# What will come after the VIP622?



## shortspark (Oct 25, 2006)

I just switched from D* to E* and find the 622 to be a pretty good piece of equipment. I liked my Directivo in some respects and my Zenith and Samsung HD set top boxes, in some respects, but overall the 622 is pretty much a complete, well thought out and (relatively) bug free devcie. Nothing is perfect of course but I assume Dish will advance on the 622 at some point. Does anyone know what the next box will be like? What E* has in store for us? Any consumer electronic show news about E*?

I guess what I'm asking is that being new to E* I do not know their pattern of development both in equipment and programming. I know D* has been a pioneer in the pvr area and their association with Tivo was a significant advancement. I also thought they were comitted to HD but, except for trying to roll out local HD channels, they have falling behind E* in providing HD. What are E* priorities for the future, both in programming and equipment? Where do you think they are taking us?


----------



## William (Oct 28, 2006)

The 622 is still fairly new but what I would like to see in the next gen E* HD DRV:


HD output to a 2ed HDTV by RF. They could encode with proprietary format and make an add on box to hook to your 2ed HDTV that could receive and decode over your existing cable and you could have multiple HDTV hooked up (all the same 2ed TV feed though).

1TB HD (we are talking over a year from now) for 120 hours of HD.

Built in LCD display for channel and info display so people who want to listen to Sirius don't have to turn on the tube.

4 HD tuners so each HDTV can have single mode features.

IP addressable for away from the home control and Internet based E* setup for PPV and account management without a phone line (this could be done on the 622).


----------



## derwin0 (Jan 31, 2005)

I'd like something with more than 1 OTA tuner for those without satellite provided HD locals.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

There are more suggestions in the wish list thread in the 622 support forum.

I don't see a next generation box for a few years ... but I do expect that the 622 will grow in features. A lot of changes that don't require new hardware.

Bigger hard drive, second OTA tuner, ATSC HD output to TV2 (or other TV2 HD outputs) would be the biggest reason to change the hardware but there are other solutions (external storage and the potential to tie ViPs together via IP?) that would solve all three of those problems.


----------



## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

I agree with James. I don't think that we will see a new HD DVR for a while (I don't know if it will be two years but it could be). 

Rather than coming out with a new DVR DISH needs to deliver on the potential that the 622 has. All you have to do is look at some of the ports that the 622 has and use your imagination on what could be done with those ports. 

The 622 is very likely the BEST DVR out in the marketplace right now and is very stable. DISH needs to continue to add features and keep it stable. To me that is way more important than coming out with a shiny new receiver.


----------



## Jolard (Feb 14, 2006)

While I agree (that we don't need a new one right away) I am sure that they will have a new iteration of the receiver at least, within a year or so. The new one will at least include a larger hard drive, and possibly a few more features. 

Hard Drive prices are dropping so fast, and 30 hours for HD recording is not enough. 

As for this version (622) I am hoping we will see external drive support and some kind of network access for setting timers etc.


----------



## cornflakes (Sep 30, 2005)

I don't know about E*, but D* had the HD DirecTivo (HR10-250) for several years (I believe around 3 years?) before they came out with the HR20. But I believe they came out with the HR20 for two reasons... One to move away from the Tivo platform and onto their own, and two, to enable MPEG4.

I believe D* wouldn't have made the HR20 if they're not using MPEG4 and the HR10 was their own.

So I would think the VIP622 will probably last us a while. The suggestions and wishlists pointed out in the posts before me are nice suggestions and cool features, but nothing would warrant developing a brand new box. I think the 622 is quite ready for the future!


----------



## kb7oeb (Jun 16, 2004)

If it follows the pattern of the 501,508,510 and the 522,625 the next revision of the 622 will be the same box with a larger hard drive.


----------



## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

shortspark said:


> Snipped: I know D* has been a pioneer in the pvr area and their association with Tivo was a significant advancement.


To correct your misinformation. DirecTv has always dragged their feet from what I have seen on features. OTOH they were the first to have satellite TV, via DirecTV and USSB for premiums. Which is where they were when I subscribed.

The Dishnetwork 7100 / 7200 were the first integrated satellite DVRs. Later on Microsoft came out using nearly the same interface with the Ultimate TV for DirecTV, Probably one of the best units for its day.

Tivo and Replay were ahead of Dishnetwork however they were only for OTA. Later on after DirecTv saw how popular the Dishnetwork DVRs they signed up with Tivo.

I believe Dish is still the only one that feeds two rooms with with different content from one box. This saves the Mirroring fee. Plus this allows in the case of the VIP622 for the same content to be recorded in one DVR and viewed at different times in two different rooms.

Cheers


----------



## HD_Wayne (May 23, 2006)

I think that we will see more internal changes aimed at cost reduction like integrating the power supply onto the main board and larger integration of ASIC's to reduce parts count. In the features area E* has to get Dishcomm going and acitvate the USB to permit external program storage so there is a lot of room for new features on this model. I don't think we will see ATSCHD output as that will permit the use of a DVHS deck and direct digital transfer of content which is not permitted by the content providers. Just my thoughts.

Wayne


----------



## kb7oeb (Jun 16, 2004)

One way they could do it secure would be a qam modulated signal and a cable card, that could do RF and be secure but I think they will either just use ethernet paired 622s and 211s or come out with an ethernet based remote unit that connects to the 622 or 222.


----------



## Blues (Nov 8, 2006)

I'm not a tech guy, so maybe someone can explain it to me: Why is it so hard to let the second TV get a HD signal instead of downrezzed content? Being able to access HD recordings (in HD) both downstairs in the great room and upstairs in the master would be the feature that would get me off of the fence to quit cable and go to Dish. 

I know cable doesn't offer this either, but cable is cheaper when bundled with high speed internet even for just two TVs, and more importantly, cable allows me to access the analog channels in every room in the house without any extra box fees. With in-laws in the basement, a workout room, and a guest room, plus the master bedroom and great room, extra box fees become cost prohibitive in a hurry.


----------



## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Blues said:


> I'm not a tech guy, so maybe someone can explain it to me: Why is it so hard to let the second TV get a HD signal instead of downrezzed content? Being able to access HD recordings (in HD) both downstairs in the great room and upstairs in the master would be the feature that would get me off of the fence to quit cable and go to Dish.


The hardware of the 622 is not capable of producing an 8VSB or QAM signal to put out on port TV2. TV2 Output is NTSC, NTSC does not do HDTV.


----------



## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

> What will come after the VIP622?


The 222 dual tuner came out not to long ago????


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

That's more of a "next level 211" --- or a 622 without a hard drive (in function).


----------



## Blues (Nov 8, 2006)

Jim5506 said:


> The hardware of the 622 is not capable of producing an 8VSB or QAM signal to put out on port TV2. TV2 Output is NTSC, NTSC does not do HDTV.


Is it a cost issue or a technological difficulty that caused Dish to set up the TV2 output that way? Is the design of the 622 such that real HD on the second TV would be possible after potential software upgrades down the road, or would it take a whole new platform to achieve this?

I am really curious why no one (neither cable, dish nor directv) seems to be attempting this. It seems like an obvious feature that would really appeal to premium customers -- people with 2 HDTVs who would thus be willing get the high end content packages, but maybe the cost outweighs the number of premium customers for whom it would make the a difference in the purchase decision.


----------



## retexan599 (Aug 1, 2006)

With a small grain of salt: I hope the next generation has a robust HDMI output...


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Blues said:


> I am really curious why no one (neither cable, dish nor directv) seems to be attempting this.


Perhaps "failure of imagination". Someone will be the first to offer a two independent HDTV output tuner/DVR. So far, nobody has taken up the challenge.

Leading edge and bleeding edge are not that far apart.


----------



## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

My thoughts on this subject are due to talks I had in the past that was the 942 team that turned into the 622 team. There were to have been 2 ATSC tuners in the 622. When I talked to them recently it would have taken more room than they were given inside the 622. There may be additional features to do w/input of different type of video forms. In addition to inputing picts from a digital camera there may be a inputing file from the net. Such as MP3's, files like I-pod or Zune is doing now. We may see more storage, & transfer of files between units. Multi-outputs for HD (on this last 1 it may have some sort of crappy DRM on the output due to studio's outcry). Unless they can integrate into smaller scale (actually LSI chips) the unit will have to get larger. On the new ATSC tuners newer chip sets that have better multi-path rejection.


----------



## ssmith10pn (Jul 6, 2005)

I don't care if it's the size of a refrigerator as long as it has all the bells and whistles. :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------

