Dish Anywhere Question

[loubon]

I am having an issue with Dish Anywhere that I am fairly certain is PC related. It works on my phone and every PC in my house on the same network except for 1 which is running Vista. It worked up until a few weeks ago but I can't determine what has changed to cause it now not to work. I get as far as the stream loading but then the screen stays black even though it shows a high bit rate, the controls etc.. Same problem with Live and DVR.

* Can't be a Dish problem because it works on other units on the network.
* Can't be a router issue for the same reason.
* Can't be a Windows firewall issue for the same reason plus I've tried it with the firewall turned off.
* AV is Bitdefender and is running on all of the units that work as well so I don't see that as the issue.
* AdBlock is disabled (doesn't work when it is enabled either).
* I don't think it is browser setting related as I have tried IE9, Firefox and Chrome with the same results.
* Reloaded the Sling plug-in several times.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks.

 

[DustoMan]

My wild guess would be to update your video driver. Maybe your computer is receiving the stream but your video driver doesn't want to actually overlay the video.

 

[loubon]

Thanks. Graphics card drivers up to date. Re-installed Adobe Flash Player and Shockware. Still no go. Not sure what other video related drivers I can check.

 

[AZ.]

What web browsers are you using? Have you tried FF, IE9, and Goolge Chrome?

 

[mitchflorida]

I would completely restart and reset the receiver. There could be a software glitch on the receiver that will go away if you reset it. I would also experiment with other browsers if you haven't already.

 

[loubon]

Thanks Mitch. I've reset several times and I've tried Firefox, Chrome and IE9. It is only this PC that I have a problem on. Something is stepping on something but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is. I've even cleared the cache, cookies and run a registry cleaner.

 

[dwarren2]

Vista firewall? Have you updated the plug ins for all browsers?

 

[garys]

Do you have the newest versions of the browsers you mentioned? A lot of times when the software for Dish Anywhere is updated, older versions of the browser are no longer supported.

 

[odbrv]

With Vista I can only get one of my HWS to work. It will not show the drop down menu to choose HWS. Also no drop down menus on the top bar work even when shown. It also does not show Live TV at the top bar. You have to go to the bottom live TV to get it. You also have to go to the bottom to get streaming.

 

[loubon]

Did all of the above as suggested. No change.

 

[mitchflorida]

Have you first swapped out the PC with another one that shows DishAnywhere ? Then swap out the monitor. You should at least isolate the problem to the pc or monitor.

If it is the PC, you can delete the sling software add on , and re-install it again.

 

[loubon]

It isn't the monitor because everything on the screen shows up except the video (plus it worked a few weeks ago). I have uninstalled and reinstalled the sling active x plug in several times.

 

[deric]

Seems to be a Vista problem. I have the same problems with a Vista Laptop. Bitrate of the stream is displayed, but there is no video. Happens with updated IE, Firefox and Chrome. Dish Anywhere works perfectly on the same network with Galaxy SIII and XP Desktop.

 

[ChairBound]

Something else to check:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/smartscreen-filter-frequently-asked-questions

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/...rmation-for-administrators-and-website-owners

From Maximum PC: "Windows 8, for those of you who don’t know, relies on something called SmartScreen Application Reputation to identify and warn users of potentially dangerous desktop apps. According to Microsoft, the operating system uses SmartScreen, which was previously restricted to Internet Explorer, to conduct “an application reputation check the first time you launch applications that come from the Internet.” With SmartScreen providing an additional layer of security to Windows 8 users, they will have a lot less to worry about, right? Wrong, according to Canadian security researcher Nadim Kobeissi, who has a serious issue with the way the feature works."

Now ignore the protestations that Smart Screen was restricted to Internet Explorer prior to Windows 8, because I can tell you that I encountered it blocking program operation in my Vista set up often. Meaning....you could be encountering a problem with this while using your other browsers.

Even though you think your plug-ins are up to date, use this: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/plugincheck/. The link works in Chrome too.

Are you using just an anti-virus, or an internet security suite? If just anti-virus, check to see if your Windows Defender is on and if the settings are blocking something so that you cannot use Dish Anywhere. This is a separate list from the Windows Firewall list of allowed programs and such. Here is a link that you may want to pull up and read about how to allow items in the Defender list: http://www.pcworld.com/article/156019/secure_windows_vista.html.

Last idea I have is Windows Data Execution Prevention. Based on my Vista experience, this little gem caused some real issues. I would try to run something or download something from the web, and DEP would jump in from nowhere. Here is a blurb on it from Wikipedia: "If DEP is enabled for all applications, users gain additional resistance against zero-day exploits. But not all applications are DEP-compliant and some will generate DEP exceptions. Therefore, DEP is not enforced for all applications by default in 32-bit versions of Windows and is only turned on for critical system components. However, Windows Vista introduces additional NX policy controls that allow software developers to enable NX hardware protection for their code, independent of system-wide compatibility enforcement settings. Developers can mark their applications as NX-compliant when built, which allows protection to be enforced when that application is installed and runs. This enables a higher percentage of NX-protected code in the software ecosystem on 32-bit platforms, where the default system compatibility policy for NX is configured to protect only operating system components. For x86-64 applications, backward compatibility is not an issue and therefore DEP is enforced by default for all 64-bit programs. Also, only processor-enforced DEP is used in x86-64 versions of Windows Vista for greater security."

Good luck!

 

[loubon]

Wicked Girl thanks for those ideas (and thanks to everyone else so far as well). I tried the SmartScreen part and there was no difference. I tried the plug in check and everything was up to date although the sling plug-in was listed as unknown. The research button threw me out to Google and I didn't find anything of use there. AV is just AV (Bitdefender) and Defender is turned off. I didn't know what to do about the last point you mentioned (DEP). Is that something I just turn off? If so how?

I also ran the Dish Sling connectivity test and that passed all tests. I also totally uninstalled Ad-Block rather than just disabling it and still no difference. It has to be a recent MS Vista update that is causing the problem. Does anyone know if there is a Sling website that deals with OS issues relating to the Dish version? Anything I have found is for the separate Sling products.

BTW all other streaming video such as YouTube is fine.

 

[ChairBound]

DEP is something you will have to research a little. If you Google it, you will find more information than I can list here on it. I am sorry that the other ideas did not help. I know this is frustrating. I remember well wanting to pull out my hair with Vista sometimes.

By the way, after you disabled Smart Screen (and please don't leave it disabled), did you restart whatever browser you were using before trying Dish Anywhere again? I have found I need to restart my browsers almost anytime I make a settings change for the settings to take effect.

I re-read your initial post again. You are using IE9 and you have also tried other browsers. Did you run this test (http://dishconnectivity.sling.com/?WT.svl=connectivity) from the Dish site on the PC that is giving you trouble? Oops! Yes you did run it, sorry. Also, when you say it worked before, were you using IE9 or something else?

Look at your Windows Update history? Do any of the dates sort of line up with when you started having trouble? If so, research those K numbers to see what was changed. I know that in Windows 8, there are two versions of IE. One is set to run by design with no Java, no Flash, and no plug-ins....period. I wonder if MS recently updated Vista with anything like that and it is a setting you have to change? I know you are using other browsers, but Firefox has recently implemented what I think is less default functionality in favor of user security as well. And Chrome...well I do not yet have a favorable opinion there at all.

Do me a favor...try the Maxthon web browser and see if it works for you.

Did you reboot after the last round of Windows updates (whether prompted to or not)?

Do you install both versions of Adobe Flash (the version used by Firefox and the AX version used by IE and I believe Chrome)? As an FYI...anytime I update Adobe Flash or Sun Java, I use Revo Uninstaller and some manual hunt and destroy persistence to completely clean all traces of each plug-in's version off my computer before I install each update. This is a habit I picked up several years ago after using Secunia (http://secunia.com/products/consumer/psi/sys_req/) to scan my PC for insecure programs. By using Secunia, I found that in spite of keeping Flash and Java updated, both programs were leaving bits of their older versions on the computer. After uninstalling them, even with Revo Uninstaller, it is often necessary to search Windows\System32\Macromedia, Windows\System32\Adobe, C:\\ProgramFiles\Adobe, and the Local\Adobe and Macromedia, Local Low\Adobe and Macromedia and Roaming\Adobe and Macromedia folders in the Documents\ApplicationData folder under your user profile. You may need to enable hidden files and folders to see the Application Data folder. I am wondering if old Flash or Java fragments are a problem when trying to use Dish Anywhere.

Are you using Windows 64 bit? No matter which version of Windows you are using, last I read you must only install the 32 bit version of Sun Java for now because the web browsers are 32 bit.

Whew! Sorry so long. I am half dead from no sleep, so I apologize if I am making no sense.

 

[ChairBound]

Just thought of something else it could be. In whatever browser you use, do not run in Privacy mode, AND make sure to add mydish.com, dishanywhere.com and dish.com to both the "ALLOW" cookies section in the browser settings, and to the Pop Up Blocker "Allowed" area as well. The trick here is that if Dish uses any third part sites to serve up Dish Anywhere, those domains have to be added to the places that I just mentioned as well. You may even have to turn off "Do Not Track" in the browser settings if you have that selected.

It would be more helpful if a Dish tech person could pop in here and tell us whether Dish Anywhere uses Adobe Flash, Sun Java, HTML5 or what to serve up any of its functions.

 

[JSheridan]

Seems to be a Vista problem. I have the same problems with a Vista Laptop. Bitrate of the stream is displayed, but there is no video. Happens with updated IE, Firefox and Chrome. Dish Anywhere works perfectly on the same network with Galaxy SIII and XP Desktop.

Vista desktop here and it works fine with Firefox but no audio or video with IE or Chrome.

 

[mitchflorida]

Looks like you need to buy a new P.C.

 

[JSheridan]

We've got 3 Windows 7 computers and 2 Vista computers here and I far prefer the Vista. They run reliably and quick and they remember what size and where your desktop windows belong.