I've been a TiVo user for ages and I'm looking to replace it.

Currently I have a very old Dish and a very old TiVo. (No complaints about the TiVo hardware...it's lasted for nearly 10 years!)

I got an HD television a while ago, so I need to upgrade. If I want to stick with Dish, the HD TiVo won't work with it.

I've read the Dish DVR interface is good, but there are a lot of hardware problems. The severity of the problems could easily make the difference here.

My other reasonable option is AT&T U-Verse. This seems to be more expensive, but it has more channels and would eliminate the need to worry about the height of the trees in my yard.

Any suggestions for which to choose (new Dish hardware vs. U-Verse)?

I am not interested in premium channels and only want the smallest package. I only care about sending the signal to one television. I would like a reasonable amount of storage (ie, at least 30 hours).

I am also concerned about the interface, so if the U-Verse DVR has a famously bad interface or something, that would probably make the decision for me.

I have limited viewing needs, but mostly I want the experience to be pleasurable. For instance, if the remote sucks, I will be forever unhappy.

The only reason I'm making any change at all is to take advantage of the new HD television. I don't have an extensive sound system nor am I particularly interested in that kind of thing (unless the sound is notably horrible).

I hate the local cable company, so that is a no-go.

What do the experts here suggest?

Compared to most cable DVRs, the U-Verse DVR is pretty good. That said, it can't compare to the latest Dish Network satellite DVRs. You'll be much happier with the Dish Network ViP722K. Make sure you get the K version.

Thanks for the tip.

Is it still true that if you don't buy the locals through Dish, then you get no guide data? I'd love to actually pick up the locals for free out of the air, but the guide data is kind of important.

Even with an extra $5/month, it's still cheaper than U-Verse, although I would love to get the Science Channel.

Given that the U-Verse DVR is less popular and the signal seems to be worse, I suppose Dish is still the winner. I'll just have to keep visiting my friends to get my Science fix, I guess.

Thanks for the tip.

Is it still true that if you don't buy the locals through Dish, then you get no guide data? I'd love to actually pick up the locals for free out of the air, but the guide data is kind of important.

Even with an extra $5/month, it's still cheaper than U-Verse, although I would love to get the Science Channel.

Given that the U-Verse DVR is less popular and the signal seems to be worse, I suppose Dish is still the winner. I'll just have to keep visiting my friends to get my Science fix, I guess.

Yes, you need to subscribe to local channels to get guide data for them. The Science Channel HD is in Dish's Gold package.

Ted

Thanks again for the info.

I saw that the Science Channel was in the expensive package, but since I don't really care about anything in the medium package and only a couple of other things in the expensive one, it doesn't really make sense for me.

Too bad no one's ever been able to make a la carte work.

Anyway, I guess no one is going to claim U-Verse is superior? Unanimous opinion makes me feel better about my choice.

Thanks again for the info.

I saw that the Science Channel was in the expensive package, but since I don't really care about anything in the medium package and only a couple of other things in the expensive one, it doesn't really make sense for me.

Too bad no one's ever been able to make a la carte work.

Anyway, I guess no one is going to claim U-Verse is superior? Unanimous opinion makes me feel better about my choice.

I know a few people who have it. They find the DVR to be inferior to many others out there. Picture Quality is good though.

Ted

I can't comment on Dish, but I can tell you that in my opinion, (and I produce HD vids occasionally for profit), U-verse HD PQ is substantially inferior to Direct. Ditto for the DVR/Guide. If I can solve a tree issue, I'm going back to D*.

Thanks for all your input. You've made the decision a lot easier.

I will miss TiVo, but circumstances leave me no choice, and I haven't been thrilled with their customer support in any event.

They should be happy with my years as a customer...around 10 years of monthly fees (I thought for sure they would be sued out of existence and a lifetime account was folly!) for the same box. I only hope my Dish DVR will be as hardy.

OK, I just got off the phone with Dish and I would like to do a sanity check with you guys, based on what they said...

1. The price difference is only going to be a few bucks, but is actually savings, since I'm dumping the $13 TiVo charge, adding $10 for HD, $5 for the DVR, and subtracting another $10 (moving back down to Bronze from Silver).

2. The 722K should cost me a one-time $100 fee (with a $10 discount for giving them back my old box).

3. I'll actually gain some functionality, since they'll run a second line to a SD television which sits in a largely unused guest room. Not a big deal, but a nice extra. They claim there is no monthly fee for this.

4. I asked them to explain to the difference between the 722 and the 722K and they kept saying things like "The 722 allows you to record X hours, while the 722K allows you to record X hours", where X=X.

The one difference they did come up with was that the 722K should be able to pick up OTA channels. Is that accurate?

Anyway, they were quite friendly and did their best to be helpful, so I didn't get immediately turned off on my the first step in the process. They also claim to be open 24/7, including Thanksgiving, which is impressive (although I guess they need to be in case something happens while people are trying to enjoy the football games and such).

If this all sounds right to you guys, I think I'm finally ready to say a final farewell to my beloved TiVo.

4. I asked them to explain to the difference between the 722 and the 722K and they kept saying things like "The 722 allows you to record X hours, while the 722K allows you to record X hours", where X=X.The K version uses a newer, much faster CPU that can support future enhancements like this 16:9 HD UI (http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm314/ilovehdtv/Other/ViP922/vip922_guide1.jpg[/IMG); the CPU in the older 722 model is limited to 16:9 SD UI. The K version also can record four different channels at the same time (2 sat, 2 ota) when you add the optional ~$40 OTA module.

The one difference they did come up with was that the 722K should be able to pick up OTA channels. Is that accurate?The old 722 model has one built-in OTA tuner. The 722K has a slot in the back for a $40 OTA module that adds two OTA tuners.

If you have an off-air antenna, you'll probably want to add the Dish MT2 OTA module. You can order it here (http://dishdepot.com/dish_receivers.jsp) for $40.

Thanks again.

I've been using rabbit ears to check out HD things from time to time, just to see what the new TV can do. It only picks up a few of the locals, but since I don't rely on it, I've never thought much about it.

Will a smallish antenna attached to the new dish do the job of picking up the OTAs or would I need a large old school one to get access to more channels?

I've seen metal rings that go around dishes which I thought were for this purpose...is that what those things are?

http://www.silicondust.com/hdhomerun/channels_us

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/info.aspx?page=FAQ
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx

Well, I finally took the plunge and so far I'm impressed.

First of all, I talked to two sales people at different times and both were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. So much so that it was kind of shocking. I suppose they put the friendly helpful people on the front lines. I hope I don't have to make a tech support call to find out how they are.

Also, since I've been a Dish customer for many years, they gave me the 722k for free.

As it turns out, there's one show on one of the channels in the Silver package that I want to see in December, so I'm not moving back to Bronze just yet. Apparently there will be a $5 charge to scale back the package in the future.

All in all, once I cancel the TiVo, it will only cost me a few extra bucks per month more than I'm paying now for the HD upgrade. Not bad.

I called around 1am, and the guy was supposed to show up between 12pm-5pm on the same day. He actually showed up at 10am and spent about 4 hours mucking around, running cable, moving furniture, installing the new dish, etc. It took another hour or two to clean up afterwards.

As he unpacked the DVR, I asked if it was a 722k and he said it was a 622. He said the 622 was "the same thing" as the 722. I asked about the larger hard drive in the 722 and then he admitted that the 722 was much better. I said I supposed to get the 722k and he said "no problem" and unpacked a new one instead.

Good thing I asked.

The DVR is quite nice. It doesn't have that friendly TiVo feeling and the remote has roughly 7,000 buttons, but it looks quite robust and I didn't have much trouble programming it with my old season passes.

I'm not sure what some of the icons mean (what's with the 1 and 2 clock icons?) and some of the menus seem counterintuitive, but I'm probably just dealing with TiVo withdrawal.

All the business with the scheduling priority seems logical, and I liked things a lot better once I reclaimed some real estate by shrinking the font in the Preferences. And right there on the front page, one of my longtime beefs with TiVo...a free space indicator! Yay!

Overall, the experience has been positive...so far.

I am cautiously optimistic, although my local PBS station does not seem to be in HD and large blocks are programming are unlabeled. Oh well.

Thanks for all your help.

Well, I finally took the plunge and so far I'm impressed.

First of all, I talked to two sales people at different times and both were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. So much so that it was kind of shocking. I suppose they put the friendly helpful people on the front lines. I hope I don't have to make a tech support call to find out how they are.

I have had good and bad experiences with Dish tech support. I would say that they have improved over the past couple of years, but they couldn't have gotten much worse, so YMMV.

Also, since I've been a Dish customer for many years, they gave me the 722k for free.

As it turns out, there's one show on one of the channels in the Silver package that I want to see in December, so I'm not moving back to Bronze just yet. Apparently there will be a $5 charge to scale back the package in the future.

All in all, once I cancel the TiVo, it will only cost me a few extra bucks per month more than I'm paying now for the HD upgrade. Not bad.

I called around 1am, and the guy was supposed to show up between 12pm-5pm on the same day. He actually showed up at 10am and spent about 4 hours mucking around, running cable, moving furniture, installing the new dish, etc. It took another hour or two to clean up afterwards.

As he unpacked the DVR, I asked if it was a 722k and he said it was a 622. He said the 622 was "the same thing" as the 722. I asked about the larger hard drive in the 722 and then he admitted that the 722 was much better. I said I supposed to get the 722k and he said "no problem" and unpacked a new one instead.

Good thing I asked.

The DVR is quite nice. It doesn't have that friendly TiVo feeling and the remote has roughly 7,000 buttons, but it looks quite robust and I didn't have much trouble programming it with my old season passes.

I'm not sure what some of the icons mean (what's with the 1 and 2 clock icons?) and some of the menus seem counterintuitive, but I'm probably just dealing with TiVo withdrawal.

The Dish DVRs tell you which tuner the show will record on. If you are in single mode, it doesn't really matter much, but in dual mode (2 TVs hooked up to 1 DVR) it matters because that is what will be showing up on that TV at that time.

All the business with the scheduling priority seems logical, and I liked things a lot better once I reclaimed some real estate by shrinking the font in the Preferences. And right there on the front page, one of my longtime beefs with TiVo...a free space indicator! Yay!

Overall, the experience has been positive...so far.

I am cautiously optimistic, although my local PBS station does not seem to be in HD and large blocks are programming are unlabeled. Oh well.

Thanks for all your help.

Very few PBS stations are carried in HD on Dish. That should get better in the future. It can take a little time before the guide is fully populated. I hope you enjoy it. I think you made a good choice.

Ted