[dwforslund]

I received a impersonal letter in the mail today from Dish (that said it was time sensitive but with no dates or deadlines) that it was necessary to upgrade one or more of my older model receivers at no charge to me so I can continue to receive my programming. It says that if I don't take advantage of this that I will no longer receive DISH network programming on the televisions connected to those older model receivers. It gives a number to call, but no indication of which receivers or when this must be done by. We have a 301 and a 721. I suspect it is the 721 because they grandfathered it a while back indicating that it couldn't be replaced with the same unit if it fails. Has anyone else received this letter? If so, what are they replacing it with? And will I have to pay the monthly fee for the DVR which I've not had to pay with the 721. I will call Dish, but wanted to know more about it before I do.

 

[Salemsat]

I also received the same letter. I have a 721 and a 501. I've noticed recently that my 721 has been "losing" channels, most recently 109 but before that LINK and some in the 9000 range. However, like you, I want to get more information before calling DISH. I plan to go by a local retailer and see if he knows what's up. And yes, I think that we'll have to pay the DVR fee for any replacement receivers.

 

[BNUMM]

The letter should only apply to MPEG-2 HD receivers. They will be able to receive programming but will not get any HD programming. The model numbers are 6000, 811, 921 and 942.

 

[dwforslund]

I don't have any HD receivers. I'm sure it is the 721 because of licensing issues mentioned elsewhere. We'll see.

 

[James Long]

I'd bet on the 721 ... since it is at end of life and DISH will not be replacing them like for like when they fail.

But the only way to know for sure is to call!

 

[aloishus27]

my parents received a similar letter and they have a 722 and a 301. so perhaps this is the beginning of the SD switch to mpeg-4. slowly replace all older mpeg-2 models with mpeg-4 and them make the switch. we are here in florida so perhaps they are phasing all of us over to eastern arc.

just a theory.

 

[UGAChance]

The 721 does not support the new smart cards and will be a doorstop when they turn on the new encryption across the board.

 

[Richard King]

My 508 has not been recalled to this point in time, so, it doesn't appear that it is receivers in the 5xx range being recalled.

 

[fphart]

I received the Urgent Action Required letter in the mail today from Dish Network. I called and spoke to a less than knowledgeable customer service representative.

It seems that Dish wants to replace the 721's with 522's. As far as I can tell they will apparently will wave the monthly DVR fee for the 522. It was hard to be sure though because the person I spoke to at dish contradicted himself a few times during our conversation.

I asked if I would be able to pay a little bit more and upgrade to the 722 instead of a 522, and at first it seemed that I would be able to. I figured since DISH is pushing the TurboHD package maybe it was time to make the move to HD. As it turns out I would be able to get the 722 HD receiver, but I would have to pay $125.00 + 7.50 per month and another 5.00 per month for the ability to use the DVR. And I wouldn't even own the new 722. It might be time to DUMP DISH!

 

[dwforslund]

Did they give you a deadline for the 721 no longer working? The price they quoted you for the HD upgrade doesn't sound all that bad. I thought the service upgrade was $10/mo and the per month fee goes without saying. But couldn't you get the 522 anyway and still get the 722 (since the price they are quoting you is pretty much the same if you had no DVR)?

 

[jtnygard]

I called Dish, and can confirm the letter is for upgrading 721 to 522, which the representative said to be comparable in features to the 721 but with updated equipment. The upgrade needs to be done by November 2008. The 522 can be shipped out to the customer for self-installation or professionally installed at no cost to the customer for either option. The 522 will be leased even if you own your 721, so Dish requires a credit card check. The monthly cost to the customer will be the same as before.

This is a special upgrade plan to upgrade 721 to 522. You cannot choose a different receiver and apply some discount to that upgrade or waive the DVR fee for another receiver as part of this program.

Finally, there is no way to transfer your recorded programs from the 721 to the 522.

 

[Salemsat]

I also called DISH but was able to upgrade to the 622 for $50. The rep said that the upgrade fee is usually $100 but since I had been a customer since 1996, she'd cut it in half. It will be a leased receiver although there seems not to be a leasing fee (unless that is included in the annual fee that we pay). So the only additional charge seems to be the $10 a month that we'll pay for High Def and the additional receiver fee for our 501, which we'll keep. This rep said that the 721 is an MPEG 2 receiver and would not work with the MPEG 4 broadcasts. DISH will also credit my account for $10 if I return the 721 to them (I'm guessing shipping would be more than that!).

 

[srk]

I too have called these hosers and received contradictory information. The first guy told me the upfront costs are free, but I would be charged a $5/mo rental fee. I currently own my 721, so this would be a problem. I called back and spoke to a supervisor which clarified the issue. There would be no change to the bottom line. The "additional receiver fee" would be magically transformed to a receiver lease fee and the bottom line on the bill would be the same. If I cancel the service, the new 522 will need to go back.

We'll see if the bill does stay the same. If not, direct tv would be an easy transition as well as $2/mo less than what I am currently paying. It'd be pretty easy for Dish to lose a customer of 12 years. I'll just join the mass HD exodus to Direct, where they apparently have it together.

 

[tnsprin]

The 721 does not support the new smart cards and will be a doorstop when they turn on the new encryption across the board.

Nothing to do with the smart cards. The 721 could be made to work with the new smart cards but they are not going to be.

This is the Tivo lawsuit. And the software for them was not (could not?) be changed to comply with the permanent injunction and the DVR function has to be disabled. Rather than do that they are ofering a replacement with one they feel does comply. Of course Tivo thinks the replacement also doesn't comply.

 

[James Long]

Nothing to do with the smart cards. The 721 could be made to work with the new smart cards but they are not going to be.

This is the Tivo lawsuit. And the software for them was not (could not?) be changed to comply with the permanent injunction and the DVR function has to be disabled. Rather than do that they are ofering a replacement with one they feel does comply. Of course Tivo thinks the replacement also doesn't comply.

This is NOT the Tivo lawsuit. Placed 721s are being counted under the 192,708 units that DISH is PERMITTED under the injunction to leave running. DISH has decided to replace 721s with other receivers when they fail to avoid "new placements" of a product that still infringes, but it is perfectly legal and accepted by Tivo to leave the placed 192,708 receivers running.

The 721 is at the end of life. Any resources spent on keeping it running with large changes (such as the smart card change) would be better spent on more modern forward going products.

 

[Smegal]

I get what you are saying about 721 being at the end of life. But, what a waste of an outstanding piece of equipment.

 

[James Long]

I've had some good equipment over the years that reached end of life. Some of it I wish was still supported ... much of it had to be pulled out of service by finally breaking or losing it's ability to function ... the modern replacements for that stuff isn't all bad.

 

[Smegal]

Thats true. My upgrade from the 921 to the 722 left me wondering why I took so long to do this, just for the added recording time alone.

When the 921 was supported it was a good unit. The last firmware upgrade downgraded the 921's performance. It seemed like it was on purpose to get people to upgrade.

As for the 721 it still does what it is supposed to do. I know the newer units will have more recording space but it seems like a waste to just throw out these units at this time.

Right now, we customers are getting fair deals with these upgrades as long as no additional fees are tacked on.

I think the issue is for people who bought and own the receiver, when the upgrade is made they no longer own the equipment, it's leased. I always bought my own equipment and I figured to upgrade my equipment when I needed to. Now dish needs you to upgrade, so it would make it easier if dish upgraded an owned receiver for an owned receiver. I certainly would have jumped sooner.

 

[long term dishplayer]

I have a 7200 and got the same letter. they are sending 501, 508, or 509 replacement

 

[jtnygard]

I get what you are saying about 721 being at the end of life. But, what a waste of an outstanding piece of equipment.

I have to agree. I got a 625 rather than a 522, since the local office didn't have any 522s. So far I'm pretty disappointed with the picture quality when comparing to the 721. There are lots more compression artifacts in the picture. Is that what I should expect? On the other hand, the 625 is much faster when I scroll down the program guide.