Today has been terrible with the sling adapter. Recordings getting broken in to 0 time pieces. Recordings corrupted and infinitely recording. Can't seem to watch anything on the Sling Adapter when recording on Tv2(trying to watch DVR). I was recording 2 shows just now. Started watching one live, then went into another room to continue to Sling. Couldn't connect at all. Kept getting "satellite signal lost", a common occurrence today even if I wasn't recording anything and trying to sling, and just now the box rebooted all of the sudden. Lost my 2 recordings. This is not working as I had planned.
All kinds of problems with the Sling Adapter today
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No, because I would go to the TV with the 722 directly connected and no issues as far as signal goes, just messed up recordings. I can actually have that TV on with Live Tv going and get a "no satellite signal" message on DRA.
I wonder if I should just operate in Dual Mode all the time and set up TV1 as the default recording priority.
I wonder if I should just operate in Dual Mode all the time and set up TV1 as the default recording priority.
For whatever it is worth, I had very similar experiences today. I was running through my mind, "Is the problem:
-The carrier (T-Mobile)?
-My Dish Network 722k?
-The Android phone (Garminfone)?
-The Dish Remote Access software?
Needless to say, I never came up with the definitive answer to ANY of these questions today. I really like the Sling Adapter a lot, but knowing what I know about electronic devices, I suspect that an update in future for software/firmware might be in order.
-The carrier (T-Mobile)?
-My Dish Network 722k?
-The Android phone (Garminfone)?
-The Dish Remote Access software?
Needless to say, I never came up with the definitive answer to ANY of these questions today. I really like the Sling Adapter a lot, but knowing what I know about electronic devices, I suspect that an update in future for software/firmware might be in order.
I got a second SA in yesterday as the first one burned up- excess heat. The second one still reboots my 722K every 30 sec to 10 minutes of play time. Tech support has me testing on my 722 now. So far it won't update so I have to give it 24 hours to update the firmware now.
I went ahead and bought the Pro HD slingbox with component connections. It works great and my upload even does well over the internet. Plus I can work my DVR in single mode again with no restrictions as to TV2. I'm sorry I bought the SA now. Dish said they won't give me a refund if I'm not satisfied with it.
I went ahead and bought the Pro HD slingbox with component connections. It works great and my upload even does well over the internet. Plus I can work my DVR in single mode again with no restrictions as to TV2. I'm sorry I bought the SA now. Dish said they won't give me a refund if I'm not satisfied with it.
I thought the Sling Adapter was a waffled piece of extruded aluminum. The thing should be all heatsink. It sounds like the SA draws too much power from the USB port on the 722.
Don Landis said:
Just another reason why I am glad I opted to get it built in by getting the 922. With the sharper, and more user friendly menus, faster on demand, easier recording conflict resolution, and double the hard drive space, it is well worth the four extra $ per month, especially when you have everything covered, including the built in sling box technology, because it is part of the DVR. Anything goes wrong (even though it never over heats, even after hours of usage) and they give you another one. Just awesome. Now with the new software enabling TV2 mode, it is also a duo DVR if you want it to be. I want all the tuners to myself though so I use it as a solo DVR, but it is nice to have that option if I want to use it in the future. I love it!
So I think it has to do with Single->Dual and Dual->Single when starting and stopping the SA. I did a test this morning where I started 2 recordings. I think manually set the reciever into Dual mode. I went into the bedroom and had no issues getting a video to play. I went back and changed it to Single with the recordings still going. At this point, interesting note. When in single with 1 or2 recordings you get just the one red light. When I switched to Dual I got the 2 red lights, one for each TV. When I put it back to Single, it went back to one red light. So now I am in Single, I go back to the bedroom and again can watch video. So I stop using the Sling and go back to the receiver. It says its in Single but showing 2 red lights. I go to the channel with the recording on TV1 and hit stop. It asks me to stop the recording, which I do. The guide shows it not recording, BUT the DVR menu still shows it as recording. Go the the channel with the recording on TV2, hit stop, nothing. Can't manually stop these two recordings. I have to reboot the box to fix the issue. So my workaround right now, and its not a huge deal since I am the primary Tv watcher, is to put the receiver in Dual mode when not in use so I can use Sling and not worry about it.
Edit:
Did another test right before work. Set 2 recordings (Show1 on TV1, Show2 on TV2), manually set Dual mode. Went to the PC, tried to watch Show2 from beginning for DVR. Kept getting "The Sling Adapter is starting up". Tried Show1 from DVR, started fine. Back to Show2, "starting up". So went back to the receiver, put it back into Single. Saw that Show2 now had a 2 minute recording along with the ongoing recording. Show1 was fine. Was able to stop both recordings.
So there are some bugs, I will concede that new Tech has its bugs. I get some split recordings. But there is definitely a flaw in how the SA handles the switching from Single->Dual with recordings are being performed. I don't think its switching back from Dual to Single in the right way and I also think switching from Single->Dual is messing with recording and watching from the DVR.
Edit:
Did another test right before work. Set 2 recordings (Show1 on TV1, Show2 on TV2), manually set Dual mode. Went to the PC, tried to watch Show2 from beginning for DVR. Kept getting "The Sling Adapter is starting up". Tried Show1 from DVR, started fine. Back to Show2, "starting up". So went back to the receiver, put it back into Single. Saw that Show2 now had a 2 minute recording along with the ongoing recording. Show1 was fine. Was able to stop both recordings.
So there are some bugs, I will concede that new Tech has its bugs. I get some split recordings. But there is definitely a flaw in how the SA handles the switching from Single->Dual with recordings are being performed. I don't think its switching back from Dual to Single in the right way and I also think switching from Single->Dual is messing with recording and watching from the DVR.
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Same issue the last two days with the Sling Adapter, and the 722K with the signal lost message. To make matters worst the Sling Adapter messes with the 722K channels to point where for no reason most the channels will get the "complete signal lost message" My other two receivers didn't have this issue.
I never had any of these issues before I started using the Sling Adapter.
I never had any of these issues before I started using the Sling Adapter.
I sent an email last night to Tech Support. I really just want to get word to the Firmware Developers and Lab guys. I don't think its a issue on my end, I don't need to reboot or reconnect things. I think there is a fundamental issue with recordings on TV1 and TV2 in single mode, using the SA, and the issues with the SA moving from Single to Dual, trying to watch a recorded program, and then switching back to Single.
Having both 722 and 722K I have had the opportunity to test both DVR's implementation of the SA.
They are very different!
For me the signal lost issue on the 722K is quite the problem and I have to call Dish Tech Support back today with my test result. The front line Tech says that if there is this difference she will be advising the engineering that more work needs to be done on the SA / 722K. The reason why my signal is lost all the time on the 722K is because the 722K reboots frequently with the SA accessed.
My 722 ( not K) with SA operates continuously without signal loss and so far the only thing annoying about it that is missing is the lack of a virtual remote. On the 722K ( as long as it stays connected) I get the "remote" button to toggle that on and off.
But here is my biggest complaint on the SA. It reduces the function of the DVR capability to that of a single tuner DVR. Meaning that regardless of 722 or 722K when you use the SA you will lose the ability to record two different channels at the same time.
Personally, I will make good use of the SA on my 722 because this 722's purpose in my home is no better than a single DVR and running in dual mode and recording no more than one channel at a time is not an issue for me. On the other hand, my 722k is often recording multiple channels and using it in a dual mode is like making a robust 4 tuner DVR into a single tuner functionality and causes failure of most of my DVR recording schedules. In this case the Pro HD is a wiser choice for for me.
I discovered a web based bug also. In the SA / 722 I see that accessing my hard drive's recordings can be done for single programs only. Those multiple programs inside a folder are not accessible. This is likely a web page bug and needs to be addressed by those responsible for the Dish Remote Access coding.
Emotionally, I was pretty upset that Dish will not allow returns on the SA. I had the idea I was stuck with a gadget that doesn't work as claimed-- a loss of $99. But the failure of the SA on my 722K was a blessing because I discovered I can make better use of it on the 722, where it works very well. ( so far) In this way I won't be screwing with my primary DVR functions of multiple channel recording.
They are very different!
For me the signal lost issue on the 722K is quite the problem and I have to call Dish Tech Support back today with my test result. The front line Tech says that if there is this difference she will be advising the engineering that more work needs to be done on the SA / 722K. The reason why my signal is lost all the time on the 722K is because the 722K reboots frequently with the SA accessed.
My 722 ( not K) with SA operates continuously without signal loss and so far the only thing annoying about it that is missing is the lack of a virtual remote. On the 722K ( as long as it stays connected) I get the "remote" button to toggle that on and off.
But here is my biggest complaint on the SA. It reduces the function of the DVR capability to that of a single tuner DVR. Meaning that regardless of 722 or 722K when you use the SA you will lose the ability to record two different channels at the same time.
Personally, I will make good use of the SA on my 722 because this 722's purpose in my home is no better than a single DVR and running in dual mode and recording no more than one channel at a time is not an issue for me. On the other hand, my 722k is often recording multiple channels and using it in a dual mode is like making a robust 4 tuner DVR into a single tuner functionality and causes failure of most of my DVR recording schedules. In this case the Pro HD is a wiser choice for for me.
I discovered a web based bug also. In the SA / 722 I see that accessing my hard drive's recordings can be done for single programs only. Those multiple programs inside a folder are not accessible. This is likely a web page bug and needs to be addressed by those responsible for the Dish Remote Access coding.
Emotionally, I was pretty upset that Dish will not allow returns on the SA. I had the idea I was stuck with a gadget that doesn't work as claimed-- a loss of $99. But the failure of the SA on my 722K was a blessing because I discovered I can make better use of it on the 722, where it works very well. ( so far) In this way I won't be screwing with my primary DVR functions of multiple channel recording.
I am using the DRA for Android at work now. This has happened twice, using the SA with the 722. I try to watch a show on the DVR, instead it goes to Live Tv. Try again, Live TV still. I change the channel, the channel changes. I go back to the DVR menu and pick a recording. Bam - Single Loss. I was able to reproduce it twice. Had to reboot the receiver to fix it. So right now I can't watch recordings for some reason.
I have a 722K hooked up. I do not have a virtual remote or a "remote" button show up to toggle on/off. I downloaded the software twice in case it got screwed up. My 2 PC'S are about 4-6 years old running Windows XP and it's the same on both of them. Any help?
I pointed that out last week to the CSR and she said they don't offer that on the SA, only exchange. Plus you will be billed all the shipping charges for two round trips. The way I saw it, same old sh*t, CSR's refusing to do their job of CUSTOMER SERVICE. Instead it is a Customer INSA ( TOO FUCING BAD ). I think I would need to contact the CEO complaint address to get a RMA for refund.
Jack- when I had it connected to my 722K the remote control was only present when the connection was OK. During the constant reboots, the remote toggle disappeared along with the signal. Bottom line... this SA is extremely buggy and should not have been released until it passed beta. If it did pass beta then the beta testers failed to do their job!
I agree. Especially what I am seeing with 2 recordings and issues with recovery from Single->Dual-Single seems like it should have been tested. I have already put the cost of the SA and bought some homeplug adapter to get good speeds to some of my slower wifi PCs. I was going to build a dedicated PC for one of my TVs but these issues are a bit much right now. Even with its bugs, I can watch Live TV from my phone (no DVR recordings for some reason) and sometimes watch stuff through my PCs. So i am going to enjoy that at least I can do that right now. I will admit that last night was the first time I had actually tried to use the SA in a way I have been hoping to (starting on the TV and the moving into a different room to finish the viewing), while it didn't work I think I have identified some workarounds that could make it work. The other times I had just been messing around and bringing up the video for a few minutes, in a "just because I can" way.
Not necessary to show me that page, Cosmo. I did point that out to them and I told you what they said. They refused to give me an RMA and without that you'll just be spending money with UPS as their receiving dept will refuse and return to sender. I only got an RMA after they sent me a replacement. So, I still have one but for me, I have figured out how to make use of it.
Got off the phone with Dish Network Tech support to report my findings on the SA on the 722 vs. 722K. I got the idea there are some issues they know on the 722K compatibility with the SA. Said they will be issuing a new firmware update to deal with this.
I also reported the problems everyone has been having on the website with the virtual remote showing up inconsistently and also the trouble people have been having with the DVR hard drive recordings. I reported that this only affects me when I try to access recordings inside a folder. For me, the recordings not in a folder can be accessed and played without issue.
I told her I would not be using the SA on the 722K because I now have the sling box Pro HD and will keep the SA on the 722. For me, this just works out better as I need to record more than one program at a time.
I also reported the problems everyone has been having on the website with the virtual remote showing up inconsistently and also the trouble people have been having with the DVR hard drive recordings. I reported that this only affects me when I try to access recordings inside a folder. For me, the recordings not in a folder can be accessed and played without issue.
I told her I would not be using the SA on the 722K because I now have the sling box Pro HD and will keep the SA on the 722. For me, this just works out better as I need to record more than one program at a time.
