best choice for reliability and fast program guide

[jamieT]

On my 4-year-old Dish 3000 receiver, the program grid loads quickly enough for the current two hours or so, but if I hit the Info button to pull up the description for an individual movie, for example, it often takes as long as 30 seconds to appear, although it sometimes takes only 3-4 seconds.  I'd like to get a new receiver or system (Dish or DirecTV) that would be much quicker, but I hesitate to get a Dish PVR because it would bug the heck out of me to have a program fail to record or get erased by a malfunction or failure.  I would rather live with the inconvenience of a VCR, which I use constantly, than accept losing even 1% of programs I might record or try to record on PVR.  I don't often need to look days ahead for program info, so it's primarily the individual program descriptions that I want to receive faster.

Questions:

1. How long does it usually take a Dish 301 receiver to pull up a description of an individual program that's about to air?

2. How reliable is the 301 receiver?  (My 3000 has virtually never malfunctioned.)

3.  Would one of the DirecTV receivers provide good reliability and a faster program guide?

4.  Would a DirecTivo system be at least 99% reliable?  (Dish PVRs seem to have, at best, pretty mixed reviews.)

Thank you, in advance, for your advice.

Jamie T

  

  

  

 

[boba]

Get a PVR 508 you should be able to qualify for the $199.00 upgrade from DISH. The program guide is stored on the hard drive and comes up very fast. The 301 has the same problems as the 3000 it can't store the information so it has to down load each time you want to get information in the future. My two 501's and my 508 have been very reliable by DISH standards. I did buy the extended warranty for $1.99 I think it is smart with the hard drives.

[jamieT]

Thanks, Boba. I'm still pretty leery of getting a 508, based on what I've read from owners. It would be great to know some actual stats on the % that break down.

[Mark Holtz]

The 50x, for me, has been extremely stable. The only problem was when I added a second dish, but that problem fixed itself despite a unit swap. I'm debating whether or not to add a second 50x to my setup.

[Phil T]

I have never lost a recording on my 501. I have had programs fail to record on my Dishplayer, but never lost one once it wes recorded.

My 501 is a year old. I did have some cases of a blank screen that required a reboot last Winter, but no problems this summer or fall.

[Karl Foster]

Jamie,

Here are some answers to questions 3 and 4:

3. I have three different types of receivers. I have a standard RCA, a standard Mitsubishi (made by Hughes) and two RCA Ultimatetv receivers. As far as the standard receivers go, I'd have to say I like both Hughes and RCA. I'd give the Hughes the advantage for two reasons. One is the remote. It seems much more sturdy and capable of surviving kids, pets, etc. I also like the program guide better than RCA's and the turbo tune on the Hughes is a great feature.

4. I don't have DirecTivo, but I do have Ultimatetv, which is similar. In the 18 months I have had UTV, I have never had to do reboots, and it never misses recordings. An advantage the D* PVR's have is the ability to continually search for programs you want to record and record them for you whenever they are on regardless of channel or time. Also, shows are recorded by show, not by time, so for example, "The Amazing Race" was moved an hour forward this week, and the UTV found it by itself and set itself to record it for me. I had one episode of a show that did a one-minute recording and that happened during "Bernie Mac" last week. It never happened before that and hasn't happened since. It is also easy to upgrade the hard drive in both the DirecTivo and the Ultimatetv. I have one that is stock (35 hours) and one that is upgraded to a 120GB hard drive (105 hours).

Hope that helps.

[James_F]

I agree with Karls assessment. I have 2 DirecTiVos and both are 100% reliable.

[HarryD]

jamieT,

If you're looking for a PVR, then by all means, get the DirecTivo. Everyone raves about it (I have Ultimate TV myself). If you don't want a PVR, then get a Hughes director pack (cheaper model). It's Program guide is lightning quick.