I wish E* would keep hands off the 721

[ken]

I should say "I wish the programmers would keep hands off" the 721. They did it again with the new software upgrade. I was just getting use to the mess they caused a while back with the the old software now I have to go thru all the new bugs again. The worst of them is when I am making a DVD copy from the 721 warnings are now popping up asking what screen to use because two timers are kicking in. In the good ole days that was always hidden and nothing would ever pop up when playing back from the DVR recording. This is ruining my new DVD copy's and it's ticking me off.

 

[Bill R]

They have also screwed up something that is causing my 721 to turn itself on. At first I thought it may be someone else in the neighborhood that got a new receiver but I have changed the remote address (twice) and it is still coming on by itself.

 

[iKramerica]

Yep, warnings are now popping up on top of DVR playback rather than behind it. Noticed this after hard reboot. Usually I could watch a DVR program until it got all the signal and guide data back, but now I can still watch something, as long as I don't mind the "getting information from satellite" screen overlayed over it.

grrrr.....

 

[iKramerica]

On the plus side, they finally seem to have fixed the 4x forward speed to be more fluid and not choppy. They screwed that up over a year ago and never fixed it. Used to tape and watch basketball games at 4x, but the bug made that impossible.

 

[Jordan420]

They have also screwed up something that is causing my 721 to turn itself on. At first I thought it may be someone else in the neighborhood that got a new receiver but I have changed the remote address (twice) and it is still coming on by itself.

I am also having this problem, as well as the others mentioned

 

[jrbdmb]

Oh, and even though you can view the Mosiac channels, you still cannot switch to any of them without locking up the receiver.

 

[DishSubLA]

The real solution would be for Dish to offer to replace all 721's with 625's. Of course, that is a fantasy.

 

[navychop]

No, you're just ahead of your time. At some point over the next 3 years, I expect E* will make some sort of offers to get rid of the old non 8PSK models like the 721, and all the non MPEG-4 models. The replacements would be 8PSK and MPEG-4 capable, of course, so that knocks out the 625. The 625 will probably not be offered new much longer anyway.

But a 721 owner might be offered $100 bucks off a ViP622 or similar. Considering depreciation and the gain of additional features, that wouldn't be a bad deal. Everybody wins.

 

[SRW1000]

Considering depreciation and the gain of additional features, that wouldn't be a bad deal. Everybody wins.

That partially depends on whether or not the sock on a DVR fee. I wouldn't be happy if they did, but I can't imagine them not adding it, just because they can.

Scott

 

[ken]

That partially depends on whether or not they sock on a DVR fee. I wouldn't be happy if they did, but I can't imagine them not adding it, just because they can.

Scott

They will have to pry it (721) from my cold dead hands if they plan on adding the DVR fee

 

[iKramerica]

At least on my 721, they also took away the cool interesting screen saver application and put in this lame "press select to continue" thing.

A: why must we now press select to continue? Why can't we press any key like before?
B: why take away the trees, snakes, etc. when they are already programmed and work fine? Was it a memory thing where they needed more space for other things?

GOOD THING: they added a warning when you press stop during a live recording. It warns you that the recording will be stopped and asks if you want to do that. before, it would just stop it and display "LIVE" in the corner.

I agree about the cold dead hands thing. I love my 721, so much that when it broke, I made sure they gave me another one rather than upgrading to a new receiver or new package. They gave me a new (refurbed) one for $20 plus shipping so obviously they don't value them highly anymore. Oh well, I'll take more if they can find a way to link them.

Anyone know if the USB storage was enabled? I might give it a try...

 

[iKramerica]

DON'T ACCIDENTALLY HIT DISH HOME BUTTON:

Now, it's gone from being crappy to being broken. I got locked into this screen and had to hard reboot the system to get out of it. Missed 10 minutes of what I was watching.

I wish they'd get rid of this stupid service. The multi-screen thing is too hard for a 721 to display with it's 6 year old technology, and shoehorning it in only leads to disaster.

 

[jrbdmb]

DON'T ACCIDENTALLY HIT DISH HOME BUTTON:

Now, it's gone from being crappy to being broken. I got locked into this screen and had to hard reboot the system to get out of it. Missed 10 minutes of what I was watching.

I wish they'd get rid of this stupid service. The multi-screen thing is too hard for a 721 to display with it's 6 year old technology, and shoehorning it in only leads to disaster.

As you found, trying to select one of the Mosaic channels locks the receiver. Workaround: hit Dish Home button again, Dish Home and Mosaic will load, then press Cancel or View to get out of Dish Home. And Stay Out!! (until Dish fixes the darn thing)

 

[navychop]

A: why must we now press select to continue? Why can't we press any key like before?
B: why take away the trees, snakes, etc. when they are already programmed and work fine? Was it a memory thing where they needed more space for other things?
My guess is, they want a more consistent user interface across product lines.


Anyone know if the USB storage was enabled?
No. It is not planned to ever be enabled on the 721. The 721 has USB 1.1 and you really need USB 2.0 to get good speed.

Yes, don't push Dish Home and select a channel. Same as before the new s/w.

 

[iKramerica]

Dish home didn't require a hard reboot last s/w for me. Now it does.

I wish I could disable that button as I never even think of using it, but sometimes the cat steps on the remote or I sit on it, and it's the tallest button...

 

[iKramerica]

A: why must we now press select to continue? Why can't we press any key like before?
B: why take away the trees, snakes, etc. when they are already programmed and work fine? Was it a memory thing where they needed more space for other things?
My guess is, they want a more consistent user interface across product lines.

Since I only have one receiver, how would I know it was inconsistent? I just like the trees!

 

[ken]

This time I did not even bother to call DISH, since I know I'll just get the same run-a-round. It's too bad that some of us customers have come to the point of just giving up. I am glad I sold all of my DISH stock yesterday before it tanked. Still lost a bundle of money (bought it at 50+) but at least now I don't feel I have to ROOT ROOT ROOT for the home team.

 

[kvhollis]

They have also screwed up something that is causing my 721 to turn itself on. At first I thought it may be someone else in the neighborhood that got a new receiver but I have changed the remote address (twice) and it is still coming on by itself.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one having that problem. I've been blaming the Mrs. a couple of times for leaving the one in our bedroom on.


I was thinking the same thing. Someone again had the same remote address (would have been twice now) in the neighborhood. Last time I ended up paying for a pay for view.

 

[kvhollis]

The real solution would be for Dish to offer to replace all 721's with 625's. Of course, that is a fantasy.

If that was the case - then no DVR fee!

 

[David]

721 turns itself on

I'm glad I read that others were having the same problem of the unit turning itself on. I was blaming the wife and kids for not turning it off. After a couple of days of this I realized that it was doing it by itself. I own two and have to go around the house looking to see if the green light is on. Anyone recognize a pattern as to when/why it does this?