By David Ponce
If you have service from DISH Network at home, and a DISH DVR, then you should consider purchasing the PocketDISH Portable Media Companion AV700E. Connect it directly to your DVR and download up to 40 hours of saved programming onto its 40Gb hard drive. Comes with a large 7″ widescreen LCD screen and can record up to 160 hours of video from other sources at a lower resolution.
You can playback music and images as well: up to 20,000 songs (MP3, WMA and WAV music files) and up to 400,000 JPEG files. Battery life, however, is disastrous, with a puny 4 hours of video playback and 12 hours of audio.
For $600, I’ve seen better, but the native DISH connectivity might be a deal maker for some.
Check out the DISH website. Story VIA Mobilewhack.
Well, I bought one, and boy, am I sorry. What this article doesn’t mention, and, in fact, PocketDish doesn’t mention either, until you’ve already purchased the PocketDish, is that it only works with the 942 DVR. This is not the model most DISH Network subscribers have. Most of us have the 522, which does have a USB port on the back, but apparently this port doesn’t do anything.
So you have a choice: shell out another $700 for the 942 receiver (you can’t lease this model), or return the PocketDish for a full refund–MINUS 10%!!! That’s right. For not revealing the full details to customers prior to purchase, PocketDish gets to pocket $65 of your hard-earned cash!
What a racket! They probably raking in millions, considering their installed base of leased DVRs!
Oh, wait. I forgot. There is a third option. CALL YOUR LAWYER!!!
what Mr. Livesay forgot to mention is that you can transfer information to the pocket dish via the included RCA cables.
The 942 supports USB 2 while the older 522 only support USB 1.1. The pocket dish does not support USB 1.1 at this time; therefore the option of using the arcaic RCA cable for people that want to use current tchnology with arcaic technology like the 522.
The moral is, do not blame the supplier if you do not use the product the way the supplier tells you to. The literature states that you can quickly transfer programs from select Dish Network DVRs. Mr. Livesey obviously assumed that the word “select” actually means “all” DVR.
Again: If you want new technology, your best bet is to use it with other new technology. New technology can be used with old technology, but it is not optimal.