Dish Network VIP622 Receiver Questions... - Page 3

A lot of major markets already get HD locals from E* (including my market Portland, OR). Where do you live?

Hello,

I was at Costco tonight and I came across the VIP622. It was for sale for $450 or something, and had a $200 "rebate" if you were willing to change it to a lease agreement. It did not appear from looking at the packaging that if I were to purchase one of the units and not accept the rebate that I would be required to subscribe to Dish network.

My current setup consists of an older HDTV (component input only) a Samsung SIR 151 set top box for OTA HDTV reception and an Onkyo tuner for dolby digital 5.1 surround sound. I am quite happy with my setup as it give me great picture, great sound and no monthly fees. I would, however, like to be able to record in HDTV. I also have analog Comcast cable and a VCR so when I do want to record something, that's the way I go. Let me tell you that the difference in quality from an ATSC broadcast of Lost and a VHS replay of Lost is truely amazing.

I have been keeping my eyes out for a good OTA HDTV DVR for quite some time now and the VIP622 seems like a great unit for this purpose if it will work without a Dish network subscription.

How does the OTA HDTV recording feature work? Does it require a Dish network subscription?

I'm not sure if the box will work at all without a dish subscription. The OTA feed integrates with the screen guide IF you purchase the DISH locals. You then just select anything on the guide (OTA or DISH FEED) and indicate you want to record it.

I'd think that without the DISH service the VIP622 probably isn't for you -- but I'm not sure if there are mods or ways to simply use it as a 200GB video recorder.

If it matters DISH's HDTV lineup (30 channels of dedicated HD) combined with an OTA HD antennea will provide the most HDTV programming anywhere...

Mark

I have the VIP622.
In Set up I was setting the HD output to 1080i but when I received my new SONY KDS-R60XBR2 on Tuesday I did not like the picture quality so I changed the output to 720p.

The picture looked better.

Is it better to leave it at 720p and allow the SONY to upscale the picture to 1080p via the HDMI connect??

I would appreciate some input from knowledgeable forum members.

Thanks

I would suspect whether sending a 720p or 1080i signal to the HDTV is best depends on the source of the signal and the native display of the HDTV. ABC, FOX, and ESPN transmit in 720p all other channels transmit in 1080i.

If your TV is 1080i native and the show is 1080i then sending the 720p to the TV requires a 1080i->720p->1080i conversion. If on the other hand the TV is 720p native and the show is 720p then sending the TV a 1080i requires a 720p->1080i->720p conversion.

If your TV is 1080i native then a show that is 1080i is best sending a 1080i to the TV. If the show is 720p then sending a 1080i to the TV requires the STB to do the conversion. Sending the 720p to the TV requires the TV to do the conversion. Usually the TVs are better at doing the conversion than STB.

Rick R

Thanks Rick!

My TV is native 1080p
Would 720p be best?
It would seem the upconversion would occur with VIP622 @ 720p--upscale to 1080i channels (when receiving 1080i) and then to 1080p (upconverted by the SONY XBR2 via HDMI.
Is this correct?

Dish says that they are working on a pass through mode for the 622. In this mode the 622 will send to the TV whatever format the 622 is recieving. This probably would be best for you. Don't know the time frame for this mode for the 622 however.

Rick R

Yeap I heard about that. That feature was supported on the VOOM STB and I loved it.

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned the fact that you can split the signal from your antenna and send one feed to the 622 and the other to your TV (providing it has an atsc tuner). Then you can record one local HD show with the 622's tuner and watch another local HD show on your TV's tuner at the same time.

Well based on some of the posts here and in other threads decided to do the jump to dish from Comcast. Now just a cpl questions

1) This is what Im supposed to get:
the 622 box, supposedly their newest Dish (something 1000) Plat HD pkg +HD locals Montly cost for 10 months of $84, then after 10 months bill willl go up to $104. Since I pay Comcast $90 a month after they do a $25 credit & only HBO and Sho movie channels it seems like Dish is a good deal, am I correct?

2) Several posts talk about being able to actually record 3 HD channels at one time. 2 via the Dish and 1 via OTA hjow should the box be set. Since its mainly for my WS TV do I want it in Single or duel mode. For example say on one night there are 3 local channels all with hd goodness shows I want to be able to set say 9HD on one tuner to record, Fox HD on the 2nd tuner and say 2 in HD via OTA.

3) also wondering if anyone has heard if Dish is going to pick up CW(2) in HD sometime in the near future. Not really sure why they dont have it already. Seems here in Denver they get HD locals for CBS NBC ABC Fox but no CW right now. They do carry 2 in SD tho so am hoping there are plans to add its HD version.

Sorry if these seem like dumb questions or that have been answered before but better to ask here than the CS's at Dish to get informed answers, hehe

Sincere Thanks for info/advice

1. Dish does seem cheaper than cable when I compared them. I think the platnium is ALL the channels that DISH carries, including all movie channels, right? If you wanted you could get HD-Silver plus six channels of HBO for something like $74 a month ($54 during the rebate period). You'd be missing the National Geographic HD channel and the other movie channels. Anyways, no matter how you look at it its a better deal than cable.

2. If you are just using it on one TV you can use the single mode -- it allows a really nice P&P feature using the DISH's tuners. If you want to watch DIFFERENT things on DIFFERENT TV's you need to switch to DUAL mode. You can switch between the modes with one button press on the 622's front panel. I generally leave ours on dual mode (the second feed runs to a distribution center and four other TV's in the home). I switch to single mode when watching live sports for the P&P feature.

It does have three tuners. You can do exactly what you describe above. Obviously you need an antenna to pull this off. The only other limiting factor is that it will only hold 25-30 hours of HD material that you record -- so if you are recording 3 HDTV shows a night its gonna fill up quick!

Now here's another tidbit to fry your brain. You could record the three at once while watching TWO more previously recorded HDTV shows on different TV's in your home -- therefore shuffling a grand total of 5 HDTV shows at once!!

3. I live in the Grand Rapids market -- all our HDTV locals have to come via OTA.

Yeah, those CSR's are a real crapshoot!

Chow,
Mark

I'm new , did a lot of reading over last few months about HDTV, receivers and Dish.
I'm getting HDTV in 2-3 months but I would like to have VIP622 now . I'm surre my question been asked before but I cannot find direct answer. Can I us VIP622 with 2 SD TVs for time being? I understand I would not be able to view HD channels - are there any other limitations?
Thanks

Trying to wrap my mind around this as far as how it can be done. I can see having 3 HD's recording going at once and watching a pre-recorded HD as a 4th but how are you coming up with 5? The 622 only has one HD output I thought. Or are you talking bout HDTVs that have an tuner for HD?

You can view the HD channels fine but of course they will not be in HD. The 622 outputs composite and S-video so using a SDTV is ok.


The 622 has 2 satellite tuners so it can be set up to handle two TVs. Each of these 2 TVs can be watching a separate prerecorded show while the 622 is recording 3 shows using the 2 satellite and one OTA tuners.

Rick R

I appriciate your response Rick R
thanks

Ahhh, now I stoodunder hehe. I'll settle for just 4. Watching HD downsized to SD isnt something I want to do. Since Im mainly planning to hook it to just my HDTV in single mode for things like PiP think I'll be okay. Thats what confused me in your post, thought you meant there was a newer version of the box with 2 HD outs or something. Looking forward to my monday install, hope Im not disapointed.

The 5th HD show would have to be watched in SD quality -- but it could be watched...

Does anyone know what cables come with a 622? Both my old Voom and comcast boxes only had DVI out so was using a DVI/HDMI cable and trying figure out if I need to run out and buy a plain hdmi/hdmi cable or will it come with one. Also does anyone have a link for info on the the 1000 Dish since I saw no info on it when I looked about their site
Thanks in advance

Yes you will need a HDMI/HDMI cable. Buy one on ebay and save yourself a LOAD of money compared to electronic stores.

The 1000 dish is capable of pulling in 3 satellites, its only slightly larger than the 500 dish. It has 3 LNB's. Hopefully your installer will handle it for you.. its not a huge deal.

Mark

I have a link but was unable to post it ( I need 5 posts before I can start attaching any links or pictures) Try this page replace "_" with "." satelliteone_com/dish/support/support

Well so far so good, hehe. Installer showed up on time, was quick and professional. Had me up and running in less than 2 hrs and seems he was able to use the mounting deal from my old DTV somehow so no new holes in roof or wall. So far everything works great and the one HD local they don't offer, CW2, comes in great via the OTA.

Hey All, I'm a noob also. Expecting my new plasma tmw. Will get the 622 within a few weeks (probably not soon enough!!) and had a question I hadnt noticed before.. I currently have the 508/510 (not sure which) dish PVR (not leased). My question is - can I still use that receiver on a third tv and use that PVR function or will the subscription only support one active PVR unit? Would they charge for the 2nd PVR or can that be used "under the table" just as a recorder? In the back of my mind I'm afraid the card would deactivate the PVR function if I'm not paying for it but thought I'd ask. It's not a huge deal yet b/c I dont have a third TV, but just thinking of the future..
Anyone tried something like this?
Thanks,
Tim

ps. been trolling the forums for a while while researching and I really appreciate all the great info here!!!

Tim.

The 501 and I think 508 NEVER will have any charges for the PVR feature, unlike all the new boxes. However, they will still charge you the $5 or so for a second TV feed.

I ended up selling my 501 on ebay for about $150. I take the second feed on the 622 and run it to a video distributer. It shows up on 4 TV;s in the home. I bought a couple extra UHF+ remotes and I can operate that second tuner from anywhere in the house. Dish does not charge a second box/tv charge for the dual tuner 622.

Mark

Thanks for the info Weasels. Thats not a bad idea. I also realized that I get pretty good reception for local channels (more than are broadcast through the satelite) so I will probably save $5 on the subscription for that. I had a decent antenna in the attic from before and it seems to pull things in well. Once I get the 622, I can record the OTA stuff too, if I read the previous posts correctly.. Now to find a good wall mount at a good price. I've seen some links around here, just gotta find them again..
Thanks again!

to integrate the OTA locals with the dish guide, and the one-touch recording you need to pay for your DISH locals.

I'm not sure what shows up if you dont pay for the DISH locals. Perhaps you can set it to record based upon timeframes or something like that. Anyone out there have just OTA locals and no DISH locals? How easy is it to record?

Mark

Currently I'm using the 942 DVR and have two dish on the roof. Can I use the new 622 with those dish and not get the new 1000 dish? Would the guide still work? How about locals?
Thanks.

Yes to all that.

Does 622 have SD OTA tuner only? I have OTA but my HD TV will be without tuner, will I be able to watch OTA HD programing or only SD ?
tx

The 622 OTA tuner is a HDTV tuner. (It takes in any digital signal, SD or HD).

Mark

I am considering whether to dump cable and then get a 622 in the great room, from which I would feed the 2nd TV output to the guest room. If someone is in the guest room channel surfing, what tuners are left for the great room and how can they be used? Could I still record one show off the dish while watching another if someone is watching live TV upstairs?