Reasons why you should NOT get a 522.

[ChrisCoop]

This set of pictures shows a phenomenon similar to the last one, except now the picture has frozen on the screen instead of continuing to play like in the last set. Hit the power button, the green light goes out, sound goes out, screen saver comes up, picture freezes and remains on the screen while the Dish logo just keeps bouncing around. Turn the 522 back on and sometimes the picture just stays frozen. Really, really, pitiful.

I shot video of some of these new L201 problems. The clip which shows the problem listed in this post is small enough that it will fit on my ISP webspace with the others from page 4 without having to take down an old clip. So here's video if you want to see this problem in real time.

The movie clip requires the FREE Apple QuickTime Player to view:

0359 - Screen Frozen When Turning On And Off​

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

 

[blockisle9]

Apparently, they did something that makes the 522 cache programs even when the unit is turned off. So if I turn on the 522 right now, I can actually rewind the channel that the unit was tuned to when it was last on, back through the time where the 522 was off. This is definitely kind of cool, but I know it's not supposed to operate this way. Previously, when you turned the 522 on and then hit rewind, you could only back up to the point where you turned the thing on. But now, if I turn the 522 on and hit rewind, I can just keep going back and back for who knows how long. Again, cool, but why is it caching programs when the thing is turned off? The other issues happen when you turn the 522 off and are definitely NOT cool.

I never really experienced any of the problems mentioned in this post, and the ones I do experience I got use to. (I guess being a Windows user you get use to small annoyances and using work arounds.)

Anyway the only issue that concerns me is the unit caching programing with the unit off.
I wonder if this continuous writing to the hard drive is putting extra ware and tear on the unit? Or does the unit always writes to the hard drive no matter what?
Thanks
Lenny

 

[rhollinger]

ChrisCoop:

Your system is acting really weird. If I power off my system (2.01) and power it back on, then hit pause, NOTHING has been recorded so it is *not* caching my programs while my system is off. This might explain why you sometimes see the picture while the unit is off, because your unit is not properly turning off.

Unless possibly the issue is related to dual mode, i'm in single mode currently...I tried both with shared mode enabled and disabled. If you're in dual mode, try switching to single mode and see if you still have the problems.

 

[maximum]

I read on another post that when you turn off the tuner it does not stop the hard drive. If this is true, why not continue to record the last channel watched in the buffer?
I personally think it should stop the hard drive when both tuners are off to save power and ware & tare, but there must be a technical reason why it doesn't.

 

[fire_317]

I just want to know if any of these suggestions for upgrades and software fixes are being forwarded to the dishnetork software people so they can activly work on these. I don't think it is fair to trash them if they are not aware of these issues. I am new to this forum and these may have made it to dishes engineers, but I just don't know. I was going to get a 522, but your comments have made me decide I better wait. I have been a satisfied dish customer since 1997 and have a model 5000 receiver and have had absolutely no problems with it at all. I now am looking to upgrade to new technology and ordered the Locals for my area and the super dish gets installed this coming saturday. I am told my 5000 and 3900 receivers will work fine. But now I am thinking of the DVR. You people have made me gun shy and I want to know if you have voiced your concerns to dish instead of standing in a corner whispering to each other.

 

[haertig]

I was going to get a 522, but your comments have made me decide I better wait.

I feel bad for poor Chris. He must have the most totally screwed up 522 on the planet. Statistically, you're probably more likely to be hit by a deorbiting piece of space junk that to get a 522 in the same class as the one Chris owns. I've had a few minor glitches on mine, but nothing terribly problematic. Chris' DVR, on the other hand, must be the world's worst sh*!t magnet. Boy, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs if I had been delivered such a beast from the Dish installers!

 

[kwajr]

In this set of pictures, you get to see a phenomenon that's completely new on the 522. Thanks to the L201 update, the 522 exhibits some CRAZY(!!!) behavior when you turn it on or off. The first thing (and this isn't shown in the pictures) happens when you turn on the 522. Apparently, they did something that makes the 522 cache programs even when the unit is turned off. So if I turn on the 522 right now, I can actually rewind the channel that the unit was tuned to when it was last on, back through the time where the 522 was off. This is definitely kind of cool, but I know it's not supposed to operate this way. Previously, when you turned the 522 on and then hit rewind, you could only back up to the point where you turned the thing on. But now, if I turn the 522 on and hit rewind, I can just keep going back and back for who knows how long. Again, cool, but why is it caching programs when the thing is turned off? The other issues happen when you turn the 522 off and are definitely NOT cool. In this set of pictures, you'll see that sometimes the 522 can't really turn off. Hit the power button and the green light on the front of the 522 goes out, the sound disappears, the screen saver comes up, but guess what? The picture just keeps on rolling! The pictures speak for themselves. A Dish screen saver OVER a moving picture, while the 522 is turned off. Again, pitiful.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

i second that

 

[TuxCoder]

... The other issues happen when you turn the 522 off and are definitely NOT cool.

But I turn the 522 off and definitely AM cool.

... A Dish screen saver OVER a moving picture, while the 522 is turned off. Again, pitiful.

Now don't you wish you had the "screen saver stuck at top" problem, so most of your picture is always unobstructed...

Anyways, it really is too bad your unit(s) always have such terrible problems... it makes me wonder what kind of viewing habits you have, that puts so much stress on them. Your wire shelf also have several large subwoofers on them, vibrating the 522? ... Do you often wail on your remote, rapid-fire changing channels... I'm honestly sure these problems aren't your fault, at least directly, but also can't help picturing some comic unintentional user-unfriendly receiver abuse.

Maybe you have a spider in your receiver.

Jason

 

[maximum]

Maybe you have a spider in your receiver.

I'm thinking Gremlins

 

[Bizzach]

I saw a bug last night...
When I was recording a show on TV1, then switched to single mode so I could still watch TV, it did it with no problems. But when I was done (it was still recording), I switched it back to dual mode, and there was a screenshot of a single frame (in this case, 'Last Comic Standing' was recording on TV2, so it was Jay Mohr's face lol) in the background. I was listening to Sirius radio, so in the foreground, it was the bouncing bubble of info.
Not life-threatening or anything, but still kind of weird.

Other than that, I haven't seen any new bugs. I really like how you can be in single mode, and if you see something you like on the PIP, you can hit swap and then rewind to see what you missed - it records both channels automatically!

 

[rhollinger]

also once you have the other tuner set using PIP, you can turn PIP off and when a commercial hits while watching one show you can just hit SWAP and it swaps, then back up to where you left off (or unpause) and watch the other show until the next commercial, then swap again...

One thing I've seen that I don't like is if you record two shows in a row and you have the 1 minute before, 3 mins after (or whatever), it now requires 2 tuners. In dual mode it records both on the assigned tuner and works the timer out automatically. I didn't try to record a second show during those times, could make a difference in how it handles. THe problem was I was watching a show on live TV and had to step away. Because the tuner was usurped by the DVR I lost the show I was watching. Guess it just goes to show if you *really* want to watch something make sure you hit REC...

 

[ChrisCoop]

Hot off the press, here's some new video of the 522 caching programs while it's turned off. Please download it and see for yourself.

The movie clip requires the FREE Apple QuickTime Player to view:

0413 - 522 Caching Video While Turned Off​

This might explain why you sometimes see the picture while the unit is off, because your unit is not properly turning off.

OK, I'll buy that. So can anyone now explain to me why my unit is not properly turning off? Also, if you want to try to replicate it on your 522, when you turn it back on, don't hit pause, hit rewind.

If you're in dual mode, try switching to single mode and see if you still have the problems.

I'll try that later for troubleshooting purposes, but it shouldn't matter. Let's not forget; the 522 was/is marketed as being able to control two independent TVs. If I had to guess, I would say the vast majority of 522 installs are for two TVs. So if it's only going to work properly in single mode, they should have said so in the commercials. Also, please remember that it wasn't doing this before the L201 update.

I just want to know if any of these suggestions for upgrades and software fixes are being forwarded to the dishnetork software people so they can activly work on these. I don't think it is fair to trash them if they are not aware of these issues. I am new to this forum and these may have made it to dishes engineers, but I just don't know. I was going to get a 522, but your comments have made me decide I better wait. I have been a satisfied dish customer since 1997 and have a model 5000 receiver and have had absolutely no problems with it at all. I now am looking to upgrade to new technology and ordered the Locals for my area and the super dish gets installed this coming saturday. I am told my 5000 and 3900 receivers will work fine. But now I am thinking of the DVR. You people have made me gun shy and I want to know if you have voiced your concerns to dish instead of standing in a corner whispering to each other.

fire_317, that is an excellent point. Since you own your receivers and may not be familiar with the process, when you rent a 522 from Dish and are having problems with it, you cannot simply call them up and say, "Hey, send me a new receiver." When you call with a complaint/concern/criticism, you will deal with someone from customer service, and/or possibly be transferred to technical support. While you're on the phone, you have to detail your complaints, try any fixes the Dish employee might suggest, and then come to an agreement that your receiver is defective and that a new one will be sent out. So even on that most basic of levels, Dish is aware that I (and apparently many others) have had these problems. I was told straight out by a customer service rep, "I get these complaints on the 522 all the time." As a matter of fact, one time I rambled off a long laundry list of complaints, many of which you've read about in this thread, and for only ONE of the complaints did the girl say, "Huh, I've never heard of that one before." They're aware of the problems. What they choose to do with that information is up to them. Furthermore, I have it on the highest authority that Dish, at the highest levels, is aware of not only this web site and this particular message board, but this very thread as well. So you can rest assured, bug reports and complaints posted on this site, are seen by Dish. Again, what they choose to do with that information is up to them.

In all fairness to Dish, they did try to contact me in order to dig deeper into these issues. But frankly, I see little point in that exercise. The problems are all right here, clear as day, for all the world and the 522 development team to see. Thorough (in-house, not end-user) beta testing is all that's required to begin to overcome these problems. I have no desire to have them send me yet another 522. And I have even less desire to spend more time on the phone with inept tech. support/software development people. I could probably make your head spin if I were to recount some of downright ridiculous excuses and explanations I've received from their tech. support people about these problems, but that's for a different thread.

Anyways, it really is too bad your unit(s) always have such terrible problems... it makes me wonder what kind of viewing habits you have, that puts so much stress on them. Your wire shelf also have several large subwoofers on them, vibrating the 522? ... Do you often wail on your remote, rapid-fire changing channels... I'm honestly sure these problems aren't your fault, at least directly, but also can't help picturing some comic unintentional user-unfriendly receiver abuse.

Jason, I'll be the first to agree with you; those are fair questions. We do have a sub in the same room as the 522, but it's over in the corner, a good 15 feet away. I should also mention it's pretty much never on at the same time as the 522 anymore. We only use it now with DVDs, since the 522 started having problems with DD recordings. As for the other questions, we treat the 522 exactly the same as we treat all of our other electronics: gingerly. DVD players, CD players, MP3 players, computers, camcorder, digital cameras, TVs, VCRs, etc. Some of them many years old, and still operating flawlessly. If you look at the third picture I attached to my earlier post, you'll see that I have more than 70 hours available to the recorder. At any given time, we have about 20 timers set. One quarter of them daily or weekly reminders, one quarter of them daily or weekly auto tunes, and one half of them single time DVRs for programs or movies. We do not abuse the 522 in any way. And to be perfectly honest, I don't even think there's anything a user could do to bring about these problems. I mean, just look at the latest video I posted. What could a person possibly do to make the 522 cache video while turned off? And why did it never do this before? Why only now, after the latest "update"? No, these problems are on Dish's end. That's why all of their receivers, not just the 522, keep needing update, after update, after update.

 

[ChrisCoop]

OK folks, another update from Dish so another update from me.

The following bug I reported on a little earlier in the thread (in THIS post) has been fixed in the L202 update:

If, while watching live TV, you press "Record - OK" (the option that will "Record Remainder Of This Event") the 522 immediately throws a red dot (active) timer to the Timers List and begins to record. That's fine so far. Now, if you decide you want to stop the recording and select "Stop - Yes" (the option that will stop recording and switch you to live mode) the recording will stop, but the timer that was placed in the Timers List will NOT automatically disappear (and CANNOT be deleted manually in the Timers List). So, if you then change the channel and on a different program select "Record - OK" to record the remainder of that event, you get sent to the Timer Conflict Resolution screen and have to go in and manually delete the timer that was created before and that you know isn't even recording. It's kind of hard to explain and I'm unable to take pictures right now but if you have a 522 and want to see for yourself, just tune to a program, press "Record - OK," wait a few seconds, press "Stop - Yes," note that the recording has stopped, now go to the Timers List (Menu - 7), and try to delete the red dot timer. You can't. I think the 522 should be smart enough to remove that red dot timer on its own as soon as you stop the recording and have basically terminated the timer.

On the complaint front, as has already been noted in other threads here, the 522 is exhibiting serious (and it seems, completely new) problems with audio/video synch, picture skipping and freezing, and various audio snaps, crackles, and pops. For every one problem they fix, it appears they create two new ones. You know there's a problem when people start asking you to NOT update your problematic software. Also, the 522 STILL has serious problems with the various time displays. In this set of pictures, you can see that the time elapsed section in the status bar is replaced with random, meaningless numbers. The total time in the status bar is also replaced with gibberish. And the "Time Left" area on the banner is empty. No way to know how much I've watched, how much is left, or how long the entire program is. Also note the arrow pointing to the date to illustrate that this behavior is post L202 update. The second picture is from the DVR events screen and does show the correct total length, but the Time Left field is empty. The third picture is thrown in with the date highlighted, again, just to illustrate that these are new pictures and were taken after the latest "update."

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

 

[ChrisCoop]

In this set of pictures, you can see that the hard disk diagnostics routine still launches at every update/reboot. The L202 update was rolled out pretty quickly after L201. So I think a lot of people (myself included) speculated that probably one of the main reasons for rushing out the update was to fix the (incredibly annoying) disk diagnostics issue. Well, it would appear not. This can be tested on my machine by setting an update for a couple of minutes from now, then sitting back and enjoying the show. Granted, it doesn't take the 45 minutes that you're warned it might need, but still, it's annoying and (I feel) unnecessary. I mean, it never did this before with the older software versions, and I'm not really having any fewer problems now than I was then. So what's the point of it? By the way, the first picture is of the L202 update actually being applied. The second picture was taken a little later on.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

 

[Hall]

The L202 update was rolled out pretty quickly after L201. So I think a lot of people (myself included) speculated that probably one of the main reasons for rushing out the update was to fix the (incredibly annoying) disk diagnostics issue. This can be tested on my machine by setting an update for a couple of minutes from now...

I was able to replicate it repeatedly that way also, but others weren't... ??? Like you, I thought this quick release would fix this also, but obviously not. My complaint was that it was doing it almost "randomly" *and* when an update was scheduled. If it only occured at 3am, I wouldn't know nor care !

 

[ChrisCoop]

My complaint was that it was doing it almost "randomly" *and* when an update was scheduled. If it only occured at 3am, I wouldn't know nor care !

Hi hall, yes, I've also had it happen at a random time. So far I've noticed it happening one time during a period when there was no update/reboot scheduled. Right in the middle of a program the screen just popped up and it started doing its thing. It may have happened more than once when I wasn't at home but the family is out right now so I'm unable to ask them.

 

[FJBill]

New 522 update

I don't know what's going on with Chris' whole situation, but man-oh-man. SOMETHING is strange for him. We've had the system for 19 days, and we've done some recording with it (I've got about 15% of the HD filled up so far). The ONLY NEGATIVE THING EVER that has happened to us so far was a loss of signal for about 5 minutes while a thunderstorm rolled thru about 15 miles south of us, and that's not the fault of the 522. Ours has performed 100% flawlessly so far. No color loss, no a/v sync loss, no static, no nothing. Just perfect performance.

27" Panasonic TV
Onkyo TSXR500 receiver
Onkyo HKHTS500 speakers (no the woofer never gets cranked)
Zenith DVD player
PS2

I hate to say it, but I my 522 . Sorry to hear you are having such problems, Chris. Maybe it's a karmic payback. Did you screw over the grandfather of the president of Phillips in a past life?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Oh - Chris - your vid clip referenced in Post #91 is normal AVI. Doesn't need that POS QuickTime player at all. In fact, most any media player around should run it just fine.

 

[maximum]

I don't think that the HD diagnostic running every time it does an update is a bug. Having it run at other times sounds like a problem but it appears that the software runs it at update time by design. Probably in an effort to help prevent HD problems.

 

[RedHat39]

In this set of pictures, you can see that the hard disk diagnostics routine still launches at every update/reboot. The L202 update was rolled out pretty quickly after L201. So I think a lot of people (myself included) speculated that probably one of the main reasons for rushing out the update was to fix the (incredibly annoying) disk diagnostics issue. Well, it would appear not. This can be tested on my machine by setting an update for a couple of minutes from now, then sitting back and enjoying the show. Granted, it doesn't take the 45 minutes that you're warned it might need, but still, it's annoying and (I feel) unnecessary. I mean, it never did this before with the older software versions, and I'm not really having any fewer problems now than I was then. So what's the point of it? By the way, the first picture is of the L202 update actually being applied. The second picture was taken a little later on.

Click thumbnails to enlarge.

I guess I got in late in the game. My 522 came with the L1.69 software and has ran these HD diagnostics on every single update/reboot. I don't like it either but thats why I do my updates manually now. I've never had the HD diagnostics just to start while general use of the unit was going on, just during those "update" sessions.