722 I'm a DVR Newbie

[hammerdown]

I've had this 722 for less than 24hrs and I like it a lot. Still trying things out and trying to wrap my brain around single/dual modes, shared view on/off, recording while watching something else. Here's some questions:

How come when I put the box into Single mode the SD outputs change aspect ratio and won't let me use Letterbox mode?

How come when I'm recording an off air show and watching a Sat channel, then I want to go back to that off air show, it has to stop recording? Why not just continue but go into DVR mode?

How long can I pause for? The manual says if it's longer than an hour then use record. What if I have 50hrs of HD space, can I pause for that long?

Thanks for any info...

 

[Jim S.]

How come when I'm recording an off air show and watching a Sat channel, then I want to go back to that off air show, it has to stop recording? Why not just continue but go into DVR mode?

That sounds like an oversight by the programmers. They evidently didn't think to check whether you're going to the same OTA channel you're recording on, just assumed you're changing channels on the OTA tuner.

The workaround is to go to the DVR menu and select the program you're recording. You should then get the choice of viewing it as it's being recorded or viewing it from the beginning of the recording. (I say "should" because it works that way when you're recording two satellite channels at once. I can't get any OTA channels but I'm assuming the OTA tuner operates on the same code -- but consistency isn't always a safe assumption with Dish.)

I've never tried to pause for more than an hour, but if that's the time it says you can pause for, I'm assuming that's the length of the DVR buffer -- i.e. you couldn't re-wind a live program for more than an hour either.

 

[garys]

The receiver is set for tv1 to be 16:9 ratio while tv2 is 4:3. When in single mode you are watching a 16:9 program on 4:3 which causes the distortion. Also Letterbos in not available on tv1 since most of the HD programs are already widescreen (letterbox).

To go to OTA while recording you have to go to thr recording otherwisde receivers thinks you are tying to get a different channel, the same thing happens if you are recording two sat channels and try to change to the other one by putting in the channel number, so it is probably a software issue. Note: you have to access the other channel the same way by using the dvr screen.

The buffer on live recordings is an hour, if you are going to pause longer than than, you have to record the program.

 

[hammerdown]

The receiver is set for tv1 to be 16:9 ratio while tv2 is 4:3...

Ya, the Tv2 ratio options suck. I want Letterbox on Tv2 not some zoomed cut off ratio.

I tried the "dvr" method to get back to the currently recording off air channel and it does work! Thanks!

 

[garys]

Ya, the Tv2 ratio options suck. I want Letterbox on Tv2 not some zoomed cut off ratio.

Keeping the receiver in dual mode will eliminate that problem.

 

[hammerdown]

Yep. It's the only thing keeping me in dual mode. That's the other thing - the inability to switch modes via the remote is really lame.

 

[hammerdown]

Another question:

If I'm recording and the dvr isn't smart enough to extend a show that goes into overtime, is there a way to manually force it to continue recording then manually stop it?

BTW, it's only been 2 days and I've already had my first overnight lock up/hard reboot. Went to turn it on this morning and it just came on with a channel banner then froze and rebooted. Hope this isn't a daily problem.

 

[garys]

Another question:

If I'm recording and the dvr isn't smart enough to extend a show that goes into overtime, is there a way to manually force it to continue recording then manually stop it?

BTW, it's only been 2 days and I've already had my first overnight lock up/hard reboot. Went to turn it on this morning and it just came on with a channel banner then froze and rebooted. Hope this isn't a daily problem.

Sports usually gives you an extra hour, normal shows only about three minutes, unless you record something that starts at the same time the first ends within the same tuner. If you want to change the normal extra time, click on OPTIONS button and add/subtract accordingly. The button is usually below the Create Timer button.

 

[UGAChance]

You can hit the record button again and it will give you the option to extend the time more.

The PAUSE_BUFFER time for an hour is that way because of HD. HD gets file sizes big. That time has to be allocated separate from your recording timeleft.

FULL HD is about 8 Gigs an hour at MPEG2.

Also, it would change... thanks to Sony, Disney, etc with DRM. They have asked to put limits on the PAUSE_BUFFER time.

 

[garys]

You can hit the record button again and it will give you the option to extend the time more.

This works once recording has begun.

 

[hammerdown]

Thanks everyone!