Channels slow to lock in

[SeattleSailor]

Hi,
I've got an older 2700 receiver which has been working fine for years on 119. About 2 mos ago I started to notice it is getting very slow to lock on to the next channel. In other words, it used to take less than 2 sec to lock into a channel when changing channels. But lately I'll change channels and I may stare at a black screen for 10 sec or more before I see video. Also, the channel guide seems very slow to update. I thought maybe the dish alignment was off so last weekend I checked and peaked it but it seems fine. All TPs show a strength of between 80 and 120. The firmware update is at the latest version. So, is it just me or do others also see a much slower system lately? Maybe my receiver is getting out of date? Maybe Dish is just crowding more and more sigs on to the sat and it's bogging down? I can live with it; I'm more curious than anything else.

SS

 

[ajohnson]

The older receivers don't have as much memory as the newer ones, so you are probably right on the money. How far out does your program guide go? Standard receivers get a 48 hour guide, which older units trim down to fit their memory.

 

[Mr Tony]

The older receivers were usually the current 1/2 hour and the next 1/2....maybe you could get out to 1 1/2 hours...but that was very rare

 

[SeattleSailor]

Oh, the guide will show out a few hours if I'm REALLY patient. I can move it out about 2hrs, then I get the Wait message which can take from 30 sec to 3 minutes and then another couple of hours are painted in. That hasn't really changed much over the years.

It's the channel lock-in that's suddenly very different. Like I said, up until a couple of months ago I'd see video of any subscribed channel about 2 sec after I clicked on it. But now it can take at least 10 sec before I see the video. I immediately can see the banner at the top of the screen telling me what channel and show I've selected but the screen remains black for the 10 seconds. It's making surfing not so much fun anymore.... I'm just wondering if maybe the latest firmware updates that Dish beamed down aren't as friendly to my old receiver. I'm reluctant to call them because I imagine they'll simply tell me to buy a newer receiver.

Ice, nice to see that you're multi-forum lingual!

SS