942 Replacement (622) Inferior?

[smokejoe]

CES photo of vip622 box and other data states 2 rather than 3 tuners.
It appears they have eliminated the OTA tuner and thus, ability to record or pause any OTA broadcast.
If true, it's Goodbye E* for me.

[Mike Johnson]

The ViP622 will have three tuners. Two satellite and one OTA. The OTA will be digital only.

[Ron Barry]

From the 622 CES pictures it does state analog/digital tuner so I am not sure if that is a typo or possible a change.

[smokejoe]

622 package states:
"2 Satellite tuners" and
'View OTA broadcasts' -as in
pass-through.

[James Long]

622 package states:
"2 Satellite tuners" and
'View OTA broadcasts' -as in
pass-through.That information is incorrect.

We have photos posted of the connectors on the back of the 622.
There isn't a pass though output. The connectors are (left to right):
TV Antenna/Cable IN (8VSB)
Remote Antenna
DPPlus Satellite IN 1 & 2
Home Distribution CH 21-49 OUT
TV2 AV (L R Vid)
TV1 AV (L R Vid + Composite Y Pb Pr)
TV1 Digital Audio (Optical) and S-Video
TV1 HDMI

The information we have from E* is that it will tune and record 8VSB OTA as well as satellite QPSK/8PSK MPEG2/MPEG4. The word "analog" on the info card is probably a typo. Look at the connectors. There is no "pass through".

JL

[Ron Barry]

I can assure you Joe that you will be able to record OTA with the 622. The 622 is not a step back on the 942. The same confusion occurred when the 942 came out and people claimed it was a step back on the 921.

The 622 is a step forward..

[Alpaca Bill]

Actually the 622 IS a 942 with a MPEG4 chip and a ethernet port (not ctive) in it. I talked to two of the engineers out at CES and they confirmed this.

[Ron Barry]

Also has a larger Hard Drive. Not sure what the look and feel of the UI differs between the two. I know the look is the similar, but not sure about the feel or what the current feature set of the 622 will be. My guess is it will be very similar to the 942.

[Alpaca Bill]

Yeah I played with it for awhile prior to the opening. I do not have a 942 but it does seem that it has all the features of the 942 from what I have seen of them. It definitely is a major improvement over the 921.

I wish they would give US the extra drive space instead of keeping it for VOD. I will NEVER use that. It would be relatively easy for them to make it an option in a menu (you know like a check box "Activate VOD").

[Ron Barry]

Well I thought that too. but based on how I heard it explained recently VOD might have some use.

Below is my take of VOD based on what I heard on the press conference video.

VOD.... Charlie explains VOD and how dish is doing it. Boy have they not explained this well. If it works as he says it does, we will like it. Basically you pick what you want.. Say I am a Lost fan ( I am). You say you want LOST and you get a buch of LOST episodes downloaded into your VOD. Example he used was desperate house wifes. Ask and you get last two seasons of desperate house wifes. (Ofcourse there are limitations here, but it seems you have more control over what gets dumped there than what cable offers)

[Ron Barry]

That is my understanding to rob from what I have seen. If this is the case then I see two scenarios occuring...

Well then one of two things happen when VOD comes along. 942 gets it and as a result usable user disk space is reduced. Two, 942 does not get is and the 622 gets it. In either case I put the extra disk space in the plus catagory for the 622 and adds to the argument that the 622 is not inferior to the 942.

This does bring up the question.... Since the 622 does MPEG4 and MPEG2 was the 25 hour figured based off MPEG2? If so, then as the transition to MPEG4 occurs the recording capacity of the 622 will improve. Since I watch a lot of locals, I would expect to take advantage of extra capacity of MPEG4 (if the 25 hours is an MPEG2 estimate) when locals become available in HD over Dish.

[Rob Glasser]

That is my understanding to rob from what I have seen. If this is the case then I see two scenarios occuring...

Well then one of two things happen when VOD comes along. 942 gets it and as a result usable user disk space is reduced. Two, 942 does not get is and the 622 gets it. In either case I put the extra disk space in the plus catagory for the 622 and adds to the argument that the 622 is not inferior to the 942.

This does bring up the question.... Since the 622 does MPEG4 and MPEG2 was the 25 hour figured based off MPEG2? If so, then as the transition to MPEG4 occurs the recording capacity of the 622 will improve. Since I watch a lot of locals, I would expect to take advantage of extra capacity of MPEG4 (if the 25 hours is an MPEG2 estimate) when locals become available in HD over Dish.

I'm definetly in the camp that the 622 is an improvement on the 942, there is no way it's inferior. You are gaining are VOD support and of course MPEG4. So far the only thing I see you are losing is analog OTA support. How many people with 942s actually use this? You can't record them on the 942, they are only good live. If I need to see something in SD I'll watch it from the Sat. not OTA, that way I can record it.

As far as space and MPEG4, I'd like to see some numbers on recording space for MPEG4 vs MPEG2 as well.

[jlee1060]

The guy on the show floor verified that the 622 has a bigger HD, but has the same 25hr (HD)/ 180hr (SD) capacity as the 942 because they'll be regularly spooling up ~20 movies on the hard drive for "virtual on demand". So it appears they will dedicate some of the drive space for a buffer of movies. But as more content goes MPEG4, I would expect that the 622 should be able to store more than 25 hrs of HD content.

[Stewart Vernon]

The guy on the show floor verified that the 622 has a bigger HD, but has the same 25hr (HD)/ 180hr (SD) capacity as the 942 because they'll be regularly spooling up ~20 movies on the hard drive for "virtual on demand". So it appears they will dedicate some of the drive space for a buffer of movies. But as more content goes MPEG4, I would expect that the 622 should be able to store more than 25 hrs of HD content.

It would be nice if they added a software feature for customers to "turn off" VOD and claim that hard drive space for use otherwise. I doubt I will ever have an interest in VOD, especially when with a DVR/PVR I can record things and time-shift as I want already.

Though I doubt there is incentive for Dish to have such a feature, it would be nice not to waste that hard drive space for stuff I won't watch.

[Neilh]

Hi, has any body seen or heard a price on the VIP 622??? I seen preorder $ 650

[Rob Glasser]

Hi, has any body seen or heard a price on the VIP 622??? I seen preorder $ 650

Last night's Charlie Chat indicated it would be $299.99 for the initial cost to lease one. This is the same for new or existing customers. After that you have the monthly lease fee, which I'm assuming is still $5.00. If you have a 921/942 that you want to "upgrade" there will be a $200.00 rebate on that cost if you wait until April 1st. You have to return your 921/942 as well.

[Neilh]

The $650 price was purchase,$ 300 lease plus $5 month,why lease??? It doesnt seem Dish takes care of there lessees upon further upgrades. I have a older 5000 and am looking to get HDDVR

[Rob Glasser]

The $650 price was purchase,$ 300 lease plus $5 month,why lease??? It doesnt seem Dish takes care of there lessees upon further upgrades. I have a older 5000 and am looking to get HDDVR

Leasing is cheaper up front. If the purchase price is 650 and the lease price is 300 + 5 per month it would take leasing that receiver for 70 months (5.8 years) before your lease cost equals the purchase cost. If you plan on using this receiver for that long or close to that long then, yes, it may make more sense for you to buy it vs lease it. However, if you are someone, like myself, that tends to want to upgrade their receiver every couple of years then leasing can work out to your advantage. Especially if Dish has upgrade specials like they are doing for existing 921/942 owners/lesses to go to the 622.

Prior to leasing a 942 I always had bought my gear, and when I was ready to upgrade I'd sell my old gear on eBay and typcially get about half of what I originally paid for it, sometimes a bit more, in the case of my original gear bought in 1998, quite a bit less. Anyways, each time I upgraded it would cost me a bit out of pocket. Doing the lease route, for me, worked out to be costing me about the same about of money, but I don't have to deal with the hassle of selling my old gear after the upgrade.

The announcement last night shows that dish is taking care of their lessees, we along with owners, get $200.00 off the initial lease cost of a 622, and for us lessees the difference in cost for leasing a 622 outright (299.99) vs leasing a 942 ($250.00) and then upgrading to to 622 (99.99) is a whoppin $49.99, not a bad deal if you ask me.

[Jeff McClellan]

Couldn't have said it better Rob. I think Charlie offered a great alternative to all.

[Neilh]

Did the chat say when the 622 would be avail for lease?? Explained that way, your right ,leasing makes sense. Thanks

[Rob Glasser]

Did the chat say when the 622 would be avail for lease?? Explained that way, your right ,leasing makes sense. Thanks

If you have a 921/942 and want to get the rebate you have to wait until 4/1/06 to order. If you are a new/existing sub that is not trading in a 921/942 I believe you can call in on 2/1/06, pay the $299.99 initial cost and get it.

[Neilh]

Appreciate the help!
Neil

[Bogey62]

Leasing is cheaper up front. If the purchase price is 650 and the lease price is 300 + 5 per month it would take leasing that receiver for 70 months (5.8 years) before your lease cost equals the purchase cost. If you plan on using this receiver for that long or close to that long then, yes, it may make more sense for you to buy it vs lease it.

And don't forget the sales tax on the purchase, unless you buy it mail order from a place that doesn't charge the tax for out-of-state sales. If I had to pay tax on a $650 receiver then it would add $57 to the cost.

[edp]

I currently have a Dish 942 DVR to get HD programming. I still have the older Dish 311 Receiver that I used before I upgraded to the HD Pak to use with my Dish 942.

Today, I ordered the new ViP622 (MPeg4) DVR to replace my Dish 942. In order to receive the $200 rebate, customer service said I can return my older Dish 311 when they install the ViP622 DVR - that I can keep my existing Dish 942 since I purchased it from another party.

Can anyone confirm that I will be able to swap out my Dish 311 when install my new ViP622 DVR to get the $200 rebate in April? If so, then I can sell my Dish 942 on EBay etc. I dont want to have to swap out my Dish 942 since I purchased it outright and did not lease through DishNetwork.

[harsh]

Can anyone confirm that I will be able to swap out my Dish 311 when install my new ViP622 DVR to get the $200 rebate in April?No one can confirm because that is not how it works.

The rebate is only available to 921 or 942 owners that lease a ViP622 AFTER April 1, 2006. Unless you can weasel them into honoring their false assurances, you are in no way eligible for the rebate because you ordered BEFORE April 1, 2006.

It has been made painfully clear across all mediums that I've seen that the rebate only comes into play after April 1. It was stated and reiterated in the Charlie Chat and was also discussed to death here. The Dish website also makes it clear.

If you own the 311, it is yours. It isn't eligible for any rebates or trade-in programs. If you lease the 311, they will send you a box when you deactivate it so you can return it.

[edp]

No one can confirm because that is not how it works.

The rebate is only available to 921 or 942 owners that lease a ViP622 AFTER April 1, 2006. Unless you can weasel them into honoring their false assurances, you are in no way eligible for the rebate because you ordered BEFORE April 1, 2006.

It has been made painfully clear across all mediums that I've seen that the rebate only comes into play after April 1. It was stated and reiterated in the Charlie Chat and was also discussed to death here. The Dish website also makes it clear.

If you own the 311, it is yours. It isn't eligible for any rebates or trade-in programs. If you lease the 311, they will send you a box when you deactivate it so you can return it.

Dish already placed a requisition for the $200 Rebate. They told me this $200 would be credited on my Dish bill after April 1. They also told me I can swap out the Dish 311 when they install the ViP622. Just wanting to make sure their reps are not giving me bad info on this swap out...