.

OTA reception is much less prone to multipath.

Remote is much more responsive.

Overall speed is much better.

Using HDMI out I don't have to set tv to inverted input (using DVI on 921 the tv needed to be set to inverted for proper color)

Only problem I have is wcbs-h (digital WCBS OTA, NYC) does not show guide data. Had same issue on 921 before I swapped it so this must be a problem with Dish's guide data.

942 only has 1 hour buffer to pause live tv vs 2 hours on 921.

So far, the 942 seems better than the 921.


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## ClaudeR (Dec 7, 2003)

Rocket - Kudos for getting them to upgrade you. I am jealous.


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