508 buyer's remorse?

[jellologin]

A major decision between the 510/721 receivers (aside from the initial price) seems to be the single tuner in the 510 vs the dual tuners in the 721.

I'd like to know if anyone has bought one of the single tuner models (501/508/510) and has found that the desire to have the two tuner unit has made them regret their choice?

[dtcarson]

I've got a 501 and a 508, and love them. I think the 721's main features are
dual tuners and
bigger HD.
But both the 510 and the 721 require a monthly fee for the PVR functions, if you don't have AEP, I think.
I don't watch a whole lot of TV, and there has been only a few instances of 'Boy, I wish I could record two things at once,' but nowhere near enough to make me 'wish' I had the dual tuners. To me, that's not really an issue--and if it does occur, with the way TV programming is today, odds are one of the programs will be rerun within a week anyway.
How much price difference is there between 510/721?
You'll ultimately have to make the decision yourself, but I don't think it's a big deal, only having one tuner. When I was on analog cable, that's all I had anyway, I think.

[TomCat]

Unlike the 510, not only is there NOT a VOD fee for the 721, but programming for both tuners is covered as a single unit. IOW, if you add a 721 to a system with a 508, for instance, your total monthly fee goes up only $4.99

[AppliedAggression]

If the receiver is going to be in the living room, and you have other ppl in the house. Then go for a two tuner receiver. I'd highly recommend the 522 over the 721. It allows outputs to two seperate tvs and is about $100 cheaper.

[tivosmart]

A major decision between the 510/721 receivers (aside from the initial price) seems to be the single tuner in the 510 vs the dual tuners in the 721.

I'd like to know if anyone has bought one of the single tuner models (501/508/510) and has found that the desire to have the two tuner unit has made them regret their choice?

If you like the 2-tuner feature I recommend you switch to Directv instead. I've bought recently my package from them with 2 Directv Tivo receivers (2-tuners each) plus 1 Director (equiv to 301) plus 3-LNB antenna (equiv to SuperDish) for around $196, and this price includes install and shipping/handling. It took me a while to find the cheapest place to buy them to get the above price though. If you're interested let me know and I'll PM you with the links.

The price above for the whole package is much cheaper than what you would pay for a single 522, and then you can use the rest to expand your 2 Tivo hard disks. I bought a 160GB disk for myself at CircuitCity for $60 (after rebate) a while ago.

Tivos have a 40GB disk but they have the 2-tuners, plus they are much easier to expand to a 2-disk system (unlike Dish DVR's which I think are impossible to change or expand their disks). You can also do all sorts of nice stuff on it, like running a web site - so you can add your recordings from work via Internet - plus extract easily MPEG video to your PC via a simple Ethernet-USB adapter (none of this is possible with Dish receivers).

Hope this helps.

[AllieVi]

If you buy a 508 and experience remorse, you haven't really lost much. If you decide you made a mistake, you should be able to sell it at a price close to what you pay since the 508's have no VOD fee at any level of programming. Avoiding that $60 or $120 per year additional fee will always be attractive to others.

As tivosmart mentioned, though, DirecTV offers a better and cheaper solution if it provides the programming you want.

[Randy_B]

But both the 510 and the 721 require a monthly fee for the PVR functions, if you don't have AEP, I think. 721 does not have the DVOD fee.

If you only want one receiver, get the 721. We have a 501 and a 721. Together, this covers all our TV demands.