It may not be Tivo, but I still love my DishPVR
Written: Aug 20 '03 (Updated Jan 12 '04)
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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
The Bottom Line: If you don't have a PVR/DVR you don't know what you're missing out on. It definitely can change the way you watch TV.
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| caribbeansoul's Full Review: Dish Network DishPVR 501 System |
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 technology has definitely created one of the biggest positive changes in TV viewing in my lifetime.
While a lot of reviews compare the DishPVRs with Tivo and ReplayTV, I think there are some distinct differences to keep in mind. Tivo and ReplayTV definitely seem to be targeting the more sophisticated electronics users and heavy TV watcher crowd whereas DishPVR seems to be targeted for the more casual viewers. On to the product.
PHYSICAL REVIEW: The actual size of the unit is about the same in dimensions as most modern VCRs. It’s roughly 2 times taller than the standard (and very short) Dish 301 non-PVR models so that’s something to keep in mind if you already pinched for vertical space somewhere. This thing also puts out a considerable amount of heat due to the power supply and hard drive so it needs a little breathing room on top.
INPUTS/OUTPUTS: I didn’t have to do the actual installation myself as Dish pretty much provides that standard these days. But the connectors on the back should you rewire anything are fairly straightforward with the standard A/V connections: RCA connections for audio/video out, coax out to TV, S-video out to TV, and optical digital audio out. Our installer originally had the receiver feeding into the TV using coax. I switched it after he left to S-video and there was a definite improvement in picture quality with the clarity really showing off satellite’s advantages over cable. And as I said above there is an optical digital audio outputs on the back so you can enjoy movies and sports in 5.1 sound whenever available. There are no component outputs for video.
REMOTE: The UHF remote is one of the strengths of the unit. It supposedly works from up to 100’ away, but I’ve never had to use it from more than 40’ so I wouldn’t really know. The buttons are very well laid-out and clearly labeled. I was originally thinking I might want to use my macro-capable/learning remote to control all my devices, but this one works just fine for my TV, VCR and DVD player so I didn’t bother. Audio receivers are much more complicated so I still have to use that remote individually, but for basic volume up/down control it works fine in that respect with my Yamaha receiver which fits our needs for most casual TV viewing.
GENERAL USABILITY: This is the fun stuff. All the ‘basic’ stuff like pausing and rewinding live TV. Long-time PVR and Tivo users talk about it like it’s so blasé, but it really is an AMAZINGLY useful capability that spoils you quickly given how effortless it is. I actually get irritated now when I can’t pause TV if I’m watching somewhere else. You can seamlessly rewind or jump back in 5-second intervals. Likewise, you can seamlessly fast forward or jump forward in 30-second intervals to skip commercials (assuming you're watching cached video.) The uses for this feature to shape your TV viewing around things like phone calls, bathroom breaks, meals, etc. are limitless. Plus, it’s all still in nice digital quality video so you can record things like movies and still have that satellite picture quality instead of having to settle for VHS copies.
Another plus for the 501s over the regular 301s is that while you’re surfing the program guide the video from the current channel instantly displays in the upper-right hand corner. On the non-PVR 301 units this section of the screen remains blank for about 30 seconds before FINALLY showing the video of the current show. By this time, you’ve usually found what you want to watch anyway. So with the PVR I can now see what else is on other channels while my wife can continue to watch the show we’re currently watching (albeit in a smaller framed picture.)
RECORDING: Recording is REALLY simple. You can record in real time by simply hitting the record button and then choosing to stop the recording manually or automatically at the end of the program. Or you can easily program it to record a show later on via navigating the Dish Network channel guide and simply selecting the show you want to record. The unit usually refreshes data to have programming information at least 7 days in advance so you can know what’s coming on at the same time next week. This could probably be changed automatically via firmware download in the future so it might be possible to eventually increase to something like 30 days like Tivo without having to do anything on your end.
LIMITATIONS & ISSUES: Since you’re not paying for personalization features like Tivo/Replay it’s not as sophisticated when it comes to things like recording every episode of a show over the course of a season. Say you wanted to record every new episode of a show like Scrubs. With Tivo it would know which weeks a new episode is coming on and which weeks are reruns (or if the show’s not coming on at all a particular week) and record appropriately. The DishPVR is more limited here as the closest you could get to that functionality would be to tell it to record whatever’s coming on at specific time every week (or every day if it’s a daily show.) Personally, this limitation doesn’t bother me too much as I generally know when new episodes of the show I want to watch are coming on anyway. Plus I don’t have to pay a monthly or lifetime fee. It’s something to consider if you’re a heavy user though.
Another limitation is that you can only watch and record one show at a time. So if you wanted to record one show while watching another you’re stuck having to watch the show you’re recording OR you can watch a show you previously recorded. This is common among all PVRs (including Tivo units) in this price range. I usually just watch a show that I had missed previously. Given the ability to skip commercials in your recorded show it's actually kind of a nice way to do it.
Another minor issue that I’ve experienced is that my unit will occasionally lock up due to either overheating or simply a snag in the system’s software. Simply powering the unit off via remote sometimes doesn’t work. You have to physically hold the power button on the unit down for several seconds to power it off, just like a computer since that’s what it basically is. This has always fixed the problem the few times this has happened on ours. Overheating seemed to be a bad problem on early models rendering many inoperable, but these complaints seem to be lessening according to the local Dish technician who did my install (take that for what it's worth I suppose.)
The final major limitation is that the 501 only has 30 hours of record time so you might have to erase/offload things more regularly than the 508 series which records a healthy 60 hours. I usually offload things I want to keep (usually movies) onto SVHS. Supposedly Dish is trying to phase out the remaining 501s to eventually make the 508s their new standard and give them a leg up on Tivo/Replay in terms of base model record times.
COST: If you decide to rent your equipment then when you first startup your Dish service is the ideal time to get a DishPVR. They’ll throw it in with their Digital Home Plan for only $50 extra at startup. Since there’s no monthly subscription fee like Tivo you’re off and running for only a fraction of the cost of buying a new PVR. Obviously you have to pay a monthly rental fee if you choose to rent your equipment rather than own it. But the $5/month rental fee covers ALL your equipment (dish, and all receivers) which made it financially worth it in my case given the 4 receivers our house needed. Plus, PVRs of all makes can sometimes be a little flaky due to the sensitive electronics. I’d hate to shell out $300+ for one only to have it die just after my warranty runs out.
Update: When I originally wrote this review Dish was NOT charging a monthly PVR/DVR service fee like Tivo. However, since roughly October 2003, any new Dish customer who opts to buy/rent a DVR (and who gets the newest base unit, it was the 501/508, but now it's the 510) will now have to pay a monthly fee. This fee scales according to how many DVRs you have (most people only have one) and what your programming package is. If you have the Top 150 package you don't have to pay the fee. If you have the Top 100 package you pay $5/month. If you have the top 50 package (Dish's best deal and biggest selling point over DirecTV in my opinion) then you have to pay $10/month. People who own an older model like a 501, 508, or 721 are grandfathered in and don't have to pay a monthly fee. This is a VERY important thing to now keep in mind if you're a new customer. Unless Dish adds some personalization features like Tivo (which they could probably do via a software download) then suddenly one of their major selling points over DirecTV in cost savings is now lost.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT: The manual on the PVR looks to be fairly well laid-out although I honestly have never had a need to use it yet. The unit has not had any major problems and is so easy to operate there’s no need for questions or tech help on our end. I’ve only had to call Dish customer support one time on an account-related question and they were helpful.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50
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Epinions.com ID:
caribbeansoul
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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