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lurch
Last reply · posted in DIRECTV General Forum
Guys,whatya think buy one now for 1000 bucks or wait for the new hddvrs?Scott,any word on price goin down or the new boxes before 2005?
15 Replies · 3874 views
H
fredfa said:
With rebate from D* of about $260, and the $100 I got for an old TiVo and the $240 for a Toshiba HD receiver, the cost was lowered by $600.
Plus, instead of using an HD receiver AND a Tivo on a set, we just use the TV as the tuner, so we save an extra $5 a month. So over the course of the year we will have spent $1,090 (including tax) and saved $660.. so the total cost is $450.
We have had it since May 8th and couldn't be happier.

I'm curious fredfa, what kind of setup do you have that requires you to use your TV as your HD tuner? Does your HD-TIVO not have your local digitals?


Anyway, I've had my HD-TIVO since June and like it very much. The two things I don't like are the sluggish guide and the fact that it cannot pass a native signal through. It requires you to choose between 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i. You can change it by toggling on the remote but it's still a pain and would be much nicer if it would just pass the native signal through without processing it. I would think a software upgrade could address both of those issues but I haven't heard of any impending upgrades. Interestingly, it does record the native signal because on playback of recorded material you still have the capability to choose the resolution you want.

Also, while I wouldn't put it in the category of something I don't like, its pq is just a tiny, tiny bit softer than that of my Sony HD300, both connected via a DVI switcher to the DVI port of my TV.

I too received some D* rebates to offset the cost of the unit just for the asking. I called and let them know that I was thinking about getting an HD-TIVO but couldn't justify the cost. After being put on hold, I was very pleased to be told that I had a $420 rebate waiting on me when I activated the unit. So with the $420 rebate from D* and the fact that I got the unit for $900 instead of $1000, I've got $480 in it.

I think they base those rebates mainly on how long you've been a customer and also how your payment history has been and at what level you subscribe. I've been with D* since the beginning and at the Premiere level of programming (wasn't called that in the early days as USSB had the movie channels), never paid a bill late (can't since it's charged to my CC), so my rebate is probably a tad higher than most.
E
Eli
Also, while I wouldn't put it in the category of something I don't like, its pq is just a tiny, tiny bit softer than that of my Sony HD300, both connected via a DVI switcher to the DVI port of my TV

Do you think it is softer than the HD300? I just received my HD Tivo and sold my HD300 before I got a chance to test them side by side.

It does appear softer just by going from memory, but that is a tough call.

Eli
silversurfer
I have had mine since June...I love it. My first unit did have the dreaded HDMI problem but D* replaced it with no problems. The second unit has been chugging along for a few months now with no problems. In reality this problem only plagues an average of 20 percent of the original units. You just here more negatives than positives. People that can't watch what they paid for tend to complain while people who don't have any problems are too busy watching TV.:D


You can order one from value electronics and as a member of this board you can get one for $899. I really think that is the best price your going to see for awhile. There is just no comparable receiver available right now to create an incentive for D* to drop the price. They will give you credits but how much seems to vary from person to person.

I say go for it...

Just my .02 cents
E
Eli
dreaded HDMI problem

What is this problem? I haven't heard.... My HDMI seems to output about the same as the component.

Eli
silversurfer
Well to make a long story short it dies...Mine ran fine for a couple weeks then it began flickering and little while later died altogether. It is a known problem with the connector that mates the HDTV daughter card to the main Tivo board.
T
Last reply · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion
Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...
8 Replies · 359 views
T
I have read that some have converted this type dish but after giving it a good look, it's the lnb conversion that is the bottleneck. Does anyone have a picture of their attempt to configure the lnb? I watched a video on youtube from the save it for parts guy and he used duct tape! Guess it worked but I'm thinking something a bit more permanent!
Thanks to all for your interest and replies...
Titanium
Many of us have used a universal LNBF mount (or get creative with L brackets and plumbers tape - perforated metal strapping). Use a few inches of aluminum tube (or a piece of 1x2" lumber) to extend the support arm (replacing the plastic mount used by DirecTV and Dish) to place the LNBF throat opening at the correct distance from the reflector, the correct height and at the correct angle. Nothing magical... simply place the new linear LNBF in the center at the same distance, height and angle as the current combo.
www.amazon.com/Universal-Single-Bracket-Holder-FTA-US/dp/B074L85WK2
LNBF mount.webp
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k4otl
To add: 101W Ku seems to be (one of if not the) strongest for me, and if I only had Ku I definitely want 101W for the music mux, it's robust FEC and strong signal help a lot. I've thought about using a used Dish/DirectTV dish at my Dads to supplement his OTA (mainly for my benefit when I visit :) )
cyberham
I used a 60cm Shaw Satellie dish (60e) with its original dual-LNB. It worked fine for 101W/97W or 99W/103W at that time when weather was fine. But the fade margin was small so rainy weather killed reception or almost so. But it was all free since they're so plentiful so I couldn't complain.
Titanium
A Shaw dish with the linear LNBFs are as rare as hens teeth in the US... :)
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68553 Replies · 2674704 views
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dishstaller
Our House - Madness
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EatMyVolts
You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) -- Nat King Cole
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long_time_Dish
Call On Me - Chicago
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dishstaller
Call Me - Blondie
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long_time_Dish
Cattle Call - Eddy Arnold
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dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
· posted in The Chit Chat Club
0 Replies · 7 views
meStevo
Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
A continuation of a thread from the pub, just general discussion of AI.

Brief 60 minute clip about next gem autonomous fighters - not remote controlled, but rather collaborating with controllers and aircraft in the theater.


View: https://youtu.be/DRm0mbp_n1k


We've literally got a movie already about this ;)


View: https://youtu.be/a2PW7a9ViDc
68 Replies · 1194 views
meStevo
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point. Nobody needs an innovative fix for a driver error or a creative way to format a report. Let it handle the solved problems so people can spend their time on the ones that aren't.
harshness
Agreed, it mostly regurgitates known solutions. That's the point.
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.
meStevo
That's the point at which innovation ends, and there's no longer any point to software engineering other than swatting bugs that result from misapplication.

Addressed by what you didn't quote. This cycle is as old as computing: compilers, libraries, frameworks each automated the tedious part, and the human work moved up a level. Innovation didn't end; it shifted. And people still make new compilers, libraries or frameworks.

Nobody's forced to hand anything off. Anyone who wants to keep doing it by hand still can, and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
harshness
... and people who couldn't do it at all now can.
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
meStevo
Misapplication isn't something that the casual coder can identify. They can only discover, the hard way, that it doesn't work at some point.
You're not wrong, but that's part of learning. Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
harshness
Whether from others or our own mistakes, we've all learned that lesson one way or another.
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.
meStevo
I'm not sure that the school of hard knocks is the quickest or surest education to find your way.

Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.

There are many examples in the headlines of people getting burned multiple times and not wavering in their pursuit of stupidity.

This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
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dishstaller
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.
meStevo
Been reading this thread but not commenting much, primarily because there is so much "news" out there on this topic and it is hard to tell what is real and what is theater.
My biggest problem with AI is that these agents are taught...not necessarily programmed but taught. Well, there's an old saying "garbage in/garbage out". I remember a Joe Rogan show a while back when he had Elon Musk on and they talked about AI and Elon said one of the AIs (can't remember which one, sorry) was asked which was worse, Thermonuclear War or mis-gendering Kaitlyn Jenner and it came back with the answer that mis-gendering was worse. Now forget the politics involved with all the gender stuff we have been subjected to the past few years.....to say that mis-gendering is worse than the killing of hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of human beings.....Kaitlyn Jenner included.....is simply insane not to mention incredibly dangerous.

Agents need appropriate context to make what would be understood as the correct read in a situation like that, and that Gemini answer was a clear miss on that front.

That said, we've also seen Musk (and/or his team) put his thumb on the scale (or just release a very poor product) with his own deployed AI since:


In the end, it's all a tool. Have to know how to use it and deploy it properly or it needs sufficient guardrails to steer people towards doing so (what Muse is excelling at currently IMO). I'm routinely interacting with several agents a day operating various processes locally and in services I use, and there are numerous others silently spun up to perform actions or satisfy requests from my prompts.

Related to earlier discussion in the thread on leveraging local inference: this kind of analysis happening behind the scenes is something everyone will have built into Windows, IMO. Most people won't see all of this, just the results, unless they want to dig into how the fix was chosen. Stuff like this will be standard as agents get local system access baked in, and more of the inference itself moves on-device.

1792355686329.webp
T
Good thing not everyone will have to learn the hard way then. The same tools can explain why something broke.



This is true of literally anything, though.

Happy to agree to disagree, but I'm already enjoying the dividends personally and helping others at work and at home do the same.
You invested in datacenters?
meStevo
You invested in datacenters?


Though, I do have stocks in my portfolio that benefit from data centers.
dishstaller
Too stinking funny...how to fry the mind of AI robo calls


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk3jCuITwcE
HipKat
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in General Home Theater Equipment
1792551349247.webp

The soundbar/sub is a pickup, also, not a delivery
1 Replies · 23 views
dishstaller
Nice setup. I bought a Klipsch sound bar years ago after my daughters blew up all the others....still using it...sound is awesome.
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Anyone making their own breakfast sausage? I've recently been trying different recipes, found some I like, some I've modified...
44 Replies · 3779 views
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navychop
Bob Evans Sage.
R
Bob Evans Sage.
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
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TRG
TRG
I will look, but I don't think I have seen it. Owen's breakfast sausage use to be favorite, but I can't find it anymore. Jimmy Dean's country mild is OK also when I can find it.
Kroger stores carry Bob Evans Sage Sausage. For me that means Smiths.

1631.webp
R
Kroger stores carry Bob Evans Sage Sausage. For me that means Smiths.

View attachment 194848
No Kroger's near me. I live in the heart of Walmart land. The only option besides Walmart is Harp's.
TRG
TRG
I live in the heart of Walmart land.
My deepest condolences.
R
My deepest condolences.
Surprisingly I moved here from the Gulf Coast due to the heat. But it has been hotter here due to the heat domes than it did down there.
S
make homemade dog food to :)
TRG
TRG
make homemade dog food to :)
My wife cooks for the dog. Not me, just the dog.
Peter Parker
Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in DISH Network Support Forum
No idea what improvements might be involved.
25 Replies · 1213 views
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N
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
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jsmit86
I'm getting fabulous picture on Ch. 148 4k, but zero audio with H713. This is with a recorded show (Notre Dame game). Anyone else have this? Audio is fine on every other channel.
It's a known issue.
For a temporary fix, go into the menu, Audio, and turn Dolby Audio "OFF". You will have PCM stereo audio.

I was able to give the tech ops team some data logs so they could diagnose the problem, and they rolled me back to H708 temporarily. It fixed that issue.

They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.
long_time_Dish
They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.
Oh, you mean "soon"? :biggrin
Almighty1
It's a known issue.
For a temporary fix, go into the menu, Audio, and turn Dolby Audio "OFF". You will have PCM stereo audio.

I was able to give the tech ops team some data logs so they could diagnose the problem, and they rolled me back to H708 temporarily. It fixed that issue.

They let me know that they understand what caused the issue, and it will be fixed within a few weeks in a new update.
I guess they will be busy when lots of people start asking for rollbacks to H708 now that you mention that downgrades of software does exist because it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner and the IR Remote problems in H710-H713.
navychop
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner

:popcorn
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dishstaller
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner
🤣

Oh....you were serious
Almighty1
So after some heavy research, it looks like the issue I mentioned with the DISH 50.0/52.0/54.x remotes where on the 50.0/52.0 remotes, the dedicated TV Power button or on the 54.x remotes where it is using the TV button on the side followed by Power works correctly on a Hopper 3 which runs Linux but not on a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 which are Android TV (ATV) has to do with the Android TV software itself. In all instances, the remotes had always sent out a dual RF and Infrared signal when the TV Power signal is sent from the remote. The Hopper 3 without the Plus would ignore the incoming RF power packet signal which is identified as a TV-specific toggle event, and does not trigger a system-wide standby state. The Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 as Android TV devices initially worked the same way as well up to sometime in 2025 as there was the legacy pass-through mode in the original software versions used since the Hopper Plus/Joey 4/Wireless Joey 4 launch, the receiver's underlying software essentially ignored the secondary RF payload that the 50.0/52.0/54.x remotes blasted out whenever the TV Power signal was sent. The Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 recognized it was a TV-specific command and discarded the RF packet, letting the standalone IR signal do its job on the tv.

When the software for the Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 were updated in 2025 and newer versions of the software for those Android TV (ATV) devices, it overhauled how the receiver handles remote commands to tighter integrate the Android TV environment which resulted in the software starting to treat any RF power toggle payload as a global command. As the newer software verion(s) no longer filters out the concurrent RF blast from the 50.0/52.0/54.0 remotes, the moment one sends a TV Power signal from the remote, the Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 catches that unintended RF payloadand interpets it as a command to drop the system into standby.

The fix is really simple since the Android TV (ATV) software for the Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 just needs to be programmed to drop or ignore the specific RF power packets associated with the TV Power signal sequence.

The problem could also be at the remotes firmware as the remote's firmware has an engineering defect. When you try to turn off the TV, the remote's internal code mistakenly triggers its RF transmitter alongside its IR transmitter. It should only be firing the IR light blast. Because it forces a simultaneous broadcast, the remote's firmware is the original source of the problem.

The Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey firmware has a filtering defect. Good software design dictating peripheral inputs should include "error handling"—rules that tell the system what to do with messy or unintended commands.
• The legacy Hopper 3 firmware has proper error handling; it sees the remote's rogue RF packet and safely ignores it.
• The Android TV firmware in the Hopper Plu, Joey 4 and Wireless lacks this filtering logic. It blindly accepts the rogue RF packet and misinterprets it as a legitimate signal to force the entire system into standby.

If the remote didn't have a firmware bug, it wouldn't send the phantom RF signal. If the Android TV (ATV) device being the Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, Joey 4 and Wireless Joey 4 didn't have a firmware bug, it would cleanly ignore the signal just like the Hopper 3 does.

brittanygarden and Rick Durham
dfergie
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Stumbled across this ... http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearch.asp
I found no local prices, although it did show stations at my location...
Added these to this post...
USA National Gas Temperature Map
State By State Gasoline Taxes
Gas Buddy

Ethanol Free Stations

5559 Replies · 460945 views
harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
dishstaller
Diesel is all over the place around here. Saw it yesterday from $5.37 to $6.17...not sure what the obsession was with ending in 7
dfergie
$4.09 - $4.29, real gas $4.69...
harshness
I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.
It turns out I was justified in my suspicion.

Gavin Newsom somehow authorized the temporary move of the distribution date of the Winter blend to September 28th.
Foxbat
It turns out I was justified in my suspicion.

Gavin Newsom somehow authorized the temporary move of the distribution date of the Winter blend to September 28th.
Does that raise, or lower, the overall price? Our State Government has been doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the current situation and put a freeze on the State Taxes on fuel sales at the pump. That's why we're still under $4.00/gal. while across the border in Michigan it's much higher.
Bobby
Does that raise, or lower, the overall price? Our State Government has been doing everything it can to minimize the impact of the current situation and put a freeze on the State Taxes on fuel sales at the pump. That's why we're still under $4.00/gal. while across the border in Michigan it's much higher.
Winter blend is cheaper than Summer blend.
jokeworm
Last reply · posted in What's Cooking?
Ok, I'm bored .... actually - to be more precise - I'm bored of eating the same rotation of 9 or 10 meals that are currently my "go-to" meals. My wife works the long hours - I work from home as and when i feel like it ... which means i generally do most of the cooking ... and so by default - i also make out the shopping list ...

We cook at home 5 or even 6 nights a week - but we always seem to fall back on the same old tried and tested "quick and easy but tastes ok" meals. Week in week out.

Pot Roast - mash and Peas.
Spaghetti
Chicken Pasta in cheese sauce.
Curry & rice
(these are some of mine)

Now it's not that I'm not adventurous in the kitchen ... I'll try anything once or twice ... but we all do it. Unless your name is Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray .. we all eventually fall back on our 8-10 favorite "meals"

So i thought - if we shared some of our own go-to meals with each other ... we might be able to add a few "new" ones to our own arsenal of meals.

So again - I ask you ...

What's for dinner tonight ?

Please give me something new to add to my rotation ... its our weekly shop tomorrow - so i want to pull together a few idea's and try and eat a meal each day next week that I've never had before .. or at least something that is not on my current "go-to" meal plan.

What meal do you always seem to fall back on in your house ? Maybe its something that I've never tried or not had in a while. I need inspiration !! I've got a blank shopping list in front of me - and nothing sounds good .. HELP !
4333 Replies · 331318 views
Bobby
Chili Cheesebugers, Tater Tots.
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TRG
TRG
I made shrimp parmesan with spaghetti and a salad.
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S
venison lasagna
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dishstaller
Smoked some salmon on the grill while enjoying some Blue Moon beer. Kinda cool tonight so I fired up the heaters. Here in FL, we fire up heaters once the temps get below 60 :cool As for the salmon, I seared them first, then flipped them off to the side not over the coals and brushed on some lemon pepper marinade followed by some salmon seasoning. Threw some hickory chips on the coals and then closed the vents to about 10% airflow. Yum.
TRG
TRG
Light dinner tonight before fasting for blood-work tomorrow. Salad and a half turkey sandwich. Water.