My 211 DVR function is activated

[peano]

Well, checking BF sales today and how 211 will accept Samsung 1TB disk.

Bought Samsung HD103UJ for $99 - 1TB/7200 RPM/32 MB cache; attached to 211, after press Power button it did reboot then got normal request to format the disk, passed the step OK, then 211 did reboot itself and came with error 955: Wrong size, must be between 50 and 750 GB.

Quick analysys of the disk did show normally formatted disk with consistent file system;
as usual all three partitions are ext3 type; first partition have regular size 2 GB, second - 512 MB SWAP, third - rest of the disk ~930 GB.
First/third partitions have typical 'lost+found' folder.

Thanks for the test results.

 

[Foxbat]

Quick analysis of the disk did show normally formatted disk with consistent file system;
as usual all three partitions are ext3 type; first partition have regular size 2 GB, second - 512 MB SWAP, third - rest of the disk ~930 GB.
First/third partitions have typical 'lost+found' folder.

Hmmm, that's interesting. When I looked at my 250 and 500 GB 211-formatted drives, my "swap" partition was 250 MB in size, not 512 MB. I wonder if it's based on the total drive size, or maybe there's a difference in memory needs between our 211s.

Since I switched to the self-contained external hard drive, my 211 has found it every morning. That's one less thing to deal with. :up

 

[SOXGUY80]

I have a 720P HDTV so I have my receiver set to output at 720P. My question is if I'm recording from a channel with a 1080i source (NBC, HDnet, etc) Will my receiver be recording at that 1080i source or will it be recording it at 720P since that's what I have my receiver outputting?

Thanks in advance

 

[Smith P.]

It will record SOURCE stream, your settings telling to the receiver how to CONVERT original stream before send to your TV. So it works regardless of your settings.

 

[Smith P.]

Hmmm, that's interesting. When I looked at my 250 and 500 GB 211-formatted drives, my "swap" partition was 250 MB in size, not 512 MB. I wonder if it's based on the total drive size, or maybe there's a difference in memory needs between our 211s.

Since I switched to the self-contained external hard drive, my 211 has found it every morning. That's one less thing to deal with. :up

Umm, let me re-check. Perhaps you're correct and I mixed up it with second partition of 622 EHD what actually 500 GB or recalling number of sectors (512,000) for 320 GB disk from 211.

 

[Smith P.]

Yes, that was my typo. Correct SWAP size is 256 MB.
Below the partition table of 1TB disk in readable format:

 

[nthstar]

What is the best 750 Gig drive to use? I have a Calvery 750 gig on my 622 but it gets so hot that it freezes up when I play a video off of it. I have to move the video off of it back
on my 622 to view it.That works fine but I need one for the 211 that wont freeze up,and that has an on and off button on it which is why I bought the Calvery. Anybody can Help?

 

[HokieEngineer]

I converted a 1.5TB Maxtor OneTouch III to a RAID-1 config so that it ended up with total drive space of 750gig. It contains two 750gig sata drives in the enclosure. I attempted to use the 1.5TB as-is, and it even formatted it, but when it restarted after the format, it gave the error message about drive sizes. Maybe they will get rid of the hard cap on size in a later firmware update. Then I can convert the drive back to RAID-0 and use all 1.5TB .

As for activation... Called the # on the screen, and got nowhere. There is no option for USB drive activation. Finally got to a human in India and she claimed she activated it. Couple hours later, still no luck, so I used the online chat application from their website to talk to a CSR. Guy was very helpful. We unplugged the HDD, rebooted the receiver, and tuned to channel 101. He sent the activation and it took about 2 minutes for the "You are now activated for external drive functions!". Plugged the drive in and bingo.

It appears the 1.5TB (two 750gig drives in a RAID-0) external drive will work if they remove their silly software cap. The drive formatted properly just like Smith's.

 

[nthstar]

Anybody using a WD 750 Gig My Book Quad?

 

[Foxbat]

As for activation... Called the # on the screen, and got nowhere. There is no option for USB drive activation. Finally got to a human in India and she claimed she activated it. Couple hours later, still no luck, so I used the online chat application from their website to talk to a CSR. Guy was very helpful. We unplugged the HDD, rebooted the receiver, and tuned to channel 101. He sent the activation and it took about 2 minutes for the "You are now activated for external drive functions!". Plugged the drive in and bingo.

Hokie, make sure you double-check your "Activity since last bill" on your Dish account. I bet you'll see two, if not three, External Hard Drive Activation Fees.

 

[Smith P.]

Hokie, make sure you double-check your "Activity since last bill" on your Dish account. I bet you'll see two, if not three, External Hard Drive Activation Fees.

Yeah, I had same thoughts for you !

 

[wolfjc]

Hokie, make sure you double-check your "Activity since last bill" on your Dish account. I bet you'll see two, if not three, External Hard Drive Activation Fees.

I don't understand these charges since the hit is supposed to apply to all 211 on the account.
There should be only one charge.
If you have more than one 211 does each one need to be activated?

 

[Smith P.]

I don't understand these charges since the hit is supposed to apply to all 211 on the account.
There should be only one charge.
If you have more than one 211 does each one need to be activated?

Stated at last Dish Chat.

 

[Grandude]

I don't understand these charges since the hit is supposed to apply to all 211 on the account.
There should be only one charge.
If you have more than one 211 does each one need to be activated?

One call and if you get the right person, one hit will activate both or more 211s. Worked for me that way. Well, it actually took a couple of calls to get the right person.
The exception to this is, if you receiver a smart card for a 211 after you activated the EH feature, you may have to call again to get another 'hit'.
This happened to me. Apparently the smart card was built before I had activated the 211s so it did not have the necessary permissions encoded on it.
That was another call with two transfers to finally get someone who knew what to do. (Dang, I hate to have to call Dish for anything)

 

[stayloc]

For those of you with harmony remotes. You will need to delete the VIP-211 device and add the VIP-622 (or whatever). The VIP211 is not correctly setup to handle the EHD (DVR). I used the VIP622 and it works perfectly. You will also need to add the DVR command (MY RECORDINGS) in you activity setup. FYI

 

[eddieras]

thanks for the tip - just bought a new 880 so my 676 will replace my 659 when i get my 750(ehd) for my 211!

 

[wolfjc]

Just added an ED

I just bought an WD 500G external hard drive.
So I connected it to my VIP211 and got the call the 800 number screen I did call and the computer said that I was activated but NOTHING happened.
So I called the CSR number and got a guy from India, I think, he had a little accent not bad but there anyway and he knew nothing about how to activate the ED.
I kept telling him that it had to format the HD but he did NOT understand and he finally sent me to the tech support folks who are here in the USA and I finally got activated.
It seems that when I am recording a channel from the satellite I can not watch another satellite channel because when I do it wants to stop recording the first channel. I have over the air locals and I can watch them at the same time.
So is this the way it is supposed to work or am I doing something wrong?
I can't find any instruction book for the VIP211 as a DVR.
Does anyone know if there is such a beast?

 

[stayloc]

Yes, one OTA tuner and one SAT tuner.

 

[nthstar]

I talked to Western Digital and they said that there is only one external hard drive that they recommend because it has been tested and made to work with VIPs and its called
MY DVR EXPANDER. You can look it up on their web site.ANYTHING ELSE HAS NOT BEEN TESTED! Remember, these hard drives need to play back HD video,not just transfer files
wich makes them run hotter.This came from level 2 tech support at Western Digital.
I just wanted to let you guys know what they told me.They do no recommend any other
hard drive for DVR use. Nthstar

 

[nsaspook]

I talked to Western Digital and they said that there is only one external hard drive that they recommend because it has been tested and made to work with VIPs and its called
MY DVR EXPANDER. You can look it up on their web site.ANYTHING ELSE HAS NOT BEEN TESTED! Remember, these hard drives need to play back HD video,not just transfer files
wich makes them run hotter.This came from level 2 tech support at Western Digital.
I just wanted to let you guys know what they told me.They do no recommend any other
hard drive for DVR use. Nthstar

I got this bridge I can sell ya.