We have been experiencing troubles recently with our DishPlayer, so we decided to replace it with a new PVR system before the fall TV schedule begins.
The DisPlayer we had was a good unit in its time, but it had many software bugs. Primarily, it had more features than we needed. The box not only received satellite TV, but it had MSN TV built into it. Using the modem jack that comes standard on all satellite receivers, it could dial-up the MSN TV network and connect to the internet. The somewhat clunky interface would let you surf (marginally) and get email on an MSN account. Later software releases let you use MS Messenger to instant-message other people who were online.
The problems with the receiver started in that it would stop receiving satellite signal every month or so. I would have to perform a hardware reset - a strange procedure in which I press remote control buttons while the receiver is off - to bring programming back online. Sometimes, even after performing these resets the picture still would not return. Calls to Dish support always resulted in a returned picture, but usually at the expense of some of my limited sanity supply.
The camel died under the straw only recently, though, when the MSN TV feature insisted that it connect to the net to download an update. While this might be fine for any MSN TV user, I had our MSN TV account cancelled long ago. I mean, we have broadband, so why dial out?
The bottom line was that the DishPlayer would turn on, and a screen would appear that said, "Software upgrade required for MSN TV. Connect now?" And you could choose yes, but you need an account, you see? So there was no upgrade for us. Unfortunately, due to exteremely poor software design endemic to the DishPlayer, this screen could not be bypassed. So the box was ripped out of the entertainment center and temporarily replaced with a solid-state receiver.
Our trusty 3900 receiver has been around since the beginning, and functions flawlessly, even with the dish 500 setup. It has no moving parts inside. It updates its software via flash ROM. The only complaint really that I have with it is that the interface is this ugly green color. The could have at least made it forest green or kelly green. But it's this weird sun-faded looking lime green. And gray. And big and inelegant. Yuck.
So I ordered the new receiver from Sears. After hunting in every store in nearby Pennsylvania and Delaware, I ended up ordering it from Sears. In this fact is my only real worry with this receiver - it took a lot of effort to find it. It leads me to the belief that Dish Network isn't doing so well. As long as they keep pumping my TV to me, we'll be ok. If not, I'm going to be pretty upset. Although I notice that they guarantee subscription prices until 2005, which puts me at some ease.
I picked up the new receiver, a DishPVR 721, at the Sears merchandise pickup center during lunch after I got their email telling me it had arrived. I hooked it up in the evening.
Anyone who knows me and my technology knows that I would not have settled for any run of the mill equipment. So what is neat about this receiver? It has a few cool things in it.
First, it runs on Linux with a few non-GPL pieces of software added. The cool thing about that is that it should be easy to add good features to the system on a reasonable timeline. If there are any new things that Dish Network provides on their receivers (that doesn't require new hardware, like HDTV) then I should be able to simply update the 721's software and I'll have it.
Another benefit of it being Linux is that it has built-in networking capabilities. I'm not sure exactly how robust Dish will make these features when they are released, but it should make a few neat things possible. For example, I should be able to hook an ethernet adapter to the box via its USB port to make use of my existing broadband for browsing the web. No more dialup on the TV!
If they got really crazy, they could run a server out of the box to serve video. I would be able to watch TV on my computer as broadcast through the network from the DishPVR 721. That would be very cool.
Another neat feature is the remote. It's not a normal remote, even ignoring the strange satellite and PVR buttons that it has. The cool part is that it has infrared and UHF capabilities. Using the UHF signals, I can transmit channel changes through walls.
Here's the practical scenario: If I hooked a video transmitter (like the ones on X10's site) to the 721, I could transmit video from the receiver to the TV in the bedroom. Normally, I wouldn't be able to change the channel, since the infrared signal from the remote wouldn't work through the floor. But since this remote uses UHF, I can transmit that signal through the floor and change the channel as much as I like.
This receiver still has PVR (personal video recording), so it can pause, rewind, and record live TV. It has a button so that you can skip commercials, and another that does a 10-second instand-replay. It has a pretty big hard drive, and it estimates that it can hold about 90 hours of TV before it's full. That's more than 3 days of continuous TV!
But let's move on to the really cool feature of the receiver - It has two tuners.
See, everyone always complained about my system - well, it wasn't so much a complaint as a showing of astonishment - because you could only watch or record one show at a time. Everyone with their cable boxes could at least record a show on the VCR while watching something else on the TV. They couldn't believe that someone as high-tech-conscious as I am could only tune into one channel at a time. Well, that is no more.
Actually, the new dual-tuner is very cool. It lets you do picture-in-picture, record from one or two video sources, and can even play back a recorded show while it records on two other channels. That's very cool.
The tuner can be configured to record shows at specific times every week so that you don't miss a favorite weekly show. You can even configure it to record a show just once, like a VCR. The complication of setting recording timers like on a VCR is completely removed, though. You just select the show you want to watch in the 9-day program guide (either by finding the time and channel or doing a text-search for the show name) and push the record button. A screen appears with some options like record once or record weekly, and after they're set you push done. And you're done.
It has a couple of other nice features too. I really like the on-screen caller ID display. Since the system is hooked to the phone line (it still uses the modem for pay-per-view) it listens for the caller ID tones, and displays the caller ID information right on the screen in a transparent box. So you don't need to get up to answer those annoying telemarketing calls if you're in the middle of a good show. (Or you could just pause the playback, I guess... Too much technology...)
The timer notification thing is nice, too. If you set up a recording that is about to begin, the system will alert you by flashing a little clock in the bottom left corner of the screen. You can ignore it and it will go away when the recording starts, but you can also press the info button on the remote to see what it's going to do. You can also get it to go away instantly by pushing the cancel button, which just cancels the alert, not the recording.
One thing I noticed that I don't like is that it seems to store recorded shows using the date and time without the name of the show. I noticed this when I recorded the season premiere of Enterprise and the following new show Jake 2.0. This was particularly odd because it recorded both shows as one two-hour entry. That wasn't exactly convenient.
I also noticed that the clock wasn't correct. Enterprise starts at 8pm EST, but the clock on the receiver screen had it as 11pm, which was kind of strange.
I was told by the Dish tech that I should leave the receiver off overnight so that it can get an update (another one after an initial 45 minute install of software updates!) that would enable my low-number local channels. Normally, the local channels appear in the 8100-8200 range. This update should put channel 12 on channel 12 in addition to 8156. It's a trivial thing, because I remember the 4-digit number, but others in the house might not. It's probably most convenient for Nana.
Also, there were a few troubles getting the receiver to recognize the programming that I get from Dish. The receiver took about 45 minutes to update, during which I had them activate the 721 in the satellite transmission. 20 minutes after the update was complete, I could still only watch the remote control channel. But after a little while fiddling with things with the Dish Network tech on the phone, everything came up just in time to record Enterprise.
Actually, for recording purposes, she had me hold in the front-panel power button for 5 seconds, which caused the whole system to "reset". This did not remove the software download. It did a few system checks and then the screen went blank. After the system reset, it did eventually turn itself back on. This took a long time. When it came back on everything was online and I was happy.
Hopefully this receiver is less problematic than the DishPlayer, which was a complete pain in the neck. I think I might drop-kick the useless DishPlayer out of a window to demonstrate my dislike of it.
