New ExpressVu HD PVR, and HD recievers?
Rumour and speculation are rampant this week as news is starting to leak out that Bell ExpressVu will be releasing two new HD recievers sometime in April 2007. Just to be clear, this has not been confirmed, and my sources at Bell tell me that its “Very Likely”. Considering the enevitable upgrade to MPEG 4 later this year, it makes perfect sense that Bell would start to sell a new HD and HD PVR reciever.
The ViP-211
The first rumoured unit is the Echostar ViP-211 HD Reciever. It is the relacement for the 61xx series of current HD recievers. Its nothing too spectacular, but it does have a smaller form factor than the current 61xx.
The ViP-622 DVR
The second, and more exciting unit is the ViP-622 DVR, which is going to replace the 9200 / 9220 HD PVR. Aside from MPEG-4 support, this unit is not much of an upgrade, HD recording goes from 24hrs to 30 hours. Echostar did announce the ViP-622-1 at CES this year, which has a larger capacity drive, and support for adding additional external hard drives via the built in USB port. Hopefully, Bell will decide to use the 622-1. Pictured is the current ViP-622, which has been available to Dish Network subscribers in the states for almost a year.
I am very interested in these new recievers, and I hope to get my hands on the ViP-622-1 should be chose to release the model with the larger hard drive. If not, I will be waiting until MPEG-4 is ready, and let Bell upgrade me for free.
I should also point out, there is no word yet on what model number Bell will be using for these two new recievers yet.
9200, 9220, DVR, expressvu, HDTV, home theatre, news, PVR, rumours, tech
Cool. Thanks for the update. I hope Bell decides to upgrade my 9200 to a ViP-622-1 for MPEG-4!
Any of your “sources” able to confirm whether there will be a free receiver swap? Or will we be charged for the change over to MPEG4?
We’ll have to see, so far, I’ve been told that high def subs will get the upgrade, but it is far enough away that things may change.
Free Upgrades, and they should start soon. Bell is awaiting the new units. As of now they have no stock of the HD DVR’s in Canada and have not had for sometime now. They are awaiting the new units and will ship out the upgrades to customers.
Steve, thanks for the info. Do you have any indication on a possible time line?
Thanks, Chris
hey apeman,
Came across your site, and I must say, LOVE IT. thanks for all the info you provide and I find this site extremely helpful!
Question for you…
I am close to upgrading my current 6100 receiver to a 9200 HD PVR. My question is, in your opinion, would it be best to purchase the receiver, or rent it on a yearly contract right now? I have been reading up on the possible new models that may or may not be coming out later 4thquart 2007, if i buy the 9200 would be up a #$@ creek?
So,, in short, Rent the 9200, or Buy? I look forward to your thoughts on this.
Thanks,
I’m not sure what the upgrade policy is on the ExpressVu PVR’s. Mine is on a 2 year contract which is up in December, so I will likely go month to month until a new unit comes out.
If you buy, you would still be able to sell the unit, but I am not sure how much of your investment you would recover.
I would call expressvu, and see if you can rent the pvr month to month, not on a contract. When the new recievers are available, you should be able to trade yours in fora new one.
I’d be interested in hearing which direction that you decide to go in. One thing to keep in mind is that ExpressVu has not confirmed when the new units will be available, and after they are, there may be no advantage besides a bit more recording time. It will take a while before Bell will be able to broadcast an MPEG4 signal.
Thanks for visiting.
Apeman,
Thanks for you reply.
Well heres another question than.. if I do decide to purchase I would sell my current 6100 so the price wouldnt be all that bad.. im more concerned about the support or if any warranty are on those receivers.. i just read some people have had problems with the HDs in them or just some bugs, I suppose if you rent, than bell would obviously replace when an issue did come about.. whereas if I were to buy, Im not sure what would happen. You?…. I will be calling bell and seeing what all my options are.. I have been with belll for many many years so it’ll be interesting to see if they will offer me something I cant refuse.. I will for sure let you all know what they say and what I decide to go with..
Thanks again Ape,
I’m not sure how much you would get for a 6100 these days. Last I recall, they are going pretty cheap. I guess the big question is, how long until it is rendered useless. Ie: will bell move all HD over to MPEG-4, which would make sense.
Bell needs to come out and let its customers know what their plans are. They have launched a new satellite, but it will not be in operation until 2009. If thats the case, and they plan to launch MPEG-4 at the same time, then you can be safe knowing that your 6100 has a couple of years left in it.
If Bell plans to move to MPEG-4 in the next 6-8 months, then it will be the customers that will suffer.
Please let us know what you find out from Bell.
Apeman,
The last comment about a New PVR was July 2007, is there any new information.
1. Whats replacing the 9200?
2. when is it coming out?
I just talked to Bell and they said the new 9242 will be in the
store in Calgary in 1-2 weeks.
Basically, the only difference is longer recording time and it will support MPEG4.
She did not know if MPEG4 would play on an 9200, or if their would be a “fix/upgrade” for 9200.
She had not been told.
Also, she recommended gettting the new system.
@Ian – Thanks for the update. The 9200 upgrade/fix sounds interesting, and its the first that I have heard about it. It would be nice if they could upgrade the unit to handle MPEG4, not only will it keep customers happy, it will also save bell a lot of money from upset HD subs canceling.
Did you go back and see if the 9242 was available yet? Any details on the specs?
A Bell tech told me in December that they would replace my two 9200 in 2008 for free.
Based on the above comment – was that if the gentleman owned his 9200′s or if he rented. I happen to own two 9200′s and definitely would want to know if it is worthwhile to hang on to them now for an upgrade later or try to get some money for them now before everyone knows about the mpeg 4 technology. I tried asking Bell the same question but was put off because the people to answer it were not available.
Yes I bought the 2 9200′s. But I don’t think the technician was aware of this. I would be surprised that they don’t replace receivers for free. People won’t stay with Bell if they don’t do the replacement. But maybe they will only replace for those who have an HD package.