# "Acquiring Signal" Message-ATTENTION ECHOSTAR!



## Jason

With all the talk going on about what we would like to have in future updates, I want to bring a major problem to the attention of the 721 tech team in hopes that they can get to the bottom of what is causing this problem and get it fixed.

Lately, I have been getting the "Acquiring Signal" message on a black screen for a couple of seconds on a lot of the programs that were recorded to the hard drive on the 721. It also happens on my 501 as well.

I know for a fact that the problem is not a poor signal on my end because my signal strength is between 95-99. This problem seems to come and go and many people have brought up the problem from time to time so it isn't an isolated event.

Can someone at Echostar look into this problem and try to get it fixed?


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## DarrellP

You should try hitting the Guide button on a 6000 after it's been sitting on an OTA channel for more than about 5 minutes. The receiver has to reacquire the sat and it takes about 45 seconds.

I've learned to navigate via the Browse to get back on a sat channel then I don't get that message.

Come on, Dish, fix this! PLEASE!!


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## Bill D

It could just be a bad tuner, unrelated to Dish especially if other aren't having the same problem. I had a 721 RA'd for a bad tuner 1. Go into point dih, put both tuners on the same transponder and if one starts to drop in signal bounce to the other tuner, if it is fine you have a bad tuner (or bad cables, easy to check this by swapping cables and see if the problem foolows or stays


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## Jacob S

Yeah, bad tuner. Why do the pvr units get bad tuners and not the nonpvr units? 501 tuners got bad, 721 tuner must obviously be doing the same. Dish is not making the receivers right, and need to fix it. Seems like a recall needs to be made but I doubt that would happen, hurt Dish's image too much. They will just do it on a case to case basis.


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## Big D

I am not so sure that this is a bad tuner issue, I have seen it on my 721 as well. It is very intermittent, I do not see it for days on end and then I see it a number of times on several recordings. If I had to guess as to where the cause is, I would point to the buffer. It may display the acquiring signal message when the buffer has a under-run or overflow. Just guessing on my part.


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## Scott Greczkowski

Jason, silly question but where are yoou located? (Just City and State)


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## Filip1

I have posted this before and called Dish 3 times complaining about this issue. This intermittent acq. signal, digital breakup and audio loss, has been happening for weeks. When I call they say it must be my system because no one else is complaining. I explain that i have seen this problem posted online many times but of course they could care less. People this is NOT a 721 or 501 problem. This is a signal issue. We all HAVE to call dish!!!!
By the way I am getting this problem on all 5 of my pvrs.


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## Jason

Scott,

I live in Lapeer, Michigan. Have you had any problems with this yet Scott? Can you bring this message to the attention of your contacts at Echostar?

Big D and Filip1,

I totally agree. I have had this problem come and go on 2 PVRs so I know it is NOT a bad tuner problem. Sometimes it will only happen for a few days and then I wouldn't have any problems for a month at a time. Then it rears its ugly head again!

It is a major pain for people who like to archive their favorite episodes because you end up losing the picture a few times and miss a lot of the episodes!


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## Jacob S

This has been happening for months on this one 721. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it dont. I have seen more and more people complain about this. If it was a signal issue then how come are those with nonpvr receivers not seeing the signal problems? If it is a hardware issue then how come is it not doing it all of the time? I have noticed that it does it on one tuner and not the other when it does do this.


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## Filip1

Jacob
I have recorded the same program daily on 2 seperate pvrs. My 721 and a 501. When the signal is interrupted on one copy, I will check the other pvr in the same exact spot in the program. Everytime the acq sig or break-up is on both pvrs. So if this is a problem with the 721 why is the 501 having the exact same problem at the exact same time?


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## psycaz

I have seen the same thing on my 508. Comes and goes in waves. Also have had it do the acquiring signal and pooch my receiver. The receiver still gets a signal once it locks, but the box no longer will respond to any commands from the remote. have to do a reboot on the pvr itself, then it "reacquires" the sat again, ie I get the stupid message again once the pvr turns back on.
I am in Ferndale, MI


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## pernar

Hmm, maybe there's something strange with our area of the country. I'm in Grand Rapids, MI and saw this earlier in the week with my 508.


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## Jacob S

Then maybe there is a software issue or some kind of issue that they just do not know what it is.


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## Bob Haller

You know I reported this weeks ago and Scott said it was ONLY me and that I should quit posting about it. I saw it last night on my 508, and on a recorded show last nght also on my 721.

Heres his post to me.

Bob you are like a guy whos swimming at a beach screaming "Im drowning" yet when life guards jump in and offers to help you, you tell them to go away because you still have air in your lungs.

Get a new receiver and be happy, complaining about a receiver that you know has problems does no good for anyone.

Its not a 721 problem! Its a problem with Bob's 721. See the difference?

__________________
Scott
[email protected]


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## Bob Haller

Metro has a 721 that input one quit altogether. It might be a hardware issue but whichever E supposedly charged me $15 for shipping. 

Given their who cares attitude about DP owners ands ESPICALLY not returning E mail and then calling me when I contacted Sky Reports I have no confidence in their taking responsiblity to correct whatever is wrong. I fear were going down the dippy DP sewer again.

I feel bad for the engineers at E reading this. If these problems arent admitted to and orrected at NO CHARGE to the affected subs this place will get ugly

Metro tells me 10% of E PVRs get returned with problems. Thats a horrid reject rate for a consumer electronic product.


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## Mark Holtz

Of that 10%, how many of those were made DOA because the consumer didn't understand that it takes 10-15 minutes from check switch until the 50x is operational.

From what I understand, the 721 is partially operational out of the box, but doesn't operate fully until the firmware is downloaded.


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## Bob Haller

Well I dont believe metros 10% reject rate includes this. I understand he downloads new receivers with their softwaRE BEFORE their sold. That rate is for ALL E PVRs including the 721 but the 500 series too.

Not a good rate in any case. I wonder why they dont dowmload whateve software is urrent when the box is produced?


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## normang

I heard that a code update may fix the aquire issue with 6000's. Though I have no clues when to expect it..


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## Jason

Anyone else still getting the "Acquiring Signal" message? I have also been getting some artifacts on the screen from time to time while the picture gets pixelated.


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## Dgenx321

I've been getting the card in my reciever is not authorizred to view this channel. That lasts 5 or so seconds at a time. It happens maybe 2 or 3 times a day..


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## Unthinkable

> _Originally posted by Bob Haller _
> *You know I reported this weeks ago and Scott said it was ONLY me and that I should quit posting about it. I saw it last night on my 508, and on a recorded show last nght also on my 721.
> 
> Heres his post to me.
> 
> Deleted *


Bob,

It's not polite or cool at all to post private messages or emails in a public forum like this for any reason. Stick to the DBS talk if you would.

No disrespect intended here, but I think a lot of people now perceive you as the boy who crys wolf many times over to the point of folks no longer putting any credibility into all the empty threats to leave E* You have been saying that you are going to jump to DirecTV and get some Tivos every week for seemingly years now both here and on alt.dbs.echostar. Make up your mind and finally do something - vote with your wallet and make good on your words if Echostar angers you that much.


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## SteveinDanville

Come on guys...I had this problem several months ago, and when the service guys came out, the LNBF was bad. They replaced it, and I've been problem-free ever since. It WASN'T the tuner, and it WASN'T the signal. Check the LNBF.


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## John Corn

> _Originally posted by Jason _
> *Anyone else still getting the "Acquiring Signal" message? I have also been getting some artifacts on the screen from time to time while the picture gets pixelated. *


It's been happening from time to time on my 501 as well.


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## Jason

SteveinDanville,

I find it hard to believe that 10-20 people have this problem and we all have defective LNBFs!

Sometimes this problem goes away for a few weeks and then it comes back. If the problem was the LNBF, then the problem would be there all the time.


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## Filip1

Stevein
How can you be so sure that what was your problem is the same for all the rest of us. I just (4 months ago) had professionally installed pro-lnbf's and switches installed. A few months ago the Detroit locals were a mess, Acq. sig and digital break up every hour. I called Dish and the first few days they said it was my system, even tho I knew others in my area were having the same problem. After 5 days of horrible picture problems I called one more time and they said they just got a message from the tech dept. that the problem with the Detroit locals (yes the one I was told over and over again that didn't exist) was fixed. I still firmly believe it is a signal problem!


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## Jason

Filip1,

I probably record more off the Detroit locals than anything else. What date did tech support tell you the problem with the Detroit locals was fixed? Have you still been having problems?


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## Filip1

I think this was back in November Jason. I was just showing that you can't always go by what the csr says about your system being the problem. Also showing they have previously had problems with the Detroit locals since we went to spotbeam.


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## Filip1

Oh sorry Jason, yes I am still having intermittent problems and it is really starting to irritate me. I have had the small dish for almost nine years and this is probably my longest period of reception problems.


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## psycaz

I was watching the Detroit Piston game ( second half) on the local UPN station through Dish and it was a HORRIBLE picture. Loads of pixalation with any movement. Would clear up for a minute, then right back to pixelation. Lasted throughout the second half of the game that I noticed. Seems they have had nothing but trouble with the UPN station for almost two weeks now. Same station for me last week had severe audio issues, I posted abut that. Of course the csr says something to the effect that no one else has called about it.


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## Bob Haller

> _Originally posted by The Unthinkable _
> *
> 
> Bob,
> 
> It's not polite or cool at all to post private messages or emails in a public forum like this for any reason. Stick to the DBS talk if you would.
> 
> No disrespect intended here, but I think a lot of people now perceive you as the boy who crys wolf many times over to the point of folks no longer putting any credibility into all the empty threats to leave E* You have been saying that you are going to jump to DirecTV and get some Tivos every week for seemingly years now both here and on alt.dbs.echostar. Make up your mind and finally do something - vote with your wallet and make good on your words if Echostar angers you that much. *


Scotts opost was a PUBLIC POST, if your still interested I will go finds it. I have received other private quit complaing posts from Scott but never posted them. THIS ONE IS PUBLIC.


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## Jason

Is anyone still having problems with the picture pixellating and the 'acquring signal' message coming up?


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## Unthinkable

> _Originally posted by Bob Haller _
> *
> 
> Scotts opost was a PUBLIC POST, if your still interested I will go finds it. I have received other private quit complaing posts from Scott but never posted them. THIS ONE IS PUBLIC. *


Ok, my fault then. I owe you an apology Bob for misunderstanding that.


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## Bob Haller

no problem. I was away at disney for a week. Practice recorded one minute but other than that I have been too busy to check.


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## Bill Mullin

> _Originally posted by Filip1 _
> *I have posted this before and called Dish 3 times complaining about this issue. This intermittent acq. signal, digital breakup and audio loss, has been happening for weeks. When I call they say it must be my system because no one else is complaining. I explain that i have seen this problem posted online many times but of course they could care less. People this is NOT a 721 or 501 problem. This is a signal issue. We all HAVE to call dish!!!!
> By the way I am getting this problem on all 5 of my pvrs. *


I have only premium movie channels - I have been getting intermittent "acquiring signal" and pixellation, but on ALL my movie channels when it happens. I've called Dish complaining about the problem and was essentially told that there were no problems at their end . . . bull!


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## Danbo

I just got off the phone with Dish Tech Support regarding this and other problems. They said "no such problem was previously recorded". Oh, and the ever present "plug your receiver into a different outlet on a different circuit and see if it still happens". My take is they don't care and don't plan on doing anything.


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## KhakiBoy

I love this forum! Whenever I have a problem I know I can find the answer (or at least others suffering from the same problem). My 501 started doing this last night. I was watching DIY on 111 and kept having the Aquiring signal message pop up then disappear. I'd flip back to 112, the other program I was watching and it was fine. This evening I came home and turned on my dish and it was stuck on the screen. I went to Point Dish and it showed a signal strength of 0. I ran a Check Switch and it reported no switch detected. At first I thought it had something to do with my setup. Over the weekend I hooked my 501 back up. I had it disconnected in my bedroom b/c I needed the cable for my cable modem. I hooked up the modem in my family room and hooked the 501 back up. I disconnected the line running to my receiver in the family room and ran it to the line in my bedroom so I could use my 501 again. Everything was fine all weekend. When I first started getting this message last night I thought it was b/c of the weather, as it was raining quite hard. Now I'm not sure what the cause is. I disconnected the line from my bedroom and ran it back to the receiver in the family room and that one was getting a signal fine. Yet my 501 isn't. All other receivers were working fine too. I have 5 receivers total but need to get a switch so for the time being only have 4 going at a time. Which switch do I need? I'm running a DP system with quad LNBF. I finally gave up on my 501 and watched my shows in the living room. When it was over I went back up to my bedroom and now my 501 has a signal and the check switch is ok. Yet I'm constantly getting the signal lost message. I thought it might be the extention piece of cable I used to connect the signal from the dish to the cable running to my room. Perhaps I need a higher grade cable? Perhaps Dish is having problems with their signal? Or is it the 501? At least I'm not the only one with the problem. Although mine seems more severe than the others. Just in typing this (rather long) post it has given me the message a dozen times or so.


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## ryker

My 501 has done this since I got it in June on both 110 and 119, but only certain transponders, checked everything but the cable .To cold here to do that. It was all new cable I installed myself so I think it is probably the receiver.


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## KhakiBoy

It's really getting annoying now. Last night I basically couldn't watch tv b/c the aquiring signal message kept popping up. Sometimes it would be up for several (up to 5 or more) minutes. I was going to change some cabling today but didn't get a chance. Tonight I had my sister program the 501 to record American Idol and was worried if it would do it. I got home from class and the first thing I noticed was the record light was still on. It's only a 30min show so it should have stopped. I turned the tv on and the picture was frozen, as was the receiver. I ended up holding the power button to reboot the receiver. I went into the PVR and noticed it did show American Idol but it listed it as 19min. I started the recording and it had started in the middle of the show. The second thing I noticed was it's all screwed up. If I hit the skip button to go forward it actually fast forwards. Worse is it wouldn't stop. Even if I hit play it would stay in fast forward. Hopefully Friday I'll be able to redo the cabling. Otherwise I'll call E* and see what they say. Another problem tonight was my sister said our 1 receiver kept giving them an error about the smart card. Dunno what's up with that either.


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## Bill Mullin

> _Originally posted by KhakiBoy _
> *Hopefully Friday I'll be able to redo the cabling.*


If you're getting high readings from the signal strength meter, new cabling won't make any difference.


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## ericha

I had this problem in the middle of watching a live program last night--one of the local channels in the SF Bay Area. I was trying to watch CSI from last Thursday off of my 721 last night as well, and the problem was so bad that the program was unwatchable--we had blocky pictures and sound cut-outs for about 1/3 of the first 10 minutes, which was all we could stand! Signal strength is fine when I check it, in the 80's. This is really unacceptable!


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## xgrep

I saw the "acquiring signal" screen a couple of times last night (for the first time since rain fade a year ago). It wasn't on anything I cared about, but it seemed odd, so did a switch check. Everything looked good. What's more, signal strength on the bird/transponder on which "acquiring signal" was displayed was around 110 (this is on a 2700 - didn't check it on my 301).

Looks like it might be Dish's problem to me, but it hasn't gotten to where I feel like calling.

By the way, this was on one of the SF area locals, so it might be a spot beam. Not sure where the rest of you folks are.

Who knows, maybe the spooks are testing out some new counter-terrorist technology.

x


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## Bob Haller

I had one tonight on my 721. It also dropped to live during a pvr playback and my 721 has a annoying audio oput of sync bug as well.

My signal strength is all in the 100s and most around 115 I spent forever eaking my dishes. I still want to upgrade to dish pro but seriously dopubt it will help.

Lack of $ is delaying that upgrade. I have to register for enbay and sell off my 2 Dps plus all my other junk. Vacation was great but left us broke.


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## TomCat

Yes, it still happens. There is some speculation in another thread that L110 will fix it. It always happens for me on sat input 2, never 1, and always on every channel. It can last for a day or more, and then goes away for a day or two. Some have reported it on sat input 1 only.

There is a great possibility that many more units have it than are being reported, because unless you set two simultaneous records, use the PIP, or watch live during a single record, sat input 2 is never used, or rarely used.

Many of us are starting to see a similar problem on the 501's, which may or may not be related to it. My sneaking suspicion is that it has to do with changes in the delivery system, possibly due to the spot beam implementation. It likely has nothing to do with received signal strength and everything to do with data corruption, possibly by ingress interference from signal reuse on the spotbeams, reflected in an inability of the receiver OS to reliably provide enough error correction on compromised bitstreams. Just a guess, of course.


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## angiodan

I'm sitting here right now with my 501 going to aquiring signal for a second or two every few minutes, or a quick dropout. My son is in the other room watching Spongebob with no problems. I've put on my 6000, and no dropouts. 

This is a replacement 501 for the my original in which the tuner crapped out because the same thing happened. A few times every now and then and it just got progressively worse, to the point where I had to get it replaced. 

As Han Solo said, "I've got a bad feeling about this."


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## Bob Haller

I just had it attempting to record the nbc net news for a shuttle update on my 721 and saw it last night on one of my 508s

So replacing my original 721 was a grand waste of time and $15 shipping.

Its not the $15 its the principal of the thing.


Update input one and 2 lost message.


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## Jacob S

I have had a problem like this on the 501 once or twice, where it would just get worse and worse to where it could not be used anymore. It is doing something different on the 721 in that it will happen for a while then stop happening then start happening again on one particular tuner. Is this happening on the 508? Dishplayer has software issues while the 501, 508, 721 has hardware problems. I do not hear about Tivo and the other pvr devices having these issues. I sold the 501 in which I finally got a new replacement after spending time on the phone hours to get a new one instead of a refurbished one and then sold it for a big discount to rid of it plus the 508 has a bigger hard drive making the 501 worth even less, that and the price reduction. Sure makes it hard for someone to to recoup their money on a receiver.

I completely agree with the fact that more people have this problem with their receiver than what is believed because most do not record two shows at the same time.


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## rmoore3d

TomCat
You say your problems are always on tuner two. How do you know which tuner you are watching?


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## Jacob S

When does it get reset back to tuner 1? After you turn the receiver off then back on? If he did not swap to the other pip screen then one should automatically assume it was tuner one in the main screen and tuner two in the pip screen. You can disconnect the cable and see which tuner goes out to see which tuner it is too.


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## Bob Haller

It will say lost input #


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## pez2002

Why dont you E Subs go back to cable or switch do DTV


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## Bob Haller

I am a sky angel lifetime sub.


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## lgnaclo

This may be a possible answer to all of you who have a pvr receiver and are having an intermittent signal problem. I know of an installer who's been installing E* for years, he came to me about a system that he has been trying to fix. 
The Customer had two receivers replaced for intermittend signal loss. The installer had replaced cables, lnbfs, had over 115% signal, pretty much had done a brand new install twice. 

As you may or may not know, a pvr is more suceptive(spelling??) to signal loss if it's not grounding properly. I had this installer guy replaced the grounding block and voula!, the old receiver that kept loosing the signal kept the steady signal.

now let me repeat, this may help some, not all. and it's just an option to try if you have tried everything else.


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## KhakiBoy

I'm wondering if it might be a problem with my switch. Sometimes when changing channels I get an error message stating there may be a problem with my switch and advising me to do a check switch. When I do a check switch the result varies. Sometimes it shows the correct switch, model 500 quad. Other times it's showed up as an SW21, SW44, or SW21-3 satellite. Often if I recheck it will get it right. It's really starting to get annoying. My 501 is the only receiver having this problem.


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## Bill R

> _Originally posted by KhakiBoy _
> *I'm wondering if it might be a problem with my switch. When I do a check switch the result varies. *


You might want to check your wiring too. Sometimes bad connectors or moisture will cause a receiver to detect the switch incorrectly. Check for corrosion in the connectors as that often causes a problem.


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## TomCat

> _Originally posted by rmoore3d _
> *TomCat
> You say your problems are always on tuner two. How do you know which tuner you are watching? *


Eventually the breakup gets so bad a dialog will pop up saying "acquiring signal sat input 2".

Here's how I THINK this works:

The 721 seems to default to input 1 on powerup (if nothing is currently being recorded). Single timer recordings appear to also default to tuner 1 if the unit is off. If the unit is on, tuner 1 is in use so it then defaults to tuner 2 for timer records.

If you aren't sure which tuner you are on, simply cycle the power, forcing you to tuner 1. The PIP will then use tuner 2, and a swap and clearing the PIP will force you to tuner 2.

What this all means is that if you have the same "tuner 2 issue only" problem that I have, you can avoid the stutter problem by:

1. never setting simultaneous records.

2. keeping the unit off when all timer records begin.

It sucks, but it seems to work.


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## Jason

After a few days without seeing the message, the dreaded "Acquring Signal" message came back yesterday. It only seems to happen on my Detroit locals stations and the message only happened once. However, I still get the picture skipping for a couple of seconds and some pixellation on at least one show I tape almost daily? Is anyone else still having this problem with their Detroit locals?


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## Bob Haller

I am getting this a lot Skipping pixels etc, on my pittsburgh locals. some reproducable by rewinding others not there. ER did it 7 or 8 times tonight. We are backup recording on 508s again.

Of course the PVR guide calls ER will and grace. A good friend has a 14 hour tivo for sale cheap. I may buy it and upgrade the HD and try that. Anyone done that HD upgrade?


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## Filip1

Jason,
I'm have the Detroit locals, and yes I'm still having the same intermittent acq. signal and digital break-up problems. Let's hope Dish is aware of the problems now and trying to fix them.


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## Filip1

"I'm have the Detroit locals", I really shouldn't post when I'm half asleep.


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## elbyj

Glad to see other people have been experiencing the same problem with "acquiring signal" on the 501. We suffered through this for about 7 months straight. After numerous call to DISH, it was never resolved -- only a lot of recommendations on how to trouble shoot the problem to isolate the bad point. Such as swapping receivers or feeder lines. It seems that it always ended up having to pull the card out and reset the unit. Back in November we move the TV and tuner to a new location in the room. To do this I had to run a new line from the DISH since the old line was embedded in the wall. Since this action, we have not had any more problems. Could it have been a bad line? Who knows! Still seeing frequent breakup on the signals lately, seems more and more pixels. Different subject: Any other DISH people from San Antonio who have th e locals? Are you experiencing constant ghosting (very subdued, but still evident to my eyes) on Channel 4 (WOAI)?


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## Jacob S

The problem will get worse and worse on the 501 until you just cant get a signal anymore.


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## Guest

Located in Northern Virginia and have had sporadic pixelation / loss of signal problems for the last few months.

DISH Tech Support said it was a problem with my equipment, though my 721 had been operating for six months with NO problems. They insisted a grounding problem, though my three dishes and SW64 switch have been connected with less than four feet for #6 copper to my electric service ground since their initial installation over three years ago.

Their solution was to replace my SW64 switch (at their cost). I cannot say that I saw any immediate improvement.

The problem is not as severe as it was in November / December, but still happens enough to make it very irritating. Its sporadic nature makes me believe it is signal related on THEIR end.

I have been a DISH subscriber for over six years (3+ in IL and 3+ in VA) and have never had any problems remotely similar to this.


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## FrankD1

Well... I finally read this thread after ignoring it for several weeks because I didn't think it applied to me. For several weeks, I've been getting annoying audio dropouts when watching recorded shows on my 721, although I never seemed to have the problem when watching live TV. This past week, I had several recorded shows that were unwatchable- audio dropouts, picture freezeups with pixeling, and the acquiring satellite screen. We had some heavy rain here in SoCal this week, so at first I thought that was it, but then I watched some recorded programs with these issues which were recorded on clear nights. BTW, I also am running a 501, which, knock on wood, runs flawlessly.

As mentioned by others, the 721 does indeed seem (in general) to stay on tuner 1, and only use tuner 2 as necessary. Since my 721 stays on at all times, it thinks I'm always watching tuner 1, so all single records fire off of tuner 2. I did some live PIP experimentation this weekend, and there was noticeable and frequent pixeling off of tuner 2, while tuner 1 was fine. I tried different permutations of channels on each tuner to see if the E* feed or a specific bird/transponder was to blame, but tuner 2 seemed to be the only common thread. I then swapped the sat input cables and re-ran a check-switch. Once again, the problems showed only on tuner 2.

From my standpoint, I think it's a problem on my end... either a hardware problem with tuner 2, or a problem with the latest software that manifests itself only on tuner 2. As I mentioned in another thread, I RA'd my receiver, and will have the replacement (I was told it's a refurb) this Tue. Once I set that up, it should (in my case) definitively point to either the tuner (problem will be fixed) or software (problem will still be there). I'll report back here with results.


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## Bill R

Frank,

If you are using a SW-44 or SW-64 with your 721 make sure that you read pages 126, 127, 129, and 130 of the 721 manual about connecting those switches correctly to the 721.


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## FrankD1

Thanks Bill... yeah, I double checked that after reading about it in another thread. I do have a SW-64, and the 721 feeds are off of ports 3 and 4.



> _Originally posted by Bill R _
> *Frank,
> 
> If you are using a SW-44 or SW-64 with your 721 make sure that you read pages 126, 127, 129, and 130 of the 721 manual about connecting those switches correctly to the 721. *


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## Jason

Frank,

Definitely let us all know if the replacement 721 still has those problems with the 'acquiring satellite' screen as well as the pixellating and sound dropouts.

Did you get these problems on all sorts of stations or was it just on your local ones?

My problems seem to be isolated to the local stations which tells me that it is a problem on E*'s end and not with my receiver.


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## FrankD1

For me, it seems like everything... locals alot, because the bulk of my recording is from there. But it's also shown up on the HBO shows I record.



> _Originally posted by Jason _
> *Frank,
> 
> Definitely let us all know if the replacement 721 still has those problems with the 'acquiring satellite' screen as well as the pixellating and sound dropouts.
> 
> Did you get these problems on all sorts of stations or was it just on your local ones?
> 
> My problems seem to be isolated to the local stations which tells me that it is a problem on E*'s end and not with my receiver. *


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## FrankD1

Could someone elaborate on the issue of connecting the 721 to legacy switches? I read in another thread (and it was referenced above) about the manual stating the 721 requires connections to distinct pairs of ports (1&2 or 3&4) on the SW-64, and I took the poster at his word. But out of curiosity, I just dug out my 721 manual (I got one of the early units, so maybe there's been a revised edition) and I couldn't find any reference to pairing the ports. I found the usual disclaimers about proper grounding, cable lengths and ratings, and that the feeds must come from the same switch, but after several re-readings, I found nothing about specific pairings. I also found no online version of the manual at the E* website, so I couldn't see if the manual has been revised. If anyone could help me out, I'd appreciate it.


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## mike1002

Well, it looks like I'm now being initiated into the club of PVR users with the dreaded 'Acquiring satellite" msg. It started with recordings on the PVR freezing for a few seconds or the audio dropping out. I tried rebooting the PVR and that did not help. I tried removing power from the unit for a few minutes. When it came back up it had the "acquiring satellite" message. I tried removing the access card and reseating it. That was of no help. I then went into setup and both 119/110 show signal is fine. No dropping or varying (119=72 , 110=112). I did a check switch test just to be sure and it finished with no problems. I tried the power removal again and I left it alone when it came back up with the "acquiring satelite" message. I came back about 30 minutes later and it said it was downloading the guide and was about 80% into it. I walked away and came back 30 minutes later when I heard audio from the living room and apparently it finished downloading the guide. It seems to be fine as far as the receiver is concerned but 60 minutes to download the guide? Also, does the satellite signal have anything to do with the PVR playback? What I mean is, while the PVR is playing back can a loss of signal from the satellite cause the PVR to momentarily lose its ability to play back? when I lose audio or the picture freezes momentarily I can rewind and it will play fine over the area that just had a loss or a freeze.

I hesitate to say it but some of the comments about software upgrades are starting to make sense. I don't remember having this problem back on earlier versions (I have a 508 on 169). I love the new features but I think I would rather have the flawless playback rather the nice features. 

If I have this happen again I will call tech support to see what they come up with. Darn, and my 508 has been working great since I got it last October.

Thanks for any help you guys may have. I have scoured the forums here and the DBSForums. It seems its a rather common symptom but no one seems to have a handle on what is going on.

Mike


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## FrankD1

Just got my replacement unit, and am in the process of setting it up now (doing the check switch on a SW-64, so I've got 10 minutes to kill). A big difference I immediately noticed between this refurb and my old unit (besides a quieter drive on the refurb- YIPEE!!) is that the refurb has two knockouts on the back, taped over, for ethernet and home network. My old 721 does not have these. I didn't pull the tape off yet, so I don't know if there are actual RJ45 jacks behind the tape. My question is: does anyone else have these knockouts (or actual jacks) on the rear of their 721s?


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