Dish Network DishPVR 501 System

Pros: Record up to 36 hours of programs; pause live television (up to an hour).
Cons: Hard drives are unreliable.

I have not subscribed to cable television since my wife and I moved into the new house we had built outside Chicago some four years ago. When we moved into our new housing development cable was not available, despite being told it was coming any ...

Pros: Beats the price of cable.
Cons: Some pretty shady stuff going on when trying to cancel.

Comcast and Ticketmaster are #1 and #2 on my **** list. Ticketmaster with what they charge to "service" you per ticket and Comcast with their increase in fees every couple of months or so. I can remember paying $35 for basic cable five years ago...when ...

Pros: Convenient, the ability to skip commercials!
Cons: Can't record two shows at once. Apparently pretty poorly constructed pieces of equipment.

When we were telling our real estate agent what we wanted in a house, a free-and-clear south-facing view was a requirement. We compromised on the number of bathrooms, no central heat and air, but we did have that clear southern view. And then DirecTV ...

Pros: Nice picture, very helpful staff, skip commercials!
Cons: Can't watch one channel and record another, lack of Dolby Digital and 5.1 channels

I used to consider DirecTV the preferred choice of satellite television providers. With the introduction of new personal video recorder models, also referred to as PVR's or DVR's, Dish Network has established themselves as a formidable competitor in the ...

Pros: A fairly good channel lineup.
Cons: Exceptionally awful service and response to exceptions. PVR unreliable. Potentially unreliable local installation service.

A few months ago, we decided to upgrade our Dish service to the PVR. We've been a Dish network customer for over six years. If I could ever turn back the clock to the fateful day we called Dish to "upgrade," I'd give my right arm to do so. Thus on that ...

Pros: clear signal, cheaper by a few dollars
Cons: difficult to set up with Tivo, potential extra charge for each TV

Think of Dish Network as the alternative. The alternative to Oceanic Cable and the alternative to supporting a monopoly that’s so easy to hate. It’s not that Dish Network is necessarily better or even cheaper, but that you’re doing something different ...

Pros: Dish receiver/PVR integration, software upgrades via satellite
Cons: Software "hangs" occasionally, single tuner

The Purchase

I am a charter member of Dish Network (one of the first 100,000 subscribers), and I will just let you know to start out that I am a major DISH advocate. I have been very pleased with just about every aspect of my DISH...

Pros: PVR capability, faster guide, search feature, Picture Quality blows cable away
Cons: UHF Remote has zero range, software often unstable, Customer service quite poor.

I have owned DISH's PVR 501 since October 2001. I signed up as part of the Digital Home Plan and received a 301 and a 501 for a $49 activation fee. With that, here's the review:

AS A DECODER
The 501's picture quality is great....

Pros: Best quality recorded programming, live shows can be paused and even retroactively recorded as needed.
Cons: Expensive for existing dish customers, setup is rough, sudden power loss causes stability concerns.

My review is of the 501's larger capacity sibling the Dish Network PVR (sometimes called DVR) 508. The series, 501, 505/508 and 510 are a line of compatible products with ever larger hard drives resulting in more storage for more hours of recorded program ...

Pros: DVR free with Hookup, No Monthly Fee, Good Picture, Dolby Digital
Cons: Single Tuner, No Artificial Intelligence, Very Fragile Software

****Update 1/21/2002*******************************
I am now on my fourth unit and it continues to erase data inexplicably. I have given up on Dish network and this equipment altogether. Despite their constant failure...I still had to pay to get...

Pros: No subscription fee, ad zapper, UHF/IR remote, easy to use, lots of features
Cons: Software updates occasionally introduce instability

A Personal Video Recorder (PVR) is unquestionably the most innovative and useful home television device since the VCR & remote control. If you remember the days of having to wait for a TV show to be repeated because you couldn't record the show (pre-VCR) ...

Pros: DVR Capabilities, faster guide programming, optical out
Cons: No "season pass" options as with tivo, 3 days in advance

I recently purchased this as a upgrade for my parents' Dish Network 301 receiver. I am an avid user of TIVO and thought that this would be the best way to get them involved using a tivo with satellite tv. The other option would be purchasing a tivo and...

Pros: Instant Pause, Forward and Rewind Features.
Cons: Cannot record and watch another channel, typical of satellite.

Recieved the PVR 501, "free" as part of a programming package, 6 months ago. It has 35 hours recording capability, and recently updated for a search function, sadly missing upon its release. You can now search the programming menu for shows, actors,...

Pros: Feature-rich. Lots of outputs. UHF Remote. SuperDISH capable
Cons: Can't watch other channels while recording.

I've had the Dish PVR-501 system for over three years. Dish Network now has several plans wherein you lease the equipment from them. The plan I chose gave me a Dish PVR-501 and a 300 series receiver, free installation, and service agreement for ...

Pros: PVR functionality; Easy to use; Good remote; No monthly fee for this model
Cons: No dual tuner; No Tivo-like personalization; Less record time than 508

Few products really change the way the average Joe watches TV. Color TV brought vivid life to the picture. Remote controls ushered in the age of channel surfing. VCR’s allowed us to record shows, albeit in reduced picture quality. But PVR/DVR ...