# Sticky  After OTA channel scan, ALWAYS force a guide download!



## Mark Lamutt

I'm posting this now, as 3 of our local OTA Denver channels went digital only last night, and 2 of them changed broadcast channels, which required an OTA channel rescan.

Currently, there is a serious bug with all Dish Network HD DVR receivers that will cause your OTA timers to be "lost" for at least a day after doing an OTA channel scan. When your OTA timers get "lost", the timer events show up in the Timers list, but no events scheduled to record show up in the Daily Schedule. 

The workaround: When you do an OTA channel rescan, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS force a guide data download after you finish the scan. The guide data download, in addition to updating your guide data, rebuilds the timer database from the Timers list. This will "reschedule" your OTA timers so that they will show up again in your Daily Schedule.

The nightly maintenance update will also do this (or at least is supposed to do this), but if you have OTA timers scheduled to record between the time you do the channel scan and the time your reciever does the nightly maintenance, they will not fire.

I'm yelling at the top of my lungs to Dish Network to get this fixed, but it hasn't happened yet.


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## ShapeShifter

Mark Lamutt said:


> The workaround: When you do an OTA channel rescan, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS force a guide data download after you finish the scan.


Sounds like a good tip!

Please refresh our memories... how do you force a guide data download?


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## Mark Lamutt

Oops....sorry - I forgot to put that in there.

To force a guide data download, scroll to the end of the guide, and if it's at all out of date, you will get the option to download the guide data. 

If you don't get the option, rescan your OTA channels, and then scroll to the end of the guide, and you will get the option to download the guide data again.


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## TulsaOK

Mark Lamutt said:


> Oops....sorry - I forgot to put that in there.
> 
> To force a guide data download, scroll to the end of the guide, and if it's at all out of date, you will get the option to download the guide data.
> 
> If you don't get the option, rescan your OTA channels, and then scroll to the end of the guide, and you will get the option to download the guide data again.


Performing a *Check Switch *will download a new guide as well.


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## ShapeShifter

Thanks! No wonder I couldn't find a menu item for it...


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## milacqua

A guide for the OTA stations? I never heard of such. I do not subscribe to Dish locals because we will never get them in HD out here in the sticks where I live. I do fine with my deep fringe area Channel Master atop a 60' tower and with this set up and rotor, I can pull in my "locals" and get an excellent HD picture. 

Because I do not subscribe to Dish locals, my local program guide always shows "digital programming" (or something like that). It never gives a time slot or name of specific shows and programming. If I set a timer to record anything OTA, I have to go in and do it with a manual set-up, telling the dvr what channel number, what time to start recording and when to stop recording - like the old vcrs. There is no way I have been able to get a program guide on my 622. Is this something new?


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## tnsprin

milacqua said:


> A guide for the OTA stations? I never heard of such. I do not subscribe to Dish locals because we will never get them in HD out here in the sticks where I live. I do fine with my deep fringe area Channel Master atop a 60' tower and with this set up and rotor, I can pull in my "locals" and get an excellent HD picture.
> 
> Because I do not subscribe to Dish locals, my local program guide always shows "digital programming" (or something like that). It never gives a time slot or name of specific shows and programming. If I set a timer to record anything OTA, I have to go in and do it with a manual set-up, telling the dvr what channel number, what time to start recording and when to stop recording - like the old vcrs. There is no way I have been able to get a program guide on my 622. Is this something new?


Since I do subscribe to locals I am not sure, but you might try using the Web to set OTA. 
http://dish.sling.com
It would be nice if they made it easier to set manual timers. Even just having the Digital programming slip into time slots on the half hours would help.


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## TulsaOK

milacqua said:


> A guide for the OTA stations? I never heard of such. I do not subscribe to Dish locals because we will never get them in HD out here in the sticks where I live.


Subscribe to your local channels and you'll get EPG data for your OTA channels.


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## arxaw

Kent Taylor said:


> Subscribe to your local channels and you'll get EPG data for your OTA channels.


I just subscribed to Dish Network and have the 722k w/ OTA module. We get local OTA from two markets but I'm only seeing guide info for the locals we sub to on Dish. All the other channels just say "Digitial Program" in the program info.

How do I get these other channels to show up in the guide?

Thanks.


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## BobaBird

What is the other market? Does Dish carry it and, if so, on which satellite? Do you have a dish pointed at that satellite?


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## arxaw

BobaBird said:


> What is the other market? Does Dish carry it and, if so, on which satellite? Do you have a dish pointed at that satellite?


Fayetteville, AR. It's not yet carried in HD by dish. The DMA I'm sub'd to is Springfield, MO. Sat is aimed at the Eastern arc.

On my non-DVR HD _receiver_, the guide *is* populated. But not the 722k.


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## tnsprin

arxaw said:


> Fayetteville, AR. It's not yet carried in HD by dish. The DMA I'm sub'd to is Springfield, MO. Sat is aimed at the Eastern arc.
> 
> On my non-DVR HD _receiver_, the guide *is* populated. But not the 722k.


Shouldn't matter if they don't carry the HD. They normally will have the guide for any station the carry the SD feed for. They even supply some sub channels and a few that they don't carry in the guide.


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## arxaw

The guide is populated this morning. Looks like it would have done that when I forced a guide download. Oh well, at least it's working now.

Glad I got the OTA module. The sat-delivered "HD" locals seem pretty soft in comparison.


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