Dish Network DVR 510 (120 GB) DTV Receiver / 100-Hours DVR
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- Type: TV Receiver Video Recorder (DVR)
- Broadcast Type: Satellite
- Compatible Service: DirecTV
- Audio Support: Dolby Digital
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
To heck with cable and TiVo, too
Pros
Record easily and pause live television; great sound and video
Cons
A $5 monthly fee for what? Touchy remote control system.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
I got this free (kind of) as an upgrade offer from Dish Network. It has more than enough features for most people and has held up well.
I'm not even sure if the DVR 510 is the "standard" receiver given out by Dish Network, but we've had two of these things running in my house for over a year now and we love them. A DVR, of course, is used to both record programs and to "pause" live television. In the case of the DVR 510, you get 100 hours of record time and live programs can be paused for up to an hour.
In a way, then, this is rather like a digital VCR that's much easier to program. Anyone with a Dish Network digital satellite system is familiar with the company's program guide -- just hit a button, and you can access a list of programs for all channels extending for about a week or so. To program the DVR 510, just select the program you want, tell it to record (or automatically tune to the station if you just want to view it) and you're all set. Events can be programmed individually or you can tell it to record at certain times on weekdays, seven days a week or whatever for certain programs (my wife has the one in the bedroom set to record Dr. Phil every blasted day, for example). To record a show while watching it, simply hit the "record" button and you're all set.
Now, what this thing won't due is the "TiVo-like" function of automatically recording shows the unit is programmed to think you might like based on your viewing habits. Furthermore, you can't simply set it to "scan" for certain programs and record them whenever they air. Indeed, you pretty much have to set everything up manually, but the "search" function built into the unit helps quite a bit. What is odd about that is the user has to pretty much do everything himself with this unit, yet Dish Network charged $5 per month per unit for some kind of access fee. What the heck is that for? Dish Network hasn't done a thing to this unit since the day the installer showed up and put it in. Yes, you get software downloads automatically, but that's about it.
As for the "pause" feature, that's absolutely fantastic. I've got two children running around my house like wild people, and I find myself having to pause shows so I can go break up fights, or rewind parts of shows I've missed because a child decided to yell in my ear or jump around in front of the television. That's a handy feature I'm not sure how I got along without in the past when you missed bits of a show when life got in the way.
In addition to the obvious benefit of being able to record shows and pause live television, there are some features built into this unit that aren't that exciting but they sure are useful. My favorite is the "Dolby Optical Output" port that makes my surround sound system absolutely sing. That optical port is so "hot," in fact, it delivers a stronger audio signal than the "composite audio" port on my DVD player. Although shows that are in full, 5.1 surround sound are a bit rare, I'm glad I've got that Dolby optical port for those programs that are in that format. Regular programs sound fine, too, and they are in full stereo and push my subwoofer pretty hard. Great stuff. You've got the standard RCA ports for sound and video, as well as an S-Video port and a cable port. Indeed, you can pretty much hook this thing up to about any television out there with no problem.
Another great feature is the fact the program guide is downloaded to the hard drive. I had one of the older Dish Network receivers that didn't sport a DVR, and the program guide only went forward a few days and had to download often (and, the download process was very slow). As long as you remember to keep your receiver off when it's not in use, the DVR 510 will download program guides regularly and you won't have to suffer through watching it in action. Nifty, nifty.
The remote setup on this is pretty slick, too. Insead of the standard process, remote signals are picked up with an FM receiver (I think it's FM) and can be programmed to various frequencies so you don't have to aim your remote at the unit to get it to work. Indeed, you can hide this unit about anywhere and the remote will work just fine. The only problem with that setup is that my neighbor had something similar, evidently, and our receivers were set to the same frequency. So, he could change my channels and cause me all kinds of grief. I simply switched frequencies, and that solved the problem.
Finally, Dish Network has been a joy to work with over the years. I haven't had many problems with their service at all, but they've been able to resolve issues quickly. The programming is delivered in standard definition digital, and that's more than adequate for those of us who haven't hopped on the "high definition" bandwagon (of course, Dish Network has packages available for those folks). Dish Network is a great company, and their fantastic product is made even better with the DVR 510.
In a way, then, this is rather like a digital VCR that's much easier to program. Anyone with a Dish Network digital satellite system is familiar with the company's program guide -- just hit a button, and you can access a list of programs for all channels extending for about a week or so. To program the DVR 510, just select the program you want, tell it to record (or automatically tune to the station if you just want to view it) and you're all set. Events can be programmed individually or you can tell it to record at certain times on weekdays, seven days a week or whatever for certain programs (my wife has the one in the bedroom set to record Dr. Phil every blasted day, for example). To record a show while watching it, simply hit the "record" button and you're all set.
Now, what this thing won't due is the "TiVo-like" function of automatically recording shows the unit is programmed to think you might like based on your viewing habits. Furthermore, you can't simply set it to "scan" for certain programs and record them whenever they air. Indeed, you pretty much have to set everything up manually, but the "search" function built into the unit helps quite a bit. What is odd about that is the user has to pretty much do everything himself with this unit, yet Dish Network charged $5 per month per unit for some kind of access fee. What the heck is that for? Dish Network hasn't done a thing to this unit since the day the installer showed up and put it in. Yes, you get software downloads automatically, but that's about it.
As for the "pause" feature, that's absolutely fantastic. I've got two children running around my house like wild people, and I find myself having to pause shows so I can go break up fights, or rewind parts of shows I've missed because a child decided to yell in my ear or jump around in front of the television. That's a handy feature I'm not sure how I got along without in the past when you missed bits of a show when life got in the way.
In addition to the obvious benefit of being able to record shows and pause live television, there are some features built into this unit that aren't that exciting but they sure are useful. My favorite is the "Dolby Optical Output" port that makes my surround sound system absolutely sing. That optical port is so "hot," in fact, it delivers a stronger audio signal than the "composite audio" port on my DVD player. Although shows that are in full, 5.1 surround sound are a bit rare, I'm glad I've got that Dolby optical port for those programs that are in that format. Regular programs sound fine, too, and they are in full stereo and push my subwoofer pretty hard. Great stuff. You've got the standard RCA ports for sound and video, as well as an S-Video port and a cable port. Indeed, you can pretty much hook this thing up to about any television out there with no problem.
Another great feature is the fact the program guide is downloaded to the hard drive. I had one of the older Dish Network receivers that didn't sport a DVR, and the program guide only went forward a few days and had to download often (and, the download process was very slow). As long as you remember to keep your receiver off when it's not in use, the DVR 510 will download program guides regularly and you won't have to suffer through watching it in action. Nifty, nifty.
The remote setup on this is pretty slick, too. Insead of the standard process, remote signals are picked up with an FM receiver (I think it's FM) and can be programmed to various frequencies so you don't have to aim your remote at the unit to get it to work. Indeed, you can hide this unit about anywhere and the remote will work just fine. The only problem with that setup is that my neighbor had something similar, evidently, and our receivers were set to the same frequency. So, he could change my channels and cause me all kinds of grief. I simply switched frequencies, and that solved the problem.
Finally, Dish Network has been a joy to work with over the years. I haven't had many problems with their service at all, but they've been able to resolve issues quickly. The programming is delivered in standard definition digital, and that's more than adequate for those of us who haven't hopped on the "high definition" bandwagon (of course, Dish Network has packages available for those folks). Dish Network is a great company, and their fantastic product is made even better with the DVR 510.
