Tech Chat Recap, Screen Caps & Sound bytes

[Jimmy J]

Wasn't the 211 listed as $49 upgrade last month ?
They doubled the price to upgrade ?

Now I really am Grumpy....

Walt

Just checked the website. Under the DishN'itUp promo you can still get a 211 for $49.

 

[thiggin2]

So let me get this straight. You guys using the 622 can't use the HDMI ports??? Is this also the case with 211??

I use the HDMI on my 622, I haven't had any problems yet except for the audio output only being 2 channel.

 

[Jolard]

The HDMI works fine for me. It is just that the link is weak, so it can break far more easily than it should. While there are a lot of people with problems, it is not most, so I wouldn't let that keep you from getting one.

 

[general487]

after going through 2 211's with bad hdmi ports, my 622 has worked fine (I NEVER touch the cable anymore!)

 

[HDTVFanAtic]

Honestly, it was a very good tech forum. They answered a ton of emails and phone calls.

You clearly saw a different tech chat than everyone else in North America.

THey only answered one phone call as one guy got through and yelled at them for promising these new features in December and now they are promising the same features by March.

After that they didn't take anymore calls, the rest were emails.

That's what I saw as well.

 

[foghorn2]

Just checked the website. Under the DishN'itUp promo you can still get a 211 for $49.

After $100 upfront cost then a 50 credit/rebate. I snuck one in right before feb

 

[Marzen]

Since they took the time to explain 1080p/24, is there any chance they'll be using this format? I'm still waiting for some BD movies that have this feature, but I'm not holding my breath...

Also, what's this about a 'hardware' issue with HDMI supporting 2 ch only? The 622 can't output LPCM over HDMI? Were only months away from v1.3 receivers hitting the streets with support for for the new HD audio formats. I can still use optical and HDMI for 5.1 can't I? (so much for a single cable solution...)
-Ward

 

[Rukes]

It was mentioned once in this thread, but I don't see any comment from Dish on native resolution pass-through. I'm willing to be patient about it, but it had better not go the way of other announced upcoming enhancements.

I'm assuming when they said "before the end of summer 2006" they hit the 6 key instead of 7 or 8

They just want those of us with CRT HD-TV's to have to suffer through manually changing the output resolution a bit longer.

 

[dfergie]

Starting to Add soundbytes to the first post (working 12 hour shifts hard to add and it was snowing bigtime on the way in)

 

[dfergie]

Probably overkill, but good Questions and software info... enjoy

 

[dfergie]

Always nice to have screen shots. The EKB summary is up at http://ekb.dbstalk.com/Tech0702.htm .

Thanks! always nice to have other take's /versions... (I was stuck at work and didn't get home till the chat was over, so was behind the curve )

 

[John Kotches]

Since they took the time to explain 1080p/24, is there any chance they'll be using this format? I'm still waiting for some BD movies that have this feature, but I'm not holding my breath...

Almost every BD movie that has been released has been 1080p24 on the disc. What are you waiting for, a player that can output 1080p24 or a display that can handle 1080p24?

Also, what's this about a 'hardware' issue with HDMI supporting 2 ch only? The 622 can't output LPCM over HDMI?

LPCM (Linear Pulse Code Modulation for those that were wondering) is two-channel only on the HDMI Equipped receivers. To output > two-channels of LPCM would require internal DD decoders which the HDMI Equipped receivers lack.

Apparently they haven't written the software for proper passthrough of DD bitstreams. I say apparently because you certainly can't get the bitstream out of the receiver via HDMI. So we struggle with using both an HDMI cable and a TOSLink cable where a single cable should do the job.

Were only months away from v1.3 receivers hitting the streets with support for for the new HD audio formats. I can still use optical and HDMI for 5.1 can't I? (so much for a single cable solution...)

HDMI 1.3 is totally irrelevant in this case as there's nothing that's being broadcast via Satellite that requires HDMI 1.3.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

They finally admitted what we have known for months, that the design of the 211/622 HDMI connector is severely flawed and many will break under normal usage?

About time. I said months ago that they would eventually have to make this admission.

As to how often do they break? We don't have enough data to be certain, but I conducted two polls of 211/622 users who were using their HDMI connectors, and the data gathered from them suggested that approximately 60% of these connectors would break in less than 1 year, unless you took steps to relieve the pressure placed upon the connector by the HDMI cable.

 

[dfergie]

This tech forum caught alot of attention and provided alot more info than many of the previous chats have, just my opinion... but it would be nice if all of these dishnetwork chats did this Bobabird and Mark Lamatt did bang up jobs on their recaps Imho read all of the recaps at the various sites as some of us might miss something that the other one caught...

 

[BobMurdoch]

A few of us have had our HDMI outs go dead. It has happened to me twice..... Unit never is moved, yet somehow the output gets damaged.... Switching to the components solves the problem, but I'd rather use the DVI input on my TV instead since it is clear... Wound up hooking my son's Wii with composite inputs instead of the HD ones his gamecube had used to make room...

pleasant surprise to hear the tech guys fess up (and blame the standards guys for designing a weak connection). Still curious to see if the CSRs have gotten the memo though....

Actually, it isn't bad if you have the extended warranty, you get a fresh unit with a new hard drive and any other improvements as often as you want....

 

[dfergie]

Don't know how I missed it, but added 211 upgrade screencap...

 

[ohio_caps]

Thanks for the updates. Any idea when the 622 and 211 promos go into effect?

 

[ohio_caps]

So for these promos do we OWN the equipment or are we paying for the privlage to lease. I can't figure it out.

 

[cybertrip]

You will never own equipment if you are dealing with Dish directly.

 

[dfergie]

Those promos are lease, check with the dishstore click here on 211 or 621 (one of our Gold sponsors) if you want to own...