Thread: Dish Network DVR 522 Search Bug.

Hi,

For a while now our DVR 522 has been having a problem with searching. Probably one quarter of the time when I do a search (maybe more often, maybe less often?) as the results are coming in for the search, the search screen freezes and then the picture in the top corner freezes, then the screen goes black except for the still-frozen TV picture in the corner and a hard drive checking screen comes up.

On an unimportant side note, the checking screen has an orange cancel button option, when I press select from the TV 1 remote to cancel and reset the receiver, it doesn't cancel the check, but if I press select from TV 2 if that tuner's also on, then it does cancel and reset the receiver. Weird? Maybe they don't want you to cancel the check from the primary TV?

Well, I called Dish Network about this recently and got a whole song and dance about how they have never heard of such a thing and that I could return it to them if I wanted and get another one sent to me that doesn't have this problem (oh, and also have to pay them for shipping! Hello? Isn't that why I pay a rental fee every month, so if the thing breaks I can send it in for replacement and not be out of pocket anything?). Well, that sounded fine to me, but since I still had many programs left on the recorder to watch, I didn't want to do it right then and told them I would call back. So I figured I would just live with the search problem until I got done with all of my recordings.

Well, my elderly aunt and uncle ordered Dish Network and got the DVR 522 package (on my advice, too! Because I was pretty happy for the most part until now). Well, the uncle calls me the other day dazed and confused and wants to know why when he wants to search for his programs, does the receiver go into a 10 minute hissy fit with drive checking? I was over there tonight and sure enough, his brand new receiver does the same exact "unheard of" thing that mine does. He doesn't even have anything recorded yet, it's a brand new receiver.

So now I'm wondering what's the best course of action. I don't really want to call Dish Network customer service and tell them they're liars, but I kind of think they are. I refuse to believe that we are the only two customers with this problem. What are the odds on that, a zillion to one? There are definitely other problems with the receiver, like sometimes it doesn't do what it's supposed to with timers and whatnot, but I can live with those quirks. I can't live without the search though. Any suggestions? And also, is anyone here suffering from this problem, too? Thanks a lot.

Oh, and also, it happens in every possible scenario: one tuner on, both on, one recording, both recording, none recording, many search results coming in, a few coming in, none coming in, and so on.

Yes, we have the same "Search of Death" problem on or 522. Dish's CSRs are notorious for saying "I've never heard of this before." Then they say they'll log it in an uncommon trends report. It sounds like Dish takes a long time to put these "uncommon trends" into the scripts the support people refer to.

I have had that Search of Death problem since Name Based Recording started. One thing I have noticed is that usally I can get by with a search if the box is not doing any recording only watching Live TV however if the Search end with no results I always get Hard Drive diagnotics so I try to never do any searches within 15 minutes of a recording event starting or during a recording just in case. I have told dish network also about the problem in a phone call as well as a email I have since seen 2 software upgrades I dont know if the newest version has the bug or not Just received it yesterday and have not tried to cause the problem yet.

More often than not, slowdown or lockup is the result of overloading the processor with commands. The 522 seems to be slow in processing, probably from a limited buffer. We had the same problem with the early 4DTV sets. It happens when you get impatient and start pushing the command button several times. Often, only a reboot will restore control.

Originally Posted by supereal

Often, only a reboot will restore control.

Hummm. Maybe that's their solution -- whenever the receiver freezes, do a disk diagnostics and reboot.

Thank you very much for the responses. It's good to know that we're not alone with the "Search of Death" bug (well, not really, I'm sorry you are all suffering, too). Now that I know this information, I'm certainly not going to send this receiver back to Dish Network just to get an equally bad one in return (and pay them for shipping, on top of it!?!?!).

If we all have this problem, how come more people don't post about it here and complain about it? Do other people not know about this problem? Do they not care? Maybe only a few of us actually use the search feature? I'm that way with the "Themes" feature of the DVR 522. I couldn't even imagine a scenario where I would want to search for something by the "Theme" Dish Network labels something as. I actually tried it one time for "Movies" just to see what was on. I got back (I believe it was) 6,000 or 7,000 results (!!!) and about 100% of the results were for channels we're not even subscribed to. How lame is that?

So does anyone have any ideas as to what we should do? What do you all do, just live with it? Should I call and tell them I'm upset that they lied to me last time I called? Have my uncle call also?

I hate to make a commotion over something as seemingly insignificant as not being able to search, but it's actually kind of important to me. I'd really like to use the search feature if it would only work. Does anyone here have any idea when this problem will be fixed by Dish Network? As Shadowtester pointed out, this problem has been around for a good while and I think it's about time they get it fixed.

And supereal, you said it happens when people get impatient and push the button several times, but that has not been my experience. When this problem occurs, I only press the button one time. I press the search button on the remote and then press select to begin the search. Then I just sit there pressing nothing and the problem starts on its own.

Thanks for the help.

Originally Posted by Jake 3.0

Should I call and tell them I'm upset that they lied to me last time I called?

LMAO. You think they care?

Look, everything you say is right. But E* does not care about this problem and they do not care about you. And I promise you the person answering phones in their call center for min. wage really, really doesn't care. He just wants to get you off the phone as fast as possible and go on to the next call or go for his smoke break.

Originally Posted by Jake 3.0

If we all have this problem, how come more people don't post about it here and complain about it? Do other people not know about this problem?

I'm sorry to say but the reason is that people are stupid. I'm not Mr. Super Smart Man, but I promise every piece of technology I own or use regular I know backwards and forwards. Car, computer, TV, everything. Many people are not that way. Do you work in a office? Have you ever seen the stupid things people call the IT dept. over? The printer's out of paper...CALL IT, CALL IT. The contrast on my monitor is wrong...CALL IT, CALL IT. Hey Bob, why didn't you check your voicemail? Sorry, I don't know how to use it yet, I'm waiting for the guy from IT to explain it for me.

I have this search problem too. Probably every 522 user does, but like you say maybe they don't search often. Or don't make the connection that the search is what starts disk diagnostics. Or they realize and think oh well, it will get fixed someday.

The best advice I can give you for searching is a way I've developed that will allow you to search and make sure you don't start the diagnostics. It's a little more involved, but it works.

When you want to search for something from the guide, DON'T go to the search screen. Instead, press select on the show from the guide to bring up the timer screen, then go down to Dish Pass button and hit select, now the show's name will already be filled in for you, then hit select again to create a Dish Pass timer. Now it will list all the times the show will be on for you. Pick one or many that you like to record or auto-tune and remember them or write them down - just name, channel, time, and day is good. Now delete the Dish Pass timer. Now you can go back to the guide, find the show you wanted, and make a single timer. So you just searched without going to the search screen and it will NEVER start the diagnostics or reboot on you.

You can do the same thing with keyword searches too. Just press DVR button twice and then select Dish Pass. Now eneter anything you want just like you're in the search screen, select "info," and do the whole create Dish Pass, make note, delete Dish Pass, create single timer. It's a little more work than using the search screen but it will never reboot on you this way.

Good luck to you.

Wow, GetMeABeer.... are you drunk!?
I usually tend to agree with you here lately, but that was wayyyy sarcastic....

Jake
You and your uncle can send your complaints to dishquality@echostar.com
This is easier than dealing with clueless CSRs when you call the 800 number. I've already sent in a complaint about the search bug and they replied saying it *might* get fixed with the 2.35 software update. I haven't tried searching since the update so I don't know if it fixed it or not.