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Frank Jr.

Supporting Founder

Last reply Aug 28, 2010 · posted in General Home Theater Equipment

My u-verse install story....

After my dad died three years ago I moved my mom closer to me. When he was alive they both lived about 70 miles from me way down in the country. I love the country but I just couldn't leave her there alone after he died. I moved her in a house that I own that is about 5 minutes from me. I had TWC basic cable installed for her back then. Well after retiring I bundled her home phone, cable and internet with TWC trying to save a few bucks. Starting about 3 months ago nothing was reliable. The phone and internet would drop out frequently, tv would too sometimes, but not as frequently as the phone which was most important. Mom would call me on her cell phone complaining and asking for help. After 20+ calls to TWC and gosh I don't know about 10 visits from their techs over the past 3 months I gave up and had u-verse installed today. For the most part I am impressed. I am not completely sold on it though, there are a few issue when comparing my Dish subscription that I have here in the house my wife and I currently live in. The price is nice though. (We'll get to that a little later) The appointment for the u-verse install was set about 2 weeks ago for today between 9 and 11 am. Two installers much to my surprise showed up promptly at 9 a.m. The install took almost 3 hrs. They would put these paper disposable covers on their shoes every time they came in the house from outside. (Wow, never saw that before!) After they finished the install they did the customary instruction on how to use the dvrs that I have experienced with the Dish installers in the past. In comparing picture quality, the HD channels are on par with Dish but in my humble opinion SD channels with u-verse are not as good. The guides and menus are different but overall about the same. In overall quality the u-verse dvrs are clunky and cheap compared to my two 722k's and one 211k. Just my impression. The hard drive is smaller with no option to add an additional external hard drive. Comparing u-verse with Dish, I could go back and forth all day long. OK, here is where the rubber meets the road. I combined a cell phone, unlimited home phone, unlimited 12Mb down internet and the U450 tv package for what I am paying Dish by itself. In a few months u-verse will be available here where I live. I have not decided what to do about Dish. I may take the plunge and go with u-verse until Carol and I move to the country and then I will gladly be forced to sub to a satellite provider again.

I apologize for the long post but felt compelled to share my observations and opinions. Not very technical, sorry.

By the way I put the entertainment center together today, reconnected a couple of battery backups and trimed the hedges. I know I need to get rid of a bunch of fingerprints.

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dfergie

Aug 24, 2010

Sounds like a good deal and install!

Frank Jr.

Aug 25, 2010

One thing I forgot to mention is that att u-verse offers no customer support for configuring Outlook. I called their support yesterday who quickly transfered me to someone that wanted to charge me 30 dollars. I said no thanks and hung up. I called again and told the guy that my Outlook wasn't broken it just needed to be reconfigured. No Dice! I then told him maybe they could come and un-install this stuff.

He then directed me to their web site which has a tutorial on how to configure Outlook. Outlook/U-verse

Scott Greczkowski

Aug 26, 2010

Thanks for the update. Looks like some of the UVERSE stuff has matured over the past few years.

Paige

Aug 28, 2010

When will U-verse be in the Melbourne Beach area?? I am trying to bring down my cable bill and also am trying to find out info. on Uvers versus direct tv and what it costs extra to have boxes/dvr's on 4 of my 8 tvs and then just have basic on the other 4

Frank Jr.

Aug 28, 2010

First of all welcome aboard!

u-verse availability check Although you know it is not in your area now follow the prompts and there will eventually be an option to receive an email when it does. Good Luck!

HipKat

Pub Member / Supporter

Last reply 10 minutes ago · posted in General Home Theater Equipment

So, I Did A Thing

The soundbar/sub is a pickup, also, not a delivery

1 Replies · 14 views

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dishstaller

10 minutes ago

Nice setup. I bought a Klipsch sound bar years ago after my daughters blew up all the others....still using it...sound is awesome.

Scott Greczkowski

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge

Last reply 11 minutes ago · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Song Name Game Part 3!

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....

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harshness

Yesterday at 5:20 PM

On a Bicycle Built for Two [originally "Daisy Bell"] - Nat King Cole

long_time_Dish

Yesterday at 6:31 PM

The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert

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EatMyVolts

Yesterday at 10:29 PM

Our House - Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young

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dishstaller

Yesterday at 10:35 PM

Our House - Madness

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EatMyVolts

11 minutes ago

You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love) -- Nat King Cole

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TVHabit

Last reply 31 minutes ago · posted in Free To Air (FTA) Discussion

Hybrid Dish setup

Picked up a sweet directv dish, mount, twin lnbs and a short cable.
Has anyone converted one to FTA? A Frankenstein of sorts...

7 Replies · 349 views

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one_db_compression

Oct 13, 2026

If you can find one, the Shaw / Star Choice 75e ellipticals are great for use on 97, 99, and 101W. They are really just rebranded ChannelMaster 75 cm reflectors and use linear LNBFs by default out of the box.

Everyone else's mileage may vary.

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TVHabit

Sunday at 10:12 AM

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

Sunday at 3:38 PM

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

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k4otl

Yesterday at 6:42 AM

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

31 minutes ago

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.

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Yesterday at 11:10 PM · posted in What's Cooking?

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Anyone making their own breakfast sausage? I've recently been trying different recipes, found some I like, some I've modified...

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navychop

Saturday at 8:14 AM

Bob Evans Sage.

reubenray

Saturday at 8:41 AM

navychop said:
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

Saturday at 6:19 PM

reubenray said:
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.

reubenray

Saturday at 6:38 PM

TRG said:
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

Saturday at 6:41 PM

reubenray said:
I live in the heart of Walmart land.

My deepest condolences.

reubenray

Saturday at 7:14 PM

TRG said:
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.

slow_poke_pete

Yesterday at 8:25 PM

make homemade dog food to

TRG

Yesterday at 11:10 PM

slow_poke_pete said:
make homemade dog food to

My wife cooks for the dog. Not me, just the dog.

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TWiT Tech Podcast Network

Yesterday at 10:23 PM · posted in TWiT Tech Podcast Network

The Nightmare of Preordering the iPhone Duo

Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itjgfJiMvDk

Direct YouTube Link - The Nightmare of Preordering the iPhone Duo
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed

0 Replies · 7 views

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Peter Parker

Supporting Founder Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 10:09 PM · posted in DISH Network Support Forum

DISH Hopper 3 Software Version 713 Is Out

No idea what improvements might be involved.

25 Replies · 1206 views

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naptime

Sunday at 1:05 AM

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

Monday at 9:57 AM

naptime said:
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.

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long_time_Dish

Monday at 3:57 PM

jsmit86 said:
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

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Almighty1

Monday at 4:07 PM

jsmit86 said:
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.

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navychop

Monday at 5:53 PM

Almighty1 said:
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner

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dishstaller

Monday at 10:34 PM

Almighty1 said:
it will likely fix the OTA Single Tuner

Oh....you were serious

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Almighty1

Yesterday at 10:09 PM

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

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dfergie

Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU!

Last reply Yesterday at 9:05 PM · posted in The Chit Chat Club

Gas Price Info With National Gas Temperature Map

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

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harshness

Sunday at 11:30 AM

I wonder if California is getting into the Winter formula.

dishstaller

Yesterday at 12:45 PM

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

Yesterday at 1:07 PM

$4.09 - $4.29, real gas $4.69...

harshness

Yesterday at 5:32 PM

harshness said:
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

Yesterday at 8:39 PM

harshness said:
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

Yesterday at 9:05 PM

Foxbat said:
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.

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jokeworm

Last reply Yesterday at 9:01 PM · posted in What's Cooking?

What's for dinner ?

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 !

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Bobby

Oct 12, 2026

Chili Cheesebugers, Tater Tots.

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TRG

Oct 12, 2026

I made shrimp parmesan with spaghetti and a salad.

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slow_poke_pete

Sunday at 9:47 PM

venison lasagna

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dishstaller

Sunday at 10:03 PM

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.

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TRG

Yesterday at 9:01 PM

Light dinner tonight before fasting for blood-work tomorrow. Salad and a half turkey sandwich. Water.

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meStevo

Lifetime Supporter

Last reply Yesterday at 8:33 PM · posted in The Sports Section

NFL 2026-2027 Season

Schedule drops tomorrow. Mandatory mini camps in June. Hall of Fame game August 6th.

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Foxbat

Monday at 6:19 PM

I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties

Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.

www.colts.com

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rvvaquero

Monday at 9:00 PM

Foxbat said:
I guess even the patience of us laid-back Hoosiers has its limits:

Colts relieve general manager Chris Ballard of his duties

Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon released a statement Monday announcing the news.

www.colts.com

Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.

Reactions: Howard Simmons, dfergie, Mike0616 and 1 other person

Foxbat

Monday at 11:25 PM

Jeeez, Week 6, no lead is safe…

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b4pjoe

Yesterday at 9:22 AM

rvvaquero said:
Be nice to see a Cowboy headline like that.

Yes the Cowboys owner needs to fire the general manager (himself), co-owner, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Executive Vice President, Director of Player Personnel, and President of AT&T Stadium (his son) and then he should jump off of a cliff. Only then can they recover.

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rvvaquero

Yesterday at 11:33 AM

Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson had an argument about who was responsible for the dynasty building of the early 90's Cowboys.

The rest of us figured it out in about 3 years, Jerry has had over 30 years but still can't admit it. It's all he lives for, to show everyone he can put together a winner. I don't think he can. His kids only know what he taught them.