Is the time on the Dish Network receivers correct

[dare2be]

No, you're wrong. Recording PTAT channels using one tuner (the big 4 networks) is not limited to just prime time hours. Any time of day they can be recorded using only 1 tuner. If you set up timers on the big 4 locals in the morning, all 4 timers will fire, and will only use 1 tuner. It doesn't have to record the networks 24 hours a day.

The same principle could technically be applied to other satellite channels provided that the channels being recorded are all on the same transponder.

 

[RobMeyer1]

That's good to know, but the reason they can do it with locals is because the big 4 local channels are all on one transponder. For them to do it on other satellite channels, the channels being recorded would have to be on the same transponder.

The point I was trying to make is that the Hopper can be forced to record overlaps for satellite programming that is on any of the big 4 locals where one program immediately follows another program on the same channel and still use only one tuner and it can do so any time of the day and not just during prime time. It does not do this on other satellite channels--if you record one program immediately followed by another program on the same channel and force an overlap, the Hopper uses two tuners to record the two programs. The ability of the Hopper to do overlaps on the big 4 locals using only one tuner shows they know how to do it. My question is: Why don't they do overlaps on the same channel using one tuner on all satellite channels? This would solve some of the problems people are having with programs not starting or ending on time.

 

[Tampa8]

On the VIP receiver (at least my 612's) if you stay within 2 minutes, programs on the same channel do overlap, with the ending of the first being at the begininng of the second sometimes, but recorded on the same tuner. I don't know exactly but something over 2 minutes and it uses another tuner.

 

[Hall]

Most of the problem lies in the fact that DISH rounds the start times of their guide to the nearest 10 minutes or so. The unprocessed guide data is accurate to the minute (and the receiver clocks much moreso) but after DISH gets done with it, it is all shoehorned into regular columns that could start as much as five minutes early or finish five minutes into the next program.

This has been brought up before and I thought someone looked at it and yes, the guide is visually off like you describe, but the programs have the right start time. If the program's data says it starts at 8:57pm, yes, the guide will have it in the 9pm to ? slot, but it starts recording at 8:57pm (or 8:56pm with the +1 minute padding).

Now, if the program's guide data says it starts at 9:00pm but the network starts it at 8:57pm, 8:58pm, and so on, there's NOTHING any provider (Dish, Directv, Comcast, etc) can do except hope their default padding covers it.

 

[DishSubLA]

Directv shows the oddball times for shows on Comedy Central and TVLand

TiVo also has shows ending or starting at XX:01 for those shows that a scheduled to run over or start late, but never Dish, it seems.

 

[DishSubLA]

This is a new spin on the gripe I have seen in a number of threads about losing the beginning or end of programs. It appears to me that most of the time I am missing a minute or so off the end of some programs. This causes me to wonder if it could be an issue with the time on the receiver. Just wondering if there any merit to this idea and if Dish can do something to fix it.

The clock on our guides/Dish boxes is SPOT ON Naval Observatory Master Clock. The problem is that once Dish receives the programming signals at the up-link, it takes time to route those signals to the encoder, then actually encode all the "channels" together into ONE mux, then beam it 20,000+ miles out to space, bounce it back down 20,000+ miles back down to your ground station (reflector at home: your Dish system) and add to that time the fact that the digital stream is REALLY LONG these days and it takes more time for your Hopper or other Dish STB needs to decode then hold a frame in memory, wait for the next necessary frame while discarding most of the immediately following frames that are for other channels you are not attempting to tune to, along with waiting for other data (sometimes a key necessary for decryption) before the box can spit out the first full picture and sound to your TV. What results is about a 10-15 second delay in "real time." This is only a problem if you are recording a channel that has programming right up to the very last second on the clock such as History, and then immediately starts the next program because this will cause you to miss the last 15 seconds of programming cutting off the narrator or ceasing recording just before the cliff hanger. However, on a channel such as BBC America where they have a show end a good 30 seconds before the top or bottom of the our, then roll credits and promos in the last 30 seconds, you will never have a recording lose the final moments because the show does NOT go all the way to the very last second because it would end with a good 15 seconds to spare. I believe most of the time is spent during the real-time/on the fly encoding and muxing stage of the data before it is up-linked (quite a bit of processing power and time needed when dealing with a fair number of HD channels and other data on a single transponder at MPEG4 ) and then the size of the resulting stream being the 2 biggest factors in the delay.

This has all been discussed before, and if Dish adjusts the clock to synch with the delay, then our OTA recordings are going to be cut off. Dish's response to any such inexactness to recordings is to adjust the Start Early and End Late options in our timers. I guess we live with it.

 

[TNGTony]

The delay is more like 7-10 seconds. But that aside, ABC is notorious for taking their programs to 1 minute past the hour/half-hour. Shows like Scandal always run long. Many other channels do this constantly.

 

[dwarren2]

Another thing is for years we got used to commercials at the top and bottom of the hour between shows. No more. They just run from one right into the next.

 

[jerryez]

The programmers do this to discourage us from dvr'ing programs. The more upset we get, the more apt we are to watch their programs live. NOT me, I never watch anything live.

 

[Hall]

It's no doubt related to the use of DVRs (and commercial skipping). They want DVR'ing shows to be unreliable and make people watch live.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[Bobby]

Fat chance that'll work...

 

[DanB33]

One thing I do when recording marathon, is use two channels. But this only for recording HD programs. Most HD channels are on two channels, the 3 digit channels and the 9000 series of channels. IE, BBC America is on 135 and 9450. This requires that you alternate tuners and channels. It works for me. James Daniel Bishop

 

[Enraged newb]

It happened to me on my hopper for several of my fav shows. I just added 15 mins to the end of timer to make for darn sure I didn't miss anything works swimmingly


Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[Hall]

One thing I do when recording marathon, is use two channels. But this only for recording HD programs. Most HD channels are on two channels, the 3 digit channels and the 9000 series of channels.

You don't have a Hopper, huh ? They eliminated those remappings.



Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[dare2be]

...and the remappings don't matter anyway. A properly set up timer with the proper lead-in/extention times will record the overlaps properly and consistently, regardless of same or different channels.

 

[KKlare]

If you archive shows or just don't get to them very soon, you want the recording as tight as possible.
I'm recording more than 2 dozen shows and picking up the reruns, too. I hope someday to get to them. Ha.
-Ken

 

[acostapimps]

Case in point, after the playoff game Sunday, Fox rescheduled the The Following for 10:30, but it actually started at 10:26, missing the first four minutes. Talked to a friend with Comcast, same thing there.

That's why I've learned to always to put 5 or 10 minutes early especially around sports, because you never know when it could end, Just like sports with the 30 minutes to 1 hour after the scheduled ending.


Posted From Ipad From SatelliteGuys Reader App

 

[BostonMA]

I record as many as 30-40 shows a week and seldom watch shows live. Just caught up with my backlog over the weekend and was VERY frustrated by the number of dropped cliffhangers. It appears that I am just missing the last 15 seconds on many programs. Upgrading to Hoppers and Joeys should solve my problems by allowing me to add 1 minute to the end of each program. Thanks for the input.

 

[navychop]

..... Why don't they do overlaps on the same channel using one tuner on all satellite channels? This would solve some of the problems people are having with programs not starting or ending on time.

Because, I believe, the obvious ways of doing this are patented and Dish doesn't want to pay license fees. Hmmmm.

OTOH, they have rights to TiVo's patents.....

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[sam_gordon]

It's no doubt related to the use of DVRs (and commercial skipping). They want DVR'ing shows to be unreliable and make people watch live.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Except shows have been overlapping LONG before the advent of VCR's, much less DVRs. Was it TBS that had everything slid by 5 minutes?