Need Advice: Keep DP, Get a 721, or Go to DTV?

[SpencerKat]

I need some advice.

I've had a DP 7200 for four years and have suffered thru most of the problems that many others have had.

Recently I've been suffering thru the "Getting TV Information" screen every 2 to 3 days, which means that I lose my favorites as well as 15 minutes of download time. Might the hard drive be getting ready to go? Or is this just another DP anomaly?

Over the years, I have looked longingly at DTV and Tivo, but I like my grandfathered distant nets with Dish.

Anyway, I have wondered about perhaps getting a 721 to replace my DP 7200. I have read many glowing reviews on this forum about the 721, and just when I start to get serious about a 721, up pops a comment from someone who is unhappy with their 721. So now I'm once again confused about what to do: stay with my annoying DP, go over to the dark side (DTV), or get a 721.

Any and all advice and suggestions will be welcome.

Thanks,
Richard

[kmcnamara]

Are you unhappy with Dish?
Is there something you want that D* offers that you can't get from Dish?

If the answer to both of those is 'no', then it sounds like the only compelling reason to switch would be to get a bunch of free stuff from D* by switching. I've only had my 721 for a week but really like it (so far).

[SpencerKat]

Are you unhappy with Dish?
Is there something you want that D* offers that you can't get from Dish?


Unhappy? Probably no more than other Dish customers.

DTV offers? I understand that their hardware and software are more reliable than Dish's. But I'm hoping that maybe the 721 is more reliable than the DP has been (randomly erasing recordings, not recording at all). Also, I've read a rumor that DTV is going to eliminate the commercial skip function, and that alone would keep me with Dish.

Thanks for your comments.

[retiredTech]

OK here's my input
I've a 721 for 18 months and love it. It has two tuners which means you can record 2 channels and watch a recorded show all at the same time. There is NO extra fee for the 721, and as I understand it, you can get a 721 for $249 (half what I paid)
I have had only two REAL problems with my 721, the first unit had a tuner fail (which was a early maufacturer defect) the 721 was replaced FREE under warranty. The only other glitch is the 721 will not work with a 3sat sw21/twin casacade setup(this is only a problem with THIS specific config)
So in conclusion, 721 (90+ hours recording time) IS stable and works well for most owners, there is no dvr fee and 2 tuners and a relative low price.
I say get one before the deal goes away.

[scooper]

I wouldn't mind getting a 721, a DVR510 gives you most of the single tuner functionality.

[Jacob S]

I have not had many issues with the 721 until the past evening when I had all sorts of issues with it. It was acting way too weird for me and I had done had it replaced once. I would have recommended it if I would have posted this before yesterday but now I do not think I can recommend it because the software and/or hardware is way too buggy (unless you like rebooting your 721 frequently at times). It could just be my receiver though. I have not had one single DVR last one year, something always goes wrong with them except the DishPlayer 7100 that may have had software issues but I have never had any hardware issues with it nor have my customers that I sold them to (at least from what I know).

[Tusk]

I owned a 721 for 1 1/2 years before switching to DirecTV and getting two of the DirecTiVo's. I didn't really have any gripes about the 721. It had bugs like all dish products. I missed probably 15 shows over the course of using it. For some reason it would show recording during an entire episode, the light would go off, and if you went into the PVR menu, the episode had about 10-15seconds recorded only. My biggest grip was setting my timers everyday, because of the networks changing their line-ups.

I absolutely love my TiVo. It is truly a "personal" video recorder where the 721 is a "digital" video recorder. The difference is the TiVo does everything for me. Not me doing everything for it (such as the 721). See my conversion experience at:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=27520

[ggw2000]

SpencerKat, have you talked to DTV about distant locals? This would be a deal breaker as far I am concerned! Another ?, what does grandfathered mean as far as Dish? Thanks, Gerry

[Jacob S]

The Dish DVR's should be more like what people look for in the Tivo's once the name-based recording comes.

[Unthinkable]

I have not had many issues with the 721 until the past evening when I had all sorts of issues with it. It was acting way too weird for me and I had done had it replaced once. I would have recommended it if I would have posted this before yesterday but now I do not think I can recommend it because the software and/or hardware is way too buggy (unless you like rebooting your 721 frequently at times). It could just be my receiver though. I have not had one single DVR last one year, something always goes wrong with them except the DishPlayer 7100 that may have had software issues but I have never had any hardware issues with it nor have my customers that I sold them to (at least from what I know).

If I were you, I would turn off and then pull the 721's power cord from your wall or surge protector and leave your receiver without power for maybe 10-15 minutes. Maybe that will help bring things back to normal a bit if the usual reboots and card pulls aren't doing much to remedy things.

[Jacob S]

It has been running fine the past day or two after the last reboot. I hope it was only a once in a long time glitch that the receiver will have.

[SpencerKat]

what does grandfathered mean as far as Dish? Thanks, Gerry
Years ago when my locals were not available, Dish gave me the East Coast and West Coast networks. Now, even though I have locals (Phoenix), they are continuing to give me the East Coast stations, along with Phoenix. Supposedly, I and others were "grandfathered" in for the East Coast stations. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm not going to turn them down.

Before the advent of dual-tuner DVR's, it was nice to be able to watch two programs that would be on at the same time in the same time zone, watching one on an East Coast station, and one on a West Coast station.

But now, with dual-tuner DVR's, having the East Coast stations is not an issue, since a 721 would allow me to watch two programs broadcast at the same time.

That was a long-winded way of answering your question.

Richard

[ggw2000]

Years ago when my locals were not available, Dish gave me the East Coast and West Coast networks. Now, even though I have locals (Phoenix), they are continuing to give me the East Coast stations, along with Phoenix. Supposedly, I and others were "grandfathered" in for the East Coast stations. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm not going to turn them down.

Before the advent of dual-tuner DVR's, it was nice to be able to watch two programs that would be on at the same time in the same time zone, watching one on an East Coast station, and one on a West Coast station.

But now, with dual-tuner DVR's, having the East Coast stations is not an issue, since a 721 would allow me to watch two programs broadcast at the same time.

That was a long-winded way of answering your question.

Richard


SpencerKat, thanks for the response with your situation. I went through all the waiver stuff back about 4 yrs ago or so to get the distant locals (CBS,ABC,NBC,&FOX) as I can only get "ghosts" where I live over the air. I had actually gotten the waivers with DTV before switching to Dish. In a brief conversation with a retailer a while back he indicated that getting waivers was pretty much impossible anymore around here. On top of that I think I heard rumors that someone is trying to take away "distant locals" in white areas which I assume is where I live. This political BS really gets on my nerves! As far as I am concerned, all content providers should be able to broadcast to all areas and let competition be the final decider. But the cable companies have a big lobbying voice which is a crock!!! My two cents. gerry

[Roger Tee]

Well As a Former DirecTv'er,Now with a DP7100 (w/upgraded HD), 721, & 501s. The 721 is the nearest to the Dishplayer interface, w/2 tuners. Only problem I've had is playing back recorded music only channels, IE 931,933 etc., it's very slow to cancel or stop playing them off the drive. fine live though. I'm running the 7100 on top of the 721 with a HT as a video switcher. 721 guide faster than a 7100.

Personally if it wasn't that I'm afraid of incidental expenses I'd go for another 721 and retire the 501, incdental expenses being current SW 64 maxed out.

Cheers

[Bob Haller]

Ahh, first discount every one of my complasint posts/ then compare the remaining ones with ones about direct tivos.

D Tivos historically have very few problems. Unlike E boxes which are rather legendary. take a look with each big software upgrade someone will report box lost all its recordings.

D partitions the hard drives operating system seperately from the content. reformat drive leaves recordings E appears to do it the other way. A glitch downloading software screws the entire pvr list.

for most dependable trouble free operation D tivo with name based recordings appears suoperior.

[retiredTech]

FYI D* just sold all their stock in Tivo,
Rupert is implenting his own dvrs,
in my crystal ball, Tivo and D* doesn't look promising long term

PS NEVER LOST A SINGLE recording on my 721, always works well and is exactly what I call trouble free (oh yeah no dvr fee like D* tivo)

[Bob Haller]

D is selling their stock in everything... so they can concentrate on their core business. D tivos contract runs till 2007 too.

[reedl]

I have had every single E* DVR, and I like the interface of Dishplayer 7200 the best. In terms of usability, it is the easiest to use. In fact my two daughter's will not let me give the unit up for a 50x or 721.

The 50x are quite servicable DVR's, but the interface is very boring, and it does not have many features other than basic recording.

The 721 is much the same as a 7200 in terms of interface, but it lacks the "polish" that the 7200 has in terms of how it is designed.

Remember I am not talking about reliability at all, just the interface.

The 721 and 50x work pretty well from my experience.

Reed

[finniganps]

I have had every single E* DVR, and I like the interface of Dishplayer 7200 the best. In terms of usability, it is the easiest to use. In fact my two daughter's will not let me give the unit up for a 50x or 721.

The 50x are quite servicable DVR's, but the interface is very boring, and it does not have many features other than basic recording.

The 721 is much the same as a 7200 in terms of interface, but it lacks the "polish" that the 7200 has in terms of how it is designed.

Remember I am not talking about reliability at all, just the interface.

The 721 and 50x work pretty well from my experience.

Reed

I've had the 7100, and currently have the 508 and 721. I agree the 7100 interface is very nice as is the name based program search. The 721 is also nice and the 508 is a little behind that. The dual tuners on the 721 outway the interface advantage on the 7100 for me. The main reason I sold my 7100 was because I didn't want to pay the $9.99 PVR monthly fee....alas E* is apparently waiving that monthly fee a lot more now, but overall I'm VERY happy with the 508 and 721 and don't regret selling my 7100 for $329 on e-bay.

I've had the 508 since January....had to have it replaced under warranty and haven't had any problems since. I've had the 721 for a few weeks and really like it - so far NO problems. Purchased both (508 remanufactured) and 721 (new) for $450 total. When you net the proceeds from my 7100 sale, I'm alot happier with these receivers and only had to pay $121, plus the installers upgraded me to the Dishpro equipment.