# 942 - L226 Software Release Notes and Discussion



## Jason Nipp

Here are the release notes for L226.

* Off-air DTV tuning enhancement to reduce loss of signal occurrences and macroblocking under good signal cases
* Improvements to eliminate intermittent video jitter and audio pops
* Macroblocking reduction on playback of DVR events and in trick mode
* More robust recovery to acquire signal after reboot
* Corrected occurrences of black screens when using PIP and tuning off-air channels
* Corrected reverse at 300X speed function to allow rewind to beginning of the event or capture buffer
* TV2 programming pop-up enhancement for dual user mode and standby state
* Corrected anomaly causing above operating temperature warning pop-up appearance when not valid


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## Beer Kahuna

I just posted this in the original L226 thread but probably should go here instead:

"L226 also did not fix the chopped off extended guide. In fact it made it much worse on my set. Now I can't read ANY of the bottom listing and it has chopped off the top of the info bar at the top when browsing. Since there is no user adjustable 'overscan" adjustment on my set, I'm pretty much SOL."

So what changed in this release to make it worse, I wonder?


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## Bichon

Uh, oh. Not sure about that off-air tuning enhancement. WCAU-DT, which has been rock-solid for me (with or without the attenuator) since I got the 942, was getting periodic green blocks and glitches last night. Attenuator adjustment didn't help. I had chalked it up to tropo, but after reading this I'm starting to worry...


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## M492A

I've seen the bottom line of the extended guide chopped off as well, with L224 and L225. I have a Sony 50" plasma connected via DVI and the only adjustment I can make to the overscan setting is to increase it; that is, my choices are 0, +1, and +2. Shrinking the image is not an option. I have mine set to 0.

Now, not to let the 942 software off the hook yet, it did occur to me last night that I had the orbit screen saver (I'll call it OSS) enabled. OSS causes the TV to move the image a little at a time in an orbital or circular fashion to help avoid burn-in. I had the extended guide up with a small part of the last line cut off, and when I disabled OSS, the whole screen jumped up to reveal the entire last line! It'll be a few days before I'm convinced that this has been the problem for me all along. 

Of course, depending on your TV and its connection to the 942, YMMV.


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## jsanders

Thanks for posting the release notes Jason! No more need to speculate on what they are, now we can argue about how effective they are.

What happened to Mark? Haven't seen him in a while. Is he off scuba diving for vacation again??


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## Beer Kahuna

M492A said:


> Of course, depending on your TV and its connection to the 942, YMMV.


My TV is a Sony KP57-WV700 CRT rear projector hooked up thru component (my DVI input weirds out after a few minutes of viewing - but that's a whole other story!). When new software loads, the problem changes and stays that way until the next software release.


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## Paradox-sj

What I find curious is that this fixed the Dish Home issues BUT they didn't mention it in the release nots. Which tells me they either didnt know it was broken or its till broken and the fresh download just freed something up.

Either way it doesnt inspire confidence.


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## normang

OTA is still working without issue, those enhancements seem to OK for me in my area. (Twin Cities) 

However, to be sure I understand, what is macroblocking?


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## vahighland

Jason/Mark, can you elaborate on "more robust recovery to acquire signal after reboot."


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## normang

mpeltz said:


> Jason/Mark, can you elaborate on "more robust recovery to acquire signal after reboot."


I think that means that it will re-aquire SAT signal faster after a reboot or power-cycle..


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## Jason Nipp

Yup, that's what I got out of the translation.


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## SummitAdvantageRetailer

The 942 is getting good regular updates. :-( What's going on with the 921's?! The updates are so far and wide in between! Sigh.


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## TVBob

normang said:


> OTA is still working without issue, those enhancements seem to OK for me in my area. (Twin Cities). However, to be sure I understand, what is macroblocking?


*Macroblocking* is what we all call "pixelating" -- large square video blocks that appear on part or all of the screen when a signal fades or glitches.

L226 definitely improved my 942's reception on strong Ch. 005-01 (RF Ch. 029-01). It used to be unwatchable when my 811, which shares the same antenna through a distribution amp., was tuned to any other channel, but I can no longer replicate this problem. So in many cases Ch. 005-01 went from unwatchable to solid! Very cool.

L226 did not improve reception on Ch. 048-01 (RF Ch. 049-01), but I think that's because it's a multipath problem. The 811 is solid on 048-01 with an 80 reading but the 942 can't get a lock that last more than 15 seconds.

Last night I had _zero_ problems with audio drop outs or macroblocking when watching a long satellite recording, so that playback problem seems to be gone as well. As far as I'm concerned, L226 is a big improvement! :up:


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## vahighland

The problem I've been running into is that it does not re-acquire SAT signal at all unless I run a check switch. I have let it sit at the "acquiring satellite" screen for more than two hours, but finally gave up. Currently, I manually check switch every time after a reboot. To that end, I have disabled automatic updates and perform a manual update every night so that I can baby-sit the receiver during reboots.

I'm really referring to the words "more robust." The question is more robust than what? Or maybe the answer to a couple specific questions would really clarify what I'm after:
1) How long (on average) does it take for the system to re-acquire the SAT signal without the user having to perform a check switch?
2) How many reboots (on average) can the receiver manage where the SAT signal is re-acquired without the user having to perform a check switch? 7 out of 10, 5 out of 10?


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## Mark Lamutt

mpeltz said:


> Jason/Mark, can you elaborate on "more robust recovery to acquire signal after reboot."


This means that there should be very few/no cases where you'll sit for minutes on end at the acquiring signal screen 0 of 5 of 1 of 5, where it looks like the 942 has frozen up.

And just a note about me - I am still around, and unfortunately am not on vacation anywhere...my job shifted, and I'm now currently working nights doing construction inspection on a job site that's 90 miles from my house. So, working 10 hours a night, along with a 3 hour commute each day is not leaving me nearly as much online time as I've had in the past.


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## normang

mpeltz said:


> The problem I've been running into is that it does not re-acquire SAT signal at all unless I run a check switch. I have let it sit at the "acquiring satellite" screen for more than two hours, but finally gave up. Currently, I manually check switch every time after a reboot. To that end, I have disabled automatic updates and perform a manual update every night so that I can baby-sit the receiver during reboots.


I would suspect another problem either with your dish or switch configuration, or that particular receiver. While I have not had my 942 for very long, I've never seen that behavior, nor does it seem to be affecting other people routinely, otherwise it would be more widely reported I would think.. You shouldn't have to do routine check switches just to watch your reciever..


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## softwiz

"Off-air DTV tuning enhancement to reduce loss of signal occurrences and macroblocking under good signal cases"

I had this exact problem on a off-air channel that had 90%. I need to go home and see if this is fixed.

UPDATE: It worked, it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## vahighland

Mark Lamutt said:


> This means that there should be very few/no cases where you'll sit for minutes on end at the acquiring signal screen 0 of 5 of 1 of 5, where it looks like the 942 has frozen up.





normang said:


> I would suspect another problem either with your dish or switch configuration, or that particular receiver. While I have not had my 942 for very long, I've never seen that behavior, nor does it seem to be affecting other people routinely, otherwise it would be more widely reported I would think.. You shouldn't have to do routine check switches just to watch your reciever..


OK, I'll retest over the next couple of days with L226 now that I know what the expected behavior should be. Some of the other posts did indicate problems with acquiring the SAT signals and switch problems, so I made some assumptions that their problems were similar to mine. The equipment is all DishPro Plus, so I'm definitely not running into any of the legacy issues.

Thanks for the help!


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## dougmcbride

mpeltz said:


> OK, I'll retest over the next couple of days with L226 now that I know what the expected behavior should be. Some of the other posts did indicate problems with acquiring the SAT signals and switch problems, so I made some assumptions that their problems were similar to mine. The equipment is all DishPro Plus, so I'm definitely not running into any of the legacy issues.
> 
> Thanks for the help!


I'm in the same boat, almost exactly and without fail every day I have to do a check switch in order to get reception. After that it is fine for the remainder of the day. I'm working with my retailer to replace the switch/LNB (DPP Twin) to see if that makes any difference and until we do that, it will be interesting to see if L226 makes any difference.

Doug


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## vahighland

dougmcbride said:


> I'm in the same boat, almost exactly and without fail every day I have to do a check switch in order to get reception. After that it is fine for the remainder of the day. I'm working with my retailer to replace the switch/LNB (DPP Twin) to see if that makes any difference and until we do that, it will be interesting to see if L226 makes any difference.
> 
> Doug


Doug, let me know if L226 or the switch/LNB replacement fixes your problem. My local retailer has suggested replacing my switch/LNB if the problem persists.

- Mike


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## zubinh

Hey dish engineers, more robust recovery after reboot is not as important as Dolby Digital working on only one tuner!!!!! Hellllooooo?!?!?!?!


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## Bichon

I'm really unhappy with 226. I was getting all my OTA channels perfectly with 225, using a DC block and an attenuator. Now, WCAU-DT, my NBC affiliate, won't go even 30 seconds without a bunch of green blocks wrecking the picture. Sometimes I even get the "signal acquisition" screen. Needless to say, NBC is a VERY important OTA station for me.

I tried removing the attenuator, both with and without the DC block, but it didn't help. Any suggestions appreciated.


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## DRJDAN

TVBOB,

Why would it make any difference to 942 just because you have a 811 sharing the same antenna?


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## normang

Bichon... is it easy to make directional adjustments on your antenna? Are all your channels in the same direction? perhaps subtle directional adjustments may help, I know that with my antenna, I can make slight adjustments and make a difference on some channels..


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## flashram

Loving L226 so far. All my OTA problems have been solved. I was getting severe crosstalk and breakup on my NBC station regardless of having a strong signal. Working great now. I can finally list my DirecTV Hidef receiver and Tivo on Ebay.


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## Bichon

normang said:


> Bichon... is it easy to make directional adjustments on your antenna? Are all your channels in the same direction? perhaps subtle directional adjustments may help, I know that with my antenna, I can make slight adjustments and make a difference on some channels..


It means getting out a ladder and crawling through the attic scuttle, but it's doable. Too late to try tonight, but it's a project for the weekend. Yes, my channels are all in the same direction.

Tropo is very strong tonight. Just did a scan, and I'm picking up some of the Baltimore locals like WBAL, WTTG, etc. I'm actually getting better reception of NBC from Baltimore than from Philly. I've also noticed that many of my other Philly stations are glitching too. Sure hope it's atmospheric conditions and not the new software.

Thanks.


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## foosnake

After 226, my OTA signals are weaker and I get blocking where there was none. I was doing all sorts of rebooting while on the phone with Amy, trying different things to get the OTA program guide to show up and I'll guarentee you that there is no quick signal acquire. It's slow as molasses. I notice NO improvement at all. And I still ain't got no stinkin' PG info on my OTA channels


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## TVBob

DRJDAN said:


> Why would it make any difference to 942 just because you have a 811 sharing the same antenna?


Connecting both receivers to the same antenna through a splitter or distribution amplifier could conceivably cause a little "crosstalk" or radio noise to pass through the antenna cables from one receiver to the other. It seems that L225 was very sensitive to such noise, but L226 is not.

With L225, I observed macroblocking coming and going on the 942, just by switching back and forth betwen Ch. 007-01 and 005-01 on the 811! But that problem is completely gone now, thanks to L226.


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## sammy61

Bichon said:


> I'm really unhappy with 226. I was getting all my OTA channels perfectly with 225, using a DC block and an attenuator. Now, WCAU-DT, my NBC affiliate, won't go even 30 seconds without a bunch of green blocks wrecking the picture. Sometimes I even get the "signal acquisition" screen. Needless to say, NBC is a VERY important OTA station for me.
> 
> I tried removing the attenuator, both with and without the DC block, but it didn't help. Any suggestions appreciated.


L226 messed up my OTA as well. I was getting 5 OTA channels with no problems.
My signal strength on all of them was between 70 & 100%. Rock solid with no
drop outs. After L226, they all dropped about 15 to 20% less then there previous 
reading. My PBS station is now completely unwatchable! The strength dropped
to 60% and the picture will only stay stable for about 30 seconds at a time. I do have
a router on my antenna on the roof, but it makes no difference moving the antenna.
I have rebooted the receiver 4 times.
Is there anyway I can go back to the old software???!!!
:nono2:


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## Jeff McClellan

Yep, I have to agree. I had figured out the perfect fix and now blocking has returned. Its green. I really wish this hadnt happened.


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## Bichon

Thank you, foosnake, sammy61 and JEFF M. I thought I was losing my mind yesterday. I'm tearing my hair out because my OTA reception turned to crap, while others are posting in the thread that 226 is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I VERY much want to go back to 225. While 226 may have fixed my need to do a check switch in the morning (haven't had to do one yet, but even with 225 it didn't get stuck every day), I'd much rather deal with that problem than deal with green blocks and signal acquisition screens on my OTA channels. PLEASE Eldon and Dish, expedite a fix for this one!!


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## volfan615

My OTA stations seem to be much stronger now with L226. Even my weak PBS station is coming in better now.


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## jpetersohn

Bichon said:


> I'm really unhappy with 226. I was getting all my OTA channels perfectly with 225, using a DC block and an attenuator. Now, WCAU-DT, my NBC affiliate, won't go even 30 seconds without a bunch of green blocks wrecking the picture. Sometimes I even get the "signal acquisition" screen. Needless to say, NBC is a VERY important OTA station for me.
> 
> I tried removing the attenuator, both with and without the DC block, but it didn't help. Any suggestions appreciated.


Same problem here. Also with the NBC station. It's KARE in MN. This station was formerly rock solid.

Also on channel 23 (KMWB), which was weak before, it now gets green macroblocking quite a bit. It was watchable with L225, it's not anymore.


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## waltinvt

Is it just me or is anyone else sensing a "roller-coaster" software ride developing here? 

I had real high hopes for the 942 (and don't get me wrong, I love this unit) but I'm starting to get this twinge of fear that this may be developing into another, oh-so-familar, Dish Network software upgrade fiasco, where you take one or two steps backwards with every step forward. 

I really hope I'm wrong but we're already starting to see conflicting reports about the effects of the past 2 upgrades and new problems that didn't exist before.

This unit is the best out-of-the-box receiver they've ever released. I will be a real shame if gets degraded by upgrades like has happened so often in the past.

I'm probably just paranoid because of past experience. Don't pay any attention. As you were troops.


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## normang

If OTA weren't so sensative to so many issues, it would be a walk in the park for it to work, but it never has been, not even in the good 'ol analog days.. Its why people went to cable to begin with in some part, though the "cable channels" did provide some extra incentive. 

Guess we'll have to see what 227 provides, my locals didn't seem to care one way or another from 226 to 227, though perhaps more watching (only a couple hours) will see if there is something I am missing..


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## vahighland

jpetersohn said:


> Same problem here. Also with the NBC station. It's KARE in MN. This station was formerly rock solid.
> 
> Also on channel 23 (KMWB), which was weak before, it now gets green macroblocking quite a bit. It was watchable with L225, it's not anymore.


Add me to the list. I was able to pick up 036-1 (WB) in Atlanta prior to the L226 update.


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## Jeff McClellan

waltinvt said:


> Is it just me or is anyone else sensing a "roller-coaster" software ride developing here?
> 
> I had real high hopes for the 942 (and don't get me wrong, I love this unit) but I'm starting to get this twinge of fear that this may be developing into another, oh-so-familar, Dish Network software upgrade fiasco, where you take one or two steps backwards with every step forward.
> 
> I really hope I'm wrong but we're already starting to see conflicting reports about the effects of the past 2 upgrades and new problems that didn't exist before.
> 
> This unit is the best out-of-the-box receiver they've ever released. I will be a real shame if gets degraded by upgrades like has happened so often in the past.
> 
> I'm probably just paranoid because of past experience. Don't pay any attention. As you were troops.


I think we all need to exhibit a little patience with the 942 and not go along the lines as some of my friends did at dbsforums with the original dishplayer. The 942 is new and we know the guys at dish are working on issues. Things will get resolved and if it takes a little time, ok, its still the best receiver on the market.h


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## waltinvt

JEFF M said:


> I think we all need to exhibit a little patience with the 942 and not go along the lines as some of my friends did at dbsforums with the original dishplayer. The 942 is new and we know the guys at dish are working on issues. Things will get resolved and if it takes a little time, ok, its still the best receiver on the market.h


Yea, you're right.......there....I'm ok now. 
It's Friday.......right? Gonna be a great weekend in the East.........ahhhhh....All's well again.


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## bookwalk

I see no obvious improvements to my 942 since this L226 upgrade and NOW my Caller ID does NOT WORK at all!


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## normang

jpetersohn said:


> Same problem here. Also with the NBC station. It's KARE in MN. This station was formerly rock solid.
> 
> Also on channel 23 (KMWB), which was weak before, it now gets green macroblocking quite a bit. It was watchable with L225, it's not anymore.


I don't have any problems with KARE, KMWB always sucks, its at lower power, always has been.. they keep coming up with excuses for maintaining low power for their digital station.


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## jsanders

I've been reading through these posts, and one curious thing I read was a complaint about "green macroblocking". Is this different than the video driver green lines bug? Have you tried a power plug reboot with it to see if that helps at all? It may well not, but it might be worth a try.


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## sammy61

JEFF M said:


> I think we all need to exhibit a little patience with the 942/QUOTE]
> I think I will try that line when its time to pay my $100 a month Dish bill! :hurah:


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## Gutter

Glad to see they did address the heat warning issue, but to be on the safe side I am still keeping my unit one quarter inch more off the shelf. It does run substancially cooler.


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## TVBob

I've created a new poll so we can see whether L226 made things better or worse with respect to OTA HD reception problems. Keep in mind that MANY factors can affect HD reception, everything from atmospheric conditions to wet leaves on the trees to loose connections, so you may want to evaluate L226 for a few days before voting.


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## Radicalman

normang said:


> If OTA weren't so sensative to so many issues, it would be a walk in the park for it to work, but it never has been, not even in the good 'ol analog days.. Its why people went to cable to begin with in some part, though the "cable channels" did provide some extra incentive.
> 
> Guess we'll have to see what 227 provides, my locals didn't seem to care one way or another from 226 to 227, though perhaps more watching (only a couple hours) will see if there is something I am missing..


All of my OTA Locals are gone now, except ABC. I guess I'm gonna have to get Brighthouse HD Box hooked up to my video switch so I can watch HD Locals with Dolby Digital sound. Dish better hump and get HD Locals on the frickin satellite! :hurah:


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## foosnake

> If OTA weren't so sensative to so many issues, it would be a walk in the park for it to work, but it never has been, not even in the good 'ol analog days..


I didn't have that much sensitivity with VOOM, and I had program guide info on all my channels, even the subchannels, probably something that we won't see on Dish for a long long time.


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## Bichon

jsanders said:


> I've been reading through these posts, and one curious thing I read was a complaint about "green macroblocking". Is this different than the video driver green lines bug? Have you tried a power plug reboot with it to see if that helps at all? It may well not, but it might be worth a try.


I not only did a power plug reboot last night, I did two - the second time leaving it unplugged for 20 minutes just to make sure it wasn't an heat issue.

It doesn't sound like the video driver bug. Often the green macroblocks are fleeting, appearing for a couple seconds and then gone. Other times they can take over the whole screen, and sometimes they appear and are replaced with the yellow "acquiring signal" screen. If you press the guide button, the green blocks only appear in the video window inset, the guide looks fine.


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## normang

Radicalman said:


> All of my OTA Locals are gone now, except ABC. I guess I'm gonna have to get Brighthouse HD Box hooked up to my video switch so I can watch HD Locals with Dolby Digital sound. Dish better hump and get HD Locals on the frickin satellite! :hurah:


Somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I've heard this before. If a software update made it so you can't see any locals but 1, and you had several before, you have a hardware problem.


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## Mark Lamutt

If you're having problems with OTA under L226 that you didn't have under L226, and are using an attenuator in your antenna line, take it out and see if that makes any difference.


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## Jeff McClellan

Mark, here is what I have found. In the start I would get pixing and loss of signal on weaker stations. Had to take out preamp. Tried a attenuator and it helped some, but weaken stations, Putting a dc block in let me put my preamp back in and get everything pretty good. L226 started out with a dc block last night and it seemed ok. Then I got green blocks appearing all over the screen as the signal remained strong. I took out the dc block and it still happened. I put the attenuator back in, same thing. It seems that depending on your circumstance L226 helped but, it introduced the GREEN MONSTER instead of pixing and loss of signal. I am currently back to a dc block and pre amp, but sporadically it will appear. It seems they took a step in the right direction, but may have overshot first base.


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## Bichon

Mark Lamutt said:


> If you're having problems with OTA under L226 that you didn't have under L226, and are using an attenuator in your antenna line, take it out and see if that makes any difference.


I've got the attenuator and DC block both off at the moment. I even pulled off the power injector for my CM7777 preamp and discovered that the 942 powers it fine. The presence, absence, (and adjustment when present) of the attenuator seem to have no influence on this problem.


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## TVBob

Bichon said:


> I've got the attenuator and DC block both off at the moment. I even pulled off the power injector for my CM7777 preamp and discovered that the 942 powers it fine.


That is probably not true. The CM7777 requires 18VDC to go up the coax to the mast-mounted amplifier. The 942 outputs only 12VDC at 150 ma. Judging by the size of the amp's power supply, it probably requires much more than 150 ma. So it may seem to work a little, but it may not be amplifying your signal nearly as much as it should.

Please do the following:


Re-install the DC block on back of the 942's *8VSB Antenna* connector
Put the CM7777's power inserter back in line and plug it in
Check all connections. Don't use any attenuators.
If the problem is still there, disconnect the antenna line and plug it straight into your TV set (Antenna->amp->power inserter->TV set).
Check your *UHF analog *stations for signal quality. Looking at *analog *stations will give you a real good indication of multipath (ghosts) or noise problems (sparklies) that could be affecting your HD signal quality. If there is a lot of noise or ghosting, do whatever you can to make it go away (unplug touch-lamps, computers, fluorescent lights, adjust antenna, etc.). Once your analog UHF signals are better, your HD OTA signals should also be better.


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## jsanders

What you said is all refreshingly true TVBob. There is one caveat about the multipath to consider though - channel re-mapping! 

Most of the VHF channels got mapped to UHF in the ATSC world. Channel four in analog land might well be channel fifty six in digital land. Looking for ghosting on analog channel four may not help you with multipath on digital channel fifty six. You really need to look at antennaWeb.org to find analog channels that are close by the digital channels you want to look at, making sure that they are transmitting from the same tower. For instance, if you are curious about channel four (digital 56), maybe it would be better to look for ghosting on analog channel 63 rather than analog channel four. Of course, it is assumed that 63 and 56 are transmitting from the same place.


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## cschang

With L226, I now get the 739 error with my local ABC channel KABC. I can manually get channel 7-0, but I want 7-1 for the HD content....how do I get that back?


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## Mark Lamutt

Did you try rescanning, or re-adding your KABC channel, cschang?


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## cschang

Mark Lamutt said:


> Did you try rescanning, or re-adding your KABC channel, cschang?


Yes....rescanning did not get it back. I can manually add 7-0, but I need 7-1.

Quite frustrating.


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## TVBob

cschang said:


> With L226, I now get the 739 error with my local ABC channel KABC. I can manually get channel 7-0, but I want 7-1 for the HD content....how do I get that back?


HD channels seem to go off air all the time up here in the Bay Area. For example, just last night one of our most reliable channels, 005-01 (RF 029-01), went off and on air several times. The only way to tell is if you have a second HD receiver.

Assuming this is not the problem in your case, try a warm reboot: hold down the power button on the 942's front panel (behind the door) for 10-15 seconds, and let the system reboot. That seems to reset the HD tuner. If you never rebooted since L226 was installed, maybe this will help.


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## TVBob

cschang said:


> Yes....rescanning did not get it back. I can manually add 7-0, but I need 7-1. Quite frustrating.


According to AntennaWeb, 7-1 is broadcast on UHF digital channel 53-1 in the L.A. area. Sometimes an automatic scan won't re-map the channel or even lock on properly. First, see if there is a channel 53-1 listed. That should be KABC. Tune to it and it may automatcialy map itself down to 7-1 if the broadcaster has the correct PSIP data in the digital stream.

If there is no Ch. 53-1 or 7-1, try adding it manually as follows:


*Menu-6-9 *(System Setup, Local Channels)
*Add Locals* button
*Digital (Yes* button*)*
*Transmit Number: 53 *(Signal should lock and *Channel Number: 7* should appear)
Press *Done *and *Done* again
Press *View* on the remote and tune the 942 to Ch 7-1 or 53-1


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## cschang

Thanks TV Bob,

Just tried both of your suggestions, still can not get the channel. No signal on 53. So maybe the channel is down now?


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## vinyal

TVBob said:


> I've created a new poll so we can see whether L226 made things better or worse with respect to OTA HD reception problems. Keep in mind that MANY factors can affect HD reception, everything from atmospheric conditions to wet leaves on the trees to loose connections, so you may want to evaluate L226 for a few days before voting.


This is to add to your poll. My problems have significantly improved and for some macroblocking on CBS all the OTA channels are working like a charm. I am hoping future upgrades does not mess up the sweet spot i have landed with the OTA as it has done with current upgrade to a few viewers.
Vivek


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## Jerry 42

Same problem as "schang" here in LA area with ABC digital.

Signal on 7-01 says 90 % on 7-02 says 89 % - but I get no picture just error massage

All other digital stations seem to work fine. 

I did have some pixing problems with 7-01 before L226 but now can not get a picture at all.


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## Thumper2

Hellooo everyone, NU-B here.

As a former Voomer and now a Disher with a 942 since their demise, I first wanted to thank everyone for this most excellent forum as it's helped me out considerably with this difficult transistion :lol:

I noticed last nite that all the Voom channels seem to have gotten much clearer and I was wondering if anyone had seen this too. I received the L226 update but don't know if that could account for these changes. Did Dish reassign bandwidth/transponders for the Voom channels? It seemed like most of the Voom's were running around 1440?x1080i (HD Lite at best) with a few of the channels maybe at 1920? x 1080i.

My wife and I both immediately noticed the image difference [ BTW, using a Virtuoso HD front projector (DLP HD2+ via DVI) system on a 120" screen].

Maybe a better video/DVI driver, bandwidth assignment or maybe something else?

Thump2


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## normang

Noted an interesting problem today, tried to search and each time I entered my own search parameters and pressed search, it would say error. I reset, and I still get an error trying to search.. Anyone else spot this, or am I just lucky?


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## normang

Followup, tried to reset and check switch, download guide, still cannot search, get error everytime.. sounds like a bug to me, unless no one else can replicate...


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## cdehmer

After L226 can't get KABC 007-1, 2 or 3 in Los Angeles. However, most other channels get the best signal strength I've seen, many at 100!

Fortunately, there's not much I like to see on ABC these days 

No other problems noted.


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## Ron Barry

Guys ABC SoCal has something wrong with their stream. The 811 is not mapping the channel and my 811 threw up last night as when I rebooted ABC moved from 7 to 53. My guess is something is malformed and the 942 is chocking on it.

THis has happend before with the 811, 6000, 921 and other STBs depending on what the station is sending out.


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## normang

This maybe something already mentioned, and perhaps its relates to the search problem I've mentioned, where I get errors when attempting to search.. but I create timers for events to record, and they appear in the timer list, but do NOT appear in the daily schedule, nor do they record the event. Is this related to some existing issue that has already been mentioned, or is it something with 226 or an existing issue that is now popping up as a continue to play with the 942???


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## Mike Johnson

normang, 
The search problem is an existing issue since L224 (at least). Check here and here. I was hoping it was fixed since I haven't had it happen in a while.

I had success with changing the daily update time to force an update and then repeating three times......


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## Jerry 42

Ron Barry

Thanks for info. The question now is who will correct problem Dish or ABC.


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## Ron Barry

I have sent an email to KABC's engineering dept reporting the problem. I took a look over at avsforums and other receiver are seeing the lack of mapping. I would consider the 942 not being able to get the channel a bug. I would try removing the ABC channel and trying to readd it manually using 53. Look for channel 53, it might have just moved and you don't see it there. THat is what happens with the 811, if it looses it mapping it will revert back to its frequency. In the case of KABC that is 53.


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## normang

mike_johnson said:


> normang,
> The search problem is an existing issue since L224 (at least). Check here and here. I was hoping it was fixed since I haven't had it happen in a while.
> 
> I had success with changing the daily update time to force an update and then repeating three times......


Mike, thanks for the info, however to clarify a couple things - one is are you setting the daily update time to a little into the future from the current time and then doing it a couple more times and this has "fixed" the search issue for you? Does this relate to where timers appear in the timer list, but are not in the daily schedule and do not record? Or is that another issue... thanks for your feedback


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## cschang

Ron Barry said:


> I have sent an email to KABC's engineering dept reporting the problem. I took a look over at avsforums and other receiver are seeing the lack of mapping. I would consider the 942 not being able to get the channel a bug. I would try removing the ABC channel and trying to readd it manually using 53. Look for channel 53, it might have just moved and you don't see it there. THat is what happens with the 811, if it looses it mapping it will revert back to its frequency. In the case of KABC that is 53.


Ron, thanks for reporting the problem to KABC.

I have looked for 53 and tried manually adding it. When trying to manually add it, I get no signal.


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## Jerry 42

Ron 

Thanks for contacting KABC

It may not help but I sent e-mail to Dish Tech depart too.


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## Jerry 42

One note which may not matter but I believe ABC uses 720 not 1080. Could that have something to do with the KABC and only KABC problem?


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## Ron Barry

I don't believe so, it looks like a PSIP issue given what i have seen reported also since the 942 does not even indicate a signal at 53 then I would say the 942 might be stopping the signal at point of entry to prevent an ill formed signal from getting into rest of the code base. 

Just a guess and hopefully KABC will get things correct soon. I did a quick look on my 921 and it showed up as 53 also.


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## cschang

Ron...can you PM me the email address for KABC engineering?


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## Jerry 42

I do not know if this is true for every one - but KABC LA Digital 7-01, 7-02, 7-03 are now working again on my 942.


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## cschang

Yeah.....they are working for me again as well. A rescan did the trick this evening. I read on AVS that it seemed to fix ealier in the day.

Ron...if it was your email that did the trick...thanks again.


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## Ron Barry

Yeap.. working on the 811 now too.  And I doubt it was my email.


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## vahighland

dougmcbride said:


> I'm in the same boat, almost exactly and without fail every day I have to do a check switch in order to get reception. After that it is fine for the remainder of the day. I'm working with my retailer to replace the switch/LNB (DPP Twin) to see if that makes any difference and until we do that, it will be interesting to see if L226 makes any difference.
> Doug


Doug, I called tech support last night and finally got a hold of someone (after talking to three other CSRs) who sounded very knowledgeable. He stated that there have been reports of "software" communication problems with the *DPP Twin* switch. That is, not a hardware problem.

The CSR took my information down and filed what he called an "uncommon trend report." He said that any other users who are experiencing similar problems with the DPP Twin equipment should call in so that the engineers can examine the problem across users.

The other interesting thing he stated was that much of the energy has been spent on fixing the *legacy* issues, not the DPP Twin issues because more people own legacy equipment with the 942s.


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## dougmcbride

Great update - thanks. My retailer had to order a DPP Twin since he did not have any in stock and was due to get back to me today and do the swap just for grins. If it doesn't fix it, I'll definitely call DISH and let them know. It is just bizzare that it happens almost the same time every day, every day. At least a check switch fixes it for the next 24 hours...

Thanks again for posting the new info!

Doug


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## dathead2

two of my OTA channels are now full of green macroblocks :-(
i forget which ones but it was around ch 5 and 7

occurred as soon as L226 came out and i don't have any attenuator, its all diplexed together with other two DISHes,
worked fine with L225.

i called tech support and they said it was the first they had heard of it!?!?! (7-jun 3pm) - i did not use the
"macroblocks" buzz word since i did not know it until i read up on L226 here on the forum. but i
did describe them as "big green splotches much larger than a pixel"

i hope this is something that ends up on the books as needing a quick fix?6


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## Rob Glasser

dathead2 said:


> two of my OTA channels are now full of green macroblocks :-(
> i forget which ones but it was around ch 5 and 7
> 
> occurred as soon as L226 came out and i don't have any attenuator, its all diplexed together with other two DISHes,
> worked fine with L225.
> 
> i called tech support and they said it was the first they had heard of it!?!?! (7-jun 3pm) - i did not use the
> "macroblocks" buzz word since i did not know it until i read up on L226 here on the forum. but i
> did describe them as "big green splotches much larger than a pixel"
> 
> i hope this is something that ends up on the books as needing a quick fix?6


I'm having the same issue with one of my OTA channels. The channel was borderline prior to L226, if there was any wind the channel would break up regularly, with no wind maybe one breakup every 10 minutes or so. Regarless not very watchable. However, since L226 I rarely get a lock and when I do I end up with massive amounts of green splotches all over, and no audio. Channel is completely unwatchable. Rest of my stations appear to be fine.


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## Tyralak

normang said:


> Noted an interesting problem today, tried to search and each time I entered my own search parameters and pressed search, it would say error. I reset, and I still get an error trying to search.. Anyone else spot this, or am I just lucky?


Yes. I have that issue too. The Search feature only seems to work on TV 2. I'm also getting corrupted and mis-labeled recordings since it took 226.


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## normang

Tyralak said:


> Yes. I have that issue too. The Search feature only seems to work on TV 2. I'm also getting corrupted and mis-labeled recordings since it took 226.


I don't think it makes any difference for me which tuner I use to try and search. Probably going to call Dish and log the problem, even though there probably isn't much they can do about it until the next update. They should provide a means of completely reseting the receiver, to the point where it comes out of the box, no code, so you can re-load from scratch. At least that way, whatever gets messed up when this happens can be cleared up and you can resume with a fresh start.


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## volfan615

I haven't experienced YET any problems with the search feature although I have only used it a few times. My most annoying problem to date is the ON/OFF OTA guide data. Trying to create name based timers on OTA channels is impossible with out the guide.


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## normang

volfan615 said:


> I haven't experienced YET any problems with the search feature although I have only used it a few times. My most annoying problem to date is the ON/OFF OTA guide data. Trying to create name based timers on OTA channels is impossible with out the guide.


Its not impossible, just annoying, you create a manual timer and it shows up as a digital service recording and you have to just be aware of what you recorded at that date and time.

If I had to point to the most annoying issues I see that I would prioritize, 
- Single Mode Squished TV2 output, lets go here - fix this..
- Search Problem (which leads to lost recordings and dead timers)
- OTA Guide issues

I suspect there are other issues that are others top issues, but these are mine.. Mark.....Where is 227..


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## TVBob

normang said:


> - Single Mode Squished TV2 output, lets go here - fix this..


Doesn't *TV2 *OUT _have _to be squished (anamorphic) for widescreen content? It's either that, or letterbox, or pan and scan (cropped). Which one do you want? We should have a choice.

The 942's zoom _should _work on all HD sources, so maybe that's the bug you really want fixed? I believe zoom doesn't work on any HD source at present.

If the TV2 output is changed to work like the 811, with letterbox format or pan and scan ("Full"), but no anamorphic option on TV2, I'll be very disappointed.

I prefer anamorphic on TV2 (the way it works now) so that I can make widescreen DVD recordings or use the zoom button on my widescreen TV. The anamorphic image is un-squished during playback, giving a nice widescreen 16x9 image with 480 lines of resolution.

I think we need the following choices: letterbox (normal), pan and scan (full), anamorphic (squished, for widescreen DVD recorders or TVs), or center zoomed. "Stretch" doesn't apply to TV2's 4x3 output.

Now, there's no reason for the *TV1* output to be squished when you choose *480i* mode on a 16x9 TV, but it is. _That's_ what I'd like to see fixed.


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## normang

TVBob said:


> Doesn't *TV2 *OUT _have _to be squished (anamorphic) for widescreen content? It's either that, or letterbox, or pan and scan (cropped). Which one do you want? We should have a choice.
> 
> The 942's zoom _should _work on all HD sources, so maybe that's the bug you really want fixed? I believe zoom doesn't work on any HD source at present.
> 
> If the TV2 output is changed to work like the 811, with letterbox format or pan and scan ("Full"), but no anamorphic option on TV2, I'll be very disappointed.
> 
> I prefer anamorphic on TV2 (the way it works now) so that I can make widescreen DVD recordings or use the zoom button on my widescreen TV. The anamorphic image is un-squished during playback, giving a nice widescreen 16x9 image with 480 lines of resolution.
> 
> I think we need the following choices: letterbox (normal), pan and scan (full), anamorphic (squished, for widescreen DVD recorders or TVs), or center zoomed. "Stretch" doesn't apply to TV2's 4x3 output.
> 
> Now, there's no reason for the *TV1* output to be squished when you choose *480i* mode on a 16x9 TV, but it is. _That's_ what I'd like to see fixed.


When TV2 is squished horizontally in single mode, and not in dual mode, something is wrong. It should work the same in either mode. Altering the resolution of the view by zooming or stretching, is not a solution, its a poor workaround (IMHO)

There are too many options perhaps, but on a 4:3 TV, TV2 should letterbox if you are viewing letterboxed video, and fill the screen when watching SD in both single or dual mode. if I had a 16:9 TV (perhaps next year) it will alter how I would configure my setup.

Now I know that in my case, because of the way my TV works, if I am using component out (TV1), I get 4:3 in a 16:9 window and HD in 16:9, when I use svideo or composite (TV2), I get full screen SD when watching those channels. I would have preferred to use single mode, but I cannot, because its squished..

The bottomline however as I see it, TV2 should not be horzontally squished when in Single mode, because its not in Dual mode. The resolution for TV2 should not change merely because you are in single or dual mode.


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## jsanders

TVBob said:


> I believe zoom doesn't work on any HD source at present.


I guess that depends on how you define zoom. If you set TV1 to 1080i 4x3 #2, you can stretch and zoom the HD source material. The format button works. I leave my 942 on that mode, even though I have a 16x9 tv. If I stretch in this mode, it is equivalent to normal mode in 16x9 mode. If I zoom in this mode, it is equivalent to stretch mode in 16x9 mode.

It is funny that the format button works for TV1 in 1080i 4x3 #2, but it doesn't work when TV1 is 1080i 16x9. As long as there are equivalents, I'm happy with the work around. The only thing is that zoom on 4x3 #2 isn't equivalent to zoom on 16x9 mode, it is equivalent to stretch.


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## normang

jsanders said:


> I guess that depends on how you define zoom. If you set TV1 to 1080i 4x3 #2, you can stretch and zoom the HD source material. The format button works. I leave my 942 on that mode, even though I have a 16x9 tv. If I stretch in this mode, it is equivalent to normal mode in 16x9 mode. If I zoom in this mode, it is equivalent to stretch mode in 16x9 mode.
> 
> It is funny that the format button works for TV1 in 1080i 4x3 #2, but it doesn't work when TV1 is 1080i 16x9. As long as there are equivalents, I'm happy with the work around. The only thing is that zoom on 4x3 #2 isn't equivalent to zoom on 16x9 mode, it is equivalent to stretch.


The problem with 4:3 #2 is that it lowers the horizontal resolution, and the HD picture degrades, I tried this, might have been your suggestion in this thread or another and I found the resulting HD degradation unacceptable. It was OK, but not how I preferred my HD PQ.

I wish somehow a set of defined standards of exactly what to expect for every ouput option (when its working) and TV configuration would go a long ways to clearing this up.. I don't think I could explain how 4:3-1, 4:3-2, 16:9 settings with component, HDMI, or Composite should look on a 4:3 or 16:9 TV in 480, 720, or 1080 using normal, stretch, and zoom (forget graybar) on tv1/tv2 in single or dual mode. I think however depending on the material single and dual mode on tv2 should always look the same.


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## djmav

normang said:


> Mike, thanks for the info, however to clarify a couple things - one is are you setting the daily update time to a little into the future from the current time and then doing it a couple more times and this has "fixed" the search issue for you? Does this relate to where timers appear in the timer list, but are not in the daily schedule and do not record? Or is that another issue... thanks for your feedback


Norman, I've had the error issue and nothing on the schedule issue as well. I fixed them about a week ago by forcing the update 3 times as mike indicated in his linked threads and I have not had the problem again.

Give it a shot, it worked for me


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## normang

djmav said:


> Norman, I've had the error issue and nothing on the schedule issue as well. I fixed them about a week ago by forcing the update 3 times as mike indicated in his linked threads and I have not had the problem again. Give it a shot, it worked for me


DJ... I'll give it a try, just run through the motions for me, you set the update time to a new time just shortly into the future and do it three times in a row?? Do you have to place the reciever in standby? Do you see anything on screen when the update time is met if not in standby? I just want to make sure of the details... Thanks for your feedback


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## djmav

Here is the way I did it.

I went into the update screen (it was 3:00 at the time). I put in a time of 3:15, and went back to watching TV. At 3:16 a popup came up and said if I wanted to let the update take place, I said yes. The receiver shut itself of and then on, the hard disk diagnostics screen flashed and then shut off again. I turned on the receiver 5 minutes later, went to the update screen set it for 3:30 and watched tv. Same scenario as above. Did this the third time put a time of 3:45 and this time the check diagnostics screen ran for about four minutes, the guide downlaoded and the tv turned itself on when it was done and my problem was resolved.

I hope this helps.


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## normang

djmav said:


> Here is the way I did it.
> 
> I went into the update screen (it was 3:00 at the time). I put in a time of 3:15, and went back to watching TV. At 3:16 a popup came up and said if I wanted to let the update take place, I said yes. The receiver shut itself of and then on, the hard disk diagnostics screen flashed and then shut off again. I turned on the receiver 5 minutes later, went to the update screen set it for 3:30 and watched tv. Same scenario as above. Did this the third time put a time of 3:45 and this time the check diagnostics screen ran for about four minutes, the guide downlaoded and the tv turned itself on when it was done and my problem was resolved.
> 
> I hope this helps.


I'll give it a shot, did you do this on TV1 and TV2 was off? In Single Mode or Dual? I am just trying to make sure of all the same settings so I can duplicate specifically what you did... Thanks


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## dathead2

also now seeing this error: ask for a one hour show and it stops short, one was 37 min
and other was 40 (and these were non-OTA channels, was A&E i think). i want L225 back - it should be user choosable. Dish needs to 
implement a beta tester roll out plan - this across the board roll out quite obviously
does NOT work.


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## Aliens

Sorry if this has been covered before and for possibly posting in the wrong location, but I didn’t want to start a new thread with this simple question. I’ve searched and read just about everything here on the 942 and haven’t located anything on the approx. 2 seconds it takes to lock in when changing channels. Is this normal?

Super job by everyone here with the information on the 942.


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## Bichon

Yes, it's normal. In fact, I'd have guessed more like 3-4 seconds.


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## Tyralak

Aliens said:


> Sorry if this has been covered before and for possibly posting in the wrong location, but I didn't want to start a new thread with this simple question. I've searched and read just about everything here on the 942 and haven't located anything on the approx. 2 seconds it takes to lock in when changing channels. Is this normal?
> 
> Super job by everyone here with the information on the 942.


Yes. It's actually normal with pretty much any digital receiver; cable, satellite, OTA. The receiver has to first locate a start bit, then it has to decode the signal. All of which takes more time than an analog RF modulator does in a regular TV set, which is pretty much instantaneous. Hope that helps.


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## Bichon

Tyralak said:


> Yes. It's actually normal with pretty much any digital receiver; cable, satellite, OTA. The receiver has to first locate a start bit, then it has to decode the signal. All of which takes more time than an analog RF modulator does in a regular TV set, which is pretty much instantaneous. Hope that helps.


I suspect the 942 is a tad slower than non-DVR digital receivers because it actually records and plays back from the hard drive, even when watching live TV. I notice that when I have the 942 and my HTPC tuned to the same OTA digital channel, that the 942 is a second or two behind the HTPC.


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## Tyralak

Bichon said:


> I suspect the 942 is a tad slower than non-DVR digital receivers because it actually records and plays back from the hard drive, even when watching live TV. I notice that when I have the 942 and my HTPC tuned to the same OTA digital channel, that the 942 is a second or two behind the HTPC.


That's true. I didn't notice any difference in speed between the 942 and the 522/625. And all three are faster by a small amount than the 508/510.


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## bkress

Hi Guys and Gals

What the latest Word on when the OTA (((Analog))) Channes will be available
THANKS


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## Mark Lamutt

Not there yet. That's about all I've heard.


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