# Pros and Cons for moving from HR2X to Dish 922



## hoopsbwc34

Last May I got the great deal to move to Dish free for one year so I decided to go ahead and try it out. Here's the pros and cons from 4 months of using my 922 in comparison to my HR21.

*922 vs HR2X

922 Pros:*

* OTA Module (4 shows recording at the same time!)
* 1TB hard drive (still haven't filled it after 5 months)
* PIP (I use a lot watching live sports)
* Press DVR button three times to get to ToDo List
* Ability to create folders or group shows by title in playlist
* Remote Locator to help find lost remote
* % watched bar on each show in playlist
* "Live TV" box pops up when you catch up to your buffer
* Shows how much buffer time you have left when you press pause during a live show
* RF remote
* Sling
*
922 Cons (HR2X pros):*

* No way to skip forward to tick when watching show (have to do 300x FFW)
* Pressing play doesn't bring up the playback bar, have to press pause (I liked to do this with D* to see how much of the show was left)
* Playback bar shows full buffer instead of just "this show". Was nice with D* to see how much of show was left.
* No way to change to specific date in guide (have to use the FFW button to skip one day at a time) [Edit: can move forward multiple days by hitting FFWD multiple times while viewing the guide]
* Guide data
o Only 7 days worth of guide data (vs 14 with D*)
o Doesn't get updated very quickly (D* would sometimes catch same day changes in schedule for presidential address etc)
o Not very descriptive (just a subjective feeling again compared to D*)
o No previous shows in guide (D* would look back at least a few hours)
* Prioritizing series timers is difficult because it requires editing the individual show
* No option to avoid recording a show on a different channel when watching live TV (just starts a count down and switches the channel) [Edit: can hit select during countdown and cancel the recording]
* No Scoreguide
* Live buffer doesn't continue to cache when watching a recorded show

*General Dish vs D* Pro/Cons

Dish Pros:*

* NFL RedZone for $7 a month, can't be beat for fantasy football fans
* Sports Pack $7 per month, and includes RedZone (but see con for issue with less channels covered by sports pack)
* Overall pricing is cheaper

*D* Pros:*

* D* carries more channels in their sports pack (had to have a D* friend get the sports pak to watch a game on Fox College Sports)
* HD Picture quality seems more compressed on Dish
* Rolling HD brownouts on Dish&#8230;. Your show might not be in HD even if the HD channel is offered because of bandwith limitations
* D* specific programming (Friday Night Lights is one of our favorite shows not available on Dish until its replayed on NBC)


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## GrumpyBear

hoopsbwc34 said:


> * No option to avoid recording a show on a different channel when watching live TV (just starts a count down and switches the channel)


I have a question on this. I don't have a 922 yet, but looking at picking one up this holiday season. On my old 622 and on both my current 722k's, DVR events happen in the background not on the live tuner, unless you are are already recording a show. Autotunes happen on the live tuner, but either way once you see the 2 minute count down, you just press the select button, and in the popup window you just press cancel, and it wont DVR or Autotune.

Does this not happen on the 922?


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## hoopsbwc34

GrumpyBear said:


> I have a question on this. I don't have a 922 yet, but looking at picking one up this holiday season. On my old 622 and on both my current 722k's, DVR events happen in the background not on the live tuner, unless you are are already recording a show. Autotunes happen on the live tuner, but either way once you see the 2 minute count down, you just press the select button, and in the popup window you just press cancel, and it wont DVR or Autotune.
> 
> Does this not happen on the 922?


This is in the case where both tuners are going to be recording (so there is no background tuner). I haven't tried to hit the select button yet, so that may be the answer! That was part of my reason for posting this actually, was to see if there were some tricks I was missing.

You wouldn't happen to know how to get the guide to jump to a certain date would you?


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## Stewart Vernon

hoopsbwc34 said:


> *
> 922 Cons (HR2X pros):*
> 
> * Playback bar shows full buffer instead of just "this show". Was nice with D* to see how much of show was left.


You should be able to see how much time is left in the current show by looking at the Channel Bar (pressing cancel, for example) that shows what channel you are watching. On the left-side just under the program name and time there should be a "xxx remaining" indication of how much time is left in what you are currently watching.



hoopsbwc34 said:


> * No way to change to specific date in guide (have to use the FFW button to skip one day at a time)


I admit, there are times when I would like this feature too... when I know I'm trying to find something several days from now.



hoopsbwc34 said:


> o No previous shows in guide (D* would look back at least a few hours)


I would like this too... sometimes it is nice to know what I just missed in case it is something coming on later and I want to search for it and DVR it.



hoopsbwc34 said:


> * No option to avoid recording a show on a different channel when watching live TV (just starts a count down and switches the channel)


I'd have to verify... but on other ViP receivers when you see this countdown timer you can press "Info" on the remote and it tells you about the timer getting ready to fire and you have the option to cancel it.



hoopsbwc34 said:


> * Rolling HD brownouts on Dish&#8230;. Your show might not be in HD even if the HD channel is offered because of bandwith limitations


Not sure what you are talking about here. The ONLY channels I'm aware of that Dish does the time-sharing thing are with the RSNs (and by association this means their NBA/NHL league pass as well).

Is this what you are talking about? IF not, I'm curious as to what other channels you think should have been available but were not.



hoopsbwc34 said:


> * D* specific programming (Friday Night Lights is one of our favorite shows not available on Dish until its replayed on NBC)


Personally, I think this is a bad move by the Friday Night Lights folk to take a program to a channel specific to only one provider. It's their choice of course to do so, but it limits their already limited audience to even less possible eyes.

Kudos for DirecTV being willing to pick up the show and help it produce more episodes... but I hope it is a trend that doesn't catch on and I don't want to see Dish-only programs and Time-Warner-only programs, etc. etc. We'll be like all those Blu/DVD releases where you get different content if you buy from Target instead of Best Buy.

I don't want my TV going down that road.


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## Stewart Vernon

hoopsbwc34 said:


> You wouldn't happen to know how to get the guide to jump to a certain date would you?


FYI, I forgot to mention... while you can't go to a specific date... there is a whole bag of tricks that might help a little...

FWD/REW -> Jump 24 hours at a time
Skip/Skip Back -> Jump 3 hours at a time

AND

You can press number keys and then the left/right arrow to jump a specific number of hours. OF course eventually any high number (999 for example) goes to the end/beginning of the guide...

But you could type 7+2+Right arrow to jump 3 days ahead. It's not as good as specific-date entry, but if you can do the math in your head you can get pretty close.


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## bobnielsen

What's next, Comcast-only sports networks?

Oops, we already have that....


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## hoopsbwc34

Thanks Stewart!



Stewart Vernon said:


> You should be able to see how much time is left in the current show by looking at the Channel Bar (pressing cancel, for example) that shows what channel you are watching. On the left-side just under the program name and time there should be a "xxx remaining" indication of how much time is left in what you are currently watching.


Thanks... That's what I do now, I just still prefer the D* method, maybe just because it is how I started.



Stewart Vernon said:


> Not sure what you are talking about here. The ONLY channels I'm aware of that Dish does the time-sharing thing are with the RSNs (and by association this means their NBA/NHL league pass as well).
> 
> Is this what you are talking about? IF not, I'm curious as to what other channels you think should have been available but were not.


Yes, I am talking about the RSNs. I watch a lot of sports 



Stewart Vernon said:


> Personally, I think this is a bad move by the Friday Night Lights folk to take a program to a channel specific to only one provider. It's their choice of course to do so, but it limits their already limited audience to even less possible eyes.
> 
> Kudos for DirecTV being willing to pick up the show and help it produce more episodes... but I hope it is a trend that doesn't catch on and I don't want to see Dish-only programs and Time-Warner-only programs, etc. etc. We'll be like all those Blu/DVD releases where you get different content if you buy from Target instead of Best Buy.
> 
> I don't want my TV going down that road.


I don't think FNL had much of a choice, as they didn't have any other funding source. But I agree that I don't want to see this pattern continue...I'd hate to have my favorite shows spread out on different providers.


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## hoopsbwc34

Stewart Vernon said:


> You can press number keys and then the left/right arrow to jump a specific number of hours. OF course eventually any high number (999 for example) goes to the end/beginning of the guide...
> 
> But you could type 7+2+Right arrow to jump 3 days ahead. It's not as good as specific-date entry, but if you can do the math in your head you can get pretty close.


Awesome! Thanks!!


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## GrumpyBear

hoopsbwc34 said:


> Awesome! Thanks!!


Also in the guide if you hit the skip/fwd button you can jump a day ahead too.
Helps with jumping as many days you want. Next thursday, push skip 7 times your are there.


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## hoopsbwc34

GrumpyBear said:


> Also in the guide if you hit the skip/fwd button you can jump a day ahead too.
> Helps with jumping as many days you want. Next thursday, push skip 7 times your are there.


Thanks, that one I knew...but it still seems pretty slow to jump ahead 7 days using this method.


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## Stewart Vernon

The RSNs just don't seem to be a priority for Dish... and I guess I can understand that. There was mention of the possibility of full-time RSNs by next year... but I'm not sure I'd hold my breath for it.

Fortunately I mostly get what I want since my ACC college football/basketball seems to be fairly well covered on the channels I already have and for the most part I seem to get the FOX Sports-carried ACC games when I want.

I'm not into baseball or hockey, and that seems to be where the most games get missed by Dish (except of course for also not having Sunday Ticket). I at least don't mind not having Sunday Ticket since the cost is way way more than I'd ever dream of justifying and most of the time I get a decent game or 4 to watch every Sunday via the OTA channels and RedZone helps to fill in the gaps on the scoring drives for the other games.

I think if you get past most of those kinds of hurdles, even the stuff that is missing or different becomes a function of what you're already used to... so once you adjust to Dish you might not miss some of the nice-to-have features as much as the functional/unavailable-channel ones.


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## VDP07

hoopsbwc34 said:


> Thanks, that one I knew...but it still seems pretty *slow* to jump ahead 7 days using this method.


I was curious so I gave it a go. It took me 3 seconds to hit the Guide button and Skip forward button 7 times. How long does it take on an HR2x?


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## lparsons21

Based on my experience with the HR20 & HR21, it could take longer than that to get it to respond to the remote at all, let alone actually do something.


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## hoopsbwc34

VDP07 said:


> I was curious so I gave it a go. It took me 3 seconds to hit the Guide button and Skip forward button 7 times. How long does it take on an HR2x?


Well, I guess I never tried to hit it multiple times at once. I had always hit it once, waited for it go forward one day then hit it again. I just hit it 7 times and it quickly moved to a week ahead!

You still get more flexibility with D* (to move forward to a certain time on a certain day, plus you have two weeks of guide data) but it is definitely slower to bring up the guide and switch to that specific day/time compared to this...


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## James Long

One can also type in the number of hours one wants to skip forward and back and press the right or left arrows respectively. 168 > jumps one week ahead.

(Yes, that requires math. I prefer the "skip forward" seven times method for ease of use. My fingers are not on the numberpad.)


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## TulsaOK

Actually, entering 168 changes the EPG to channel 168. 
At least it does on my 722.


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## James Long

Kent Taylor said:


> Actually, entering 168 changes the EPG to channel 168.
> At least it does on my 722.


168 arrow right?


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## Stewart Vernon

You have to be careful OR quick... because for some channels the EPG jumps immediately to the channel in the guide if it recognizes.

For example... if I type 144 it jumps to ESPN2... so it would be tough to jump 144 hours (6 days) ahead using that method unless you can hit the right arrow before the receiver recognizes the channel #.


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## James Long

Quick works ... Trying it one handed isn't recommended. When I tested it earlier today (before posting the suggestion) I used my left hand for the digits and the right thumb for the arrow (and I did say I prefer just using the "skip forward").


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## TulsaOK

Stewart Vernon said:


> ...the EPG jumps immediately to the channel in the guide if it recognizes.


This is what happens when I enter 168 on my 722 regardless of how fast I attempt to press the arrow key. The EPG change happens almost instantly.


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## VDP07

For me, any enrty from 100 - 499 results in an instant epg change, two-handed or otherwise. Above 499 + right arrow jumps to the end of the epg.

!00-399 instant epg change actually


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## VDP07

VDP07 said:


> For me, any enrty from 100 - 499 results in an instant epg change, two-handed or otherwise. Above 499 + right arrow jumps to the end of the epg.
> 
> !00-399 instant epg change actually


To much time on my hands actually:grin:


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## Stewart Vernon

I think the 922 offers a "benefit" by accident here, because sometimes it is slower to process channel recognition than my 622/722 receivers... which gives me that extra fraction of a second needed to jump ahead in the guide like I want.


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## GrumpyBear

Stewart Vernon said:


> I think the 922 offers a "benefit" by accident here, because sometimes it is slower to process channel recognition than my 622/722 receivers... which gives me that extra fraction of a second needed to jump ahead in the guide like I want.


24-48-72-96 right arrow, work fine on both my 722's. Anything larger than 96 it goes directly to that channel.


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## hoopsbwc34

Added two more things:

No live buffer captured on 922 when watching a recorded show
Scoreguide on my HR21 was nice too


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## Stewart Vernon

hoopsbwc34 said:


> Added two more things:
> 
> No live buffer captured on 922 when watching a recorded show
> Scoreguide on my HR21 was nice too


Technically it does buffer... but only on one tuner. All of the Dish DVRs have this particular quirk.

Put tuner 1 on Syfy and swap to the other tuner and put tuner 2 on USA.

Swap back to tuner 1 and then go into the DVR menu and watch a recorded movie.

After the movie, you are correct that Syfy will not have buffered and you can't rewind from before your playback ended... BUT if you swap to tuner 2 you will find you can go back in the buffer there.

I use this "trick" all the time if I want to watch something on DVR before watching a show that is coming on soon... I'll put the "other" tuner on that channel and then swap back before watching my DVR event.


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## James Long

Stewart Vernon said:


> I use this "trick" all the time if I want to watch something on DVR before watching a show that is coming on soon... I'll put the "other" tuner on that channel and then swap back before watching my DVR event.


My trick if I know something is coming is to set a timer.

Where the "buffer when watching something else" would come in handy is in those times where you come out of a DVR playback and find yourself in a show worth rewinding and watching. Something you didn't know was good enough to watch until you missed part of it.


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## GrumpyBear

hoopsbwc34 said:


> Added two more things:
> 
> No live buffer captured on 922 when watching a recorded show
> Scoreguide on my HR21 was nice too


Live buffer is captured on the other tuner. If you want to watch a recording, and have a show be buffered, always swap tuners, than start the recording. After the show, swap back and the show is buffered upto 60 minutes.


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## labmansid

Pretty good roundup of the differences between the two systems. I too recently switched from the HRxx series to Dish and the 922. One other difference to note, which I suppose would be a pro for the HRxx, is while watching "The Weather Channel" when the "Local on the 8s" would come on, your local conditions/forecast/radar would show, rather than the generic national broadcast.


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## Stewart Vernon

A currently missing feature from the 922 that is on other ViP series Dish receivers... are the "TV enhancements". On other Dish receivers there are popups sometimes, like when watching the Weather channel, that allow you to click and go run an app that does something relevant.

I keep wondering when the 922 will see those features.


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