my 721 arrives tomorrow!

[Neil Derryberry]

my 721 should show up on my doorstep tomorrow... what should I expect as far as software goes? I've heard that the unit is somewhat unstable for a short length of time... please share your experiences!

(mod hat on) Don't turn this into a E* sucks thread... I've switched, and I don't want to hear that I've made a mistake. I'd like honest commentary, both good and bad, but only the true stuff.. no embellishment. (mod hat off)

[Scott Greczkowski]

For the first 24 hours your 721 may act a little sluggish, other then that there is not much more to know.

The UltimateTV has a much better interface then the 721 but the 721 will grown on your quickly. :D

Enjoy!

[MAllen]

Neil,

I just installed my 2nd 721, I have had my 1st one for about 11 months. Install the receiver, do a check switch, and then do a software upgrade (go to setup/upgrade software, takes about 25-30 minutes), force a hard boot after the software upgrade reboot, call dish and acitvate. You may need to do a hard boot (two ways, push and hold on/off button OR pull and reseat smartcard), after activation. Then you are all set, I have not had to boot the system (the 2nd one) since I installed it about 3-4 weeks ago. My locals did not map to correct lower channel numbers for about 12-24 hrs. I LOVE the 721, I think you will too.

[mancow]

Neil, keep us informed as to how it goes, am just a hair trigger from a 721 purchase, but with all the negative post just a little shy.

[UpOnTheMountain]

Do not be shy!
The install is as easy as MAllen described.
Just be a little patient and wait for the upgrade, then do a reboot

My DishPlayer changed the way I watched TV, But my 721 brought the experience up to pride and joy!

[pjm877]

The one thing I would have done different was install get it downloading the SW and then leave it alone for about an hour.... I kept yelling at it.. get the sw already... patting my foot.... I wanted to start playing NOW  :)

I did have the locals not maped but thought it was just a feature that the 501 had the 721 did not have at this time..  They just all of a sudden showed up, I do not remember if it was 24 hours or two days...

As far as the unit.... it is great... But, I wish they had put grating holes over the power supply, or what ever that heat souce is on the left side of the unit is, that top sure gets hot.  There is grating on that side,  but you know heat rises better than moves sideways... you know small holes or something... DISH would it be OK to get my drill out :lol:

What I really like the most is that I can record and watch something else...

Now I just have to think what I am to do when the 921 comes out.. do I really need to be able recored 4 things at once :D

I hope you enjoy your unit as much has I have.

Later, and have a nice day. :hi: 

[Neil Derryberry]

I think the "force upgrade" mallen described is a pretty cool feature... no more waiting for an upgrade when you know it is there.

Has anyone here hooked up usb ethernet, and is there any advantage to that? What about a cordless mouse/keyboard?

[Tron]

I wrote a little review on being a past Dishplayer user and how the 721 compares.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=14530

You might find some useful info....

[chris_h]

1) My experience was that it took 24 hours for the locals to map, and another 12-24 hours for the mapped channels to have valid guide info. This made setting a timer on a local channel grumpy during the first 48 hours.
2) It took 45 minutes for the software to download. It should give a message of "working on step 1 or 29" or something like that. The second tuner is used for the software download, and I think you can watch programming on the first tuner during this time.
3) When booting, there is a stage where the screen is black and the box has no lights on (looks unplugged) that lasts for about 60 - 90 seconds. Be patient. This seems to me to be a normal stage.

[MAllen]

Neil,

Well.........................???? LOL.

[Neil Derryberry]

downloading now!

[jasonf]

Originally posted by Neil Derryberry
I think the "force upgrade" mallen described is a pretty cool feature... no more waiting for an upgrade when you know it is there.

Has anyone here hooked up usb ethernet, and is there any advantage to that? What about a cordless mouse/keyboard?

Those were supposed to be enabled with the web part of the 721. However, that is delayed like most everything that is done by them. If I remember correctly the web part was supposed to be released right after the 721 came out. Well, thats been 8 months now so don't get to excited yet.

Look forward to you first bug report ;)

[jasonf]

BTW - I'm not raining on your parade, if I had the money I'd have one too. Just to play around with.

[MAllen]

Ok, Neil so what do you think?