DP EPG Bug and $149 Upgrade

[Geronimo]

I have been having guide problems. Odd ones. Channels disappear from the guide then reappaear. Four digit channels appear mysteriously. Etc. Tonight I was offere d the on again off again $149 upgrade. Should I take it?

[Bill R]

That is really a personal decision that each DishPlayer owner has to make on their own. Having said that, here are some things that may help you decide:

If you are not already paying $9.99 a month for PTV you may have to start paying it after June. The 508 does not have any PTV (PVR) fee.

The stock drive for the DishPlayer (at the most) only records 10-12 hours of programming. The 508 will record 25-30 hours.

The DishPlayer can easily be upgraded to a larger hard drive (up to 120 GB to record about 95-100 hours of programming). The 508 hard drive can not (that I know of) be upgraded.

The DishPlayer has one of the better user interfaces of any PVR/DVR on the market (IMHO, the 721 has the best user interface). The 508 user interface is good but a lot of DishPlayer owners don't like it as much as the DishPlayer's.

The DishPlayer has been (and for some contiunues to be) buggy. There is a new CLIENT software release that is suppose to fix some bugs and also give it the DISH EEPG (9 day guide). There is also a question about future software updates (from MSN) for the DishPlayer. The software for the 508 is stable and continues to be improved by Echostar.

The $149 price may be the best price you will be able to buy a DISH PVR for in the foreseeable future.

You should be able to sell your DishPlayer for over $200 (I assume that DISH doesn't want them back, I never have got straight information on the "$149 deal" and if you need to send back the DishPlayer).

[Geronimo]

Thanks. One note it can be a 501 or a 508

[Bill R]

G,

I don't think so. Everyone is now getting a 508 in the "special" offer. I am also hearing that people that have to have their 501s replaced are getting 508s.

[Geronimo]

You might be right but they went out of their way to tell me it could be a 501.

[Bob Haller]

Just be home when they come. If its a 501 refuse it. Or get the name and phone number oif the installer call and ask what they are putting in.

[MrAkai]

I was able to get a $99 refund for my "lifetime" PTV charge when I switched from DPs to 501's on the "special offer" so you might see if they'll do that for you.

Of course I was swapping out two units, so maybe they did something different for me.

[Geronimo]

What special offer are you referring to? They normally will not even acknowledge there was a "lifetime" fee. But I guess the relevant question is what did you pay?

[MrAkai]

I did the email to ceo@echostar.com and got a call back within 24 hours from a nice lady (name misplaced in memory) who replaced my 7100's with 501's for a bit less than they are offering you, and they also refunded my $99 I paid for PTV.

I want to abide by my vocal agreement with them not to discuss exact price details, so I can't be more explicit with the per-unit costs.

This was about 10 months ago, so their policy may have changed since then.

Basically tell them you've been a subscriber for x-long and don't want to quit the service, but those shiny directivos are looking better every time your dishplayer eats 30 hours of recordings.

Good luck

[cyberized]

I too within the past month or so EMailed ceo as in last post - have been with DISH for 5 years and 9 months and was about to switch to DTV for DirecTIVO - - - DISH kept me for the duration, gave me a PVR 508 for $149 (included shipping and install) and I then sold my DP on EBay for $200+.
I did love the interface of the DP BUT with all the bells and whistles of the 508 I can definitely live with it's interface - isn't all that bad. This PVR 508 is GREAT though - I love this thing and can hardly wait till next football season to re-run plays as much as I want.
I for one say "Thumbs UP to DISH Support"!

Michael

[Jacob S]

If you can get the $99 refund for lifetime PVR and get the 501/508 for $149 I would take it and then sell the 7100/7200 for $200+ and then you made out because you made $50 on the receiver plus another $99 back to you so you made out a total of $149+.