External Drive Flaw VIP622 VIP722

[manyultra]

I apologize if someone has already addressed this problem, but for those of you who have been using an external drive for any length of time, you notice they forgot to include the Grouping feature. What a mess this has created for us-we have 387 listings to scroll through to find things, all because the Dishnetwork code writer must have been in too much of a hurry, and forgot to include it. 376 of these (same title episodes) could be grouped in a folder just as it would be on the main drive, then we would have only 11 listings instead of this mess.

I've contacted Dish about this 5 times over the past several months, one time escalating it to the supervisor of the advanced tech dept., but it seems like the complaints are falling on deaf ears.

Does anyone know a code writer I could hire to correct this?

Thanks

 

[rockymtnhigh]

No you cannot contact a code writer to correct it.

It is an annoying feature - or lack of feature - best thing to do is to keep sending Dish comments asking them to address the problem.

They only provided a group function in the 622/722 software last summer.

 

[manyultra]

No you cannot contact a code writer to correct it.

The only alternative I know of would be to use separate drives to put like title episodes on, that way 200 episodes of a series could go on its own drive since the grouping feature is not going to be an option.

My concern is that I can't connect the separate drives to a hub, and each drive might have to be connected to the receiver one at a time, and require a receiver reboot each time a new drive is connected. This is not a very good option, and seems a bit risky in terms of losing content.

I heard a while ago this is a unix or linux based system, and the code was available online that's why I asked about upgrading it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

It is a highly encrypted system for DRM.


Your solution of one hard drive for each show would work, but still no easy way to tell what episode you were looking for.

Its not perfect for sure, but compared with the days before we had it, I'm quite content.

 

[hrxtreme]

722 is 500 GB i think... isn't 622 320-350 GB?

 

[manyultra]

Your solution of one hard drive for each show would work,quote]

Didn't you mean one hard drive for each group of like title episodes?

And for anyone who is seeking a more clearer explanation of the problem:

For example, we have recorded nearly 200 episodes of star trek which are scattered all over the 750 gb external drive. If Dish would have remembered to include the grouping feature in the external drive menu I could simply group them all into a folder called star trek. This option is of course available on the receiver's hard drive.

If anyone hears if they intend to correct this or knows a solution please post. Thanks

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Your solution of one hard drive for each show would work,quote]

Didn't you mean one hard drive for each group of like title episodes?

And for anyone who is seeking a more clearer explanation of the problem:

For example, we have recorded nearly 200 episodes of star trek which are scattered all over the 750 gb external drive. If Dish would have remembered to include the grouping feature in the external drive menu I could simply group them all into a folder called star trek. This option is of course available on the receiver's hard drive.

If anyone hears if they intend to correct this or knows a solution please post. Thanks

I suspect it will show up one of these days. It is a logical upgrade.

But it does not help identify what episode is what. i.e., on the DVR hard drive, if I have two episodes of Chuck recorded, they are grouped together, but I need to click on info to see what each episode is.

AND yes, that's what I meant. a Star Trek Hard drive; a BSG hard drive; a LOST hard drive, etc... but currently no ability to link them all together through a hub.

 

[David_Levin]

For me, if I have the 622 sort my PVR list Alphaumerically, then the events on the external HDD also get the same sort.

Does the job for me.

 

[alex82inca]

It sucks, but Dish has never been the best UI people.

Maybe with the split, EHC will be able to partner with some company to bring a great interface to the usually solid hardware.

 

[JS_racer]

hell, I'd settle for a delete key after an external show was over. Lots of fun scrolling back through the list to delete a watched program.

 

[Jim S.]

You mean when you hit "stop", it doesn't come up with the same screen that it does for the internal drive? Man, that's a real "what the hell were they thinking" moment if that's the case.

 

[manyultra]

hell, I'd settle for a delete key after an external show was over. Lots of fun scrolling back through the list to delete a watched program.

Yes I agree this is another equally frustrating problem that should be corrected asap. You must select "done" after watching a program on the external drive, then you get dumped back to the beginning of the list, and you have to manually scroll all the way through potentially hundreds of listings to find the show you want to delete. In most cases the grouping feature would help minimize the number you'd have to scroll if you grouped "sports", "movies", "comedy", etc in their own folder, but I agree they definately need to add the delete button.

The issues concerning episode numbers, and missing program info is equally problematic in terms of causing problems with the timer, and having to press info on each episode to know what it is. Could probably start a new thread on that topic.

 

[KAB]

Unfortunately, in this "Gimme, Gimme, Now, Now" age of ours, few people ever stop to consider why they can't always get what they want. I am not a software designer, but I really don't think Dish or any other media/tech company consciously hold things back just to upset us. There is bound to be a reason why. I prefer patience over confrontation. If the external grouping is possible and feasible, it will happen. What happened to be thankful for what you have? Six months ago we had zip in terms of external. Let things develop.

 

[Pepper]

External drives WILL work with a USB hub. But only one can be turned on at any time.

 

[manyultra]

External drives WILL work with a USB hub. But only one can be turned on at any time.

Do you mean using a hub with a built in pushbutton switch that enables the user to select which output is active via a LED, or using multiple drives by manually unplugging and plugging back in the drive you want active?

Also, I read in another thread the VIP622 or 722 has to be rebooted each time the user wants to change drives. If this is true, I assume the reboot would have to be done after (not before) the drive is switched at the receiver. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Smith P.]

Only after format done.

 

[kstuart]

750gb hard drive costs more per gb than smaller hard drives, so you are paying more money for the priveledge of having a longer list to look through.

Also, two smaller drives is safer, because when a drive fails, you only lose half your shows...