Question on New 721 Feature

[BillH]

The new software for the 721 is suppose to have a new feature that turns it off after 4 hours of no activity on the control.

My question is what happens if you have a 6 hour program set to record and you are not there to punch the remote to keep it from shutting down?

Hopefully the shutdown feature will not work on timer events.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No your timers will work as normal.

Nice feature, can help save a lot of life on the hard drives.

 

[Bill R]

Nice feature, can help save a lot of life on the hard drives.

I agree now that I know that it just spins down the drive NOT turn it off like it does (or did) on the DishPlayer.

 

[Guest]

Well the added feature of this inactivity mode or standby mode, is that the receiver will update the guide without fail.

I know that my parents were bad about not turning off the receiver at night and then they would complain that the receiver would flash a message for them to update the guide. This would of course take anywhere from 3 to 4 minutes and they would get pissed that they had to wait. No more problems now that the new software has updated. In fact they no longer even turn it off, they just hit select in the morning to get the receiver and the hard drive to spin up . 8)

 

[Stargazer]

So it would be just like putting your computer to sleep, only you would be putting your DVR to sleep.

 

[Guest]

Pretty much like my stand alone Tivo. It has a stand by mode as well but no power off button. Either way it save the wear and tear on your hard drive.

 

[dbronstein]

No more problems now that the new software has updated.

How'd they get the update already?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

This function was sent out recently to the 50x series of boxes.

On a 721 you never need to worry about the guide updating as it uses the second tuner to grab guide data when the second tuner is in use.

 

[Guest]

Sorry ,I should have said my parents had a 508 receiver.

 

[AppliedAggression]

Bill R, the hard drive does not turn off with the inactivity feature. It simply spins down, much like a computer hard drive in standby or idle mode.


I'm a strong believer that turning on the hard drive 2-3 times a day is a lot better than letting it write continuously for 24 hours a day.

 

[Bill R]

Bill R, the hard drive does not turn off with the inactivity feature. It simply spins down, much like a computer hard drive in standby or idle mode.

I have noticed that. I thought that the feature would turn the drive off the way it does (or did) on the DishPlayer.

I agree that is better to spin the drive down rather than turn it off.

 

[Stargazer]

I have heard others state that it would be harder on a hard drive to be shut down completely several times than to remain on, so perhaps that is why it is just spun down instead of shut off completely, plus it can be accessed quicker if it is already spinning at a slower speed rather than not spinning at all.

 

[BobMurdoch]

This is good. A lot of people have complained about the noisy units while they sleep.... this should help alleviate the problem when it is not in use....