# Tech Forum Summary - February 9th, 2009



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

*Tech Forum Summary - February 9th, 2009*​Tech Forum Hosted by
Mark Jackson - President, Echostar Technologies
Dan Minnick - VP, Engineering

Tonight:
* A sneak peek - SlingLoaded High-Def DVR
* Cool gadgets from CES
* New ways to organize your DVR list
* Sling Media guest
* Prizes!
* Q&A

*CES 2009*
Quick video ...

*ViP 922 DuoDVR*
1TB HD - Touch Bezzel - 1080p
SlingLoaded Placeshifting/SlingGuide/Remote Timers/Internet Browser
New User Interface @ Remote ... touchpad with trigger underneath.
Learning remote. Can be updated via satellite and operate RF on TV1.
Graphical tiles ... put your favorites together
New Program Guide ... logos added
DVR Menu ... graphical posters of shows recorded & PPVs
VOD Menu ... graphical movie posters of programs available
Browser Banner ... Record/PIP/Find other shows
Quick Picks ... change channels by name or number and have favorites
Weather Application
Sports Ticker and Stock Ticker wil be available after launch.
Browser ... Complete Internet Browser

G4's Dave Matthews - video review
John Falcone cNet - video review
Best of CES ... Home Video Category
Inovations2009 Showcase Awards ... TouchPad Remote Control & User Interface

922 will beout "this spring"

*722k*
Out in a few weeks. New Feature: Custom Groups

Leslie Harper demo: Custom Groups
Can create your own group and can record or move content into the group
DVR events can be managed by "my groups"
Coming soon on 612/622/722 available on 722k at launch

*Ciel-2 Launch*
Video of launch. Satellite went to 129. Footprint shown.
Extra power along the west coast and eastern US
Extra power to Florida because of the rain.
High Definition Local Channels.

*Giveaway Slingbox PRO-HD*
Trivia Q: What is the amplifying power of the Ciel-2 TWTA for a single conus transponder?
TWTA Traveling wave tube amplifier ... conus is continental US ... Ciel-2 puts out more power than Echostar 5

*Cool Gadgets from CES*
Short video ...

*Q&A*
Q Gerald in PA (Caller): Can I adjust the end time of a program once it starts recording?
A: Yes, you can do that manually.

Q Paul (EMail): Folder Sort?
A (Terry): Future software.

Q Tom (EMail): TV2 to IR converter?
A (Paul): A few months.

Q Mark (Email): Does DISH broadcast 1080p?
A (Paul): 1080p is available ... need ViP receiver, actual 1080p display TV. We pass what we get, some VOD is 1080p.

External Hard Drive Overview
A (Dan): SINGLE LUN only - 1TB. Hopefully multi-lun in the spring/summer.

Q Scott PA (Caller): We're outside our area's spotbeam ... any plans to fix this?
A: Not a lot to add. Send me an email.

Q Frank (EMail): How do I get PIP on my 722 in dual mode?
A (Jan): Change to single mode.

Q Tracy (Email): How can we watch more than one TV while we record?
A (Jennifer): Answer depends on model of DVR. You can watch something pre-recorded or something on other tuner.

Q Larry (Caller): Wireless connection to network?
A (Jennifer): Wireless not supported. Homeplug to run ethernet from receiver back to the router.

*Giveaway Winner*
Tom O'Grady Ingleside IL (phonetic)- 240w

*Sling Guest - John Paul Exec VP Products, Sling Media*
SlingGuide Demonstration ... including video
Over 6000 people in the "limited beta" since CES
More people can sign up ...
http://www.slingmedia.com/slingguide/
Will be made available to all DISH customers in springs.

SlingPlayer Mobile works on all iPhones and many BlackBerrys.
Visit http://mobile.slingmedia.com/ on your Blackberry for info.

*Sling Monitor*
Exclusive to the 922. 802.11 WiFi connected anywhere in home (via your router)
TV2 output in Hi-Def. (922 only initially. More models later.)
Available in the summer.

*Giveaway II - SlingCatcher*
Play stuff from your slingbox, PC, USB Drive, Internet.
Trivia Q: What filesystem is needed to view a program stored on an external hard drive connected to a SlingCatcher?

*Q&A*
Q Jason (EMail): 922 - Will there be a keyboard? Will the browser support Java and Flash?
A: Will support Java/Flash/HTML. Working on a keyboard ... our standard is "Zigby".

Q Jeff in MI (Caller): Downloading 1080p Beast to a 622 ... has failed over 20 times.
A: EMail us and we'll look into this!

*Giveaway II Winner*
Douglas Aladna from Augusta Georgia (phonetic) - FAT32.

Next Charlie Chat ... March 9th, 2008 - 9pm ET Channel 101
Next Tech Forum ... May 11th, 2009 - 9pm ET Channel 101


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## Brandon428 (Mar 21, 2007)

What did he mean by 1080p is available,just VOD or actual channels and is the 922 compatible with 1080/60p or just 24p?


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

> TV2 output in Hi-Def. (922 only initially. More models later.)


WAIT WHAT


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Brandon428 said:


> What did he mean by 1080p is available,just VOD or actual channels and is the 922 compatible with 1080/60p or just 24p?


1080p content is available, VOD an IPTV at this time. The answer said ViP receiver ... not 922, the 611, 622 and 722 are also capable of doing 1080p.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

RasputinAXP said:


> > TV2 output in Hi-Def. (922 only initially. More models later.)
> 
> 
> WAIT WHAT


In the context of the Sling Monitor TV set that they were discussing. At first it will work only with the 922 ... but will work with other devices later. On the 922 you see TV2 in HD via the "Sling Monitor".


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## RasputinAXP (Jan 23, 2008)

James Long said:


> In the context of the Sling Monitor TV set that they were discussing. At first it will work only with the 922 ... but will work with other devices later. On the 922 you see TV2 in HD via the "Sling Monitor".


Man. Here I got all excited.


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## DustoMan (Jul 16, 2005)

James Long said:


> In the context of the Sling Monitor TV set that they were discussing. At first it will work only with the 922 ... but will work with other devices later. On the 922 you see TV2 in HD via the "Sling Monitor".


Or maybe... it means that they are going to enable TV2 HD Output over Ethernet if you have something like a Slingcatcher on the other end... just speculating.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

James Long said:


> SlingPlayer Mobile works on all iPhones and many BlackBerrys.
> Visit http://mobile.slingmedia.com/ on your Blackberry for info.


They actually said that SlingPlayer Mobile works on iPhones? If so I think they jumped the gun a bit. I know there have been some demo's of it but it's not available yet.

Thanks for the recap James, once again I was not home to watch it, so having the recap was a great way to catch up.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

DustoMan said:


> Or maybe... it means that they are going to enable TV2 HD Output over Ethernet if you have something like a Slingcatcher on the other end... just speculating.


That's essentially what it means.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

DustoMan said:


> Or maybe... it means that they are going to enable TV2 HD Output over Ethernet if you have something like a Slingcatcher on the other end... just speculating.


Good speculation. The SlingCatcher will be able to catch and display HD (per the website it doesn't at the moment - but the improvement is planned).


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## rcbridge (Oct 31, 2002)

Was a price mentioned for the ViP 922 DuoDVR?


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

This one had a Charlie Chat quality to it ... mostly "infomercional". 

Shallow answers to technical questions - seemingly scripted. No mention of failed deployment of L6.15 or why they failed to deliver promised EHD compatibility fixes with L6.16.

Wasted hour.


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## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

rcbridge said:


> Was a price mentioned for the ViP 922 DuoDVR?


 Nope


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## riah (May 15, 2008)

Does anyone have the E-mail that was given to Paul in this Question?

Q Scott PA (Caller): We're outside our area's spotbeam ... any plans to fix this?
A: Not a lot to add. Send me an email.

There are lot of people in the Western Part the Scranton/Wilkes Barre DMA that are in that position and I would like to add my voice to his.

Most people I have spoken to at Dish are unaware of the situation


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

rcbridge said:


> Was a price mentioned for the ViP 922 DuoDVR?


Back during CES it was said to cost $199 leased but I don't think that is set in stone yet.


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## DustoMan (Jul 16, 2005)

HDG said:


> This one had a Charlie Chat quality to it ... mostly "infomercional".
> 
> Shallow answers to technical questions - seemingly scripted. No mention of failed deployment of L6.15 or why they failed to deliver promised EHD compatibility fixes with L6.16.
> 
> Wasted hour.


I don't think they have *ever* mentioned anything about failed deployments during a tech chat. And why would they want to talk about anything but positive things during these chats?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

riah said:


> Does anyone have the E-mail that was given to Paul in this Question?
> 
> Q Scott PA (Caller): We're outside our area's spotbeam ... any plans to fix this?
> A: Not a lot to add. Send me an email.
> ...


I believe they wanted Paul to email the techforum address being used for the forum. Now that the show is over emailing [email protected] _*or*_ [email protected] would be good places to start.


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## stanggt03 (Jun 13, 2006)

Just wanted to let anyone that was interested in the slingguide, that I sent my email address in yesterday and said it was full, but got an email today to sign up!


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## mscroggi (Jan 22, 2006)

FYI -

The [email protected] email gets bounced. The other one seems to work..

"Unable to deliver to <[email protected]>"



James Long said:


> I believe they wanted Paul to email the techforum address being used for the forum. Now that the show is over emailing [email protected] _*or*_ [email protected] would be good places to start.


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

The EKB version of the February 2009 Tech Forum Summary is remarkably similar to this one. :scratchin Great job James! 

Despite a couple of lame non-answers that didn't address the question asked, the absence of the ITV update sement makes this the Best. Tech Forum. Ever.

Seriously, the video demonstrations were very well done and if you are curious what the 922 is about or how DVR custom folders will work you should catch a replay.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

DustoMan said:


> I don't think they have *ever* mentioned anything about failed deployments during a tech chat. And why would they want to talk about anything but positive things during these chats?


Good business sense demands that they honor their promises, too.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

HDG said:


> Good business sense demands that they honor their promises, too.


Who promised that they would trash themselves on their own show?

They discuss failures and disappointments when they come up. There is enough DISH bashing going on ... there is no need for DISH to join in.


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## riah (May 15, 2008)

Thanks

I already tried [email protected] a got nowhere, After 3 weeks of back and forth the CSR basicly said too bad there is nothing we can do


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

James Long said:


> Who promised that they would trash themselves on their own show?
> 
> They discuss failures and disappointments when they come up. There is enough DISH bashing going on ... there is no need for DISH to join in.


Oh, come on, James! You wouldn't be on the waiting list for a 922, would you? 

The problem with Dish is that they *don't* discuss failures and dissapointments - they only discuss the money-maker dejour. They prefer to keep their customers in the dark, have them speculate and draw all kinds of conclussions. Even you have to admit that.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

HDG said:


> The problem with Dish is that they *don't* discuss failures and dissapointments - they only discuss the money-maker dejour. They prefer to keep their customers in the dark, have them speculate and draw all kinds of conclussions. Even you have to admit that.


I don't have to admit a thing that isn't true.

I watch these things. I have every chat/forum aired in the past three years on my hard drive. I have some older ones on VHS. I've noted errors in their answers and I've seen them discuss problems they have had.

If you're looking for Hee Haw style "gloom, despair and agony on me" songs sung by DISH on their programming you will be disappointed. But if you watch (more than letting others watch for you?) you will see and hear comments on when things don't go as planned.

You have a false preconception. Fortunately replays are available for anyone who DOES want to watch again. There have been a few "all puff" shows and a few real deep shows. I'd say this week's was average. Or perhaps better because there was no ITV segment.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

mscroggi said:


> FYI -
> 
> The [email protected] email gets bounced. The other one seems to work..
> 
> "Unable to deliver to <[email protected]>"


It's [email protected] where I send emails with regard to uplink issues and signal quality issues, plus ongoing issues with such things as audio dropouts from locals.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

phrelin said:


> It's [email protected] where I send emails with regard to uplink issues and signal quality issues, plus ongoing issues with such things as audio dropouts from locals.


Thanks. I wish these addresses were consistent!


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## JimD (Apr 8, 2005)

Will the tech chat be rebroadcast?


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## ZBoomer (Feb 21, 2008)

JimD said:


> Will the tech chat be rebroadcast?


Many times; search with your receiver for "Tech Forum" and you'll see a bunch of rebroadcasts.

Next is tonight, 2am eastern, and again tomorrow noon eastern, and like 9 more times on my timer count.


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## CABill (Mar 20, 2005)

JimD said:


> Will the tech chat be rebroadcast?


If you don't happen to have a DVR to do the search for you, 
http://www.dishnetwork.com/customerService/broadcast/default.aspx
has a link to Rebroadcast Schedule
http://www.dishnetwork.com/pop_ups/customer_service/charlieChat/broadcast.shtml
and if you block popups, the image of the schedule is
http://www.dishnetwork.com/customerservice/broadcast/images/newBroadCast_data.jpg


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

James Long said:


> I don't have to admit a thing that isn't true.
> 
> I watch these things. I have every chat/forum aired in the past three years on my hard drive. I have some older ones on VHS. I've noted errors in their answers and I've seen them discuss problems they have had.
> 
> ...


For one thing, I watched the program. I didn't rely on transcripts.

For another, the facts speak for themselves: (1) A promise was made on a live broadcast that set the expectations, (2) three software releases (L6.15, L6.16 and L6.17) failed to deliver or even address the promise, (3) Dish has made no effort to explain this lack of delivery to its subscribers one way or another - although a similar on-air explanation would not be unreasonable to expect.

I'm not into gloom or dispair. I'm just a paying customer who wants to be informed of why an announced enhancement has no been delivered. I didn't set the expectations - they did.

Glad you liked the broadcast.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

HDG said:


> For one thing, I watched the program. I didn't rely on transcripts.


Good ... particularly because these are summaries, not transcripts.



> For another, the facts speak for themselves: (1) A promise was made on a live broadcast that set the expectations, (2) three software releases (L6.15, L6.16 and L6.17) failed to deliver or even address the promise, (3) Dish has made no effort to explain this lack of delivery to its subscribers one way or another - although a similar on-air explanation would not be unreasonable to expect.


OK, which promise? Is this the issue:


HDG said:


> No mention of failed deployment of L6.15 or why they failed to deliver promised EHD compatibility fixes with L6.16.


I believe you're expecting too much out of the broadcast forums. They are not reports to shareholders or to the CEO put there for accountability. They are a conduit for providing some additional information on their current and future products. If you want that level of reporting be Charlie Ergen. 



HDG said:


> I'm not into gloom or dispair. I'm just a paying customer who wants to be informed of why an announced enhancement has no been delivered. I didn't set the expectations - they did.


Apparently they are not allowed to talk to their customers unless they clear it with you? Sorry if your expectations were not met but the Tech Forum was never promised to be an accountability session.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

James Long said:


> Good ... particularly because these are summaries, not transcripts.
> 
> OK, which promise? Is this the issue:I believe you're expecting too much out of the broadcast forums. They are not reports to shareholders or to the CEO put there for accountability. They are a conduit for providing some additional information on their current and future products. If you want that level of reporting be Charlie Ergen.
> 
> Apparently they are not allowed to talk to their customers unless they clear it with you? Sorry if your expectations were not met but the Tech Forum was never promised to be an accountability session.


Ok, James, you win.

I know spin when I see it.

Enjoy your hair-splitting with some other sap.


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