Dish Network 721 PVR Review
Written: Mar 19 '04
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Pros: Great PVR features, dual tuners, 90 hours of recording time. No Dish-on-Demand fees
Cons: Price (Tivo models are cheaper), plus adding additional cabling for the second tuner.
The Bottom Line: Defintely would recommend to all current Dish Network subscribers who don't want to pay additional PVR fees and still get all the features Tivo has.
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| thowe21's Full Review: JVC TU PV721RU Satellite TV System / PVR |
I recently became very interested in getting a PVR due to the scheduling conflicts with some of my favorite shows being on at the same time (Friends, Survivor etc..) So since I am a current Dish Network customer I knew that I couldn't buy Tivo since they are linked with DirectTV, so I took a look at what Dish Network had to offer. What intrigued me was this model, the 721. It has 2 tuners, which allows you to watch one show while recording another. Your standard PVR tuners allow to you record and watch the same show only at the same time. (I won't go anymore into the features because you can get the complete description on some other reviews here or through dish network.com itself) After some research I discovered that this is one of the last remaining PVR's that doesn't have a Dish-On-Demand service fee attached to it ($4.95). Note: Tivo does have monthly fees to use its features.
Dish recently instituted this fee in the fall of '03 and decided to grandfather in all current PVR's without the fee. So if you can get a hold of one these I suggest doing so. (I've also noticed lately that Dish is also requiring a seperate fee on the additional tuners purchased through SBC on the newer units as well, but that's a whole different story I guess that I won't get in to as well). You will have to pay an additional $5 to add another receiver to an existing system.
Price:
Suggested Retail: $549.00 New
Myself, I bought a new one on Ebay for $460 (this is another good option if not willing to pay the full price)
So after purchasing the unit and adding it to my other receivers, (I also have 4900 and 2700 models) I called a local Dish retailer to get a price for installation due to the fact that I need to run an additional cable for the second tuner. I originally thought that a could just get a splitter like CableTV does and split the main line off into a couple of outputs but this is not the case for Dish Network due to complex issues regarding polarity and signal strength. The retailer quoted me $300 bucks ($150 for a switch and an additional $150 to run two cables from the dish). I then became motivated to do this installation myself and learned that the switch I needed is a special DishNetwork switch (either a SW44 or SW64 depending on the # of receivers I was hooking up.) This price was correct and they do retail between $120-$150 for the SW44 switch so I went back to EBay and got a used one for $55. I then went to my local electronics store and bought a couple strands of RG-6 cable and did the installation myself. It wasn't too hard either, diconnected my two sw21 switches from the dish, added the sw44, and ran the additional lines from the sw44 swithc to the 721 receiver. Note: I did have one problem since it was dark by the time I finished. I couldn't see which lines were from the 110 or 119 satellites, if you get these crossed the switch will not work. I got the lines mixed, but after trial and error and a good flashlite it was up and running).
I did have a few problems getting the 721 to work. The models need a software download from Dish before they can operate properly. So when I initially plugged this in it powered up and soon went through a never ending cycle of powering itself up, checking the hard drive, shutting off and powering itself on again. I went ahead and gave Dish a call and they put me in to advanced tech support (since regular support will not even touch these models) and they told me to disconnect this from the surge protector and plug it directly into the wall outlet. I did this and it started up okay. I went to put the batteries in my remote control and then this did not work, they told me to take the batteries out, push all the buttons on the remote and put the batteries back in and sure enough that worked too (go figure). So after these simple issues were resolved it finally came on. Tech support told me to leave the receiver off for about 45 minutes while it accepts the new software download and sure enough after about 42 minutes it was up and running fine.
I am completely happy with the features, the PIP, 9 day program guide, the dual recording, 90 hours worth of recording, and the search features for your favorite programs.
Note: Going the the EBay route and doing the installation myself I saved about $300, not bad.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 460.00
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Epinions.com ID:
thowe21
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Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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