# Is the 622 that bad?



## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

I really want to give Dish a try along with this DVR (622) but reading the posts here really scare me. Is their anyone here that is not having HDMI issues, video stuttering problems, audio drop outs etc?

What is Dish Networks return policy on new customers/equipment?

Thanks!


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## ZigSteenine (Apr 18, 2006)

I have had a few minor bugs. But nothing major.

I have had the stuttering prob. MINUTELY!!!! Power button push on the remote fixed it. 1 random reboot. This all is over 3 months.

I am prolly inviting Murphy (from Murphy's Law) to my house, but I have had no audio sync issues and my hdmi has been rocking since day 1. hdmi to hdmi cable on a Hitchi 51" HDTV.


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

What does the video stuttering problem look like and does it last long?

I am presently using a DirecTV Hd-Tivo. The HD offerings are lame and the video quality is the pits in both SD and HD. But as I have stated on other forums the HD-Tivo might be slow and not have folders but its a rock solid performer when it comes to doing what it's supposed to do.

Anyone have any detailed screen shots of the 622 in action? I am curious as to what the guide looks like etc.

Thanks


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## Rovingbar (Jan 25, 2005)

Check out the official DBS Talk 622 review thread. The review has lots of screen shots.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

:welcome_s Marcus. 

I suggest taking a wider look. Since this is the place where you will here people having issues you will usually here the worst. Yes there is a chance you could fall into a catagory that some have where they have had a lot of problems, but if you read other threads you will see others are not. This is common with most forums. most of the posts will be from people having issues. 

People don't usually post to tell what a great experience they are having though I have seen some posts in this forum indicating such. 

I have ran into the jitters and audio sync as others have and I hope a fix is coming soon. Having said that, I am also enjoying my 622 a heck of a lot more than I did my 921. I really enjoy the ability to record 3 HD streams at a given time (If you have OTA) and that in itself solves some conflicts the 921 could not. Also find the dual tv mode to be useful at times though I don't use my 622 exclusively in dual mode. 

You will definitely get a good idea of the current warts on the 622 from reading this forum, but you will also read some positives. Got some great users on here that really understand the equipment and have been providing some excellent feedback. 

As someone mentioned, the review thread is a good place to start.


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

Thanks,
I have actually been reading the forum for about 6 months or so. Not every thread mind you, and I do realize that the people with problems are more vocal than others.

I will have to go over the review thread again..Last time I looked I didnt see any guide screen shots.


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## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

Took them three weeks to iron out all of my bugs, and two ViP622s, but now that they're ironed out, it's working super. You can see the details here (scroll down to the comments to see all the posts in order).


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

MarcusInMD said:


> Thanks,
> I have actually been reading the forum for about 6 months or so. Not every thread mind you, and I do realize that the people with problems are more vocal than others.
> 
> I will have to go over the review thread again..Last time I looked I didnt see any guide screen shots.


Check out the 942 review as well. The 622 review references it. Since the 942 and 622 UI's are almost identical we didn't repeat a lot of what was in the 942 review. Differences between the 942 and the 622 are documented in the 622 review. My suggestion would be to read through the 942 one, and then go through the 622 review.

Also, there have been a number of external reviews of this unit, check them out as well:

ZDNet/CNet: http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Dish_Network_ViP622/4505-6474_16-31778299.html
Extreme Tech: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1956226,00.asp
Gear Live: http://www.gearlive.com/index.php/news/article/dish-network-vip622-hd-pvr-review-05221627/


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## rdopso (Jan 26, 2004)

Keep in mind that owners are far, far more inclined to post complaints than positive comments -- it's just human nature. I have been with Dish as a satisfied customer for many years and have owned six different Dish receivers, including the 721, 921, and 622. I had a perfect 45-min install experience with the 622 and only a few very minor issues with the unit to date -- it's a good product and the features are outstanding.


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

Thanks again for the info guys.

How is the OTA tuner in the 622? Since the MPEG4 locals are not available yet in this area I will still have to rely on the OTA HD signals. The Hd-Tivo has some issues because of multi-path in my area. We live on a hill side and there is another hill behind us that causes some issues. Some days we get perfect reception and other days its bad. I have one of the best antennas on the roof with a rotor too. If I could get the antenna another 150 ft up off the roof I would be golden.


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

Ok I checked out the 942 review. Great to see what the guide looks like. The DirecTV guide is so slow that we have to use the Tivo Guide and I never really liked it.

I didn't notice if the 942 had folders for recorded events. I will have to take a peak again at the 622 review.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

942 and 622 do not have folders.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

MarcusInMD said:


> Thanks again for the info guys.
> 
> How is the OTA tuner in the 622? Since the MPEG4 locals are not available yet in this area I will still have to rely on the OTA HD signals. The Hd-Tivo has some issues because of multi-path in my area. We live on a hill side and there is another hill behind us that causes some issues. Some days we get perfect reception and other days its bad. I have one of the best antennas on the roof with a rotor too. If I could get the antenna another 150 ft up off the roof I would be golden.


I can't compare OTA to the HD-Tivo from Direct TV since I've never had it, but I get great OTA reception with my 622. It's slightly better than the 942 and even a bit better than it was for me on the 921. That is all I have to compare it with. I haven't seen much in the way of complaints on the 622's OTA capabilities.


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## interpol (May 9, 2006)

I'll just second what others have said. I've had my 622 for over a month now and have had no issues. This is hands down the best DVR out there. I was a non-HD DirecTivo customer for 3-4 years and I also had a Dish receiver for HD content. I was hesitant about giving up my “modified” DirecTivo and I certainly miss the web interface (TivoWeb) and the ability to extract content, but the 622 is not without its share of slick features (TV2 out, much faster GUI…). DirecTV has some catching up to do.


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## bobl (Jan 17, 2004)

The OTA tuner in the 622 is much better than the one in the HDTivo. I just changed two weeks ago and am particularly pleased with the OTA performance. I also have severe multipath issues but the 622 does a great job in this area.


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## ClarkBar (Mar 5, 2006)

Yes, folks on forums - like the media - do not often tell the good news. My several SD DVRs and my 811 HD box all worked very well for the most part. 

I am probably in a minority that I am on my THIRD 622. The first one lost HDMI output, then Component output, plus some assorted problems. The second one was missing video on 2 of 4 HD LIL networks from time to time, had audio snyc problems and some timer problems. Dish offered to replace the 2nd one, although I was not demanding they do that. I am not one who calls Dish the minute I see some pixelation or the audio gets out of sync. I read the forums and often find answers, like using the back button for the audio-sync quick fix. 

The THIRD 622 worked great for about a week, but the other night went into a spontaneous rebooting frenzy. Reboot, show a picture for a few seconds and reboot. After about 8 times, I pulled the plug and reactivated my SD DVR 510 - which still works great. Today the 622 appears to be working. I must have offended the satellite gods, or something. If I can keep the third 622 working most of the time, I will not seek a fourth 622 until mine simply refuses to come on. Or, until football season starts. By then, the 622, MPEG4, and Echostar 10 will have had time to settle in a bit more.

Update 6-17-06 

Marcus, since I had the recent problems with my latest 622, it seems to have settled down. From my experience and seeing other posts, Dish has been more than willing to exchange 622s that had a substantial problem. I am sure I am in the small minority of having severe problems with more than one 622.


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## Rogueone (Jan 29, 2004)

Marucs, what part of MD? why can't you get the DC locals? are you in the Baltimore area or Eastern shore? 

I'd say if you're hesitating because of the minor problems mentioned in these threads, you're just costing yourself lots of enjoyment  I have the occassional audio sync issue, I just hit the backup button a couple times and it usually fixes it. Heck, I have to back up during shows all the time anyway (overshoot the commercial break, didn't hear what someone said, kids, etc) so it's not that annoying to do it. Sure, it's annoying, but not in the "I'm throwing this piece of crap out the window" kind of annoying. More like the "dang it, I'm down to the last gulp of my drink, now I gotta stop the show to fill'er up" way  

I look at my 622 this way : I had an original release 921, and that was nutz. I couldn't rely on it to record at first. With the 622, once I got use to how it works (like how the New shows function catches and misses) I have no problems. Anything it hiccups on has to be tempered against all the enjoyment I got that past 3 months in being able to see ALL of my favorite shows in HD rather than only 1 or 2 a night. The little nagging bugs will be gone soon, just like when you have a BBQ in your backyard, there will be flies and they will eventually be gone, these aren't product killing issues. These are gnats and flies you swat  

For a few, they have a legitimate hardware failure/issue, just don't worry yourself about whether you get a good one or a bad one, it's not like you can influence which you get. And if you think about it, this is the time to get one, as you'll have the summer to figure out if it's a good one or a bad one, and have time to get it replaced if it's bad, before the normal TV season starts up and Football comes back


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## rocky01 (Mar 20, 2005)

Been with Dish for some time and currently I'm on second 622 since first one was emitting screeching noise and randomly shutting itself off, clearly not in good health. As usual I didn't have to jump through hoops to get problem fixed. Tech support did not know if and when firmware update would fix, so received a new one and it has performed well except for an occassional mild audio sync blip. I don't blame it on the DVR necessarily though since we've got Digital Big Screen TV and know any processing of video signal inside digital devices can cause this. Anyone having frequent or pronounced sync issues and not connected or daisychained to HTPC or 360 should have complaint IMO. Yeah, Dish tends to long handle spoon it's videophile customers to some degree but then what do you expect with a hard to please group always asking for more? Fact that they're foward looking is still good. There are bugs in some equipment customers get (to be expected) and there sometimes is long wait for fixes, features and programming but at least they are forward looking and responsive -- when you consider their size and complexity and say, cable doubling in price with same customer service they've always had. I might have different view if I was on my 3rd or 4th 622 like some others and/or had some of the other problems.

Most annoyed though about not being able to shuttle those recorded programs over to new machine. Wish Dish would help customers exercise fair use rights so as to make such things possible in exchange for longtime customers buying full plate of programming and early adopting technology (especially those who do before it's reasonably priced and that doesn't include me) as well as making renewed long term commitment to boot, but I digress.


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

Thanks again everyone. Getting closer to pulling the trigger here, but I did see that the 622 is missing folders...AYE! Thats one feature I really miss from when I was using SageTV with my C-band setup.

Rogueone,
I am in northern MD almost into PA. My local Tv comes out of Baltimore. Can I get hooked up with DC locals until the baltimore are available? Might have to call and ask them that.


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## normang (Nov 14, 2002)

Has Dish indicated when if anything is impending to resolve some of the issues perpertually discussed here almost daily??? 

One would think that they would try and address these issues quickly to get past the issues, instead of letting each and every new install come and post about some issues that's been known for weeks. 

So is there an inkling anywhere that they are on the brink of releasing some 622 code that actually fixes known issues..


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## wingnut1 (Nov 10, 2005)

I've had the 622 since April and I really haven't had any problems with it. In fact they called to see if I wanted to exchange my 942 recently and I said yes. So now I will have two 622s.


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## jrb531 (May 29, 2004)

Best box I ever had from Dish!

It's new and has some teething pains but no more than the 501/508's - perhaps less. I expect it to be rock solid in a few months and untill then I can deal with re-booting it once a week.

-JB


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## Rick_R (Sep 1, 2004)

I love my 622. I never had a DVR before so I am like a kid in a candy shop. The few gliches are minor. I had local HD channels only OTA before and the breakups there were more than minor so the 622 is great. Had it over 2 months.

Rick R


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## MarcusInMD (Jan 7, 2005)

Ron Barry said:


> 942 and 622 do not have folders.


Ughh...I figured that was the case. The lack of this feature drives me upa wall with our HD-Tivo. I will probably just hold off on getting dish until this feature becomes available...Maybe I will give our local cable a try since there is no commitment.

AYE! Why can't we get everything we want from one provider? <sigh>


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## UTFAN (Nov 12, 2005)

MarcusInMD said:


> I really want to give Dish a try along with this DVR (622) but reading the posts here really scare me. Is their anyone here that is not having HDMI issues, video stuttering problems, audio drop outs etc?
> 
> What is Dish Networks return policy on new customers/equipment?
> 
> Thanks!


We've had ours about 7 weeks now and are totally and absolutely pleased.

NO issues.

Keep in mind, this site is mostly all about the negative, seldom the positive. Especially when it comes to DISH.

Highly recommend the 622.


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## drsimnal (Sep 26, 2004)

I had a 921 previously. I love my 622. OTA locks much better (without changing the antenna site or cable) compared to the 921. It's so quiet! the 921 has a really loud fan. And I've had no issues at all. Thank god I decided not to wait on upgrading.


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