# 622 Upgrade @ $299 Worthwhile?



## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

Hope I'm asking this question in the right group. A month ago I took advantage of the Dish'n It Up program and got a 625 to replace two regular dishplayers. A week later I broke down and got a Sony KDF-E60A20 (60" hdtv). 

I called Dish about a possible swap out my 508 or 625 for a 622 now that I have an HDTV but was read the "only one upgrade per year" spiel, so I gave up and checked eBay but no deals there on the 622. Today I had to call Dish on another matter so I asked the CSR about any possible deals available and was told I could swap out the 508 for a 411 for $49. Upon announcing that I thought that would be a downgrade for $49 since there was no DVR on the 411,I was then offered a 622 for a "bargain" price of $299 and an 18 month commitment. No problem on the commitment as I've just started an 18 month commitment anyway. So now not wanting to to yield to temptation and jumping to the offer then coming here to read and find I've been suckered, I'm asking my fellow HD and/or big screen addicts the magic question. "Is $299 a reasonable ransom given the fact that I've used up my one-upgrade-a-year privilege or is $299 too much for the difference in quality. Is there going to be a noticeable difference on the E60A20 quality? Thanks for any input, this group has been an invaluable source of info over the years.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

Well you're not being suckered.. the 299.00 is just what the deal is for that receiver ... thats what everybody pays. You're getting no more or less of a deal.. other than them actually waiving that one per year stuff that you already took advantage of.

How much out of pocket did you pay for the 625? They may let you send that one back if you want to and credit any money you paid for that one, towards the 622.

And yeah, the HD will blow away the SD channels.


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

DP1 said:


> Well you're not being suckered.. the 299.00 is just what the deal is for that receiver ... thats what everybody pays. You're getting no more or less of a deal.. other than them actually waiving that one per year stuff that you already took advantage of.
> 
> How much out of pocket did you pay for the 625? They may let you send that one back if you want to and credit any money you paid for that one, towards the 622.
> 
> And yeah, the HD will blow away the SD channels.


The out of pocket for the 625 was $49, not a large bite really. I guess I should have also asked given the same situation would you spring for the $299 fee I don't mind paying the $299 since I've already taken advantage of the one upgrade per year offer. What I would mind is finding after springing for the upgrade that the picture quality on the E60A20 did not benefit from a noticeable PQ upgrade.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

Well theres no question that the PQ would be great by in large on the HD channels. The SD channels would still look about the same. But like ESPN HD vs ESPN SD.. it's a whole new ballgame.. no pun intended.

Have you not seen your model set ever being fed an HD signal like at a store or anything? That would pretty much be your best demo beforehand.. presuming they were feeding it an actual HD signal as opposed to a DVD or something.


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

DP1 said:


> Well theres no question that the PQ would be great by in large on the HD channels. The SD channels would still look about the same. But like ESPN HD vs ESPN SD.. it's a whole new ballgame.. no pun intended.
> 
> Have you not seen your model set ever being fed an HD signal like at a store or anything? That would pretty much be your best demo beforehand.. presuming they were feeding it an actual HD signal as opposed to a DVD or something.


Thanks for your input DP1. I have seen my model displayed in HD at BB, CC and even Sam's Club and yes the PQ is like night and day when compared to SD but of ours there is never anyone around who seems to be able to answer honestly regarding the source of the PQ on display. I find that tvs on display in stores are usually displaying what I call vendor quality feed which seems for the most part to be something different from what the consumer is likely to get at home. I have a feeling I will go for the upgrade anyway. Afterall $299 isn't significant in the scheme of things when one has invested thousands in a tv set. It's like high priced gasoline for your luxury suv. :lol:


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## SergeantPinback (Feb 21, 2006)

In theory, $299 is a hell of a bargain for the 622. It replaces 2 VCRs, records in HD, and is SO convenient and easy to use. I say IN THEORY, because the fact is that, right now, they are very buggy. If you get one, expect to have problems, (there are many threads here with details). Then again, maybe you'll get one that actually works.....:sure:


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## Red Dwarf (Aug 25, 2002)

I haven't had a single problem with my 622. Your mileage may vary.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Nor have I. My 622 works great. Like everyone else has said, the $299 price is the standard lease promotion for the 622. If you want to upgrade to HD and have a DVR this is probably the way to go for you. This $299 also includes upgrading you to a Dish1000 or adding a Dish for 61.5 (depending on where you live).


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

i have yet to receive my 622 (install scheduled next friday) - but i can say this about hd in general - you will LOVE it - the pq really IS that different - just last year i dove into the hd arena and bought an 811 receiver - let me tell you - regular tv just doesnt look the same - i find myself watching shows JUST BECAUSE they are in hd - the results really are that stunning

and as far as the 622 goes - ive heard mostly good reviews about it (sans the occassionaly "i received mine doa" complaints)

if they are giving you the opportunity to upgrade at the same price even though you used up your upgrade credit - i would take it...


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## Red Dwarf (Aug 25, 2002)

I think forums like this will tend to focus on problems and therefore you get a skewed view of a piece of equipment. The 622 for the most part is a winner. And all the software upgrades tells me Dish is trying hard to get it right. My guess is most of the issues are with people trying to record off the air. That seems to be the hardest task for a satellite receiver to do.


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## BigDaddy10 (Dec 20, 2003)

I've had my 622 since the 11th and this is by far the best receiver Dish had ever produced. I had an 811 previous to the 622 and I can not put into words how much better the 622 is. PQ is way better and I have not had a single lockup since I've owned it. At this point it is the best $299.00 I've spent in a long while, plenty of bang for the buck. I wish I could get another one this year.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

BigDaddy10 said:


> I've had my 622 since the 11th and this is by far the best receiver Dish had ever produced. I had an 811 previous to the 622 and I can not put into words how much better the 622 is. PQ is way better and I have not had a single lockup since I've owned it. At this point it is the best $299.00 I've spent in a long while, plenty of bang for the buck. I wish I could get another one this year.


Funny I had the 811 and no problems what so ever it was one of the reason I was able to get 10 of my friends to sign up for dish.


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## BigDaddy10 (Dec 20, 2003)

tomcrown1 said:


> Funny I had the 811 and no problems what so ever it was one of the reason I was able to get 10 of my friends to sign up for dish.


I had nothing but problems with my 811. I rarely made it through a night without the Black Screen of Death. Constant reboots and lockups and then the washed out picture after the last update was the final straw. My 811 scanned in my local channels in 5 minutes while the 622 took 45 seconds! Everything about the 622 is improved over the 811.

If you have had no problems I am happy for you but I was close to going back to cable because of the 811.


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## jsanders (Jan 21, 2004)

I sold my used 942 for $530 or so, bought the 622 for $650. Paid a little over $100 for the upgrade, and I am not leasing. I own the 622. I don't subscribe to SD programming, and I am saving even more money every month. I'm also subscribing to just the Old HD Pack + Voom for $15. From my perspective, the $299 deal is a rip-off. You give them the 942 that you paid around $650 for, they give you $200 for the privlidge of leasing a machine from them, and you agree to their minimum programming requirements. Then, they take your 942 and sell it to some Canadian ExpressVU customer and make even more money off of you!

I can't wait to hear all of the complaints a few weeks after April 1st! "Those awful people at dish Didn't give me my $200! They gave me a "credit" against future bills!" Here is an even better one, "Those jerks over at Dish said they never got my 942 and won't even give me the stupid $200 credit!"


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

jsanders said:


> ... "Those jerks over at Dish said they never got my 942 and won't even give me the stupid $200 credit!"


Just remember to keep the tracking number that's on the UPS label and you'll have proof that E* got the 942/921.


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## Chop-Chop (Mar 8, 2006)

SergeantPinback said:


> Then again, maybe you'll get one that actually works.....:sure:


I got one that works

Personally I think it is worth it unless you have a Cable system in your area with a Dual Tuner HDDVR for about 4 bucks extra a month and no 299 upfront and no committment. Remeber also that the 299 includes your upgrade Dish antennas if it's required which ususally runs about 100 bucks from Dish.


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## jbaker8679 (Jan 12, 2006)

m00se said:


> Thanks for your input DP1. I have seen my model displayed in HD at BB, CC and even Sam's Club and yes the PQ is like night and day when compared to SD but of ours there is never anyone around who seems to be able to answer honestly regarding the source of the PQ on display. I find that tvs on display in stores are usually displaying what I call vendor quality feed which seems for the most part to be something different from what the consumer is likely to get at home. I have a feeling I will go for the upgrade anyway. Afterall $299 isn't significant in the scheme of things when one has invested thousands in a tv set. It's like high priced gasoline for your luxury suv. :lol:


If you wait till april 1 or later the upgrade will only cost you 99$ not 299$! so wait till then ok trust me i am a tech and i know a little whats going on so wait a bit ok


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

Rob Glasser said:


> Nor have I. My 622 works great. Like everyone else has said, the $299 price is the standard lease promotion for the 622. If you want to upgrade to HD and have a DVR this is probably the way to go for you. This $299 also includes upgrading you to a Dish1000 or adding a Dish for 61.5 (depending on where you live).


Thanks Rob. I am close to taking the plunge and will do some research on the Dish1000 but could you giv me a quick rundown on the bennies of having the 1000? I'm glad you mentioned this before I call Dish because they probably would not have automatically upgraded the current Dish to the 1000 without prodding.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

Well you need more than a Dish 500 dish if you wanna get all the HD channels. Alot of them come from the 61.5 or the 129 slot.. which a Dish 500 doesnt see. It's only for 110/119.

The Dish 1000 can see 110/119/129 all on one dish in most parts of the country. Or they can set up a 2nd dish for 61.5 instead if 129 doesnt work in ones area.


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

jbaker8679 said:


> If you wait till april 1 or later the upgrade will only cost you 99$ not 299$! so wait till then ok trust me i am a tech and i know a little whats going on so wait a bit ok


Does the $99 after April 1 applies to a person who have already taken advantage of the one upgrade a year deal? It's only been a month since I replaced 2 dishplayers with a 625. If what you are saying is correct then I would surely waith till April fools. After all, March is already half gone.


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

DP1 said:


> Well you need more than a Dish 500 dish if you wanna get all the HD channels. Alot of them come from the 61.5 or the 129 slot.. which a Dish 500 doesnt see. It's only for 110/119.
> 
> The Dish 1000 can see 110/119/129 all on one dish in most parts of the country. Or they can set up a 2nd dish for 61.5 instead if 129 doesnt work in ones area.


I hadn't taken that into consideration DP1. Does 129 see the same feeds as 61.5? I would much prefer to have just one Dish to cover all if that is possible.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

Yeah basically 129 and 61.5 offer the same HD. Like ESPN2 HD, Universal HD, and all the Voom channels. Some of the HD, like the HDNets and others are on 110. Then Local HD channels are being offered from those other birds (so far it's just a few big markets) and again it depends on where a person lives. Theres certain parts of the country where the 129 signal doesnt reach satisfactorily.

The dishdepot website describes it as this:

The 129W orbital location footprint DOES NOT reach the following areas:

Northeast of a line between Buffalo, NY and Baltimore, MD. Most of Florida (tho parts of the FL Panhandle are within the footprint). The Southern tip of Texas (Larado, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, Brownsville). 

You're listed as Texas, but no city.. so not sure if you're that far south or not.

And that dude thats talking about waiting isnt saying something that falls in line with the latest info. As of now the line is the people who can get one for $99 by waiting til April 1 are only those that already have an older generation HD-DVR and they can get a $200 rebate if they feel like trading one of those in.


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## SergeantPinback (Feb 21, 2006)

jbaker8679 said:


> If you wait till april 1 or later the upgrade will only cost you 99$ not 299$! so wait till then ok trust me i am a tech and i know a little whats going on so wait a bit ok


Oh, you're the one.... :lol:

If you are upgrading from a DVR, yes. Anything else, like the 811, no. At some point, you had to have bought a DVR.


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

DP1 said:


> Yeah basically 129 and 61.5 offer the same HD. Like ESPN2 HD, Universal HD, and all the Voom channels. Some of the HD, like the HDNets and others are on 110. Then Local HD channels are being offered from those other birds (so far it's just a few big markets) and again it depends on where a person lives. Theres certain parts of the country where the 129 signal doesnt reach satisfactorily.
> 
> The dishdepot website describes it as this:
> 
> ...


DP1 I'm in Dallas so hopefully I'm covered by one of those birds without having to hang two frisbees. Something tells me I will be making that call beore the weekend is out. I had all but ordered last night but told the CSR I'd call back as I wanted to take the pulse of this group first. As of last night they were quoting a two week appointment. I don't mind putting up with a few bugs so long as I know there are alwys updates to fix the latest ones. Bugs are par for the course these days. How quickly they are fixed is key.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

Yeah theres guys in the Dallas area around here that use the 1000.

I've only had my 622 a few days ( had been using the new non-DVR 211 HD unit for few weeks but decided I wanted the DVR so I swapped out for that one) and so far I'm not plagued with some of the issues certain people are having. Kinda the luck of the draw there I guess


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## jsanders (Jan 21, 2004)

lujan said:


> Just remember to keep the tracking number that's on the UPS label and you'll have proof that E* got the 942/921.


Not it's not! It is only proof that a box was sent, no verification of its contents! Not necessarily even verification that it was received, only a quasi-verification that it was delivered.


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

jsanders said:


> Not it's not! It is only proof that a box was sent, no verification of its contents! Not necessarily even verification that it was received, only a quasi-verification that it was delivered.


You must be a lawyer...


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## GATER (Mar 17, 2006)

Anyone else get a $299 credit on their dish bill after purchasing the 622 like i did?


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

GATER said:


> Anyone else get a $299 credit on their dish bill after purchasing the 622 like i did?


for some reason i did - but im guessing that once i actually get the thing installed - itll show back up on the bill (there is ALWAYS that surprise first bill with incorrect and unexpected charges to your account the month after you make ANY change) - dish's csr's are just going down the tubes (no offense to any dish csr's - but ive had to call dish network 7 times within the last 2 weeks to get a tracking number for my 622 and ALL 7 of the reps i spoke to just had no clue as to what was going on - and i still dont have my tracking number)

:nono2:


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

SergeantPinback said:


> Oh, you're the one.... :lol:
> 
> If you are upgrading from a DVR, yes. Anything else, like the 811, no. At some point, you had to have bought a DVR.


Just to clarify, the $99 upgrade after April 1st, is only good for those customers that have a 942 or 921 AND are willing to trade it in to get the $200 credit. If you do not have a 942 or 921 or you do not want to give up your 942/921, then the cost is $299 and there is no need to wait.


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## Chop-Chop (Mar 8, 2006)

jbaker8679 said:


> If you wait till april 1 or later the upgrade will only cost you 99$ not 299$!


Yeah with one caveat, you have to give up a 921 or 942 you own


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## m00se (Feb 10, 2003)

lujan said:


> Just remember to keep the tracking number that's on the UPS label and you'll have proof that E* got the 942/921.


Now I'm worried. I finally ordered a 622 yesterday but was not given any tracking number or even indication that the 622 would be arriving via UPS instead of with the installer on installation day. It was only a month ago that I got a 625 and the installer brought it and about a week later I received two empty boxes in the mail for the return of the two dishplayers that the 625 replaced. Is this UPS delivery something new or just for certain locations? Now I feel like I should call again to verify as I sure would not be happy if the installer shows up on 4/8 empty handed and I did not receive anything from UPS. When I asked the CSR about the Dish 1000 that would need to be installed she indicated it would either be a superdish or dish 1000 and that the installer would have "everything". I took "everything" to mean 622, dish, switches (if necessary), etc.


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## DP1 (Sep 16, 2002)

In virtually all cases the 622 was sent out UPS to the home even though the CSR's are basically clueless about the notion.

It would be pretty pointless to call back for any sort of "verification" at this point unless you like aggrevation. But it's their dime so it doesnt hurt anything.

Basically they've been sending the units out about a week before install date.

When you get to about that timeframe(7-10 days out) you might try and get a tracking number for piece of mind. The most effective way of getting one has been emailing [email protected] with your account info.


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