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The purpose of this new thread is to discuss the fact that new Dish Network receivers (like the 522 model) are being programmed in a such a way that they MUST have access to the EEPG (9 day Program Guide) in order for them to work properly.

Previous DVR receivers (like the 508) would work properly without the EEPG (9 Day Program Guide), but the new receivers MUST have the EEPG (9 Day Program Guide) or all types of recurring events (including name based recording, all episodes, new episodes, monday to friday recording, etc.) will NOT work on a recurring basis.

What I mean with 'will not work on a recurring basis' is that that new recording events will NOT be created automatically following the recurring event instructions when a new guide is downloaded....unless you have the EEPG (9 day program guide).

The choice to put the EEPG only on transponder 29 of the 110 degree satellite AND at the same time designing receivers (like the 522 which I own) that will ONLY work properly when they have the EEPG (9 day guide) is making our equipment useless.

I have spent considerable amount of time discussing the issue with Dish Network. First with regular technical support, who didn't have a CLUE about what I was talking about. They wanted to exchange my receiver!!!! Fortunately I didn't allow them to do this, and I escalated the issue to second level support, the executive offices of Dish Network, etc...and now it is clear that this is a defect in my receiver, but it is rather a design choice that Dish Network made on the current software of the 522 receiver.

In another words, the software engineering team of Dish Network decided to make this an 'undocumented' design choice. Undocumented in the sense that NOTHING about this is mentioned in the manual of the 522 receiver. The manual does NOT mention ANYWHERE that having access to the EEPG (9 Day guide) is a requirement and/or that having access to all transponders of satellite 110 is a must.


I would like to encourage all of you who would like to see the EEPG (9 day program guide) moved to another (stronger) satellite, or be copied to another satellite (so that it is available in several satellites at once), to contact Dish Network and complain about the situation.


NOTE: The system won't allow me to write the addresses posted above in standard format, since I am new on this bulletin board. Please put the address in standard format before sending your complaint to echostar.

Personally I think (and I have sent an e-mail to Dish expressing this view) that Echostar should do AT LEAST DO ONE of the following things to help those of us who are having problems.

1) Echostar should put the 9 day EEPG ALSO on the 119 degree satellite. Echostar has installed SO MANY DVR/PVR units that numberwise there is already enough justification to put the guide also on satellite 119. You have the 44 guide on EVERY single satellite. Why not have the EEPG at least on two satellites (the 110 and the 119)?

2) Echostar should move the EEPG (9 day guide) to another transponder on satelite 110 which has more power, an is therefore MUCH more likely to be received by ALL Echostar Subscribers regardless of whether they live in the continental USA, Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribean, etc...or even people like me who have trees/buildings in the way who can receive transponders 1 to 21, but NOT transponder 29!!!! (most of the transponders from 1 to 21 are OK).

3) Echostar should update the internal software of the DVR/PVR receivers so that the receivers will fetch the 44 hour guide whenever they are unable to fetch the EEPG (9 day guide). At the present time if a DVR/PVR is connected to both satellite 110 and 119 and it is unable to fetch the EEPG program guide (for example because transponder 29 can't be received..eventhough transponders 1 to 21 CAN be received) from satellite 110 it simply wont fetch ANY guide at all. A simple 'Conditional' in the programing of the receiver would solve the problem. Something like: If EEPG can't be retrieved during the first three attempts retrieve the 44 hour program guide.

4) Echostar should update the internal software of its newest PVR/DVR receivers (like the PVR 522) so that they are able to work properly with the 44 hour program guide. A person who has the receiver connected to both satellite 110 and 119 but is unable to access the EEPG because of the weak signal of transponder 29 will NOT get ANY program guide at all as documented in point 3 above. A receiver that is connected to one or more satellites (like the 119), but NOT to the 110 satellite WILL be able to download the 44 hour program guide successfully. However, the PVR 522 receivers only work well when they have access to the EEPG (which currently is only available through a weak transponder (transponder 29) on the 110 satellite. If a person (like me) can't receive a good signal from transponder 29 (because it is too weak to pass through trees, neighbour walls, etc) the PVR 522 recurring events and name based recording WILL NOT WORK properly. The reason for this is that Echostar currently has a software on the PVR 522 receiver that REQUIRES the 9 Day EEPG program guide for the NBR (name based recording) and recurring recordings to work properly. Withou the EEPG the recurring events/nbs will ONLY work initially (when the recurring event is first setup), but will NOT setup new recording events as new programming days are downloaded by the receiver. So in essense, a person who can't receive the EEPG will be able to ONLY setup recurring events that span 44 hours; and then that person will have to reprogram the receiver's recurring events to be able to record those shows again. The receiver WILL NOT setup new recording events as days go by...unless it has the EEPG (which is ONLY available on transponder 29 of satellite 110).