How to keep track of movies and TV shows?

[Eagle20]

I apologize in advance because I am unsure if this should be in the Dish forum or not. But thought this might be a better place since I am looking for a website to help me with this issue.

The past week was a complete nightmare dealing with Dish but I finally got my receivers upgraded to a Hopper 3 and Joey 3. Unfortunately, all the timers to record our shows were lost, and I came up with less than half the shows we had timers for So I am trying to think of a way to keep track of all our movies and TV shows.

I came across the website EpisodeCalendar and so far it seems to be exactly what I need! When I searched for a TV show, the info has airing day/time, network, whether or not it is still running, and displays saved shows on a calendar. Then the 20th TV show I saved, it cut me off and said I had to upgrade. There is an option to make a one-time payment of $34 and that seems fair. However, I am on a very tight fixed income and extras like this really are not an option. I almost broke Google trying to find a free website with the same features but all I am getting in the results are mobile apps.

Can anyone recommend a free website that has at least some of the features of the one above?

Also, we rent and/or stream a lot of movies via Dish, Amazon Prime, Netflix, RedBox and our local video store. So any added features that involve syncing those would be awesome too!

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies!!

 

[harshness]

You've told us how you tried to do it, but specifically what is it that you are hoping to end up with?

 

[TheKrell]

I think she's trying to find a calendar that has not only TV shows/schedules but also allows her to save her favorites. Kind of like DishAnywhere having a timer save and restore function to obviate the need for some 3rd party solution or timer storage in the remote (which I always found to be a lame solution).

 

[Eagle20]

You've told us how you tried to do it, but specifically what is it that you are hoping to end up with?

At the very least, I am hoping to end up with something to reference that has all our shows, with their airing day/time and network. Then in the event we lose our timers again, I have it to reference to setup new timers without having to do it from memory and using the search.

I think she's trying to find a calendar that has not only TV shows/schedules but also allows her to save her favorites. Kind of like DishAnywhere having a timer save and restore function to obviate the need for some 3rd party solution or timer storage in the remote (which I always found to be a lame solution).

A timer save and restore function is exactly what is needed! I just said that the other day, it is the only piece of tech in my home that I cannot create a backup for. But if Dish did offer it, I am sure they would charge a monthly fee for it LOL!

What I need an easy way to keep track of our shows that has show info (eg; air day/time, network, etc) so I have something to reference in the event that our timers are lost again. The website I mentioned was perfect because it included all the info for each show, plus if it was still running or not. It just so happened to be based around a calendar, which is nice too, but not really necessary.

All I know is I do not want to have to setup new timers again from memory, or setup timers from searches since that records the show on every network it airs on and setting to new only does not help much. I could spend hours, or more likely days to compile a typed list myself, but that would mean tracking down all the information and remembering to update it which I know I will not remember to do

 

[osu1991]

I know some people use PogDesign for a tv calendar.

TV Calendar - September 2019 Prime Time TV Schedule & TV Episode Calendar: Track your favourite TV shows


I thought one could save timers to the dish remotes and then restore them to the replacement receivers from there. I’m out of touch on the dish features anymore, so maybe that is no longer a feature.

 

[charlesrshell]

I apologize in advance because I am unsure if this should be in the Dish forum or not. But thought this might be a better place since I am looking for a website to help me with this issue.

The past week was a complete nightmare dealing with Dish but I finally got my receivers upgraded to a Hopper 3 and Joey 3. Unfortunately, all the timers to record our shows were lost, and I came up with less than half the shows we had timers for So I am trying to think of a way to keep track of all our movies and TV shows.

I came across the website EpisodeCalendar and so far it seems to be exactly what I need! When I searched for a TV show, the info has airing day/time, network, whether or not it is still running, and displays saved shows on a calendar. Then the 20th TV show I saved, it cut me off and said I had to upgrade. There is an option to make a one-time payment of $34 and that seems fair. However, I am on a very tight fixed income and extras like this really are not an option. I almost broke Google trying to find a free website with the same features but all I am getting in the results are mobile apps.

Can anyone recommend a free website that has at least some of the features of the one above?

Also, we rent and/or stream a lot of movies via Dish, Amazon Prime, Netflix, RedBox and our local video store. So any added features that involve syncing those would be awesome too!

Thank you in advance to anyone who replies!!

I understand your concerns. Back in the days when I was with Charter Cable I maintained a timer spreadsheet with all the data for when I had to reload timers in a DVR. Charter had crabby DVRs and I was constantly having to replace them. Nowadays the Hopper system remote controls does a pretty good job storing all the timers in case needed for a Hopper replacement. So maybe trust them and see how goes it. The remote control automatically updates itself occasionally or you can do a manual update after you do any timer changes. Go to your Diagnostics menu (50 series remote press Home button 3 times, 40.0 remote press Menu button 2 times), select Tools then Backup Settings. Follow the on screen instructions to back up your settings.

 

[TheKrell]

Good point Charles. Eagle20, you no longer have to worry about losing your timers because they are automatically stored in the H3 remote. I have been arguing for this info being stored on DishAnywhere for many years. Dish never implemented that, but at least they came up with an alternative.

Charles, I have an H3 and 2 J3's, all with the 54.0 remote. Do timers automatically get stored to all 3 remotes?

 

[charlesrshell]

Good point Charles. Eagle20, you no longer have to worry about losing your timers because they are automatically stored in the H3 remote. I have been arguing for this info being stored on DishAnywhere for many years. Dish never implemented that, but at least they came up with an alternative.

Charles, I have an H3 and 2 J3's, all with the 54.0 remote. Do timers automatically get stored to all 3 remotes?

TheKrell, I don't know. Back in 2013 I ran a test of all my 40.0 remotes automatically backing up. I had four HWSs and one Joey. See attached. All the remotes pretty much backed up automatically about once a week. But I don't know exactly what is stored up in the Joey remote.

 

[harshness]

A timer save and restore function is exactly what is needed! I just said that the other day, it is the only piece of tech in my home that I cannot create a backup for. But if Dish did offer it, I am sure they would charge a monthly fee for it LOL!

Here's a link that shows how to restore the settings from the remote as TheKrell spoke to:

How to Restore Settings on a Hopper | MyDISH | DISH Customer Support

The corresponding backup button appears in the same menu.

If you're worried about clicking web links, hit the home button three times, select "Tools" and "Backup Settings".

There is no additional fee for this Hopper feature.

This doesn't answer the question of changing to another provider and in that case, I'd probably used a sheet of paper and a pencil to record my timers just prior to the transition. As often as moving to a new platform happens, I don't imagine this should be a great hardship.

 

[harshness]

But I don't know exactly what is stored up in the Joey remote.

It is supposed to store the DVR settings as well as the timers. It also sends the remote settings to the DVR so that if you change remotes you can restore the remote.

 

[TheKrell]

Back in 2013 I ran a test of all my 40.0 remotes automatically backing up. I had four HWSs and one Joey. See attached.

Cool. I am not that organized. I might do a quick check now and then, but otherwise there's a whole lot of tech I just trust to work right.

 

[charlesrshell]

It is supposed to store the DVR settings as well as the timers. It also sends the remote settings to the DVR so that if you change remotes you can restore the remote.

Yep, and it has worked good for me in the past. However, if you have multiple Hoppers I am not sure how fast the Joey remote does the auto thing if you link the Joey to another Hopper.

 

[osu1991]

This doesn't answer the question of changing to another provider and in that case, I'd probably used a sheet of paper and a pencil to record my timers just prior to the transition. As often as moving to a new platform happens, I don't imagine this should be a great hardship.

That is what my sister did, when they recently switched to using YoutubeTV, when their fiber service was upgraded to 250/250. She wrote everything down that was in the Hopper timers list, before deactivating it.

 

[Eagle20]

Only thing I know is I have been with Dish over four years, my DVR has never had anything back-up, and Dish said it "might" occasionally backup. I was told how to back-up timers to the remote, but it did not work because when accessed the timer list was somehow empty.

Regardless, at the very least I need a way to track our shows myself because I do not trust anything they say. Not after the lies and ordeal they put me through last week because I wanted my crap equipment replaced. But apparently I cannot have the equipment I rent replaced and have to "upgrade" it instead. So now I am stuck with them another two years

 

[charlesrshell]

Only thing I know is I have been with Dish over four years, my DVR has never had anything back-up, and Dish said it "might" occasionally backup. I was told how to back-up timers to the remote, but it did not work because when accessed the timer list was somehow empty.

Regardless, at the very least I need a way to track our shows myself because I do not trust anything they say. Not after the lies and ordeal they put me through last week because I wanted my crap equipment replaced. But apparently I cannot have the equipment I rent replaced and have to "upgrade" it instead. So now I am stuck with them another two years

Sorry for your loss. Keep up with your timers on a spreadsheet. Keep two or three remotes paired to your Hopper for a backup.

 

[primestar31]

I used to keep mine from a VIP622 that lost several harddrives over the years, and a 722k that lost a drive just written out on a yellow legal pad, PLUS saved in the remote.

That way I was covered either way, when the drives went south.

For that matter, you could always bring the Timer screen up on your tv set, and take a photo with your mobile phone...

 

[Eagle20]

I came across next-episode.net and it has all the same features as the one I mentioned but is free to use. They offer a Premium subscription but it is not necessary unless you want to add custom tags to your shows/movies or receive emails about them. It is nothing fancy, but anyone looking to keep track of their shows should check it out!

As I entered the 65 or so shows I came up with, the list more than doubled between the websites recommendations and my browsing. So I think I have a complete list of all the timers we lost. The only thing I do not like is every movie and show is added into one list. But I can live with that since it beats having to track down the airing day, time, network etc for 100+ shows.

 

[harshness]

Only thing I know is I have been with Dish over four years, my DVR has never had anything back-up, and Dish said it "might" occasionally backup. I was told how to back-up timers to the remote, but it did not work because when accessed the timer list was somehow empty.

My HWS backs itself up. The remote must be placed such that it and the Hopper can see each other. A manual backup just before transition should insure that you don't miss any recent timers.

If the new receiver backs itself up before you've restored whats stored in the remote, you will probably lose everything.

Regardless, at the very least I need a way to track our shows myself because I do not trust anything they say.

That's where the pencil and paper come in. Using an online service requires that you enter all the timers and then manually reprogram them on the receiver so you're not saving much.