# DVR 522 owners



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

I'm considering buying a 522. Do they work pretty good? The dual tuner would be nice to have. Plus I could watch TV in the bedroom by running a line from the receiver right?? Does that mean that 2 people can be running the receiver without affecting the other if no recording it happening?


----------



## davec530 (Mar 17, 2004)

i just got mine yesterday, and it rocks! i have a tv in the living room and another in the bedroom. i can watch different things on each and record different things on each. very kewl, indeed. today i was taping Solaris in the bedroom while watching other things in the living room. great setup!


----------



## boba (May 23, 2003)

You would be better off with two separate receivers. Read the comments on different forums I know www.satelliteguys.us has a 4 page list of problems on their site. Be an educated consumer and take DISH Network with a large grain of salt.


----------



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

boba said:


> You would be better off with two separate receivers. Read the comments on different forums I know www.satelliteguys.us has a 4 page list of problems on their site. Be an educated consumer and take DISH Network with a large grain of salt.


Thanks for the info. Wow, seems like a lot of issues. I remember when I first got a 501, it was always having problems with locking up when the signal went out, freezing up and having to reboot. Now they seem to run a lot smoother.

I thought about the older model 721 but for some reason on ebay, they got for about $450-500 while the 522 is cheaper and offers the dual TV option.


----------



## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

You may have trouble getting it activated unless you are a lease customer.

E ruled the 322 and 522 are ONLY for lease subs and aerent activated even if you manage to buy one


----------



## ClaudeR (Dec 7, 2003)

boba said:


> You would be better off with two separate receivers.


The 522 is still in Home Plan, extra $5 per month. Also DVR fee is $5 per month. Two receivers is wash - 510 with $5 PVR fee, and $5 second receiver such as 310 - but they are YOURS, not leased.


----------



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

Bob Haller said:


> You may have trouble getting it activated unless you are a lease customer.
> 
> E ruled the 322 and 522 are ONLY for lease subs and aerent activated even if you manage to buy one


Where do the people selling the DVR 522 on ebay and online getting them from if they are only part of the Digital Home Plan?


----------



## Mainstreet (Jun 29, 2002)

Link said:


> Where do the people selling the DVR 522 on ebay and online getting them from if they are only part of the Digital Home Plan?


Most likely they are retailers (who aren't getting paid activation for selling them), or are customers who originally bought them from ebay and couldn't get them activated.


----------



## M Law (Jan 30, 2004)

Link, don't let the Tivo crowd scare you. They think Tivo is the only way to go. While Tivo is an excellent product I am sure, the 522 is a good product for Dish customers. I've had mine for a short while and don't know how I got along without it. My opinion may change after more time with the unit, but so far it has worked well. It's not perfect, but the problems I have encountered have been minimal.

The 522 is currently shipping as a dual mode tuner, and you should know that going in. Also there have been problems, from what I have read on the boards, with people activating the unit if they purchased it. Dish itself only offers the 522 as a lease, and some have been able to activate and some haven't. It may be better to look into the lease and wait until Dish clears the unit for regular sale.


----------



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

I got the 522 today. At first 2 CSR's said they could not activate it. One wanted to send me out a 510 and I said no. The 2nd said they had no possible way to activate it because I was not a home plan customer. They said to have a dish retailer activate it online thru some website.

I tried later on a 3rd time and the CSR couldn't activate so he put me on home then talked to tech support and after about 15 minutes on hold it was activated and I am using it. So far it seems to be good except I don't understand why the channels in the guide are in reverse order and I see no option to change it. I still don't get the $4.99 additonal fee if it is not plugged into a phone jack. What purpose does thsi serve?


----------



## Presence (Mar 14, 2004)

Link said:


> I got the 522 today. At first 2 CSR's said they could not activate it. One wanted to send me out a 510 and I said no. The 2nd said they had no possible way to activate it because I was not a home plan customer. They said to have a dish retailer activate it online thru some website.


I take it this was done through successive phone calls, not all the same call?


----------



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

Presence said:


> I take it this was done through successive phone calls, not all the same call?


Yes that is right. I paid $300 for the receiver and I was going to get angry and threaten to cancel for Tivo if they didn't activate it. But luckily I didn't have to with the third call.

Dish sure has some ridculous rules. Anyone who wants or buys a 522 should be able to activate with no hassles. Is Tivo exclusive to certain Directv customers? NO.

I have to say that so far the 522 seems pretty good. I just have things to record with Tuner 2 so I can watch other things and record more things that way. They should make all the DVRs dual tuner.


----------



## Presence (Mar 14, 2004)

Well, I finally decided to have a go at activating my 522. I am happy to report it only took one call.  I called at about midnight Eastern time - not sure if that made the difference. I gave her the receiver ID, the "smartcard" ID... and she asked if I could hold. I was on hold for just over 10 minutes. She returned and told me that she had to get a technical supervisor to activate it for me since technically the receiver is only supposed to be a promotion for new DHA subscribers. But they laid blame on the retailer (or in my case, some guy on eBay, but I didn't say anything) who sold it to me, and activated it for me.  Chi-ching!


----------



## Link (Feb 2, 2004)

Presence said:


> Well, I finally decided to have a go at activating my 522. I am happy to report it only took one call.  I called at about midnight Eastern time - not sure if that made the difference. I gave her the receiver ID, the "smartcard" ID... and she asked if I could hold. I was on hold for just over 10 minutes. She returned and told me that she had to get a technical supervisor to activate it for me since technically the receiver is only supposed to be a promotion for new DHA subscribers. But they laid blame on the retailer (or in my case, some guy on eBay, but I didn't say anything) who sold it to me, and activated it for me.  Chi-ching!


Hey that is lucky to get it done on the first call. I got it in three calls and the guy kept working with tech support but finally got it activated for me. I think they blamed the retailer too with me cause they asked if that's where I got it and I said yes (which is was one from ebay). Some ebay sellers are now posting only for DHP subscribers.


----------

