[Guest]

Hi,
I love this fourm, this is my first post.
Im hoping i can get some help here. My first
question is Is anyone experiencing lots of
pixellation lately, especially during sports?

And, I have been considering getting the $199 dollar
501. But, i would of course like to wait for the 721.
Does anyone know when this will come out? and more
importantly how much it will be? I know no one knows
for sure but an educated guess on price would be apperciated. Also, for people who own the 501, overall is it worth it? I really want one, i know the 721 will be much better, but im thinking i cant afford it.
Thanks,
Tim

 

[Guest]

HI AND WELXCOME. yES UNFORTUNATELY PIXELING HAS BECOME A COMMON OCCURENCE. i HOPE IT IMPROVES WITH TIME AS THINGS ARE ADJUSTED. Sticky caps. No news on the 721, I want it myself to replace the DPs....

 

[Guest]

My guess for the price of the 721 would be $599.

Steve

 

[Guest]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for joining us here at DBSTalk.Com.

You might want to hold off on the 501. I was told by higher powers at Dish that the 721 will be a much better product. The 501 is also a good product but was never designed to be a replacement for the Dishplayer. The 501 also has bugs just like the DP.

Like Steve said, the 721 will probably be around $599. Maybe $499 but that's a guess. Also, if you've been reading the posts in the General Forum, you will see that the MOXI is coming out which will raise the stakes even further.

What do you have now? Can you live with it until the 721? Have you also considered switching over to the DirecTivo? Much better unit, less buggy and cheaper.

 

[Guest]

Welcome to DBStalk.COM!

I agreee with everything said above, I would hold off on the 501 and wait for the 721. I still want a MOXI unit however I now do not expect to see them till at least Christmas at earliest.

I have a Dishplayer and for some wierd reason its starting to act buggy again.

Wierd

As far as football not looking good its due to the amount of compression being used, compression and fast motion = bad pictures. Hang in there Dish is tweeking things to look better, I think that things look much better then they have on January 1st, but they still have a way to go.

Again welcome.

Scott

 

[Guest]

Hi Tim, Off the top of my head.....I think its Febuary 21, Dish will launch a spotbeam sattelite, that should help our picture quality. It's should free up some bandwith from Dish just adding all those must carry stations on Jan1.

Hope to see around
John

 

[Guest]

John,

You are correct, that is the scheduled launch date. It should be noted however that IF the satellite is launced on time it takes about 2 months of tweeking and moving before it is actually ready for use.

So it looks like almost the Beginning of May it should be ready if launched on time.

Let's prey that this satellite does not blow up at launch.

Scott

 

[Guest]

Thanks for everyone's input.

My question is if the 721 will really be that
expensive, should i go with the 501? My wife has
already vetoed the price tag on the 721. (insert
whip-cracking sound here)!! Is the 501 reliable?
Will I enjoy it that much more after using the
standard dish network model? I forget what model
it is, but it is just a reciever, not a dishplayer,
etc. Does anyone think there will be a price break on the 721
for current subscribers? I doubt it myself. Thanks
in advance for your comments.

Tim

 

[Guest]

The 501 is not a bad unit but just be prepared to encounter some bugs. I think you will enjoy it after using a standard model receiver. Having PTV is like opening a door to a whole new way of watching TV. If the 501 is what you can afford, go for it!

A price break on the 721 for current subsribers will not be available until several months after it's initial release. You will be waiting a long time.

 

[Guest]

Hello Tim...time for me to jump in with my $0.02 here. I own the 501. I've had it since day 1 (actually day 0). And it has completely changed the way I watch standard television. I have experienced almost none of the problems that others have had. It's been a very reliable box for me. Last night on the Charlie Chat, Charlie said that they were looking at this summer for the launch of their new spot beam sats, so it may be longer before the pixellation problems go away. They're really driving me nuts as well.

And I'll bet that we don't see a price break on the 721 for existing customers at all. Now if they'd get the 921 out in a timely manner - that's the one that I'm waiting for now.

 

[Guest]

I have a 501 and LOVE IT !!
It's been a very reliable machine for me.

Good Luck with your choice,
John

 

[Guest]

I received a email last (unfortunately, I deleted it accidently) It stated that the DishPro PVR 721 was selling for $389.00. I don't remember the name of the outfit that send me the email. I waiting to receive another email when I do I will post the information.

 

[Guest]

Another new guy here...

I'm considering buying the 501, but I have some questions about how it would work with my setup. I have Dish Network, but I also have several broadcast stations that I watch. This is from an antenna input, not purchased through Dish.

How would the system work with the dual inputs? I'm assuming it will allow me to record from one sat channel while watching another through my regular receiver. Would I be able to watch a sat channel and record from broadcast, or vice versa?

I currently only have a standard VCR, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Hi Nialla and welcome to DBSTalk!

I guess my first question is that are your broadcast stations available on Dish? If they are, it pretty much solves all your problems.

If they are not, your antenna for your local broadcast stations would go into the antenna input on the 501 allowing you to switch between satellite and antenna. You will NOT be able to record from the antenna to the 501. You will NOT be able to record one satellite channel while watching another since the 501 does not have a dual tuner. You WILL be able to watch a recorded program from satellite while recording another. You WILL be able to record to your VCR from the antenna OR satellite (not at the same time) as long as your VCR comes after the 501 on it's way to the TV.

As far as your question about if you would be able to watch a sat channel and record from broadcast, or vice versa? - It depends on how you have your system hooked up. If you have your outdoor antenna hooked right to the VCR, you won't have a problem recording a local broadcast and watching a sat channel at the same time. It would even work the other way around.

Sound confusing? It can be. If you do get the 501, let us know and we will help you hook things up. Any system can be connected to serve your needs. The only die-hard fast rule is what I mentioned above. The 501 does not have a dual tuner so watching and recording two satellite channels at the same time is not possible. Everything else pretty much is.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the welcome!

A few of the local stations are available via dish, but I'm in two markets (one is Dallas) and there are a *lot* of independent channels that wouldn't be available, as well as two cases of stations from the same network that show different programming in off network times. Besides, I don't want to pay Dish extra money for channels I can get better than most cable stations can retransmit. I should know, I used to work for one of them.

Wouldn't I be able to record via the 501's tuner, while watching another sat station through my current sat tuner? Or does it not work that way? I don't see the advantage of the 501 over a Tivo if that's the case, but I'm probably missing something. I'll still have my VCR, so that can be the designated recorder for broadcast shows.

If I can't watch and record with the combination of 501's tuner and my regular one, would I be just as well off to get a Tivo system? I understand they have a lot more features and are cheaper to buy, but you have to pay a monthly (or lifetime) fee to use those. I can't find much info on the specs for the 501 from Dish's site, it's pretty much advertising it and not much else.

 

[Guest]

You can record something to the 501 while you are watching something on your current sat tuner. The only thing that would require is 2 lines running from the dish. Do you have a Dish 500? Of you only have 1 receiver it's easy to add a second receiver by running another line of coax with another switch.

When you talk about Tivo, are you referring to the stand alone Tivo or the DirecTivo? The DirecTivo works with DirecTV just like the 501 but has dual tuners so you can record and/or playback two shows at once.

You might want to wait for the 721. That will have dual tuners. Here is the press release to read more about it. biz.yahoo.com/prnews/0201...080_1.html

 

[Guest]

Hello Nialla, and welcome. I just wanted to clarify Chris' response to you. You cannot use the 501 to record OTA signals from your antenna. I think that you would find it easier to keep the antenna hooked directly to the vcr and bypass the 501 altogether. This is also the case were you to go with a Directivo. If you went with a standalone Tivo, your recording source could be either from your current satellite receiver, or the antenna (but not both at the same time). I just wanted to make sure this is clear.

 

[Guest]

I've got four Dish Network receivers hooked up now (no one in this house could agree on one program EVER), so I suppose adding one more won't be an issue.

I don't plan on getting rid of my VCR any time soon, so using both wouldn't be an issue. There's just so many options and permutations of hookup options, it's hard to decide which way to go. Tivo is looking really good, since the prices have dropped, but the additional fee for the Tivo service *doesn't* look so good.

Thanks to all for your help.

 

[Guest]

Ok, one more clarification for you Nialla. You say you have 4 dish receivers now, and hooking up one more shouldn't be that big of a deal. Well, it kind of is. It depends on what switching equipment you have now, and if you would want to replace one of your receivers with a 501. I believe that 5 receivers requires 2 sw-64 switches to be cascaded together (or at the very least 2 sw-44s if you only look at 119 and 110). And that's if you have 2 (or 3) dual lnbs on your dish(es). If you have a quad lnb, I'm pretty sure you can't hook up more than 4 with any switch combination, so the quad would have to be replaced with 2 dual lnbs, and then you'd have to add 2 sw-64's along with a couple other pieces of hardware that I'm drawing a blank on right now to make it work. Of course, all of this is avoided if you replace one receiver with a new one. If you need the info, I can look up the installation diagram for installing more than 4 receivers for you.