Do you have questions on the 921?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Do you have questions about the upcoming 921 receiver?

As you know the tech chat is coming up where Dave and Mark can answer some of your questions, however next week I may be able to get many of your questions about the 921 answered as well.

So if you have a question about the 921, this is THE place to post it.

 

[Ray S]

Scott, are you getting a 921 to check out? You notice I didn't say beta test. I don't want to get caught up in the bureaucracy of what you can say and can't.

 

[Guest]

Scott,


Will the 921 be able to show the digital channels ota on to an analog tv? I read the ota boxes you can buy for hdtv locals can do this at Best Buy .( samsung) Will the digital channels look as good as satellite , if not better on an analog tv ? Will the 921 have two ota tuners like the new HdTivo?

Reason why I ask is I don't plan on getting an HDTV for at least 5 years more. I just bought a analog big screen tv last year because the hdtv big screen did an awful job on Dish Satellite picture on Sd tv. This would be a useful feature for the local ota channels when they stop the analog signal. That way I could still get them on my analog tv. Shouldn't be much difference between the satellite and the ota digital channels , except they might look better with no compression.

Thanks,
Mike D-CO5

 

[rad]

What is the initial availability of the unit going to be? If the initial availabilty will be limited how soon does Dish expect to be able to go to a normal distribution?

When will the Dishwire ports be enabled to output to a D-VHS deck such as the JVC HM-DH30000?

My understanding is that the Dishwire ports won't be able to output the HD signal to monitors that have firewire connectors. Is this forever or will Dish enable this at a future date and do you have an estimate?

Will there be any way to expand the capacity for storage, mainly via the USB connectors?

Since the SmartCard is built in how in the world will we be able to fix our receivers since the customer service reps always have us remove the smartcard and reinsert it for any problem we call in on???

 

[DVDDAD]

Will the guide show any program info for the digital OTA channels or will the guide just show "Local Digital" as it does now on the 6000? If the guide info is to be shown, how will this be accomplished if the stations are not broadcasting the info?

 

[Lee L]

Does it work?

 

[Ken_F]

1. What are the issues behind the holdup in D-VHS support? Are these technical AV/C issues, or do they have something to do with Hollywood?

2. Can Dish guarantee that D-VHS support will be enabled at some point for JVC D-VHS products?

3. What is the ETA or expected timeframe on D-VHS support? Within three months of release? Within six months? Or longer?

4. Will both the JVC HM-DH30000 and new JVC HM-DH40000 be supported?

5. How does the OTA reception / technology in the 921 compare to that in the 6000? Comparable? Somewhat improved? Much improved?

6. Will OTA channels and subchannels appear directly in the guide, or will each channel have its own separate submenu as on the 6000?

7. When can we expect to see programming information for major OTA local networks in the guide? By end of year? Within three months of release? Within six months? Without this programming information, PVR scheduling and recording will be troublesome / less intuitive for OTA content.

8. Will the 921 feature discrete IR codes for those with programmable remotes? And is there a possibility we might get a discrete IR code to switch between 1080i and 720p at some point, for those with televisions capable of accepting both signals natively?

9. The 6000 does not currently provide any format/aspect details on OTA channels in the guide or in program information. Might future 921 software differentiate between HD(1080i/720p) and SD(480p/480i) OTA local subchannels in the guide or program information?

10. Will the 921 feature a triple timer conflict resolution screen, as seen in the latest versions of the 721 software?

11. When can we expect to see some other features, namely a 16:9 guide, that have now become standard on competing products? Within three months of release? Six months of release? Longer?

12. Is there any possibility that the 921's PIP functionality might be expanded to support split-screen 4:3 SD viewing for those with 16:9 HDTV televisions?

13. Are there any other features in the works for future updates that you can mention?

14. Will the 921 function with one satellite connection, albeit with limited functionality? Or are two connections required for operation?

15. The 921 ships with a large 250Gb drive for almost limitless SD recording, but the 25 hours for HDTV recording is still well below the capacity customers have grown accustomed to for SDTV. Does Echostar plan to offer an "authorized (AV/C)" external Firewire drive at some point with recordings encrypted or tied to the original unit, or are there other plans to allow customers to increase or expand storage with select models of the 300 to 400Gb drives coming next year?

 

[Big D]

I know the 921 can record two sat inputs at the same time, can it also record the 3rd OTA input at the same time as the 2 sat inputs?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Thanks for the questions submitted so far!

I am looking for more questions dealing with the operation of the unit.

So bring them on.

 

[Guest]

Is they implement LBA48 addressing for support big disks ?

 

[kt]

1. Will the sensitivity of the 8VSB tuner on the 921 be better than that of the 6000?

2. Are there plans to offer discrete remote codes to choose between the various aspect ratios? eg: *1 = normal, *2 = stretch, *3 = partial zoom, etc. Probably pressing * could bring up the menu of choices on the screen.

3. I second the idea for having source/format details in the program information. This information could be placed in the banner that appears when "cancel" is pressed on the remote. I would like to see the source format - 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and the sound info - PCM, DD2.0 or DD5.1.

 

[les017]

...15. The 921 ships with a large 250Gb drive for almost limitless SD recording, but the 25 hours for HDTV recording is still well below the capacity customers have grown accustomed to for SDTV. Does Echostar plan to offer an "authorized (AV/C)" external Firewire drive at some point with recordings encrypted or tied to the original unit, or are there other plans to allow customers to increase or expand storage with select models of the 300 to 400Gb drives coming next year?

what Ken said...but also, what happened to discussion of a second drive bay? THAT particular tid bit seems to somehow NOT get discussed anymore.

 

[Charles Lapple]

I asked this question of Dish tech support and no answer, as yet. Could the 921 be used, temporally, as a single tuner DVR?

I have a 6000 and a 5000 receiver. I understand the 5000 will not work with Super Dish. So I want super dish and a 921, with the 6000 as my second receiver; BUT! Because of the location of my dishes, it will be difficult to run a second cable, for the 921, and the new switch, allowing one cabe to the 921 will not be available until next year.

So could I use one cable to the 921, until the new switch is available?

Red

 

[Maddogg]

1. Will the program guide for the 921 include the current program video (i.e. the 501-508) or will it be full screen with no video?

2. Will the program guide be in 4:3 or 16:9

3. How will the OTA (HD and digital) channels appear on the guide? Will they be listed as a sub-menu or on the main guide as a separate channel. Will programming details for the OTA channels be present?

4. Will there be a 921 + superdish combo offer?

5. What is the exact day we can call DISH and place an order for the 921?

6. Will there ever be a storage upgrade offered (either internal/external hard drive addition/upgrade or DVD recorder) ?

 

[BobMurdoch]

Will there be any national outlets that will stock the receivers at launch (ie. Sears or Radio Shack?)

 

[rad]

Will Dish supply, or make available, a AVI to RGB adapter for us folks are have our 6K connected via the RGB port vs. component? Either include this in the box or make it an option that you can order with the 921.

 

[sjhart]

New to this forum, lots of good info here!

I was wondering how PIP works on the 921. The same as the 721? Does all of this work in HDTV mode? For example, if I'm watching a HD channel, can I PIP in another HD channel?

 

[Ken_F]

I was wondering how PIP works on the 921. The same as the 721? Does all of this work in HDTV mode? For example, if I'm watching a HD channel, can I PIP in another HD channel?

In his earlier 921 Q&A, Scott confirmed that PIP would only function on/with the standard channels.

 

[sjhart]

In his earlier 921 Q&A, Scott confirmed that PIP would only function on/with the standard channels.

How about standard channels that you are up converting to HD? On my 6000 I currently only output component regardless if the signal is HD or not). So, if I'm watching a SD channel (output via component) and want to PIP, will this work? Why can't they make it work for HD?

 

[Ken_F]

So, if I'm watching a SD channel (output via component) and want to PIP, will this work?

Yes, when watching an upconverted SD channel through component or DVI, you can display another SD channel in a PIP window. But based on current information, you won't be able to display a SD PIP window on a HD channel, nor will you be able to display a HD PIP window on a SD channel.

Apparently, this is a limitation of the Broadcom chipset used in the 921. It looks like it can decode and display two SD channels simultaneously, but only one HD channel at a time.

It might be a nice if they could expand PIP functionality to support the display of two standard channels side-by-side on a 16:9 television (with audio for one), but I wouldn't hold my breath for this capability.