The 2008 winner of C-Net’s Editor’s Choice award, the Dish DVR Network, Duo DVR VIP 722 is what I’ve found to be the most flexible systems available.
Dish Network’s full-featured DVR Receiver is attractive for families who have two or more TVs because this model handles both HD programming and standard definition programming (SD). In the case of owning 2 types of televisions, the alternate choice is to get two different receivers.
We upgraded from the Dish DVR Network 622 system, which is totally the same as to VIP 722 System aside from the color and the VIP 622 had a smaller storage allowance. Besides that that, I really can’t see much difference.
With that being said, the benefits of the 622 and 722 are enormous. The opportunity to have two or more types of TVs (HD and SD) was really a big benefit. Also the idea that a person is able to record on 2 different television sets without paying for another system saves me money each month plus I didn’t have to dust another piece of equipment!
The only thing I was a bit unhappy about would be that we couldn’t enjoy one television show while recording another on the same TV. So we just record from the second set once we’ve programmed that into our primary. After that being said, it’s really not that big of a drawback.
I’m not a technical person so, for me, the menu may have been intimidating at first. In fact, I’m not convinced if it’s the fact that I’m not a techie or just the idea that I felt overwhelmed. That was with the 622 model. I’ve aced it since then. My brother didn’t have a problem at all with the DVR’s menu.
Probably what I like more than anything is the flexibility to skip forward 30-seconds on pesky commercials. I’m certain there’s a fairly correct number out there, however it seems that an hour-long show has approximately 35 minutes of repetitive commercials which I would rather not watch. So being able to breeze through the infuriating advertisement is a real bonus. Just the fact that one can pause and playback was good enough for us to select the 622 model, still a feature in the Dish DVR Network VIP 722. I am sure I use that one feature (and the two different types of TV benefit) more than anything else on the entire DVR.
My teenage son really likes the picture in picture. He can keep up with whatever game he’s watching and his other shows at the same time. Personally I really don’t know how he does it, but he does.
The recording time is extremely generous as well. We have the ability to record 55 hours on the HD TV and in the other room we can enjoy up to 350 hours of recordings. In conclusion, I’m extremely content with the VIP 722 and, after using both Comcast and DirecTV, the customer service I receive with DISH Network is head and shoulders ahead of the aforementioned.