# 7100; 721 or wait for the 921



## rbaer (Jan 9, 2003)

Looking for some discussion on the different options available for an orignial 7100 owner.

I purchased the 7100 the first year it was available. After a year, I realized the drive wasn't big enough and upgraded to a WD 40g HD. I was happy with the 30 or so hours of recording until other channels came along (locals exct.). Now I find the 30 hours to be a serious limitation. Additionally, I added a Model 600 receiver three years or so ago solely for the HD channels (OTA + HD HBO and Showtime). From reading this forum, I see the following options.

1. Stay with the 7100 and simply upgrade the HD capacity (120 WD would be more than enough for me). The downside to doing this are the many glitches with the 7100, which can be annoying at times such as the blackouts and sound dropoffs that plague playback. I've also had some strange recording problems the past six months. I can never get the 7100 to record a ESPN gameplan game when I am not there (simply tells me I can not record a pay per view event 2 days in advance even if it is only an hour before gametime). And twice when I attempted to record a football game off of a Fox local (I subscribe to all of the Fox stations), I got the first minute and then it stopped recording. Another downside is the $10 per month fee. At $120 per year, a new machine can more than be economically justified as the cost of the new drive plus the $120 per year adds up quickly. 


The pro of keeping it is simply that the cost is spread out rather than dumping money into a new machine now, and that I have been very happy with the 7100 for the most part. Another advantage is that I can just leave things the way that they are as far as the wiring and the system, as it only takes a few minutes to swap out the Hard drive. 

2. Purchase a 721 now. Since I have two tuners hooked to the same television, I've always gotten bye just switching with the TV remote between two tuners. Recording two programs simultaneously is definitely an enviable feature. Additionally, the 721 should have far less glitches than the 7100 and there is only a one time cost. I am leaning heavily towards the 721, but see a couple of drawbacks:

a. Rewiring- I am already running the Dish 500 to two separate receivers (the 7100 and the 600). I assume that to now add a third receiver is going to require a major change in the set up and not simply a switch and a short run of wire. I'm really trying to avoid having to change the gear on my roof, add wire, and/or take a day off of work to let a bunch of kids subcontracted by Dish try to figure out what to do. 

b. lack of HD capabilities. If I outlay the money for the 721 now, I would be using the 600 for HD for at least 3 or 4 more years. I'm not as concerned about recording HD, as Honestly the amount of HD programming is still pretty limited and I really would only record a handful of HD programs each year. Waiting for the 921 is very appealing to me right now, as it would seem to be a good replacement for both the 7100 and 600, opening up shelf space. Other than its HD capacity, the 600 sucks as a tuner. The guide is useless, time consuming and impossible to use. Once you have used the 7 day guide on the 7100, you can never go back to those things that take all day to load two hours worth of program listings before they have to start reloading again. It drives me nuts. Also, the 600 has some strange habits (like the fan on the OTA module failing to turn off) and I often have trouble changing directly to local ota stations (strange green banding for a few minutes). 

3. Wait for the 921. The 921 would seem to have the features that I really want. It has the HD features of the 600 with the pvr of the 7100. I like the idea of being able to record HD, as hopefully there will be more HD programming in the future. The only big drawbacks are just the delay in releasing it, the expected cost between 1-2k, and the unknown concerning the bugs. I really don't think it will be an option in 2003 and am skeptical as to how long it will be before a bug free system is operating. I am leaning towards just upgrading the 7100 and waiting for mid-2004 to buy a 921. That is an expensive option though. 

4. Buy a 501/508. I don't see any real advantage over the 7100 in the 508. I would rather spend the money increasing the drive of the 7100 than spend it on a 508 (and wouldn't go near a 501 with its track record and gig limitations). With the 721 on the market, in my opinion the 7100 and 508 will be treated as obsolete by Dishnetwork. They will still both work well enough, but was those with 7100 and those that bought the receiver and HD module prior to the 600 have learned, you get left behind very quickly.

5. Switch to Direct TV- doesn't really solve any of my dilema until the have a unit that receives HD and has built in Tivo. The advantage of switching is that you can reduce the costs drastically because of all of the new subscriber discounts (makes no sense to me why there are so few deals offered to current subscribers, especially those of us that have been with Dish since the mid-90s, as I would gladly extend my obligation for a year, two or three for significant discounts on costs now). Of course this would be a Major hassel, which I am trying to avoid. 

Any options I missed.


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## Eyedox (Nov 25, 2002)

Wait for the DISH PVR921 ... but you will be waiting for a long, long, long time. Like SUMMER at the absolute earliest.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

Summer 2004 would be my guess estimate. Theres always the 522. Big HD, 2 receivers in ONE box with PVR, and no mirror fee. Last date I heard early 2nd quarter 2003, so say this summer ....


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## tm22721 (Nov 8, 2002)

With Dish equipment I have learned to always be a generation behind to avoid paying big bucks for the privilege of being a beta tester.

If they gave existing users or early adopters a break on equipment costs, I would reconsider. But they don't. Charlie wants his cake and to eat it too.

So for now I would upgrade your hard drive. Buy a 721 when its price comes down. Which will happen shortly after the 921 comes out and a new batch of suckers is born. 

My pessimism has evolved from five years of Dish experience.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

I am negative because E made me that way


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## goblin (Nov 28, 2002)

I decided to go with the 721 now and wait for things to shake out a bit with the 921. I can always sell the 721 later on eBay and (since it's unlikely to be outmoded for a couple years) it should return a good piece of my investment.

I already have the second dish set up, so I should be able to just drop the 921 in the 721's place and run the proper cables to my TV.

So far I've really liked the 721, most of the early bugs have been fixed and it (so far) has been a -very- solid unit. You're correct that there is not much HD programming available over satellite right now, but who knows <grin> maybe E* will add more HD channels when they release the 921!

Heh, yeah I know, I know... I'm dreaming...


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