Upgrading to the 721?

[Nyte_eyes]

I currently have Dish 500 system and the PVR 501. I don't own the equipment though. I'm considering upgrading to the 721, is there an offer for that or do I have to buy the receiver outright?

[boba]

Nyte_eyes spend your money DISH has no promotions on the 721. It sounds like you are a DHP customer so I would call DISH and see if they will offer any special deal to you to add a second DVR-501 to your account. If you add a second DVR-501 you will have a $4.99 fee for duplicating programming on a second receiver which you would save on the DVR721 but you can also connect it to a second TV and have independent channel selection that the 721 wouldn't allow.

[Bill R]

Nyte,

Be sure that you read all the posts in this forum about the 721 before you consider purchasing one. I have one and it is a nice receiver but the software is not nearly as stable as it should be.

[lonnman]

Also realize that the SW is a little different between the 50x and 721. I personally like the 721 Guide over my 501 Guide. I only say this, because my wife likes everything the same. It has been mentioned that the 521 may replace the 721, if your 721 breaks down, what box will E* send you if they don't have any more 721's? I would also wait until the new SW comes out for the 721, the one that most of us have been waiting for since March.

Jeff

[TomCat]

DISH tells me that the 721 is only handled by third-party dealers such as Dish Depot, but they and others run some smokin' deals from time to time.

Having owned both for some time now, I can share a couple of the finer distinctions, if that would be of any help.

About the only thing that the 50x series does better than the 721 is slo-mo. It is OK on the 50x but very poorly implemented on the 721. Other than that, the only thing my 501 does that I wish my 721 would do (without intervention) would be to record shows without padding. Shows are padded 1 minute at the head and 3 minutes at the tail by default on the 721, which wouldn't be half as ludicrous as it is if the defaults could be adjusted to user preferences. As it is, every timer I set takes half a dozen extra unnecessary button pushes to reset all of that back to normal. Every single time.

Other than that, the interfaces are slightly different, but both pretty much do the same job the same way. The PIP and EPG with PIP are nice on the 721, and it is much faster to navigate. You can hook any USB keyboard to the 721, which helps a lot.