# BUG REPORTS: OTA failure, PIP failure, DTV failure, HDNet failure, etc.



## alipka (Dec 11, 2003)

So, the first 24 hours of 921 ownership has produced a wealth of information. I thought I would summarize the various bugs and DISH's response to some of them:

1. OTA failure
I have confirmed the bug, reported here earlier, with OTA reception. If I try to tune a station that was found by the DTV scan but has a somewhat weak signal, it locks up the entire 8-VSB system, and no OTA stations can be successfully tuned. In addition, going back to the Add Local Channel screen result in a non-functioning screen. Deleting all the channels and trying another DTV scan freezes as well. A reboot allows one to try again, but it is hopeless at this point.

DISH has confirmed this. Apparently this bug was not present on the last beta version, but appeared in the release software. No ETA was provided for the fix.

2. PIP failure
PIP works only intermittently. In addition, if I pause one stream and swap, all hell breaks loose. The aspect ratio of the new main screen is random; I have been keeping SD stations on Gray Bars (component output, 1080i, 16x9), but upon PIP'ing, it becomes stretched - though it still says Gray Bars in the banner). Sometimes it reverts to Gray Bars, othertimes not. This has locked up the whole system and it has rebooted itself more than once.
Changing the size of the PIP window frequently causes lockups as well.
Sometimes PIP stops working altogether.

3. DTV failure
I set a timer and paused the channel I was watching. When the time came for the timer, it didn't record, even though pressing DTV showed the timer present.
I was able to record two streams at once later, one of them HD. I am concerned that having a pause at the onset of a timer may be a bug as above, however.

4. Aspect ratio/stretching failure
As mentioned above, the aspect ratio control has a mind of its own. Aside from the over-stretching many people have noted, going from guide to channel, or from menu to channel can change the stretch setting. Sometimes the unit gets into a mode where the banner reading doesn't match the actual picture setting.

5. OTA guide
As we feared, there is no guide information on the OTA stations other than the presence of the station. While this has been the case with the 6000, now that there is PVR capability it becomes more serious. The whole idea of selecting the program in the guide as a means to record it is negated by this absence.
Here's a workaround: if you get locals, find the SD station with the show you want and select it for recording in the guide. You can then edit the timer, once set, and change the channel to the OTA channel you want (assuming they fix the OTA's in the first place).

6. Favorites
I don't see any way to select which OTA stations you want to appear in the favorites list. On the 6000, the DTV stations you have added appear in the list of stations in the set up favorites screens; here, they don't. When I created a favorites list, they were all automatically added when I finished, but you may not want them all in your favorites list.

7. HD stations moving from 61.5 to 110
So HBOHD is not 9440 anymore, though the programming is still there. Again, though, the guide is behaving like the OTA stations, not listing the programs, and the new HBOHD station doesn't appear in the guide by default. This again means it is difficult to set a time for it.
You can add it by creating a favorites list (!) where it will appear.

8. HDNet/HDNetMovies failure
This may be peculiar to my system, but while I get Discovery HD and ESPNHD quite well, the HDNet stations are completely pixelated and unwatchable. This, despite the fact that the signal is actually higher on the transponder (7, I think) that HDNet/HDNMV are on compared with the DiscoveryHD/ESPNHD transponder. 
I called DISH about this as well and they said I should bring the machine to the dealer, but it might be a software issue. Helpful.
Is anyone else having this problem?

Those are the bugs that come immediately to mind. Having dropped a cool grand like the rest of you, one wonders. Hopefully this unannounced beta period will end soon.


----------



## alipka (Dec 11, 2003)

sorry, I didn't include my software information:

SW L142HECD-N
Boot 120B
Flash F051

Switch SW64 DISH 500 + 300 @61.5


----------



## peterd (Dec 17, 2003)

alipka said:


> 7. HD stations moving from 61.5 to 110 [...] the new HBOHD station doesn't appear in the guide by default.


Just want to report that HBOHD on 9456 (and SHOHD on 9460) have appeared in my 921's guide (All Channels and All Sub lists) all along.


----------



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

alipka said:


> 2. PIP failure
> PIP works only intermittently. In addition, if I pause one stream and swap, all hell breaks loose. The aspect ratio of the new main screen is random; I have been keeping SD stations on Gray Bars (component output, 1080i, 16x9), but upon PIP'ing, it becomes stretched - though it still says Gray Bars in the banner). Sometimes it reverts to Gray Bars, othertimes not. This has locked up the whole system and it has rebooted itself more than once.
> Changing the size of the PIP window frequently causes lockups as well.
> Sometimes PIP stops working altogether.


Need much more information about this, please. What does PIP works intermittently mean? What is happening when it doesn't work? What are you doing when it stops working? Need detailed, specific information to reproduce the bug to get it fixed. What happens when "all hell breaks loose"?

Regarding the random aspect ratios, keep in mind that the 921 has separate memory for HD channels and SD channels. So, for SD channels you can have it set for Gray Bars and for HD channels set to normal, and then when you switch between them, the AR changes. If that's what you're talking about, problem solved. If that's not what you're talking about, once again, need much more detailed information to reproduce it.

Describe the lockups that changing the PIP window size has caused. Smartcard reboot required lockup? Close PIP and everything returns to normal? More information please.



alipka said:


> 8. HDNet/HDNetMovies failure
> This may be peculiar to my system, but while I get Discovery HD and ESPNHD quite well, the HDNet stations are completely pixelated and unwatchable. This, despite the fact that the signal is actually higher on the transponder (7, I think) that HDNet/HDNMV are on compared with the DiscoveryHD/ESPNHD transponder.
> I called DISH about this as well and they said I should bring the machine to the dealer, but it might be a software issue. Helpful.
> Is anyone else having this problem?


This one sounds like it may be on your side only - both of the HDNet channels are perfect on my setup, and no one has reported (that I can think of off hand) seeing those problems on those channels with any of the other receivers. And believe me, we'd hear about it very loudly. You very well may have to work through Dish tech support on this one.


----------



## alipka (Dec 11, 2003)

I will reply in more detail later, but I am aware of the fact that SD and HD are set differently. The problem here is if I have two SD stations tuned in the main and PIP windows - both satellite tuners (not OTA), and they are both set to gray bars, when I swap the result is a stretch on the main window - but the banner will read "gray bars." Furthermore, pressing the # button doesn't fix it.

This is intermittent, but frequent.

Powering off and waiting for the reboot has fixed it when it occurred.



Mark Lamutt said:


> Need much more information about this, please.
> 
> Regarding the random aspect ratios, keep in mind that the 921 has separate memory for HD channels and SD channels. So, for SD channels you can have it set for Gray Bars and for HD channels set to normal, and then when you switch between them, the AR changes. If that's what you're talking about, problem solved. If that's not what you're talking about, once again, need much more detailed information to reproduce it.
> 
> Describe the lockups that changing the PIP window size has caused. Smartcard reboot required lockup? Close PIP and everything returns to normal? More information please.


----------



## tahoerob (Mar 22, 2003)

alipka said:


> ................
> 1. OTA failure
> ................... Deleting all the channels and trying another DTV scan freezes as well. A reboot allows one to try again, but it is hopeless at this point.
> ............. Apparently this bug was not present on the last beta version, but appeared in the release software.


Great, beta worked, release screwed up!!!
I have been successful in just doing a quick (well 5 minutes!) smart card in\out reboot. All my DTV channel stay in guide & the good ones work.
See my OTA channel recommendation:
http://www.dbstalk.com//showthread.php?p=183217#post183217



alipka said:


> 2. PIP failure
> ...............


I have gotten a few weird screens too. Once the PIP was toggle off & the channel tuned went into the left uper corner in PIP size!?!? Again I happen to be in GRAY BARS. Maybe gray bar mode is the culprit???


alipka said:


> 3. DTV failure
> I set a timer and paused the channel I was watching. When the time came for the timer, it didn't record, even though pressing DTV showed the timer present.
> I was able to record two streams at once later, one of them HD. I am concerned that having a pause at the onset of a timer may be a bug as above, however.


this happened to me too. Now I do NOT tune to channels that I know have a timer starting until AFTER it starts!



alipka said:


> 4. Aspect ratio/stretching failure


I do not use any apspect change unless a SD channel has a letterbox show, then Zoom mode allows it to fill my 16*9 screen nicely



alipka said:


> 5. OTA guide
> ...............
> Here's a workaround: if you get locals, find the SD station with the show you want and select it for recording in the guide. You can then edit the timer, once set, and change the channel to the OTA channel you want (assuming they fix the OTA's in the first place).


I did the same trick except after redording you get a "unknown recording" as description



alipka said:


> 6. Favorites
> I don't see any way to select which OTA stations you want to appear in the favorites list. On the 6000, the DTV stations you have added appear in the list of stations in the set up favorites screens; here, they don't. When I created a favorites list, they were all automatically added when I finished, but you may not want them all in your favorites list.


actually they do.
You have to scroll ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM!!! For some reason instead of being on top before the 101 channel,they are at the BOTTOM after 9900s!! I wa sable to make an HDTV favorites with the satellite HS & OTA channels as one easy guide.



> 7. HD stations moving from 61.5 to 110
> So HBOHD is not 9440 anymore,............


they are at these numbers. My guide has them. I put only the new ones in my HDTV favorites to be ready when 61.5 goes dark.
HBO HDTV (East) (1) 9456 110° 
Showtime HDTV (1) 9460 110° 
HD Event (1) 9466 110° 
HD Pay Per View (1) 9467 110°



> 8. HDNet/HDNetMovies failure
> ....................


must be your end!. Mine on east coast have been fine.

Robert


----------



## alipka (Dec 11, 2003)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Need much more information about this, please.


Here's a more detailed description of an aspect ratio problem I just had.

I was watching an SD channel with Gray Bars (1080i, 16x9). I tuned a channel on 119 transponder 15 and got an Acquiring Signal message (presumably some signal issue at my end, maybe rain fade).

When I returned to the previous channel (via the guide), the banner still read Gray Bars, but in fact it was Stretch. Pressing the * key to adjust the mode wouldn't change it.

I tried pressing PIP, hoping to swap to the other tuner. Instead the central 90% of the screen immediately filled with a gray screen with black dots, with an "x" in the center. The previous picture was visible around the outside. After about 10 seconds of this the 921 shut itself off and rebooted.

When it rebooted the gray bars were back.

SW Version L142HECD-N
Boot Version 120B
Flash Version F051


----------



## tahoerob (Mar 22, 2003)

alipka said:


> ............I Instead the central 90% of the screen immediately filled with a gray screen with black dots, with an "x" in the center. .............


 this is equivalent to the blue screen of death for windows!!
once you see this then the 921 has no choice but to reboot by itself or with your help


----------

