Bell vs. Starchoice

[Robert T]

So I've been looking at getting dish service, and it's interesting to
compare the offerings. I want a PVR, and I have an HDTV, so it's really
a choice between Bell's 9220 and service, and StarChoice's DVR530 and
their service. They're both nice, but they have differences in my
situation. My comparison looks like this:

Bell w/9220: multi-room is plus (maybe two pluses) because I could
run a cable into my office and listen to the Galaxie channels when
I work from home; Bell having the Galaxie Celtic channel is a plus;
Bell's better HD offering is a plus; having an OTA tuner is a plus
(weird that SC doesn't - does anyone have the optional 8VSB tuner?);
9220's bigger hard drive (250gb) is a plus.

Score: +6

Star w/530: Star's better radio selections are a plus (e.g. I like
CKUA enough to listen over the web); the 530 supporting S-Video is
a plus (weird that the 9220 doesn't!).

Score: +2

The 9220 looks like the way to go. I do wish it had S-Video for
better quality of stuff I record, and I do wish it had coaxial
digital output as well as SPDIF.

Owners of these machines, what am I missing? How reliable are they?
How is their program guide and what search options does it have?

Thanks,
Rob

[Gary Tait]

Post by Robert T
Bell w/9220: multi-room is plus (maybe two pluses) because I could
run a cable into my office and listen to the Galaxie channels when
I work from home; Bell having the Galaxie Celtic channel is a plus;
Bell's better HD offering is a plus; having an OTA tuner is a plus
(weird that SC doesn't - does anyone have the optional 8VSB tuner?);
9220's bigger hard drive (250gb) is a plus.

You can easily get a second receiver for that, although SC doesn't have
the celtic channel. Also, I believe the 530 has a UHF remote, so you
could use it in another room.

The 530 (and 505) has the hardware interface for an 8VSB tuner, but alas,
not yet software supported.

Post by Robert T
Star w/530: Star's better radio selections are a plus (e.g. I like
CKUA enough to listen over the web); the 530 supporting S-Video is
a plus (weird that the 9220 doesn't!).
Score: +2

So far it appears to be the celtic channel vs the SC radio channels.

Post by Robert T
The 9220 looks like the way to go. I do wish it had S-Video for
better quality of stuff I record, and I do wish it had coaxial
digital output as well as SPDIF.

-2

Post by Robert T
Owners of these machines, what am I missing? How reliable are they?
How is their program guide and what search options does it have?
Thanks,
Rob