Starz OnDemand Problem - Vip722K

[asporet]

I'm new to the OnDemand features but have used it successfully to watch several shows from different networks that are part of my package (AT120). With the addition of one free year of Starz I went to the Starz OnDemand section and found several movies\shows available to download\watch. I followed the same steps as with the other channels and after several minutes my selected program pops-up as Ready to Watch. When I try to watch it, I get a blank screen and no sound. But the seek bar on the bottom of the screen shows several minutes of recording. Even if I wait until the entire program is downloaded, no matter where I skip to in the program I still have the blank screen\no sound. I had two different chat sessions with Customer Service and both times went through the same troubleshooting steps for the Vip722K (reboot etc..) and was then sent to tier 2 who said no service call or replacement is indicated so they would forward this to Engineering and in 3-4 days a software update would resolve this problem, if not then call back. 10 days later now and still have the problem. I am going to call CS in the next couple of days but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on how to fix this myself before committing to at least an hour of CSR hell.
On the plus side, my slow guide issue seems to have been resolved with the multiple reboots.​

 

[moosehaed]

Same Problem here. So far I only can confirm that it is happening with Starz. I was able to watch a couple of episodes of Sparticus.

 

[Hall]

Hmmm, my co-worker just so happened to try to download/watch a couple of episodes of Spartacus last night. I think the broken UI may have messed him up but he downloaded episodes 1-3, in order. Of course, the way it's designed, each consecutive download goes to the front of the line, if you will (by default). Anyway, after a while, he tried watching episode # 1 but it, as he described it, buffered. He did mention getting past the opening credits, not like you two are describing.

 

[TonyT@DISH Network]

This is an experiment I will attempt at home. The buffering issue is known, as it can actually take a very long time to download the program. I noticed with an XBOX 360 on Live it took me almost a day and a half to download Charlie StCloud on my DISH receiver. The other one, since I have Starz, I will try to get a show from there and see if I can isolate it to the platform or if it is something more on the download itself. I will try Spartacus, and if the OP lets me know the other I will check it too. Also, to the OP, if you could list make and model of TV I can verify HDCP compliance and make sure that is not the issue (only would affect HDMI connection, BTW). I have not seen the same issues on downloads you would normally get on PPV.

 

[asporet]

Thanks for the response Tony. My first attempts with the Starz OnDemand were the Spartacus episodes but I also tried the movies "Annie", "About A Boy", and "Rudy" with the same result. My TV is a Toshiba 32HF72 and doesn't have HDMI, the receiver is connected via ColorStream2 component-video. I have had no problems with the other OnDemand programs I access. Food Network, A&E, HDNet, Bravo, Nick, and TLC are some of the other ones I've used. Have also used PPV twice with no problem.

 

[Hall]

The buffering issue is known, as it can actually take a very long time to download the program.

If the receiver notifies you that the program is "ready to watch", it's not necessarily true ? It's possible it's still downloading ?

I've used the on-demand stuff but have never sat and waited for it to download. I'll download/queue things and it could be the following day before I actually watch... Not exactly "on demand", you know Heh, I could drive to the video store or a Redbox quicker !!

 

[asporet]

So now a month after first reporting this issue to DISH and it still isn't resolved. I finally decided to call support today. The rep I spoke with was very helpful and gave me much more information than I got from the tech chat. Basically I was told that this is not an isolated problem and happens most frequently to channels that are normally premium channels when they are on a free preview. She told me that engineering is working on a software fix but there is no eta on when it will be released and that I should call back in a week if it still wasn't resolved. My current software is L682 so I will be checking that daily as well.

 

[Hall]

The buffering issue is known, as it can actually take a very long time to download the program.

If the receiver notifies you that the program is "ready to watch", it's not necessarily true ? It's possible it's still downloading ?

I've used the on-demand stuff but have never sat and waited for it to download. I'll download/queue things and it could be the following day before I actually watch... Not exactly "on demand", you know Heh, I could drive to the video store or a Redbox quicker !!

Bump

 

[costanzas_wallet]

^^ Yeah .. let's just quit calling it OnDemand all together, okay? It's everything BUT OnDemand.