Digital Trends

EchoStar has long been called “the other” DBS (Direct Broadcast Satellite) satellite company by some.  However, these days many people believe that it may be even better than other satellite companies because of improved overall image quality (especially with local channels), and a line-up of more innovative set-top box satellite receivers. This past year, the other prominent satellite company began offering stripped-down and featureless HD boxes.  Fortunately, DISH Network takes the other road.  Even though cable accounts for 70 percent of the viewing public, satellite continues to gain subscribers, who now total about 25 percent of all U.S households. Other users get their TV signals from over-the-air.  Today we take a look at the new ViP 622 receiver which promises a lot more features and better quality video that previous receivers.

*Editors Note (By Ian Bell) 5/18/06 -

The second TV connected to the 622 will likely be using the coaxial connection if it is another room (although it will let you use composite connections if you can install it yourself), not an HDMI or component video connector. What this means is a couple things. First if you have a flat panel monitor without an integrated tuner, you most likely are out of luck since most monitors lack the coaxial connector. Secondly while the picture will look good, it will not look as good as the TV using the HDMI or component video connections, which means you are not able to view true high-definition content on that second TV. If this is important to you, buy a separate HD receiver box for your other TV instead of using the 622 for both.