I don't have anything to compare this DVR to as it is my first DVR but I must say that I love it! I love that it has 3 different signal inputs so I can record 3 different things at once. It has two signal inputs for the dish and one for the antenna. The quality of the recordings is great and the menu system is pretty intuitive and easy to use. I have yet to run out of space with the standard hard drive that came with it, but I have gotten close. Another great thing about this receiver is that you can use it to control two different TVs granted only one of those TVs can be high definition. I have had the reciever for almost 2 years now and I think we have only had one or two issues with it. Both of the those issues were solved by simply rebooting the device, so there haven't been any REAL issues with it. I does run a little hot, so you don't want to have it in an enclosed area with little ventilation.

cadams22

Kuna, ID

I rent the VIP 722 from Dish, and have had one of these for 2-3 years now... cannot recall exactly for how long. During that time I have had one unit die on me, but Disg replaced the device withing 2-3 days... so their support structure is to be commended. The VIP 722 has an on-board hard drive, the size of which I have not been able to exactly determine, but is suspect it is of the 320 GB class. It records about twice the content than that advertised, mainly because Dish has gone to twice the compression for their signals. In general, if one is like me and focuses only on recording HD content, the dish size is somewhat small. It is recommended, if one gets this device then they activate the external USB port for the addition of an external harddrive (1 TB or better). When I activated the USB port, Dish charged forty bucks, although I understand they will activate the port for free if one calls them. In short, this is a great unit.

dogmatix

State College, PA

Dish VIP722 has some minor glitches but I love it.  I cannot write everything I like about the VIP722, there's not enough room.  The only problems I've had is an occosional lockup which has always been fixxed by holding the power button for 10 seconds.  Also for some reason the remote seems to have an occosional lag.

bamintn

Lebanon, TN

We have had Dish for over 5 years and never had a problem.  Then when they came out with the DVR I was in heaven.  And we have never run out of recording time.  It is hooked up very quickly and they refund you the connect service usually in a deal when you have it hooked up.  Great product.

ckcardall

Clearfield, UT

I am not the most tech savy person. I admit I am almost always the last person to get something new in the electronic area. But when the opportunity opened up to own the **DISH Network - ViP722 DTV Receiver / 350-Hours Video Recorder , **I jumped on it. With my last receiver I could only record 100 hours of shows, movies and music. I am a huge tv show watcher. Matter of fact I have about 30 shows that I record weekly. I was constantly having to hurry to watch something so I could have the space free for something else to record. Not with this. I have recorded to my hearts content and I haven't even used half of the space. I even have an entire show recorded for my daughter. I think it is 25 episodes just for that one show. I can't delete them because she watches them almost daily. With this reciever, I don't have to worry about deleting them. Also, the picture quality is crystal clear and has all the amenities I could ask for. I am very pleased with my decision to upgrade.****

dizzyview

Coalgate, OK

I have had dish network now for 2 years and it is great.  I have it hooked up to 4 televisions and two of those are hooked up to the dvr.  It is very easy to use and my young child caught on very quickly.  I had an issue with the dvr box and it was still under warrenty so dish sent me another one and had me send my old one back to them.  So I wasn't without it.  My contract is up with them this month but I think I will just stay with them.  I had the other company a long time ago.  All I got from them was bad reception.  I love the dvr it holds so much and it is really neat even my son can use it.  We record all of our favorite shows so we can watch them on our times instead of when they came on tv.  It is great for movies I will see a movie coming on and just hit record and watch at night so I can do other things instead of sitting in front of the tv when I could be doing other things.  They have great customer service as well. 

apr970

Corbin, KY

I've tried out many DVRs from many companies. I've tried a TiVo and hated it. I've had DirecTV, Comcast, Dish Network, AT&T, and a few local providers and I have decided that the best DVR comes from Dish Network. The DVRs I've used in the past have all been a pain in the rear, except for DirecTV and Dish Network. Maybe something can be said for satellite companies providing quality DVRs, or perhaps it's just coincidence. I've used 3 different models of DVR from Dish Network, and this one is by far my favorite. For starters, it works for two rooms. I didn't know that this kind of technology even existed. This one box will provide HD service for two separate rooms or it can provide picture-in-picture for one room, a personal favorite feature of mine.  On top of that, you can record two programs at once, while watching a third already recorded. This is a pretty standard feature from my experience, but still an underrated one that not every company provides. Best of all, unlike some cheaper DVRs, you can watch recorded programs on this one even when the service is out. Even if your dish falls off your roof and shatters, you can still watch what has already been recorded. You can't go wrong with this box from Dish.

cucumberjones

Elk Grove, CA

I had 3 of these units that crashed, and DISH Network was unable/unwilling to resolve the problem.  After researching the issue online, I found that this is not an isolated problem and is quite widespread.  After loosing all of my recorded shows and having to re-program the replacement DVR's, I was tired of dealing with DISH so I troublshot the unit myself.  I had even written a letter to their executive office, but to no avail.  Since my retrofit, no more problems - thankfully.  The turds at DISH even tried to charge me for the replacements, even know the units were under warranty and I had to go to all the trouble of reprogramming.  Their service is terrible!!!!!!

Duke974

Suwanee, GA

I have been through a few DVR's.  Most of them were the 622 from Dish Network.  It worked well but had a smaller Hard Drive.  The major problem with the 622 was I had three of them crash and lost everything I had svaed and had to have them replaced.  I have had no problems with the 722 in almost 1 1/2 years.  Highly recommend.

jswible

Mercersburg, PA

I got this DVR from DISH Network in October.  As a former DirecTV customer for 8-9 years, I was amazed that this new DVR does some things I'd never seen before.  For one, it actually records with the power off!  I mean not only when the DVR itself is powered off; it even does it during a power outage!  (The guy from the power company couldn't believe it either.) This DVR has over 300 hours of recording capacity for regular programming and proportionately less (I think like 65 hours or something in that neighborhood) for HD programming.  However, I'm not sure what the latter refers to, because my DVR is an HD DVR, my new TV (see my review!) is an HD TV, and I am getting the HD versions of most channels (except for the ones you have to subscribe to), yet I am also getting the full 350+-hour recording time capacity.  Excellent!  I can save some recordings without always worrying about running out of space. Like most dish receiver DVRs, it rarely needs anything except to be reset if there's been bad weather and it lost its dish signal.  This has always worked for me except for when the dish itself needed repointing and the DISH repairman came and did it. I like the flexibility that you can Skip or Restore a scheduled recording without having to delete the whole timer unless you want to.  I didn't have this with my previous DVR.  It's also very handy that you can highlight a program in the Guide, My Recordings, or anywhere, then press the Search key to get a list of all the dates and times it's on.  It also has a nice thing that I always wished my old one had had - it automatically starts recording one minute early and ends three minutes late.  Of course this can be edited in case of conflicts.  With my old one I always had to program recordings to start early and finish late so they didn't cut off the beginnings or ends of live programs or those where the station is not exact about start and end times. A little warning appears on the screen "Remote batteries low" when you point the remote at the DVR if they are low.  I love that it can detect this and tell me!  This DVR also can skip very fast through the Guide, much faster than my old one.  You can change the way the channels are listed too (ascending, descending, etc.)  You can change which channels the Guide displays. So far this DVR is very reliable and has never missed a scheduled recording as long as there was a signal.  It gives a lot of flexibility and choices so you can customize things as you like.  It's helpful, convenient, and fun to use!

gailcats

Stone Mountain, GA