IT'S OFFICIAL NO FIREWIRE ON 921!

[Scott Greczkowski]

I know this post probably belongs in the DVR area, but I felt I should post it here where most people will see it.

I have been informed by 3 seperate contacts at Dish Network (all who I trust) that FIREWIRE on the 921 WILL NEVER BE ENABLED.

I am told by two of them that there is a hardware flaw that will prevent the firewire from ever working.

This explains why 921's being shipped now have the DishWire Ports taped over hiding the ports..

I am told that future 921's will not even have the ports (ie they will not even be taped over)

I am waiting for Echostar to release a official statement on this issue, however I know there will never be one, as if they did say this officially there would be a hell of an uproar.

Also I have heard a rumor that a new version of the 921 will be shown at the Team Summit in Dallas Texas in May, the unit is to be called the 922 will have a DVD writer for dumping content from the hard drive, however I am told that it will NOT dump HD content to the DVD drive.

More as I have it.

UPDATE

I have just received OFFICIAL word on the fate of the 921 Firewire / Dishwire ports from Echostar spokesman Marc Lumpkin, below is a copy of his email.

Hi Scott,

The 921 has a large number of features, including a massive hard drive, two tuners, as well as HD recording features, but 1394 features were not among them. There were DISH Wire outputs, but any plans to support those outputs have been discontinued.

 

[markdl]

No comment, other than to say that there are inaccuracies in Scott's statement (undoubtably what the contacts told Scott, not what Scott reported).

Dish needs to step forward and issue an official statement regarding the dishwire ports. Sending an obfuscated, inaccurate statement like this by leaking information to Scott is a cowardly move, in my opinion. Very bad for business...

 

[splino]

WHAT?????

 

[markdl]

Oh, and the 922 isn't really a new version of the 921. It's a new receiver that will be based on the 522 software platform, not the 721 software platform.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No comment, other than to say that there are inaccuracies in Scott's statement

So Mark is sounds like you know something then, if you know there are inaccuuracies.

No offence Mark but it sounds like your a company guy, the public has a right to know especially when this feature has been advertised as coming soon on the chats. (Of course Internet access was also avertised for the 921 and where is that?)

If you know something spit it out. I know you have a NDA, but this really has nothing to do with the software your testing. By withholding you are keeping information from the public who should know the truth.

I have asked Mark Lumkin for a comment on this issue.

 

[beast37799]

well maybe ud beable to download to a pc using the usb port and then to your hdvhs via the firewire on your comp

 

[mwgiii]

Since Dish is bringing out the 922 based on the 522 software, I guess they are throwing in the towel on the 921 software.

Man what a cluster**** the 921 has been so far.

 

[beast37799]

well according to the forums the 522 isnt a real gem either

 

[markdl]

Since Dish is bringing out the 922 based on the 522 software, I guess they are throwing in the towel on the 921 software.

Man what a cluster**** the 921 has been so far.

That would be incorrect. The 922 is not replacing the 921, just as the 322 is not replacing the 311. Two different receivers that will serve two different purposes.

 

[mwgiii]

Thanks for clearing that up Mark.

 

[David_Levin]

Huh? I thought the 921 and 522 were both originally based on the 721 code?

This begs a huge number of questions. So the 922 is a Hi-Def 522 + DVD recorder?

I suppose the 2nd output would be Std-Def only and they have two scalers in the box for the two outputs.

Then where would they price it? Seems like there'd be great resistance to >$1k. So then, it would (as mwgiii suggested), replace the 921 (wow we're orphaned fast).

Oh well, maybe it's not worth worrying about. We still haven't seen that SD receiver + DVD player that was displayed 4 years ago.

It's a pity HD-TiVo doesn't have firewire -> that would light the fire under EchoStar. If Mororola every gets thier cable box running with external hard drives it'll be time to jump.

 

[SpenceJT]

This is a major (and I mean MAJOR) let down. If anything comes of this, I hope it is that Dish drastically reduces their selling prices on the 921.

I sure as HELL won't be paying $999 for a 921 with no chance of getting DishWire! Heck, this is a major draw for many people!

I'm no longer holding out any hope for a USB port that will be good for anything.

Dish really screwed the pooch on this one. They should have never announced so many high end features without knowing if they would work. This is a case where they should have taken Microsoft's lead and planned on a dual tuner HD-PVR with no extras. Announce a new product once they can make the hardware enhancements actually work.

Talk about dashed hopes! I haven't felt this let down since Cecilia told me that she was saving herself until marriage!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Its OFFICIAL.

Here is the email I just got from Echostar Spokesperson Marc Lumpkin

Hi Scott,



The 921 has a large number of features, including a massive hard drive, two tuners, as well as HD recording features, but 1394 features were not among them. There were DISH Wire outputs, but any plans to support those outputs have been discontinued.

 

[Ken F]

Scott,

If you know something spit it out. I know you have a NDA, but this really has nothing to do with the software your testing. By withholding you are keeping information from the public who should know the truth.

I don't know what form of NDA he signed, but the one I signed with Echostar covered pretty much everything said in the course of product discussion and feedback. It was not limited to software issues and bugs.

Here is the email I just got from Echostar Spokesperson Marc Lumpkin

Can you perhaps post that on the front page?

Update: You just did.

 

[SpenceJT]

I'm guessing that the people who've purchased their 921's for $1500 on eBay are feeling justifiably perturbed right about now. :|

 

[David_Levin]

Hey Scott, you should post some audio excerpts from the tech chat where the firewire and DVHS was discussed. It's bad enough to announce vapor-ware products, but in this case, this is a stated, announced, feature and they took our money !!!

 

[Neutron]

Get a class-action going against DISH.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

David I wish I had them on tape.

If anyone has a copy of them please send them along and I will put them online. The clips should fall under the fair use laws.

 

[kls]

The 322 and 522 IRDs use a Broadcom chip with the main processor integrated into it. - the 721 and 921 use a Broadcom chip for the PVR function and a seperate processor(x86 based) Broadcom has since released an HD version of the chip the 522 uses. Its cheaper(and I bet the 922 will be as well) supports dual outputs and can do HD PIP(picture in picture), it even support USB 2.0.
I think the 921 is pretty much done - the 922 will be a much nicer machine with a much "smoother" feel to it - just like if you compare the look/feel of the interfaces between the 721 and the 522. Obviously there will still be software bugs, but we all know to expect that.

 

[jynxsee]

Well, I just sent an e-mail to get off the 921 waiting list. It's not that the new lack of firewire is the only reason that I am throwing in the towel. But, it's the proverbial straw that broke the camels back. It's an option that they have been promising and now it's not going to be there.

I have also not been terribly impressed about all the failures of these new units that I have been reading about, and there are so few owners when you look at the forums that there should be maybe 1 failure across the board. And then there's the software complaints that seem so common...

It's just dissappointing to see a $1k unit be so...eh.

Guess I'll wait and see what develops as far as the 922 is concerned.