721 issues and upgrade options

[pacman]

Hi all, looking for some help/options here. Our beloved 721 is starting to have issues (it has been rock solid for the last 2 years with very few problems). Lately we have complete lockups, timers not firing, black screen, etc. Usually a reboot will fix it for a couple of days. I have tried all the normal troubleshooting steps from other posts here (including removing power, reseating smartcard, swapping sat feeds between tuners, switching feeds from ports 1 & 2 of our SW64 to ports 3 & 4, powering down the SW64, etc.). For a while, just turning on the PIP would fix the problems, but now even that isn't working. Anytime we have issue, we check the signal on our older receiver, model 5000, and it is working fine (it is connected to the same SW64 on port 3). So we no it isn't a signal problem.

So, question 1 - any other ideas as to what the problem is?
Question 2 - If it is dead and needs to be replaced (I have the equipment insurance), what does Dish replace it with (721 not being made anymore right?)?
Question 3 - should I just move to a 942 receiver instead (I have an HDTV and currently use a separate set top box to tune OTA channels)?

Thanks!!

 

[Bob Haller]

They will send you a refurb 721.

I tired of it and upgraded myself to a new never activated 522 from e bay. its been very good, way better than my 721.

you have nothing to lose by getting a 721 under warranty replacement. other than the 15 bucks shipping

 

[SimpleSimon]

If a 942 is within your budget, it's the way to go.

 

[boy921]

It sounds like your 721 is dying.

SimpleSimon is right. I think the 942 would be much better. I'm on my third 721 and I think that the remanufactured 721 have a very short life span as compared to a newly purchased model.

 

[pacman]

Thanks for the replies! Yea, that is what I am afraid of - we love our 721 and have heard the horror stories about the refurb replacments...it worked great for 3 years...

Now if we go the 942 route, my question is which is a better way to go - purchase for around $600 or lease and pay the $250 up front and $5/month lease fee after that (I know I will have to pay the $5 PVR fee either way)? With all the rumors of MPEG4 or 8VSB turbo around, will it make a difference? I am thinking the lease might be better since costs less up front and if they do switch compression schemes I wouldn't be out as much $$, but I just hate having to pay another $5 monthly fee for something... Didn't I read somewhere that if I get the AEP a couple of the fees are included? I have the 180 + locals right now so it wouldn't be a huge jump to get the AEP...

 

[SimpleSimon]

You're going to pay $10/month for the 942 EITHER way. Unless: you get AEP - then they waive the $5 DVR fee. Jumping from AT180 to AEP is something like another $30 (give or take).

Note that the first receiver's $5/month fee is included (hidden) with the programming package.

 

[navychop]

I suggest you get the replacement 721, and wait for the 962.

BTW, I'm on my 3rd 721, no problems. I plan to keep it as long as I can receive programming on it, even after I get a 962. They'll all be phased out in about 3 years.

 

[pacman]

Hmmm...update. Today, neither the 721 nor the 5000 will pick up the satellites. When I do a check switch, the SW64 does not show up (no switch detected) on either receiver. Think it is possible that I lost both the 721 and the SW64 about the same time or could a failing switch cause the issues I was seeing with the 721?

On a side note, I have talked with Dish's CEO department and they have extended the 942 lease option to me if I want it...

 

[Stargazer]

I have been having to reboot my 721 some lately. I notice that it gives me problems if it is left on for a while (a day or more) particularly if a DVR show has ended and you fall asleep and it stays that way.

 

[pacman]

Well, I scheduled a tech appointment for Friday morning. I will let you know what is done and if it fixes the problems with the 721.

 

[Bob Haller]

Has the power inserter come unplugged?

SW64 power inserters were always a problem

Make sure inserter is connected to port ONE!

 

[Stargazer]

I am having PIP issues with channel 0. I also cannot get it to delete the show while in PIP if I have 0 active and so forth. Its so irritating. I do not remember having that issue before so that must be a new bug (or fairly new).

 

[pacman]

Has the power inserter come unplugged?
SW64 power inserters were always a problem
Make sure inserter is connected to port ONE!

Yup. I went through the whole procedure for troubleshooting the switch. I was able to get it to come back for a couple of hours in the evening by leaving everything (receivers and power to switch) unplugged all day and then reconnecting. But the next morning, it was dead again. We will see...

 

[pacman]

Well, all is back up and running now. The tech confirmed that the SW64 had failed, and since he didn't have one, he upgraded everything to DishPro (replaced the LNB's on the Dish 500 and the 300 (points to 148 for locals), put in a DP34 switch, and a legacy adapter for the 5000 receiver). It works great! The wife is very happy to have her dish back (as am I)!! Thanks for the help and suggestions here.

After the initial install, the 721 would only pick up the switch on tuner 2 so we swapped cables between the tuners and still only tuner 2 worked. I did a reboot and then both worked. We will test it through the weekend to see if we have any of the same issues we were dealing with before.

I have to add that I was really impressed with the service tech. He worked directly for Dish Network and not some other satellite company that was an "authorized dealer" (last time I had to have service, they sent one of those and it was a nightmare!!). He was very courteous and informative and really knew what he was doing. Kudos for Dish!!

On a side note, I have decided to take advantage of the 942 lease I was offered...I just couldn't resist...and I am hopeful that whatever future format Dish decides to go with (MPEG4 or whatever) that they will make good for their customers that want HDTV...we'll see!

 

[pacman]

UPDATE - the 721 has worked perfectly with no lockups or any other symptoms we were seeing before. So it looks like the SW64 was causing the problems we were seeing for the last month. Both tuners worked great!

Now, yesterday I received my new 942 and installed it where the 721 was. Called Dish and activated last night. The removed the older model 5000 receiver from my account and left the 721 on as a second receiver. The 942 is incredible! A lot faster and it looks really good too! I had no problems picking up any of my OTA digital channels (most are at over 93% on the signal strength scale). I am really glad I decided to get it.

Now, after getting the 942 running, I setup the 721 upstairs where the 5000 used to be. I ran ports 1&2 from the DP34 to tuners 1&2 on the 721 (removed the legacy adapter that I needed for the 5000 too). Then I ran a check switch and it tested fine with great signal on all 3 satellites (110, 119, 148). Then it got stuck at "acquiring satellite data". I rebooted several times and also reseated the card. Still stuck. So I left it off overnight and this morning it is was still stuck. I called Dish (thinking that maybe the removed the 721 from my account by mistake, but they didn't) and they were stumped - but they said it may be my wiring. The wiring is all newer RG6 (installed last year) and the 5000 worked fine upstairs and the 721 worked fine downstairs. Now I get great signal strength, but no data. Not even the "barker" channels (101) come in.

HELP! Any ideas? I remember reading something about the "sweep rating" of RG6 used in DishPro systems needed to be up to 2150 or something. Would I get this kind of error if my cable didn't meet this spec? Now the 721 has a longer run or cables to the DP34 than the 942 does (maybe an extra 10' or so), but I am pretty sure my total length is less than 120'. I am planning to install the 721 downstairs again tonight to test it and see if it makes a difference, but would love to hear back from the experts here if you have any ideas that I can test.

On a side note, would it make any difference if the DP34 was installed closer to the dishes (currently it is attached to the dish mast on the roof) or closer to the receivers (I could move it inside with little hassle)? I know the DP34 guide says it can go anywhere within the max 200' cable run.

 

[LER]

the current 721 software is SLOW on the acquiring data.

let it run for a LONG time.

LER

 

[pacman]

Thank LER - I shut it off overnight and it didn't pick up. When I left for work this morning, I left it on at the "acquiring" screen, so we will see what it does tonight when I get home...

 

[Stargazer]

I find that it usually downloads the EPG around 3 am EST.

 

[pacman]

OK, our 721 is now working again. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with an EXCELLENT CSR! Here is what we did. First we disconnected the satellite feeds from the 721 and then did a check switch. This took about 10 minutes. The check switch failed of course and "blanked" out the info. Then she had me go to the menu and "reset defaults" on the receiver. Once done, it rebooted automatically. Then she had me unplug it for about 15 seconds and then plug it back in. Then connect the satellite feeds. We let it reboot and then got the acquire data screen. Then we tried to go to the menu to check switch, but couldn't because the remote address was reset. We reset the remote address (press system info button on front panel, then press SAT then record on the remote), pressed select (which cleared the system info screen and returned to the acquiring data screen), and tried menu again. It wouldn't come up, so she said to wait. Within two minutes, channel 101 came up and so did the menu. We then did a check switch and everything came up. It works!! She said she had seen this before and believed the problem had something to do with the memory of the unit (which is cleared when resetting to defaults). She was very helpful and I wish all of them were this nice and capable!!

 

[Stargazer]

You had to clear out the switch matrix then when you did the check switch again it set it back to where it was supposed to be. This almost reminds me of having to reinstall windows on a computer every so often because of software becoming corrupted.