Review on 📺 DISH Solo HD Receiver (ViP 211z): Enhanced Viewing Experience and Crystal Clear Reception by Justin Dorsett

I have a love-hate relationship with this receiver. I had to read countless reviews before deciding on this receiver and I'm going to put everything I've learned from lots of research and personal experience in one place to hopefully save someone some time. an access card (some reviews say it's not included or built in), it's located behind the front hinged doors (where the white model number and crockery logo are on the front of the unit). cannot preview channels or do anything until it receives an activation signal and is added to the account, it gets stuck on the download wizard screen. It comes with legacy firmware that can only be updated with the platter, which is a fixed oval 3LNB home style. a cymbal or a very smart cymbal with auto tracking (i.e. no back cover). So if you have a back cover (or other simple remote controlled dome) and buy one of these, you'll probably need to find a friend with a cymbal chain or a friendly local salesperson. This will allow you to connect to your dish to get the firmware. Because hard drives can be notoriously unreliable in a mobile application, we installed a 180GB solid state drive (SSD) in a 2.5" USB enclosure and connected it to the unit to add DVR capability. very thin/sleek, about half the height of the cable box, similar in size to a thin PS3. Works really cool, unlike some other satellite receivers that can't be installed in a closet and need a lot of ventilation space. The power consumption is extremely high. low (since I'm running it on a large battery in the mobile app, this is important) Doesn't require a phone/network connection to work is fast IR. The remote control has excellent coverage and does not need to be pointed directly at the receiver to operate. The Bad: The item feels cheap as it is almost 100% plastic, including the top cover. This thing has an IR remote control if you need the UHF function. (i.e. if you want to mount the receiver out of sight in a closet) with a UHF antenna console you need to buy a special kit that costs $100 (same as the receiver itself). If you want to put it in a closet or out of sight, buy a receiver with a built-in UHF remote control (e.g. VIP222k). You can add an external USB tuner (buy another $40-$60), but that's an extra box that hangs off the back of the unit. No analogue HDTV output (y/pr/pb) - only an issue if you don't use HDMI, the previous VIP211K had this feature. This receiver can be quite expensive for an entry-level receiver (cost of the receiver itself + USB OTA tuner + USB storage drive + DVR license fee + UHF remote). If you want these features, you're probably much better off buying a receiver that has them already built in. Uploading can be a bit slow even when the satellite dish is aligned and has a full signal. On cold boot (disabled) it may take 5 minutes before you get an image. If you want to use the DVR, you will be charged a "license fee" $43 per feature activation in addition to the cost of the hardware. If you add a USB drive, the update is tied to the receiver (not yours account).So if you need to replace or upgrade the receiver, you will have to pay the license fee again for the replacement unit.Only has single room/tuner capability (because the key is charged for the receiver activation and not the tuner) if You want to support multiple TVs close together to watch different channels, consider the VIP222k option If you are using an OTA USB (terrestrial) tuner, if you are in a mobile app and often out of range changing, deleting saved channels before searching for new ones so you don't clutter up the manual is manual and tedious Ugly: I'm using this with a mobile dish that's in motion t is said to be the ONLY dish receiver "approved" for mobile setups. But he has a software annoyance towards this configuration. Since "most" moving dishes (domes) only track one satellite at a time, the dish will move every time you change channels to track a different satellite. The process of acquiring another satellite depends on the antenna and usually takes 1 to 1.5 seconds. This receiver has a feature where if you turn on the high definition channel and it doesn't get a satellite signal after about 0.75 seconds, it decides there is no signal, give up and switch to low/standard definition satellite and set the equivalent channel in low (standard) resolution. If you're watching a non-HD channel on satellite 1 and tune into a high-definition channel on satellite 2, the dish will move towards satellite 2, and since the receiver doesn't wait long enough, it assumes it's satellite 2 is not available and go back to satellite 1 to get the corresponding standard definition channel. This feature is very annoying when using a dome dish. This hassle doesn't happen with a 3LNB style home dish as it is synced to multiple satellites and doesn't take time to switch.