Yet another actually happy 942 owner

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dendavis

Pub Member / Supporter
Original poster
Lifetime Supporter
Oct 10, 2003
323
14
Metro Denver
The boys from DISH installed my 942 today, could not be happier. The pq on even the SD channels on my 57" Sony is fantastic, the HD pq is unbelievable. Having been following the comments on this forum about the problems others have had with the 942, I had a bit of trepidation, likewise, because of these issues, I also opted for the DISH install instead of muddling through myself. Given the "fun" the installers had, I know I got my money's worth!

Anyway, two questions for the battle-tested:

1. do you leave the dvr "on" when you turn off the tv? I know they guidebook says to, but I am so used to my former DISH receivers which I just left on, that I would like to know, before I try to retrain myself (not an easy task :D

2. how long does it normally take to get the full nine days' guide data into the screen? I only have about three hours' worth right now.

Thanks
 
Congrats on the new 942, overall a good receiver although some problems with the latest software release. I turn mine off with the rest of the system. Actually, I think it is more of a standby then truly off. You guide should fill in overnight when the unit gets its nightly download. :)
 
You should have gotten the 9 day download when you finished the switch check. Do you have a signal at 110?

I've only had mine about a week, occasionally it seems to "lose" the guide data. Scrolling forward should give you the "outdated" message and let you re-download. (Sometimes when you shouldn't need the download, it just "fixes itself".)

If they can ever get the digital outputs working, this will be the best receiver I've ever owned. I can live with the other lil' bugs.
 
M Sparks said:
You should have gotten the 9 day download when you finished the switch check. Do you have a signal at 110?

I've only had mine about a week, occasionally it seems to "lose" the guide data. Scrolling forward should give you the "outdated" message and let you re-download. (Sometimes when you shouldn't need the download, it just "fixes itself".)

If they can ever get the digital outputs working, this will be the best receiver I've ever owned. I can live with the other lil' bugs.
Click to expand...

Guess I got a little ahead of myself, all is well this morning. Thanks for the replies. Love this thing!
:)
 
942 very mixed opinion

Ok- I love the 942 for one reason.. it's an HD DVR. My DVR experience started with the D* UltimateTV (microsoft/RCA) box. I just can't express the joy that that box provided. Three years and NEVER one single issue. Not one. Blindly downloaded quality program info & updates always added features. I never fealty like a "beta tester" though it was one of the first DVR's and definitely D* and Microsoft's first endeavor in this field. My girlfriend has never forgiven me for replacing it, as HD (even with a high end display) leaves her nonplussed in general (DVR scored big time though). I had Voom as a 2nd service toward the latter days of that provider, but used it rarely due to the lack of DVR and my viewing hours. The 942 is great when it works, but I have to "attend" to it daily or it will miss a show, as it has many times (i.e. Lost S.2 premiere!!). After a handfull of botched recordings and real-time crashes, you just dont have peace of mind for a while if the content is of great interest. I had techs come out 4 times due to switching issues and just stopped calling after the lack of satisfaction and all components swapped. The 942 also has never gotten my local HD PBS program info, so I still use my HTPC (FusionHD card) for all PBS-HD recording), and lastly the F*'ing land-line reminder chaps me every morning. Last-lastly, the lack of native pass-through makes SD look like crap compared to D* upscaled by my TV... my TV either upscales better or E*'s SD is compressed from a really bad analog feed (942's my only box so I can't say). I actually illegally download some SD just because the pirated material looks amazing through my HTPC compared to the 942's render. Last-last-lastly, I've ended up watching 1/2 of the content viewed without DD 5.1 due to the recurring PiP bug! I'm contracted, or I'd give D* another shake now that the HD-TiVo is somewhat reasonable in price. To many companies (Apple comes to mind first), this ordeal for which E* has enlisted me would have been suffered by a band of beta-testers who weren't billed (if not compensated) for their feedback. I hate to rant, but the updates have added both features and bugs with each round and by bill has has been static throughout. I do love having a HD-DVR, but all of the issues I've had seem fixable under the same level of tech vigilance other companies have displayed to this consumer. I just want to forget about all of this BS technology and watch TV, but this DVR has required much maintenance on my part, which negates much of its novelty.

EDGAR
 
I am not having that many problems with this software . I am not trying to make it break by testing all the possible combinations of trick play either. The sound cutting out on some ota stations happened a couple of times , and sometimes the hdmi cable will go black and white. Guess what? My Toshiba tv does this too sometimes. I really can't tell if it is the tv or the 942. I haven't missed any recordings. NO ZSRs like with the 921. Over all this 942 is still a great machine compared to the horrible 921. Now you want to talk about baby sitting . That is all I did with the 921. I swapped that sucker out for the 942 I have now. Liked that one so much I bought another. Can it be improved ? You bet! Everything can be improved. Namely the ota reception needs to definately be tweaked. Is the receiver a dud now because it has a few quirks? No! My only complaint with Dish is that they should pay to get proper software . I mean if they have to spend somewhere , this is it. Then they wouldn't have all their customers bitichin about how their receivers are buggy. Word of mouth will make or break a company. Dish could benefit from some rock solid , tested before release to the public , software. Of course if Tivo wins it's lawsuit against Dish , we might just get it. Charlie might have to use Tivo software since he will have to pay for it back to 99 when he first released the dishplayer web tv receiver. ;)
 
" Last-lastly, the lack of native pass-through makes SD look like crap compared to D* upscaled by my TV... my TV either upscales better or E*'s SD is compressed from a really bad analog feed (942's my only box so I can't say)."


While I have only had mine for a few days, I must admit to not having had any of these problems. Actually, my SD is much better than before, so much so that my wife thought we were watching CSI reruns off SpikeTV in HD. And then the HD just blows me away. I formerly had a Motorola HD stb driving my Sony 57" rear projection tv, with the best roof top antenna I could find, with an antenna booster, meeting all the antennaweb.org criteria, but could not consistently pull in the LA area ota HD channels, even though I have an absolutely unobstructed line-of-sight to Mt. Wilson, the primary site of all the transmission towers. Now, the signal strength meter on the 942 shows 100% on channels I could not previously get. Sorry to hear your problems are so much worse.

"Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you." (Homicide: Life on the Street, Kyle Secor's character).
 
Another Happy 942 owner

Just got mine installed yesterday and so far so good. I only have one question that the CSR could not answer because their Computer system was down, i currently subscribe to the Everything Package; HD + Voom package and the Italian Channel with four receivers on my account, am I going to be charged for DVR use or this is waived? Any help will be highly appreciated. Oh BTW the software on my 942 is L281... :D
 
i currently subscribe to the Everything Package; HD + Voom package and the Italian Channel with four receivers on my account, am I going to be charged for DVR use or this is waived?
Click to expand...

The DVR service fee is waived if you subscribe to the America's Everything Package.
 
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