Don't Understand Dishpass

[owomp]

Hi all,new guy here trying to learn and i got a question already

Really have a lot of issues with this.Many calls to Dish Network doesn't help because they don't understand and i get so frustrated with them.They should be able to explain how to use their equipment.
I am new to dish network,been directv for years.Comparing,dtv direcpass was so much easier...
Examples,
#1 I want to record E!,i set up dishpass,i say options,,set channel,set new episodes only,create the timer.Then it records like 4 episodes of E! .Same episodes.I only want to record it once a day.
#2 I type Lost in dishpass,setup channel,new episodes,create timer,then it records everything with lost in the title.lost in space,lost in time,lost in love etc...

Am i doing something wrong?The search feature is terrible,dtv,you start to type a name of a show you want to watch and as you type,shows show up on right side,click title,hit setup and your done.I really miss dtv

Could someone please help me?
Much Thanks

[Pepper]

You're not doing anything wrong, except perhaps for expecting Dish's half-baked effort "dish pass" to work like the patented Tivo "season pass" feature.

#1 what is defined as "new" depends on accurate guide data, sometimes it is lacking.
#2 it is unfortunate that ABC chose such a common word to be the title of a popular show. And unfortunate that Dish didn't include an "exact title match" checkbox that you could enable.

It's best practice to use the search to find candidates for what you want, then select them and create once-only, or weekly, etc. timers. And then go back through the DVR schedule and be sure everything you want is scheduled, and remove what you don't want.

[KKlare]

#1 is best done with a daily or weekly recording instead of Dish Pass. The recorder will adjust some, perhaps as much as an hour to match various time/length shifts--I don't know its rules.

#2 should use an exact match for searches (# key) and for Dish Pass--there ARE check boxes but not for guide-click plain timers. It should be used whenever you have a complete title less than 14? characters, watch max match length. Alternatively although not as good, pick out a cast member that is always there and has an unusual name and specify Info instead of Title. It also helps to specify the channel and HD only. New vs All does not always help and may make the selection worse. New/no-duplicate probably won't work if there is no episode number or original date.

-Ken

[pabeader]

isn't dishpass for recording shows that aren't on tv yet? that's the way i understand it anyway. like, i know a new show is starting in a month. not sure what day or time. i just enter the name into dishpass and when the show finally starts, it will be recorded for me.

[owomp]

Thank you for the assist

[PATECO]

Dish pass is like Tivo's wish list, and is for recording shows not in the guide yet. It however does not have the ability to filter out reoccurances, so If you set a dish pass for Star Wars, and it is on HBO and Scifi, multiple times in a week, you will get all from both channels. I find it quite usefull for finding shows by a favorite actor or director, or for finding that odd favorite movie.

To record E!,what you want to do is set a recurring standard recording. this will let you choose new episodes or repeats or both.

[kstuart]

I thought that E! was a channel ?

[dennispap]

I thought that E! was a channel ?

It is. Not sure what the op was meaning?

[DishSubLA]

One trick is to be certain to put a space before and after a common word that is a title of a show. For example: the Dish pass should be entered as [space]Lost[Space]. I have a DishPass set for [space]UFO[space] and it records any show with UFO as part of the title or info and NOT any words that contain "ufo" within them.

DishPass is also used to catch a show airing on more than one channel. For example: Nick Baker's Weird Creatures airs on both Smithsonian HD and Discovery HD. The DVR records different episodes of the show as they air on both channels and now I can record those shows no matter what channel they air.

I use DishPass in many circumstances that are not exclusive to the show not being on the guide yet. If you learn it's power, it can be quite a great feature.

And yes, you can set a DishPass for "New" and "All" episodes, HD or SD and more. DishPass isn't perfect, but it works quite well after I learned how to use it.

However, for the last several months, Dish software people made a decision to "open-up" the "New Episode" filter to include quite possibly repeats. It was explained on a Tech Forum that people were complaining that some of their "New Episodes" were NOT being recorded. So Dish decided to play it safe and have the DVR record some shows even it is not certain it is a NEW show rather than miss a NEW episode. They figured that way people would be guaranteed a new show and if it did record an old episode, customers could just erase it from the hard drive. Well, that stinks because I have to deal with a ton of events that are for old episodes when the timer has been set for NEW. Dish, fix this and get right. This is really a big problem for MTV shows. But, curiously, some TV shows work perfectly and record only NEW episodes--The Office, for example.

[DishSubLA]

You're not doing anything wrong, except perhaps for expecting Dish's half-baked effort "dish pass" to work like the patented Tivo "season pass" feature.

#1 what is defined as "new" depends on accurate guide data, sometimes it is lacking.
#2 it is unfortunate that ABC chose such a common word to be the title of a popular show. And unfortunate that Dish didn't include an "exact title match" checkbox that you could enable.

It's best practice to use the search to find candidates for what you want, then select them and create once-only, or weekly, etc. timers. And then go back through the DVR schedule and be sure everything you want is scheduled, and remove what you don't want.

I have a Tivo and it keeps recording old episodes--several in a day, sometimes--even though the Season Pass is set for New. BTW, Tivo has its share of annoying things that it gets wrong, as well. Contrary to what those suffering from the Ugly Duckling syndrome will say, Tivo does not poop gold bricks (lays golden eggs--the less vulgar version). Tivo has great access to broadband content, but in EVERY other respect, the Dish 722 is a superior product.