# PVR 522 or PVR 721?



## kingbiged

I recently had one of my VCR's crash and burn, and have no plans to replace it. I have a PVR 501 for my main reciever, and a old model 4000 for my spare room. Since I have no plans to replace the VCR, I decided to upgrade my PVR 501 to a two-tuner Dish PVR, and move the PVR 501 to replace the 4000. 

I have only one problem! I have heard bad, bad things about the 721, and would love to wait for the PVR 522, but who knows when it will be available!

What would you all do? Buy the 721, or wait for the mystery 522 to be available to current subscribers. Money is not the object here, just want the best, and I plan to use the 522 in single mode.

It sucks that Dish thinks so low of their subscribers, that should have got the 522 before the DHP persons!


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## AppliedAggression

Hmm.. if you plan to use it in single mode, why not go with a free 510? Personally I'd love a 2 tuner pvr but that's just because other ppl in the house watch tv on the same set.

Even if money isn't an object, I'd still wait for the 522. It's going to be a much better receiver, one that will still be in production a fews months from now.


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## JohnL

I'd go with the 522, cheaper price, with the ability to use it as a two tuner one TV DVR or two 1 tuner DVR's on two seperate TV's with a few keypresses. 

As also noted it will be in production for some time to come. 522 will be available to DHP subscribers only on November 17th as per the most recent Dealer chat a couple of days ago. It shouldn't take more than a month or two to ramp up production enough to get the 522 in existing subscriber hands.

Remember you will also be required to connect a Landline phone connection to the 522 or be accessed an additional $5.00 per month on top of any other fees.

John


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## Bob Haller

Bugs on 522 are unknown Hopefully this model will have a long and popular life, which will help it get more support. Given the two outputs it should be very popular.


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## retiredTech

Well I love my 721 and use the 2 tuners quite often.

If money is not an issue?

Then the 721

(721 runs $549 but no extra monthly fee)

However, you mention using "single mode" , 

If you won't use the extra tuner, then I would go with the 510

cheaper (or free ) of course there's the $5 per month unless you 

get the everything pack.

So , the 721 has some issues but NOT enough to keep me 

from recommending it. (510 was not available when I got my 721

so I probably would have got the 510 if it were, but now I'm 

spoiled to having 2 shows recording if I want)


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## kingbiged

retiredTech said:


> However, you mention using "single mode" ,
> 
> If you won't use the extra tuner, then I would go with the 510
> 
> cheaper (or free ) of course there's the $5 per month unless you
> 
> get the everything pack.


I meant that I would use it on a single TV, not just one tuner. Sorry for the confusion.


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## Jacob S

522 is the way to go with the second tv output and cheaper price.


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## Inaba

While I hate to reccomend the 721 to anyone, the sad fact of the matter is, the 522 is probably going to be as crash prone and buggy as the 721 is. So you might as well go with the devil you know.

If I had my druthers again, at this point, I'd probably buy a couple Tivo2's and a pair of Dish 301's and record that way. It would be more of a pain in the ass, but in the long run I'd be happier and not afraid of losing my recorded shows at the drop of a hat.


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## Chris Freeland

I am tempted by the 510 deal, however I am still working only temp IT and non IT jobs at this time and not ready to commit for a year yet (not even for SD upgrade for my locals  ), possibly by the time I am, their will be a good current customer promotion for the 522. To me the 522 even at full msrp is a better deal then the 721 because with the 522 I can use it to replace both of my old receiver's, losing the 2nd receiver $4.99 mirror fee and gaining the $4.98 DVOD fee, thus a wash.


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## kingbiged

I got a call from my retailer today! She told me that if I wanted a 721, I was out of luck! She checked with three other dealer/warehouses, and none are available! She tried to get one from them for another cleint, and they can not be ordered!

Maybe that is a sign to come, that the 522 is on it's way? I hope!

Thanks for all of the great correspondence!!

I am going to get the 510 though to replace my 4000(in the bedroom) unit in an upgrade by E*. It will be much better to get guide access. Then the plan is to replace my 501 later (in the living room) with the 522!

Rich


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## Bob Haller

I doubt they are out of 721s. In any case I recommend the 522 because even if its buggy at roll out its the box of the future. The 721 being discontinued will get what upgrdes they must add but I wouldnt expect much in the way of added features.

If you look at the history of the 721 they take stuff away like the screen saver.


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## TomCat

With VOD costs, and assuming the PVR lasts 40 months (which may be very conservative) the 522 would have to cost under $350 to be a better buy just on costs alone. I would think that the 721, shaky as it may still be, is still a product that has had many of its bugs worked out and is therefore a mature product, compared to the vaporware 522. Historically, all DISH PVR platforms have been buggy at first and eventually less buggy as time goes on. There's always the chance that the 522 will perform flawlessly out of the box, but we study history for very good reasons...mainly to prevent making the same mistakes over and over again.


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## retiredTech

I heard that Dish is discontinuing the 721 in favor of the 522,

however the 522 is only available for lease customers at this time.

I have a 721 and really like it 

BUT IF ( they are dropping the 721) 

then that is a consideration.


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## bunkers

I know everyone has been talkint about the 721 being discontinued, but I will add that its still listed on dishnetwork.com website (which it wasn't for the first year or so it was out) and appears to be the current DVR flagship product for the time being. They don't show the 301 anymore, but those are still the most common units out there, so who knows...

I was hesitant to get a 721, but its been working great for me and I have only encountered one freezeup thus far and it was corrected using a PIP swap to unlock the tuner. I haven't performed a single reboot yet and its going on 3 or 4 weeks now. I'm content and enjoying the interface more and more as I adapt from the 5xx interface. Its definately much nicer looking and the guide is better and you really never worry about conflicts with the dual tuners. I got it so that we could have a TV which is always available, since our dual 508(s) sometimes were both in use at the same time and I figure as my daughters get older, it'll only get worse...


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## Jacob S

I have heard that the 721 is still in production but it will be halted in production in the near future. I would say it will halt production once the 522 becomes available for everyone.


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## pjmrt

I like the 721 and recommend hardware in hand as opposed to what may be available. If all you need is a dual tuner DVR receiver (and for us, the dual tuner thing was like our first experience with DVR - we wouldn't have a primary receiver without it.) - anyway, for general dual tuner DVR I definitely say go with the 721. However the 522 is supposed to have some interesting features (like independent dual tuner outputs). If the added features are really important, then wait a few more months for the receiver to become available. For the price, you should be getting the features you really want.


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## boba

On the last dealer Charlie Chat, Charlie said the 721 will be discontinued and next year a variant of the 522 would probably be offered as a replacement. The 522 will only be available to NEW Digital Home Plan customers until at least the end of January when the current promotions end. Charlie said a "522" with a different model number would be introduced as a replacement for the 721.


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## Chris Freeland

boba said:


> On the last dealer Charlie Chat, Charlie said the 721 will be discontinued and next year a variant of the 522 would probably be offered as a replacement. The 522 will only be available to NEW Digital Home Plan customers until at least the end of January when the current promotions end. Charlie said a "522" with a different model number would be introduced as a replacement for the 721.


I

Why does E* feel a need to change the name of the 522 for those that are available to everyone? Is it going to still have duel output capabilities? I hope so because this would be a huge mistake if E* were to eliminate this feature. Is it going to have an even larger hard drive? Is it going to have any new features? If the answer is no to all these questions why bother with a name change? :shrug:


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## TomCat

Simple.

They grandfathered existing models waiving VOD fees to avoid the wrath of folks who already had them, but the sooner non-VOD models become a thing of the past, the more blood money they can squeeze out of us who are then left with only VOD models to choose from.


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## Mike D-CO5

I talked to Mark at Dishdepot.com Wednesday and he said that Dish was going to make a 523 for current subs to buy nest year. The 522 would be exclusive to the digital home plan. I don't know about the 322 but logic would dictate that since the 322 is also exclusive to the dhp , then there would be a 323 for current subs next year also. 

For all that want a fee free dual dvr, Mark also said he would be running a discount on the 721s left on his web site next week . Possibly at $399.00 a box.


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## Chris Freeland

Mike D-CO5 said:


> I talked to Mark at Dishdepot.com Wednesday and he said that Dish was going to make a 523 for current subs to buy nest year. The 522 would be exclusive to the digital home plan. I don't know about the 322 but logic would dictate that since the 322 is also exclusive to the dhp , then there would be a 323 for current subs next year also.
> 
> For all that want a fee free dual dvr, Mark also said he would be running a discount on the 721s left on his web site next week . Possibly at $399.00 a box.


I still do not understand why E* feels a need to have a seperate name for the same duel tuner receiver with the only diferance being one is for lease and one is for sale, this idea seams so silly to me :shrug: .

The 522 name makes since, 5 series, 2 tuners, 2 outputs, 523 does not follow the same logic, 523 makes it appear to have 3 outputs  
. I feel the same way about the 510, it should have bin called the 511 for the same reasoning. But hay, I guess marketing people do not always think logically like us tech geeks  .


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## MrJitters

hey all, ordered my 522 system today, have the first one the dealer gets. He tells me it could be a few days to a few weeks. I am psyched! Goodbye Adelphia! 

MrJ


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## Bob Haller

Chris Freeland said:


> I still do not understand why E* feels a need to have a seperate name for the same duel tuner receiver with the only diferance being one is for lease and one is for sale, this idea seams so silly to me :shrug: .
> 
> The 522 name makes since, 5 series, 2 tuners, 2 outputs, 523 does not follow the same logic, 523 makes it appear to have 3 outputs
> . I feel the same way about the 510, it should have bin called the 511 for the same reasoning. But hay, I guess marketing people do not always think logically like us tech geeks  .


CYA. Its a attempt to say we didnt release the same box for only lease subs. pure and simple its another marketing dpartment cover up attempt.


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## kingbiged

MrJitters said:


> hey all, ordered my 522 system today, have the first one the dealer gets. He tells me it could be a few days to a few weeks. I am psyched! Goodbye Adelphia!
> 
> MrJ


I am assuming you are a DHP customer?


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## kingbiged

MrJitters said:


> hey all, ordered my 522 system today, have the first one the dealer gets. He tells me it could be a few days to a few weeks. I am psyched! Goodbye Adelphia!
> 
> MrJ


I would assume that you are a DHP customer and not new??


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## NThomas76207

I've been looking at ebay and the 522 is only $200 USD. Now is the 510 worth it though if I want to watch live news but record a re-run? or should I just start living in the past for shows if i got a 510?


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## Bob Haller

The 522s price is artifically low because of the difficulty getting it activated for the vast majority of posters.

Plus the 522s software still has ore bugs rhan the 510.

The 522 if its stable is a better deal.

If the RUMOR E will allow 322s and 522s to be sold and activated by everyone is true the dual tuner boxes will go up in price


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## Brian Rector

I got the 522 and was so surprised when the installer had only 1 receiver. The 522 does have some bugs in it, like the DVR Recording Playback bug. It is very easy to use, however. The only problem for me was getting another member of the family who is used to DirecTivo to use the 522 without getting frustrated. 

I am used to beta testing software, so any bugs that I notice with the 522 wont get me bothered.


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## JohnL

Bob Haller said:


> The 522s price is artifically low because of the difficulty getting it activated for the vast majority of posters.
> 
> Plus the 522s software still has ore bugs rhan the 510.
> 
> The 522 if its stable is a better deal.
> 
> If the RUMOR E will allow 322s and 522s to be sold and activated by everyone is true the dual tuner boxes will go up in price


Bob,

I'd doubt the 522's "Artificially low price" is as low as your credibility when it comes to posting accurate information about Dish Network, BOB.

John


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## Bill R

JohnL said:


> Bob (Haller),
> 
> I'd doubt the 522's "Artificially low price" is as low as your credibility when it comes to posting accurate information about Dish Network, BOB.
> 
> John


John,

I could not have said it better myself. Almot everything that Haller posts (about DISH) has some misinformation. *New readers need to beware of his posts and the fact that he is out to make DISH look as bad as possible because of his hate of the company.*


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## Bob Haller

JohnL said:


> Bob,
> 
> I'd doubt the 522's "Artificially low price" is as low as your credibility when it comes to posting accurate information about Dish Network, BOB.
> 
> John


I have see BRAND NEW IN BOX NEVER ACTYIVATED 522s buy now not sell at under $200.....

Now certinally the dealer cost is that much or more?

The reason they arent selling is E refuses to activate them thru normal channels.....

If E starts allowing regular subs to activate them e bay privce should rise.

simple supply and demand, nothing to trash E about on this.

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just like dishplayer 7100s high price when hackers wanted them. E ended that and dishplayers went from $250 to $75 today.

Its supply and demand sad Bill R cant understand that :eek2:

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Lets NO forget I leaked that interesting tidbit FIRST

That Mike Diugan was retiring.....

I try to be accurate although I must protect my sources


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## Bill R

Bob Haller said:


> Its supply and demand sad Bill R cant understand that


To a simpleton like yourself that might seem like the answer but there is MUCH more involved.

And your statement _"The reason they arent selling is E refuses to activate them thru normal channels_" is not the only problem with the 522s. They aren't selling very well to new subscribers that can have them activated (with no hassles) either. The reason is that MANY subscribers haven't come to accept the "one receiver for two TVs" concept and, as many dealers will tell you, many new customers that do buy a 522 are confused with their operation and require "extra" support that other receivers don't require.


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