VIP722 power consumption and Power On/Off button

[upsss]

I just got a brand new VIP722. It draws the same power, 50W whether the receiver is On or Off. It looks like the HD is constantly spinning in the "OFF" position, WHY (not recording anything)???

So much for power conservation. They want you to buy these stupid Florescent bulbs and here we have a 50W of wasted power 24/7. What is then the purpose of the On/Off button (beside to make you feel good)?

My 42" TV in standby mode draws only 1W and my computer 4W. All power measurements were done with a "Kill A Watt".

 

[Bobby]

I just got a brand new VIP722. It draws the same power, 50W whether the receiver is On or Off. It looks like the HD is constantly spinning in the "OFF" position, WHY (not recording anything)???

So much for power conservation. They want you to buy these stupid Florescent bulbs and here we have a 50W of wasted power 24/7. What is then the purpose of the On/Off button (beside to make you feel good)?

My 42" TV in standby mode draws only 1W and my computer 4W. All power measurements were done with a "Kill A Watt".

Actually it is recording something, it's the buffer of the channel that was last tuned. All DVRs do this. I actually never turn my 722 off. No reason to.

 

[boba]

If you are so conscious of power consumption maybe you should invest in a surge strip for your satellite receiver. They have power switches so you can actually shut off the power to the 722, then it will consume less than your TVs 1 watt.

 

[primestar31]

Kind of hard for a dvr to record shows, if they are turned OFF, don't you think? That sort of defeats the entire purpose of even having a dvr... They aren't VCR's, and this isn't 1985 anymore.

 

[boba]

Kind of hard for a dvr to record shows, if they are turned OFF, don't you think? That sort of defeats the entire purpose of even having a dvr... They aren't VCR's, and this isn't 1985 anymore.

If he wants low consumption the surge strip is easier than pulling the plug. I never promised the DVR would work without power just that it would lower his 50 watt complaint.

 

[upsss]

Using 50W when you are not watching TV or recording is ABSURD. I am an EE and designed many low power computer systems. You don't need to waist a 1000W a day to record an hour of programming. In standby mode all that needs to be running is a clock/timer circuit and the remote control receiver. Everything else should be turned OFF and for that you need less than 2W not 50W!

When its time to record, you turn everything on and when done recording you return to standby mode. You do the same when the Guide or software needs to be updated. I am sorry to say that but this receiver was designed by amateurs.

People are constantly complaining about the cost of programming, they don't tell you that you are spending about $6 a month on wasted electricity. When was the last time you touched the receiver case? Why do you think the receiver is so hot???

 

[primestar31]

Using 50W when you are not watching TV or recording is ABSURD. I am an EE and designed many low power computer systems. You don't need to waist a 1000W a day to record an hour of programming. In standby mode all that needs to be running is a clock/timer circuit and the remote control receiver. Everything else should be turned OFF and for that you need less than 2W not 50W!

When its time to record, you turn everything on and when done recording you return to standby mode. You do the same when the Guide or software needs to be updated. I am sorry to say that but this receiver was designed by amateurs.

People are constantly complaining about the cost of programming, they don't tell you that you are spending about $6 a month on wasted electricity. When was the last time you touched the receiver case? Why do you think the receiver is so hot???

Ok, so you are an EE. Design a DVR that does all that you say, and make a billion dollars. I'm sure if you can do it, everybody would buy it, so there's your market...

 

[hellomann]

Using 50W when you are not watching TV or recording is ABSURD. I am an EE and designed many low power computer systems. You don't need to waist a 1000W a day to record an hour of programming. In standby mode all that needs to be running is a clock/timer circuit and the remote control receiver. Everything else should be turned OFF and for that you need less than 2W not 50W!

When its time to record, you turn everything on and when done recording you return to standby mode. You do the same when the Guide or software needs to be updated. I am sorry to say that but this receiver was designed by amateurs.

People are constantly complaining about the cost of programming, they don't tell you that you are spending about $6 a month on wasted electricity. When was the last time you touched the receiver case? Why do you think the receiver is so hot???

The LNB's need to be powered on all the time. When you turn on the tv, do you want the box to take couple of minutes to acquire the signal. Also, the hard drive will take a minute to spin up.

 

[SaltiDawg]

Using 50W when you are not watching TV or recording is ABSURD. I am an EE and designed many low power computer systems. ...

So I guess you made the design decision to power off the hard drives when you were not actively using them... and then, of course, you decided to power them back up when you again did need them?

Not everyone would accept that premise as being a wise choice... but I guess you would know.

 

[TG2]

Give the 722 time to power down. If you have no power indicators on the front of the unit, then the unit is off, and is either continuing to cool the unit off, or is doing something with the hard drive, once done it should go to a lower power state. Come back and check in on the kill-a-watt over a few hours.. I would be surprised if it runs unneccessarily more than 15 mins. Remember ... if the dish *is* actively recording there should be a light on the front to indicate that.. on the 722k its red and appears next to the Tuner that's doing the job.

The LNB's do not need power 24/7 ... the unit does its auto-reboot and aquires what it needs at that time. The Guide Data is downloaded and updated anytime the unit is on. The "hard off" as in no power, is what causes the machine longer boot-up times, because the box goes into a mild panic that it isn't current and must check those channels and download paths that ID what day/time/date/guide rev, etc... where as normally its soft powered, so it keeps itself fresh in memory, even if it goes out every 30 minutes and checks for any "kill" signals and updates, even then it shouldn't be using as much power as fully on except when it does have to get an update.

 

[Bobby]

I just looked at my electric bill and it tells me that it costs 14¢ a kilowatt. So it costs 14¢ a day to run my DVR. That equates to $4.20 a month. Maybe I should unplug my refrigerator.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

As someone said before "use cfl bulbs to save money", you do that, save money, do the the conservation "green" thing and all the power company does is pi## and moan they aren't making enough money and just raises rates. So I say screw the cfl bulbs, you may save short term until the rates get jacked. Of course, " just my opinion"

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[SaltiDawg]

Give the 722 time to power down. ...I would be surprised if it runs unneccessarily more than 15 mins. ...

This is absolutely wrong. The DVR does NOT power down the Hard drive after any time delay.

 

[upsss]

The LNB's need to be powered on all the time. When you turn on the tv, do you want the box to take couple of minutes to acquire the signal. Also, the hard drive will take a minute to spin up.

So I guess you made the design decision to power off the hard drives when you were not actively using them... and then, of course, you decided to power them back up when you again did need them?

Not everyone would accept that premise as being a wise choice... but I guess you would know.

I guess you guys never used a laptop. FYI, they turn On from Standby practically instantaneously. As far as the LNBs, they don't need to be powered when the you are not receiving signals as explained already by TG2.

As far as my power measurements, I did wait an hour after turning the receiver Off and I made sure it was not recording. The HD was still spinning and doing something.

So, any other excuses that the receiver draws 50W when it is doing NOTHING that I asked it to do???

 

[SaltiDawg]

I guess you guys never used a laptop. ...

Let's see, you ask a question and when folks try to help you get nasty and sarcastic? Again, do you want your Hard drive to power down after a set time and then power back up when and if you need it? lol

PS I'll not bother you again. I don't need the sarcasm from you.

 

[upsss]

I just looked at my electric bill and it tells me that it costs 14¢ a kilowatt. So it costs 14¢ a day to run my DVR. That equates to $4.20 a month. Maybe I should unplug my refrigerator.

The average cost per KW is much more than $0.14. Did you add the ridicules taxes and fees they add to your bill every month?

 

[Bobby]

I'm going to pay those taxes and fees anyway. They are not accessed on usage, just service. Last month I used a total of 551 kw of electricity in my home. If I take away that 30 kw that receiver used, I'd be down to 531 kw. My total electric bill for the month was $76, including all of those ridiculous taxes and fees. That 30 kw cost me a total of $3.80, and that is based on my exact billing.

I'm finished here...... In this thread that is....

 

[SaltiDawg]

...
I'm finished here......

With nearly 14,000 posts here, I somehow doubt it.

 

[Bobby]

With nearly 14,000 posts here, I somehow doubt it.

I meant in this thread!

 

[SaltiDawg]

I meant in this thread!

And yet you post (in this thread.) I rest my case.

(To be continued ... indubitably. lol )