Dish Network 722k Duo Multiple Issues -- Looking for Advice

[realthang625]

We signed up for Dish Network in August since big dish is being obsoleted. We are using the 722k duo with TV1 in the basement family room and TV2 two flights up in our bedroom. For the first month, it worked great! Now we have the following issues. We are on our 3rd receiver and still are plagued with these problems.

1) Each morning, you cannot turn on and view TV from TV2 until you go two flights downstairs to turn on TV1. Most mornings it goes through the "Acquiring Signal" process which takes about 5 minutes.

2) If the receiver sits without being viewed (gone to work as an example) it will not record shows in the evening unless we have turned it on (via TV1) prior. It is like it goes into hibernation and cannot wake itself up.

3) If you are watching a recorded show and another show is going to record, or two shows are set to record at the same time, it will freeze. You then need to go down to the physical unit and turn it on. It will have to go through the Acquiring Signal process and you now have missed 5 minutes of your recordings.

Are other users having these same issues? If it is not fixed soon, we're going to have to give up on the Duo DVR route and get DishNetwork to give us two DVRs for the same price.

 

[MikeL DISH]

Hi, this is Mike from DISH Network. I would just like to address your listed issues regarding the VIP 722K receiver. We do need to obtain some information from you to assist in getting these issues resolved. Currently, it's related to software. I would like to get this information over to our technical operations team to investigate. Regardless of what TV you do this on, I need the receiver and software number. To locate, press the Menu button twice on your remote control. The receiver number will be second line down and should start with: "R01". Also, software version should be the fifth or sixth line down and start with "L6". I just need the first four characters.

While the software correction on our end may take some time, there is a workaround for the meantime. Disabling inactivity standby should eliminate the inability to record during the day. Bring up the main menu again. Press option 8 for preferences and then option 8 again for Inactivity Standby. Disable in the first selection then select Done. That should allow the receiver box to stay on and allow you to record programs throughout the day. The 3AM shutdown will still occur and you will still need to power the receiver on each morning. However, it will stay on throughout the day after turning it on.

Hope this helps.

 

[vash1090]

Hi, this is Mike from DISH Network. I would just like to address your listed issues regarding the VIP 722K receiver. We do need to obtain some information from you to assist in getting these issues resolved. Currently, it's related to software. I would like to get this information over to our technical operations team to investigate. Regardless of what TV you do this on, I need the receiver and software number. To locate, press the Menu button twice on your remote control. The receiver number will be second line down and should start with: "R01". Also, software version should be the fifth or sixth line down and start with "L6". I just need the first four characters.

While the software correction on our end may take some time, there is a workaround for the meantime. Disabling inactivity standby should eliminate the inability to record during the day. Bring up the main menu again. Press option 8 for preferences and then option 8 again for Inactivity Standby. Disable in the first selection then select Done. That should allow the receiver box to stay on and allow you to record programs throughout the day. The 3AM shutdown will still occur and you will still need to power the receiver on each morning. However, it will stay on throughout the day after turning it on.

Hope this helps.

So if it's a software issue, why aren't we hearing about it more often?

 

[DNS_Tech]

I think they enjoy setting up services calls for known receiver issues so we spend an hour telling the cust we can't help them. Oh and then the whammy, cust calls back and we get a TC.

 

[realthang625]

Here's the info of our current unit:
R01 0789 4580-95
Software L680RMKB-N

Since you say it is a software problem, when will we see a fix? Obviously the last three times we've contacted DISH Network they have indicated it was hardware, hence we're on our third receiver. However, I've always said it is software related since it seemed to occur after the last software update and since all three receivers behave the same way.

Your temporary solution is one we've tried before and I have set up this unit to disable the inactivity standby as well. It does help in the meantime, thanks for the reminder. The problem is that you still need to turn the TV on every day in order for taping to occur due to the nightly guide download and automatic power off of the receiver. Does anyone else go away for more than a day at a time and have scheduled shows they expect to record in their absence? I am surprised that there are not more users complaining of the same issues.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I don't have this problem at all on my 722k and I have shows recording from morning , noon and night. This is not the way a 722k is supposed to act. But I am in single mode and do not use dual mode very often. This might be a way around your problem also. Leave it in single mode unless you need dual mode for some reason. Then switch back to single mode once you are through . My parents have my older 722k on their account in dual mode and they don't have problems with their tv 2 not turning on, etc. I wonder if your remote control is not set properly for tv2? Maybe you can adjust it for another address? I know when you first get the 722k they give you directions on how to sync the remote control with the receiver and the tv2 remote also. Maybe you can re-read that section of the guide explaining how to do that and make an address change for the remote control. IF not another receiver may be in order to replace this one.

 

[realthang625]

Our remote for TV2 works fine and we use it regularly. Why would you have a 722k and not be in dual mode? Isn't that the point of this unit?

So, really, what the VIP 922K user gets is not exactly what DishNetwork advertises -- a dual use DVR which you can watch any recorded show from two TVs and watch different channels on each TV.

The features and specifications of the DuoDVR VIP 722K per their web site state:
"Independently watch TV in two rooms, or watch one show recording another in one room."
"Watch a pre-recorded show while recording two separate shows at the same time."

We still have the issue that if you happen to be viewing a pre-recorded show at the same time that a timer attempts to begin recording, the whole unit freezes and has to go through the restarting/acquiring signal process.

After every 3:00 AM guide download, the receiver shuts itself off. Therefore, each morning, when TV2 (in our bedroom) is turned on, the screen is blank. Pressing "Sat" or "Select" is futile. If we do nothing and wait long enough (about 5 minutes), we will see the "Starting Up" DishNetwork screen. However, the unit will NOT start up. It just toggles between a blank screen and the "Starting Up" DishNetwork screen for as long as we are willing to let it.

To avoid all of this fun, we must go to TV1 each morning and turn it on to "awaken" the unit. It aquires the signal (usually about 1 minute) and the unit remains "awake" until the next 3:00 AM guide update. TV2 is also good to go at this point.

Because of this flaw, if we happen to go away for a day or two, NO timers will record once the next guide update takes place. Remember...The only way to "awaken" the unit after a guide update is to turn it on using TV1.

Does anyone who owns a VIP922K actually use it in dual mode and/or record shows with it? Does anyone else find that the unit turns itself off after a guide update?

 

[JEFFinINDY]

If you take it out of dual mode, then you can use picture-in-picture, as well as have dual live buffers - one on each tuner - and switch back and forth between them using the Swap button (great, for example, when watching two football games at the same time on different channels).

 

[Charise]

It has been recommended that after software updates, one should unplug the receiver, wait about 10 minutes (the time varies in what I have read from 3-20 minutes), plug the receiver in again and go through the acquiring signal screens (cold boot sequence). It works better than a warm boot (holding in the power button on the receiver for about 10 seconds until the receiver restarts) if you are experiencing problems. A cold boot is the first thing I try if I'm having any problems with my receiver, which happens maybe twice a year.

What you are experiencing is not normal. I have a 722, not a 722k, and a 622. The 622 is set to dual mode, and I don't have any of the problems you are having. I know it's not the same receiver, but the dual mode option should be working the same. I do have the inactivity standby selected on both my receivers, and I haven't experienced any problems there either. I go to bed with the 622 "on" every night, so it comes into play each night.

Good luck! I hope you find the problem, because my receivers are extremely low maintenance, and I wouldn't be without a DVR any more.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Mike, you might want to ask people to PM you the R/S numbers.