No delay in switching channels?

[jscud]

Twice in recent weeks I have seen an advertisement bragging that with Dish receivers there is no lag in switching channels. The ad compares Dish to Directv and Digital Cable saying those two have a delay when switching channels while Dish receivers change stations instantly...they say "Snap! You change channels.". What a strange marketing ploy.
Anyway, personally I don't see instant channel switching with my VIP222 or 411. Is this something that happens with the newer Dish receiver models? Or is the ad completely wrong and misleading?

 

[skyviewmark]

The ad is exactly what it is. And Ad. Haven't seen that particular one.. Have see them advertising their guide and menus are faster.. Which is true.. Never take an ad too seriously though.

 

[--sexy-warlock--]

With swap its instant. But normal channel changing it is as slow, or slower as anything I have used.

 

[cditty]

That delay will always be there. Gotta fill the buffer.

 

[Jim S.]

If Dish is really advertising that, something needs to be done about it.

 

[chikagobnd]

If Dish is really advertising that, something needs to be done about it.

Yeah, I recently switched from commercial to residential, and in the process, got new equipment...the 722k zips along great, but my 211k is dreadfully slow. I used to have a 211 and 411 and never had any lag issue, but my 211k is awful.

 

[jdmacor]

Have you guys ever tried a direct tv receiver? My girlfriend's mom has an HR21, and that thing is so freakin laggy. And not just switching channels, but opening the guide takes forever, and the playback buttons have terrible response times.

And when I had Comcast living in Boston, that stupid Motorola box was awfully slow. I would try to page down in the guide, and the receiver would just sit there and think about it for a good 20-30 seconds.

Dish really does have an advantage in this department; the software is just snappier overall. Now, whether this is a major marketing point, or just a pleasant feature is definitely debatable.

 

[ONUOsFan]

Agreed. Having just switched from DirecTV, the response time is definitely better.

I don't know if it's the channel change itself, necessarily, but the response of the box/GUI in general is much better.

 

[Oregon Duck]

No lag in swapping 2 channels

There is no lag in swapping channels on my 722 when in single mode. You are simply switching between 2 of the tuners built into the 722. There is a lag when tuning a channel up or down on a single tuner.

 

[DishSubLA]

I have to say OP, I think I know what you are talking about, but I think you may be mistaken: I have seen the ad at least 5 times where Dish states that the PROGRAM GUIDE EPG is "no lag" while they show cable's and Direc TV's on another TV screen lag when navigating through the EPG. Dish is absolutely correct on this claim. At no time in the commercial does Dish make the claim that channels change faster than any other service.

I think you have confused "channel changing" with "program guide" channel navigation.

 

[CowboyDren]

I've seen ATT U-Verse ads claiming instant channel switching, but not Dish ads.

 

[DishSubLA]

I've seen ATT U-Verse ads claiming instant channel switching, but not Dish ads.

Interesting, I haven't seen that one yet. I'll be on the look out for it.

The 4 recordings at once is what they really scream about, but what they really mean is 4 SD recordings at one time or only 2 HD recordings at one time.

Have you seen the ATT Uverse ads touting the small PIP changing channels as your navigate the EPG. I actually played with this at an AT&T store, and at first, I kind of liked it, but then I found it really annoying because I often prefer to have the channel I'm watching, usually the news or some other info in the picture in guide while I search the EPG.

 

[CowboyDren]

Have you seen the ATT Uverse ads touting the small PIP changing channels as your navigate the EPG. I actually played with this at an AT&T store, and at first, I kind of liked it, but then I found it really annoying because I often prefer to have the channel I'm watching, usually the news or some other info in the picture in guide while I search the EPG.

That does sound annoying. I'm usually surfing the guide while the recording I'm watching is in a plot lull. I pretty much never watch live TV, though, so I'm not sure how often I'd see it.

 

[the mack]

a friend of mine has uverse and what I don't like is that recorded shows and on demand are like half of the full screen size.

 

[CowboyDren]

That would indicate to me that you're watching letterboxed content from an SD feed. Pretty easy to run out of HD channels on U-Verse. They can only pull 2+2, as opposed to 4*HD on FiOS, or [way more than that on] satellite.

 

[BobaBird]

Have you seen the ATT Uverse ads touting the small PIP changing channels as your navigate the EPG. I actually played with this at an AT&T store, and at first, I kind of liked it, but then I found it really annoying because I often prefer to have the channel I'm watching, usually the news or some other info in the picture in guide while I search the EPG.

My Sony OTA DVR has a user configurable option to either stay on the channel or change as you navigate the guide. I chose to stay.

On one of the old Dish receivers you could left-arrow off the EPG time grid to highlight the channel name, then press Select to change the channel. Kind of a best of both worlds.

 

[Jim5506]

Swap on Dish DVR's in single mode is instantaneous because the receiver is buffering both channels and you are just swapping buffers.

EVERY digital channel OTA Dish Direct, Fios whatever will have a lag time because the receiver has to build the index frame to display the picture AFTER you select the channel you want.

If the receiver could buffer EVERY channel for say 2 seconds simultaneously, then it could swap to the channel buffer of the channel you select then begin real time channel buffering and have no delay - EXTREMELY unpractical if not impossible.

 

[DishSubLA]

My Sony OTA DVR has a user configurable option to either stay on the channel or change as you navigate the guide. I chose to stay.

On one of the old Dish receivers you could left-arrow off the EPG time grid to highlight the channel name, then press Select to change the channel. Kind of a best of both worlds.

Yes, I know that feature well. It was the old 721.