Dish Network Dish PVR 501 System Review

Bottom-Line: If you want an entry level Personal Video Recording device, you can't go wrong with the PVR-501

I have not subscribed to cable television since my wife and I moved into the new house we had built outside Chicago some five years ago.  When we moved into our new housing development cable was not available, despite being told it was coming any day now by then AT&T Cable.  Eventually, after much discussion with the cable company wherein they continued to hedge about when service would be available in my area, I decided not to wait any longer and called Dish Network.    

Dish Network now has several plans wherein you can lease satellite receivers from them at a rate of $4.99 a month per receiver.  The plan we chose was for a Dish Personal Video Receiver - 501 (PVR-501), and two 301 series satellite receivers (one for the guest bedroom, one for the master bedroom where cable lines had already been laid by the builder).  We also received free installation, service agreement, and activation. 

The centerpiece of this setup is the PVR-501, a receiver I have a love hate (mostly love) relationship with.  This handy black box allows me to record and then play back up to 36 hours of programming on a 40GB hard drive.  The PVR-501 is similar in form and functionality to the much ballyhooed TiVo digital video recorder.  However, having never used a TiVo I cannot compare the two boxes feature for feature, sufficed to say that it meets my needs for personal digital recording.           

My Viewpoint

With the PVR-501 I can pause live television-up to an hour-record programs; on the fly or through programming.  The PVR-501 also programs while you watch making it easy to pause and reverse a program.  So if you miss something vital you can reverse the program and watch it again.  You cannot however record one program and watch another at the same time; one glaring drawback that can be address by purchasing the PVR-522 from Dish Networks.

Setting the PVR-501 to record a program in the future is a simple process; just page through the program guide, select the program you want and select it.  If the program is not running in real-time, the PVR-501 will switch to a menu that allows you to record the program once, daily, or weekly.  If the program is running in real time a menu will pop up with several options that will allow you to record the program; I usually chose to record until the end of the program.  When the program is due to come on, a small white clock blinks at the bottom left hand side of the television five minutes before the show starts.  The PVR-501 can also be set to start recording programs a minute ahead of time. 

Once the program is recorded it can be accessed any time via a menu system; a grey PVR button is located on the remote is used to access the "Recorded Events" menu.  Once the program is viewed, it can be deleted, or protected from deletion.  Note however, the protection procedure does not include a password.  Recorded programs are listed in chronological order making it easy to select the program you want to view.  While viewing the program, you can of course pause it, or move forward or backward through the program.  An hour ticker is located at the bottom of the "Recorded Events" menu that relay how much record time is left.              

I wish I could say that my adventures in personal digital video have been care free, but this is life.  I have had to replace the PVR-501 twice in the last four years; in both instances the hard drives malfunctioned; I wonder if they are using Western Digital drives.  Without the hard drive, the unit does not function properly and needs to be replaced.  In both instances Dish Network customer service was very accommodating, sending out new receivers immediately and giving me credit for the time missed. 

Overall, I have been very happy with the PVR-501.  Picture quality for the most part is excellent utilizing the S-Video output to my A/V receiver.  Sound quality is excellent, thanks to the Dolby Digital audio output, piped through 5-1 speakers.  If you want an entry level Personal Video Recording device, you can't go wrong with the PVR-501.