[Spider Crab]

I'm a longtime Dish customer and am finally making the jump to HD. I've also been a TiVo user for years, but since the TiVo HD doesn't work with Dish's signal, I'm now looking at the Dish DVR selection.


I was offered three options: The ViP612 for a one-time upfront cost of $25, the ViP622 for $100, and the ViP722 for $200.


I have two televisions in the house, but no one ever uses the second one, so I'm really not concerned with simultaneous viewing on multiple televisions.


As I understand it, this means there would be no benefit to selecting the 622 over the 612. The 722 has a larger capacity, but I rarely ran out of space on my old TiVo, so I'm not sure if it's worth $175 for the extra capacity.


Are there any other significant differences between the 612 and the 722? Is the interface basically the same? Any sort of extra stuff built into the box that would make it potentially more useful to me in the future? Does the second output capability provide any benefit to a single-television configuration?


I've read of some problems with the HDMI output and the 600 series units. Is that still an issue? I don't think I'd have any problem using a component cable instead, as my HDTV is modestly-sized and I'm not overly concerned with absolute peak performance.


Are my assumptions correct? Any thoughts or suggestions?


Additionally, I've read that some cable/satellite companies hide the true cost of DVR service by telling you it's going to be $X/month, but then tucked into the bill is an added monthly charge for the ability to use a DVR, on top of the explicitly-stated cost of the DVR rental/service charge/whatever. Is this true for Dish?

 

[ncted]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Spider Crab /forum/post/15513351


I'm a longtime Dish customer and am finally making the jump to HD. I've also been a TiVo user for years, but since the TiVo HD doesn't work with Dish's signal, I'm now looking at the Dish DVR selection.


I was offered three options: The ViP612 for a one-time upfront cost of $25, the ViP622 for $100, and the ViP722 for $200.


I have two televisions in the house, but no one ever uses the second one, so I'm really not concerned with simultaneous viewing on multiple televisions.


As I understand it, this means there would be no benefit to selecting the 622 over the 612. The 722 has a larger capacity, but I rarely ran out of space on my old TiVo, so I'm not sure if it's worth $175 for the extra capacity.


Are there any other significant differences between the 612 and the 722? Is the interface basically the same? Any sort of extra stuff built into the box that would make it potentially more useful to me in the future? Does the second output capability provide any benefit to a single-television configuration?


I've read of some problems with the HDMI output and the 600 series units. Is that still an issue? I don't think I'd have any problem using a component cable instead, as my HDTV is modestly-sized and I'm not overly concerned with absolute peak performance.


Are my assumptions correct? Any thoughts or suggestions?


Additionally, I've read that some cable/satellite companies hide the true cost of DVR service by telling you it's going to be $X/month, but then tucked into the bill is an added monthly charge for the ability to use a DVR, on top of the explicitly-stated cost of the DVR rental/service charge/whatever. Is this true for Dish?

Sounds like the 612 should suit your purposes fine as long as you never plan to watch recorded content from the DVR on the second TV. HDMI is a b***h. Component should work fine if HDMI does not. The only thing requiring HDMI from Dish right now is 1080p video-on-demand. For everything else, component should be fine and probably look better as well. In the future, certain content might be down-rezed to 540p without HDMI, but that remains uncertain.


As for price, it depends on your programming plan. If you have a DVR Advantage or Americas Everything plan, you will not pay extra for the 1st DVR. If you have some other plan, DVR fees will be separate on top of the additional receiver fees.


Ted

 

[Oz Man]

If you have been with them for a long time, and is making the swithch to HD, I would talk to them and make them give you the 722 as a free upgrade. Most will work with you and you should have a good chance of getting it free, exspecially when you tell them that you might go to D*.