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"Good picture quality - annoying drawbacks"
3.0 starson by dj928Pros: Good picture quality when recording HD programming, 30 second commercial skip
Cons: No way to quickly scroll down through recorded programs, no way to quickly scroll forward when searching for programs, searching for programs not as user-friendly as Tivo.
Summary: I switched from Tivo/DirecTV to Dishnetwork. What I've found is that each side has drawbacks that could be easily rectified with simple programming - or if each system just took the benefits of the other. Tivo is overall an easier interface to use, but there were some significant drawbacks that Dishnetwork has solved. But, there are an equal amount of drawbacks that Dishnetwork could easily solve but have not (as mentioned above). Also, the 30 hours of HD space gets filled up very quickly - to my surprise. Once you start watching HD, you find normal programming to be very poor. So, I focus on HD recordings and am always full.
The second TV recording option is a pain in the rear. It's not like Tivo/DirecTV where it will just easily record 2 shows at once and resolve what to record by priority. With this receiver, you have to pick which TV to record to (TV1 or TV2), and you have to pick it in advance most of the time (when you create the repeated-program mode). It's hard to explain, but the end result is that I often cannot record a second program depending on what TV I am watching at the time I want to record the second program. My receiver does not record 3 shows at once - HD or otherwise - and Dishnetwork has told me only 2 can be recorded at once. But, the way they have it setup, I frequently cannot accomplish this.
Another huge problem is that the HD quality programming can only be viewed on one TV with this receiver. The output to the second TV is NOT HD! So, if your watching of TV programs is balanced between your living room and bedroom, you will not be able to enjoy HD quality on one of the TVs. Huge drawback.
There is a limit on outputs on this receiver as well. With my DirecTV, I could output an extra set of audio channels for my receiver (which helps with Zone 2 or 3 outputs on many receivers). As a result, I cannot listen to Dishnetwork music through my outdoor speakers or wireless speakers anymore.
I am considering buying a second HD DVR for my second TV so that I don't run into some of the above problems. The cost is significant, however, and it's very hard to find these for sale anywhere. So, I'm inclined to wait for another model or for more availability of this one.
- 1 reply to this review
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Dj, this is a dual tuner receiver, you can record 2 LIVE shows at the same time, and watch 2 previously recorded shows at the same time. Last time I checked TIVO doesnt even come close to doing this. Your TV 2 out put is not high def, because you are not using high def outputs for the TV 2 out (They are not available on this unit) The signal will not be high def, however if you notice, you can still view the high def channels recorded or not via 480i on TV 2. Ive found that even though its 480i the picture quality seems much much better then this, probably because the unit 'down-converts' the 1080i into 480i. It would be nice if the TV 2 outputs had component out, I cant imagine it would be very dificult for dishnetwork to do this. That way if someone wanted to they could run RG-6 wiring to the TV2 location (5) or a new cable called supercable where a bundle of RG-59 wires are bundled together to provide component HD video and left and right audio, this stuff is pretty expensive tho. At any rate I love my 622 and wouldnt even consider switching to Directv.
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