Is there a proper way to power down a 522?

[kvhollis]

My brother-in-law just got a 522. I remember from earlier posts about making sure to power down to minimize wear and tear on the disks. I have a 721 and have no problem powering it down. However, I have never seen/used a 522. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Dishpointer]

My brother-in-law just got a 522. I remember from earlier posts about making sure to power down to minimize wear and tear on the disks. I have a 721 and have no problem powering it down. However, I have never seen/used a 522. Any help would be appreciated.

The old fassion way works the best. Just use the RED power button on the remote to turn it on/off. The 522 does have a standby function where the unit will automatically go into standby mode if it isn't being used. The standard was 4 hours but with the new software version it will give you a few more options.

 

[kvhollis]

Does the power button kill TV1 & TV2? Or, just the one you are watching?

 

[SimpleSimon]

Does the power button kill TV1 & TV2? Or, just the one you are watching?

[sarcasm]Both. That way you can annoy the user of the other TV at will.[/sarcasm]

 

[Mark_AR]

The red power button on each remote just kills the TV tuner you are controlling (unless in single mode).

The SILVER POWER button on the front of the 522 kills BOTH as Simon sez...

(off topic) Doing a check switch will annoy the other TV watchers too.

 

[genglish]

And of course neither button will actually turn off the hard drive -- it just continues to spin and spin and generate all that noise and heat, no matter what you try to do. I was hoping that this new "standby" feature would actually spin down the hard drive, but nooooo.

I keep my 522 in my master bedroom, and really hate the annoying hum when I turn it off and try to get to sleep. If I'm standing in the right place in my living room, just below this bedroom, I can even hear the hum! Maybe I just have sensitive ears . The previous DVR (made by Scientific Atlanta) I had with my cable company actually spun down the hard drive a couple of minutes after I turned it off (assuming a recording was not in progress of course).

Why is this feature not implemented? Maybe the life of the drive is extended with fewer spin up/down cycles, but that would have to be weighed against the extra heat generated all the time the drive is spinning. My room temperature is typically about 75-76 degrees F, and even when the unit is turned "off", the fan occasionally comes on for a cool-down cycle.

Gary