|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Welcome to HardwareGeeks,
|
|
 I am a huge couch potato after 8PM; I am also a huge DVR addict. I record probably every TV show available. From Grey's Anatomy to Prison Break, I record it all. I like to keep the shows so that I can go back and watch them in case I missed something, especially when a new season is about to start. It's good to watch the last few episodes to get caught up.
But many DVRs don't offer enough hard drive space to do this, especially if you are recording HD programming. So, I was thankful that Dish Network loaned us the VIP722 to test out because it offers up to 55 hours of HD video recording, and you can connect additional hard dives via a USB port on the back.
Let me stop the rambling, and let's get on with the Review:
The first step in the process was installation. I was a completely new customer. So, Dish network had to come out to install a dish. The day before my appointment, they called me to tell me their tech would be at my home between 8 and 10 am. However, I was out of town and was able to cancel it quickly and painlessly.
Even though I canceled the appointment, I received a phone call at 5:45 am from my building's super telling me Dish Network was there ready to install, but no one was answering my door. Well, I wasn't home what do you expect? Anyway, I asked my landlord to let him in to do the install and just watch him, and he agreed. Sadly, a rather large building blocked the southern sky, and the signal was too weak. There went my dream of ditching digital cable for satellite. I was depressed and called my girlfriend to vent, and she mentioned she had Dish Network. So, I told her when I got back to NY, I was going to test the VIP722 at her place. She had no clue what it was, but she fell in love with it soon after I installed it.
Installing the VIP722 is just like installing a DVD player. All you have to do is plug the Satellite into it, and then connect your TV via the HDMI or Component ports. You can connect up to two satellites and two televisions to your VIP722. (1 HDTV and 1 Standard definition Television)
Turning the box on for the first time was a bit tricky; it simply didn't work. I had to call tech support, but it turned out that we had the TV on the wrong input. I was able to fix it before we got through the automated prompts.
For the past 3 years, I have had HDTV via my Digital Cable service and I have grown to like HDTV. I love the picture quality (PQ) I get from my digital cable provider (Cablevision). When I plugged the VIP722 into my girlfriend's Sharp Aquos, I expected the same PQ I got from Digital Cable. Boy, was I in for a surprise. I was amazed at how much better the PQ was from Dish Network compared to what I have grown accustomed to from my Digital cable provider. The picture was sharper and much clearer. I don't just mean the HD channels; every channel was sharper and clearer. It also appeared to me that Dish Network did not compress the HD Stream as much as my digital cable provider does so no microboxes on the screen.
After I was done admiring the PQ, I began to play with the guides and DVR settings. I found the UI a bit different than what I was use too, my girlfriend loved it. The guide was way better looking than what my Scientific Atlanta boxes had to offer but I had to get use to it. I guess when you have been using something for so long it takes some time to adjust to something new. Once I started using it everything on the UI fit into place and it was a breeze to do things like setting up shows to record. It was a lot easier to set up a recording on the VIP722 than on any other box I have used in the past, it literally was as simple as 1-2-3. I also liked the 30 second skip feature it has. I use it so much the button is beginning to wear down on me.
The PQ for recorded HD programs was just as good as live TV. The recorded program was not degraded in anyway.
I mentioned earlier that you can add additional hard drives to the VIP722. You can add one more. I added a 750 GB Seagate drive. There are two USB ports, one on the front and the back of the receiver. I loved being able to add drivers to it and obtain more storage space for my shows, because I record a lot of shows and my Cable Provider locked out the USB and eSATA ports on the box they provided me.
I tried to do a little experiment with the USB port on the back of the receiver. I added a USB hub to see if I could actually add more than one additional drive. While the Hub worked, the receiver only detected one drive. It would have been really cool if that had worked, I think I would of added a bunch of drives.
 Overall the VIP722 rocked, and every hardcore TV watcher who loves their HDTV and DVR will love it. The Picture Quality was way better than cable. For that, we award the VIP722 our 5 Star Editors Choice award.
The only thing that sucked was the fact that I have to return it now to Dish Network.
|
|
|
| |
