PVR 721

[dankimjohn]

I spoke with Dish yesterday and they told me that they are not going to sell the PVR 721 direct, but thorugh retailers (Sears & Costco). Has anyone else heard if that is true?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Sort of true.

Dish Network won't be selling them from their 800-333-DISH number, if you call looking for a 721 they will point you to a retailer. (And that means local retailer or big store like Sears)

Expect after 3 months or so you will then be able to order them directly from Dish Network.

[buskid1]

Tell me the truth, is it worth jumping into the 721 right away??


Jimmy:cool:

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by buskid1
Tell me the truth, is it worth jumping into the 721 right away??


Jimmy:cool:

Probably not. You might be better off getting two Dishplayer's or Two 501's. The price on the 721 is WAY too much.

[AllieVi]

Originally posted by buskid1
Tell me the truth, is it worth jumping into the 721 right away??
Jimmy:cool:
I'd wait at least until independent (i.e., not affiliated with E*) reviewers say it's worth having. The fact that "beta testing" was mentioned in the recent technical chat is not a good sign. I find the price too high, but your wallet may vary...

[John Corn]

I was considering getting the stanalone TiVo series2, but its $400.00 plus $12.95 per month.

I'm under a promo till Oct so I have to stay with Dish, maybe the 721 isn't that high after all !?!?!?!?!

[HTguy]

Actually, you should not expect to see them "on the shelf" at Sears, CostCo, Walmart or Radio Shack.

Like the Model 6000 they will be available thru independent local retailers who should have the expertise to demonstrate, install & offer tech support for them.
;)

Originally posted by John Corn
maybe the 721 isn't that high after all !?!?!?!?!

The 721 lists for the same price as the AT&T Series 2 SA 40 hr. TiVo w/lifetime service.

IMHO, $550. is way too much for it. There won't be many 721's available at first. If the 721 works without problems and becomes widely available I'd expect to see deals on it. I wouldn't consider buying it until then.

[Jacob S]

Looks like I need to redo my website to include a wishlist for the 721 receiver as well like I have for the 501. I see so much potential for this 721 receiver over the 501 due to the extra hard drive space. The 501 has a 40 GB hard drive and has 35 hours of recording time. Since the 721 has a 120 GB hard drive (3x) then it should have 3 times the recording time. Since its only 90 hours instead of 105 hours they are alloting these 15 hours for something else, and could have more space for other things. It chould also have additional hardware added than the 501 could. The internet application is also a plus and the second tuner, a lot more features and ideas because of this and the new platform.

[Scott Greczkowski]

The other 15 hours are reserved for Echostar's use. I expect some sort of Video On Demand service to be put into place with the extra space that is being reserved by Echostar.

It will be kind of neat if they download the 7 PPV Movies to your Hard Drive, this way you can pause rewing and fastforward them and you don't need to wait for your PPV to start as you do now with standard PPV.

I don't have a problem with Echostar doing this whatsoever.

Scott

[AllieVi]

I just visited the DISH web site to look for the most current information about the 721. When I visited the site a few weeks ago DISH claimed it would ship in early May, so I wanted to see what it said now. Maybe my searching skills need honing a bit, but I couldn't find any reference to it. Maybe that's a bad sign...

[JosephF]

It was announced on the retailer charlie chat yesterday that it will be available on June 17th.

Like most of you, I am/was excited at the expected release of the 721. I loved the idea of two tuners, bigger HD, etc. BTW, I am NOT a satellite/PVR subscriber at the moment but I expect to make the transition this summer sometime. Anyways, suffice it to say my jaw hit the floor when I read that the 721 would cost between $500-$600! We will see if that proves to be the case when it hits the retailers. Due to the rumored pricetag, I am now looking at Direct/Tivo as an option. I am just now starting my research/comparison so I can't say which it will be yet. I will say this, Direct already has two tuner PVRs, whereas Dish does not. I know I am NOT interested in buying two 501s - nothing wrong with it, it's just not for me. I see no reason to drop 5 c-notes on a PVR when a friend upgraded his dish service to include the 501 for only $99. If I am wrong in my thinking, feel free to enlighten me. If I am on the right track, then I hope the honchos at Echostar/Dish read this and take my opinion into consideration. And now, I am jumping off my soapbox. Thanks for the forum.

[Chris Blount]

Welcome to DBSTalk B-Dub :hi:

I hope you consider registering here. It's free and very easy!

I know what you mean about the price tag for the 721. I will also not be buying one. Dish really blew it.

For a much cheaper alternative, you might as well seriously consider the DirecTivo or the UTV. Much more stable units that do the job very well.

[DarrellP]

Originally posted by dankimjohn
I spoke with Dish yesterday and they told me that they are not going to sell the PVR 721 direct, but thorugh retailers (Sears & Costco). Has anyone else heard if that is true?
Same is true for the 508. When I exchanged my 501 I asked about an upgrade to the 508 and paying the difference and they told me they were only available through Retailers and that I couldn't do it anyway as they only do a like exchange for defective equipment.

[JosephF]

I would guess at some point they will offer an upgrade through Service, just as they did on DishPlayer. I just wouldn't expect to see it for awhile.

[Bill D]

Originally posted by JosephF
It was announced on the retailer charlie chat yesterday that it will be available on June 17th.
That is a new one, and actual date to go with a month, first it was quarters, then months, and more months, but now a date..
I am going to get one, but fear the worst...
:eek:

[Jacob S]

I thought I heard on the chat that they were going to phase out the 501 to have the 508 come out according to how he said it but I am not so sure on that. I didnt know that the 508 was already out as my distributor told me they would not be available until the 721 was out as well. If they do only make available the 508 with larger hard drive then that will be just like when they had the dishplayer hard drive receiver available when they done that enhancement. I remember them offering an upgrade as well on that dishplayer and they may do the same for the 501.

[rmassey]

B-Dub ,

Think about it..... a DTivo lifetime sub is $249, a 120 GB HD is $142 ( I just bought one from dell for this price and it was a deal ).... and you know if you buy a Tivo you'll be upgrading to at least an 80 GB drive or prob 2- 80's eventually..... so $549-$249-$142 = $158 for a dual tuner PRV... plus, you don't have to pay a mirror fee of $5/mo for the second tuner.

People are all upset about the $549 price, but just figure in you don't have to pay a monthly fee or mirror fee and you don't have to mess with buying a bigger HD and installing it.... hmmmm , I'm almost convinced, but think I'll wiat for the beta testers to give us a report and the price to drop a bit.

If (this is a bif IF, for me) they get this one right (Linux), meaning that it works as reliable as a DTivo or better, I'm interested... but I'll still prob wait for the price to come down...., cuase I'm cheap and know it will.

[Karl Foster]

Originally posted by rmassey
B-Dub ,

Think about it..... a DTivo lifetime sub is $249, a 120 GB HD is $142 ( I just bought one from dell for this price and it was a deal ).... and you know if you buy a Tivo you'll be upgrading to at least an 80 GB drive or prob 2- 80's eventually..... so $549-$249-$142 = $158 for a dual tuner PRV... plus, you don't have to pay a mirror fee of $5/mo for the second tuner.

People are all upset about the $549 price, but just figure in you don't have to pay a monthly fee or mirror fee and you don't have to mess with buying a bigger HD and installing it.... hmmmm , I'm almost convinced, but think I'll wiat for the beta testers to give us a report and the price to drop a bit.

If (this is a bif IF, for me) they get this one right (Linux), meaning that it works as reliable as a DTivo or better, I'm interested... but I'll still prob wait for the price to come down...., cuase I'm cheap and know it will.




WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

There is NO charge for the second tuner for a DTivo or Ultimatetv. The $4.99 charge is for the receiver (and only if it is a seoncdary reciever) not the tuner! If I'm not mistaken, E* also charges $4.99 for additional receivers.

My second UTV receiver cost $39 after rebate. With that, plus $10.00 per month, my UTV will take 51 months to equal the initial up front price of the 721. BTW the $10 UTV charge covers ALL UTV's on the account - NOT $10 per receiver. The same is true for DTivo.

[rmassey]

How big is the HD on your UTV ? Have you upgraded it ?

[Karl Foster]

My HD in one of my UTV's is 40GB, the other is 45GB. I am able to record about 25-28 hours on each.

I haven't upgraded it yet, but if upgrade it to 120GB and buy it for $142, my cost for the unit is $181. At that rate it will take 37 months @ $10 per month to equal the price of one 721 receiver. I plan to upgrade soon as my older one is no longer under warranty.

[rmassey]

OK, so, a UTV has say a 40 GB drive, the 721 comes with a 120 GB drive, so the price diff is the cost of an 80, which is say $99 on a good day after rebates, etc. also.... UTV is $10/mo dish PRV 0/mo.... Right ? So, the 721 at $549 - $99 (80 GB HD) - $249 (lifetime sub fee) = $201, campared to $34.50 for a UTV box. That equates to 16-17 months (not 37) at $10/mo UTV fees.

So, the 721 priced at $399 would be about right, compared to what a UTV goes for. If you also consider the slightly lower programming fees with Dish .vs. Direct, say $2/mo that evens things up a bit too.... and for me, considering I already have Dish receivers, I wouldn't have to buy two Direct rec's, that puts me money ahead too.....

but all in all, I agree $549 is too high, especially given the poor qaul SW coming from dish compared to the much beloved TIVO UI, etc. Personally Dish will have to prove to me that this is a good box SW wise and lower the price to about $400 for me to bite.... then again, my yearly contract is up in Dec this year and I just may go with a DTivo series 2 (when avail) and drop E* completely.

[Karl Foster]

Hate to tell you, but $39 + $99 for a 80GB hard drive = $140.00.

UTV does not require (or offer) a lifetime fee - so $549 - $140 = $409 which is 41 months of service fee.

I feel good that Dish subs are finally getting a dual-tuner PVR, but at that price I don't know how lucrative it will be for E* in the short term. They will need to work with the pricing to determine their best long-term money-making price.

You all will love the dual-tuners.

Have a good Sunday and Go Kings!

[Scott Greczkowski]

Mine is still on order, I look forward to the 17th :)

Scott

[John Corn]

Looks like I'm still going to get the 721 as well.

[rmassey]

Well I'm thinking of Tivo obvoiusly and would prob go that path rather than UTV, if I were to switch, so the math is correct for me.

my point being, people need to consider monthly fees and HD size to really compare.

[Bill D]

I will be getting the 721 as well. I have an easy reason why. Back when the 721 was supposed to ship last December (hold you laughter) I told my family for Christmas to get me Dish Depot Gift Certificates. So it will be Christmas in June for me when it happens.
The year before it worked out a little better between Christmas and Birthday I swung a Marantz SR-7000 receiver with gift certificates.
Hey it's better then everyone giving me a shirt or something else I don't need..