# ViP622/ViP722 - Report L6.18 Stuttering/lip Sync issues here



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

*ViP622/ViP722 - L6.18 Stuttering lip sync Issues Discussion*

There has been some reports regarding stuttering and lip sync issues with L6.18. To better track these in an attempt to quantify what is being experienced by our users it made sense to create a seperate thread discussing them.

If you are experiencing these issues, please provide as much details as possible including the type of channels you are seeing it on. How often you are experiencing the issues, What DMA you are in if it is local based, Your Sat Configuration, Have you found a work around, 622 or 7220 etc. The more details the better.


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## Spoonser (Feb 16, 2008)

I have 6.18 on my 722 (I'm in Charlotte, NC). I'm not sure when it downloaded, but I did notice that it rebooted itself before American Idol on Tuesday, and actually did the same thing at around the same time the week before. 

I don't know if the reboots are related, but in approximately the same time frame, I started having major lip (sound) synch problems. This happened while watching Fox (watching the recording during recording Idol via LIL) as well as recorded TNT HD (Law and Order). There have been issues here and there like this before, but never this much delay. 

One note is that the Law and Order seemed to get corrected sometimes during a commercial break but then would get out of synch again. Weird. 

I'd appreciate any input- maybe it's not the software?


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## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

Lots of audio dropouts and stuttering/pixelation. Saw it happening somewhat on 6.17 and now, on 6.18, it's happening with everything we watch, live or dvr'd.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

dbconsultant said:


> Lots of audio dropouts and stuttering/pixelation. Saw it happening somewhat on 6.17 and now, on 6.18, it's happening with everything we watch, live or dvr'd.


So what are you watching that you are seeing it on. I am in Orange County and I am not seeing what you are describing so figured we might be able to do a comparison if it is everything.


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## girdnerg (May 17, 2007)

My 622 with 6.18 really started acting weird yesterday. Did a power cord reset and problems still exist.

-skip back button presses were delayed by 10 seconds. at first I thought the 622 had locked up, but it hadn't. this was on live TV. I was just trying to go back in the buffer.

-several reoccuring timers do not fire correctly. my daily Jeopardy! recording has now recorded the wrong channel 2 different times.

-previously recorded events do not play back properly. slow, studdering, not showing the correct time left, and trick play delays.

-all OTA channels went to black for about 5 minutes. I was recording off the sat at the time and couldn't do a reset. went into menu, guide, and swapped tuners and channels. not sure what brought them back.


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## 4apex (Nov 13, 2003)

I just got 6.18 a couple of nights ago. 

A couple of weeks ago, around the 13th of March, I began to experience major stuttering problems along with the audio sync issues and a sluggish, sometimes unresponsive receiver. For example, if I press the forward or backward jump buttons, the system may not respond for several seconds, and when it does, it usually causes the audio sync issue. It's almost as if the receiver is running really really slow (like when a computer becomes really sluggish - you get delayed reactions to mouse/keyboard clicks).
I should also add that this started happening shortly after I got 6.17

I was hoping 6.18 would solve it, but here we are with the same exact issues. I can't believe Dish is not aware of this problem. Someone please tell me that Dish is at least listening, because this is ridiculous. Especially when they are charging us extra for the "privilege" of having one of their DVRs AND HD DVR.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

It sounds more like you are having a hardware problem of some sort. Have you called Dish about this? I assume you have already done a power cord reset on the receiver.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

girdnerg said:


> My 622 with 6.18 really started acting weird yesterday. Did a power cord reset and problems still exist.
> 
> -skip back button presses were delayed by 10 seconds. at first I thought the 622 had locked up, but it hadn't. this was on live TV. I was just trying to go back in the buffer.
> 
> ...


Do a power cord reset if you have not already done that. Software issues usually don't take days to surface so you might be having something else going on.


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## 4apex (Nov 13, 2003)

ChuckA said:


> It sounds more like you are having a hardware problem of some sort. Have you called Dish about this? I assume you have already done a power cord reset on the receiver.


Are you serious? There are a number of complaints with 6.17 and 6.18, and the problems only popped up when the software was downloaded and installed. I don't think it's a coincidence that many people suddenly have hardware problems just at the same time that new software is released.

I also have a 622 and so far that one doesn't have issues. And yes, I've done the power cord reset, the power-button-for-ten-seconds reset and the smart card reset.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

4apex said:


> Are you serious? There are a number of complaints with 6.17 and 6.18, and the problems only popped up when the software was downloaded and installed. I don't think it's a coincidence that many people suddenly have hardware problems just at the same time that new software is released.
> 
> I also have a 622 and so far that one doesn't have issues. And yes, I've done the power cord reset, the power-button-for-ten-seconds reset and the smart card reset.


Yes I think ChuckA was serious and not off base. Been around a long time where i have seen hardware failures happen right around a release. It happens more than one thinks and given that you indicated that the problems happened shortly after (not immediate) and does not clear with a hard reboot it makes hardware as a possibility a reality and something worth investigating.

As for "many people", this is but a small sampling of people with the hardware that are having issues so you are mainly going to see people reporting problems. What I tend to look for is patterns to help determine if what is being reported is a defect, hardware issue, or unknown. I have not seen a pattern for the issue you described so I personally don't quickly jump to must be defect, but are more into a trouble shooting mode. On that note.

I would be curious how many timers, timer events, and Dish Passes your box has. In the past sluggish performance has been related to boxes with a lot of one of these types and something to check.

Is your 722 connected to an EHD? if so, try disconnecting it for a while and see if that helps.

Is this happening all the time? Does it work fine for a while and then start acting sluggish? Any differences between your 722 and 622 in regards to configuration? For these type of issues... More info the better.


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## mrplow (Dec 10, 2004)

I am having audio stuttering and major lip sync problems with both of my 722 w/6.18. The problem is mainly w/CBS OTA shows, I been out of town so I have not watch many other network shows.


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## T-Rex (Jan 16, 2008)

I am experiencing glitches when playing back recorded programs where the audio and video cuts out momentarily (for about a second) at random intervals. I have tried restarting and unplugging the 722 without solving the problem. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks.


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## pdl2mtl90 (Jun 3, 2007)

Can't help but hopefully someone can because my 622 has been doing this ever since I plugged in that stupid smart card. My wife is getting extremely frustrated with it.


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## T-Rex (Jan 16, 2008)

When I called tech support about this problem, they said the hard drive is corrupted. They are sending me a replacement. My only problem now is that my external HD is almost full, so I don't have space to transfer all of my recorded content. : (


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

Clear space on the EHD or just get another. You can use as many as you like.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

T-Rex said:


> When I called tech support about this problem, they said the hard drive is corrupted. They are sending me a replacement. My only problem now is that my external HD is almost full, so I don't have space to transfer all of my recorded content. : (


Be sure to let us know if the refurb fixes the problem!


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## Kman68 (Jan 24, 2008)

How is the unit's ventilation? I installed an external fan to cool the unit down and it rarely stutters now.


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## pdl2mtl90 (Jun 3, 2007)

Already have cooling fans on the back of my entertainment center. Never had this problem until I inserted the smart (dumb?) card.


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## 4apex (Nov 13, 2003)

Ron Barry said:


> Yes I think ChuckA was serious and not off base. Been around a long time where i have seen hardware failures happen right around a release. It happens more than one thinks and given that you indicated that the problems happened shortly after (not immediate) and does not clear with a hard reboot it makes hardware as a possibility a reality and something worth investigating.


And I find it less than a coincidence that it was working fine until I got the last 2 software updates. I can understand if my receiver was starting to show *some* signs of problems or failure before the updates. But it wasn't, it was working perfectly. So if you've seen failures shortly after a software update, what does that tell you?



Ron Barry said:


> As for "many people", this is but a small sampling of people with the hardware that are having issues so you are mainly going to see people reporting problems. What I tend to look for is patterns to help determine if what is being reported is a defect, hardware issue, or unknown. I have not seen a pattern for the issue you described so I personally don't quickly jump to must be defect, but are more into a trouble shooting mode. On that note.


I agree that on here there may be a small sampling, but what we dont' know are the number of "normal people" (those that don't obssess on web forums over software updates) that are having problems and whose only source of resolution is calling dish. Dish has put out some bad software in the past, and when you call the CSR ALWAYS says, "that's the first I've heard of it", and they will continue to deny the problem until the fix is ready to go out, then, suddenly, they are aware of the problem and tell you a fix is going out.
Also, as I said, there are others here on this forum, and on other forums, that have experienced the SAME EXACT issue I'm experiencing , and they all have said it started happening right after the software update. So are you suggesting that our units all, coincidentally, started failing, with the exact same symptoms, at the same time?



Ron Barry said:


> I would be curious how many timers, timer events, and Dish Passes your box has. In the past sluggish performance has been related to boxes with a lot of one of these types and something to check.
> 
> Is your 722 connected to an EHD? if so, try disconnecting it for a while and see if that helps.
> 
> Is this happening all the time? Does it work fine for a while and then start acting sluggish? Any differences between your 722 and 622 in regards to configuration? For these type of issues... More info the better.


I only have about 6 timers, and no Dish Passes. It is not connected to an external drive. It seems to work fine after a reboot, however, I do notice that if I start to pause or go back, then it will begin to stutter and "freeze". SOMETIMES, getting back to "live" will help it run a little smoother. But I've also noticed that when playing back a recorded program will exhibit the same behavior. What I've not been able to determine is if that's because that's the way it recorded, or if the playback is stuttering because the receiver itself is acting up. I could, but haven't yet, tested to see if a recorded program that exhibits that behavior will playback fine after a reboot.

My 622 is working fine, and there is nothing different about either's configuration.

Could it be possible that there is a software issue with certain builds of the 722?
If I sound more than annoyed it's because I am, and won't accept excuses. I pay for my service a year in advance and I buy my receivers outright. I not asked Dish to give me anything other than reliable service.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

4apex said:


> And I find it less than a coincidence that it was working fine until I got the last 2 software updates. I can understand if my receiver was starting to show *some* signs of problems or failure before the updates. But it wasn't, it was working perfectly. So if you've seen failures shortly after a software update, what does that tell you?


Shortly is the key word here... If I recall you indicated a few days after the update and that is what I found unusual. Software defects of this nature usually don't take days to surface. They usually surface much quicker from my experience. Does it mean it does not happen. No.. Just is not a common occurance.



4apex said:


> I agree that on here there may be a small sampling, but what we dont' know are the number of "normal people" (those that don't obssess on web forums over software updates) that are having problems and whose only source of resolution is calling dish. Dish has put out some bad software in the past, and when you call the CSR ALWAYS says, "that's the first I've heard of it", and they will continue to deny the problem until the fix is ready to go out, then, suddenly, they are aware of the problem and tell you a fix is going out.


I believe this ia generalization and given my contact with the CSR organization is limited, I will have to go off reports here.. I here various reports from CSRs not having a clue to knowing of the problem being reported. Depends a lot of time of day, what level in the CSR branch etc. This is where the term CSR roulette comes into play. Given the number of receivers and the size of the service orginization, I am not suprised CSR are not up to date with issues as much as we would like them to be. Dish needs to do a better at this for sure but if your point is they are attempting to hide defects on purpose well that is a topic for the general forums.



4apex said:


> Also, as I said, there are others here on this forum, and on other forums, that have experienced the SAME EXACT issue I'm experiencing , and they all have said it started happening right after the software update. So are you suggesting that our units all, coincidentally, started failing, with the exact same symptoms, at the same time?


Nope not suggesting that at all. Just trying to gather information in hopes to provide patterns that might lead to root causing a problem. Perhaps since you are close to the experience you can connect the dots to other reports though at this time I cannot. I have seen some reports come in after yours that sound similar, but that definitely does not mean they are the same. The reports are too generic at this time so the more details the better. One thing I can say is this is not widespread with the users of the forum or I would be seeing a lot more posting on it.



4apex said:


> I only have about 6 timers, and no Dish Passes. It is not connected to an external drive. It seems to work fine after a reboot, however, I do notice that if I start to pause or go back, then it will begin to stutter and "freeze". SOMETIMES, getting back to "live" will help it run a little smoother. But I've also noticed that when playing back a recorded program will exhibit the same behavior. What I've not been able to determine is if that's because that's the way it recorded, or if the playback is stuttering because the receiver itself is acting up. I could, but haven't yet, tested to see if a recorded program that exhibits that behavior will playback fine after a reboot.


Good info above. This has ruled out in my eyes any issue with processing of timers/Dish passes. The fact that did a hard reboot should rule out issues with a possible corrupted download. Is it on all content or just specific content. Seems based on specific channels. From your timer count it appears the box is not under heavy load. Where are you located? What DMA. Might be location based.



4apex said:


> My 622 is working fine, and there is nothing different about either's configuration.


If this is reproducable at will with your 722, then I would recommend creating the same exact show timer and see if you can reproduce them on both boxes.



4apex said:


> Could it be possible that there is a software issue with certain builds of the 722?
> If I sound more than annoyed it's because I am, and won't accept excuses. I pay for my service a year in advance and I buy my receivers outright. I not asked Dish to give me anything other than reliable service.


Yes it could be possible.. Definitely have seen behavior be model specific before. Moman had audio issues in St. Louis that effected his 622 but was fine on his 722 (Possible got that reversed.

As for being annoyed. Nothing wrong with that as long as it does not turn into bashing which is against support forum rules. Personally I would be too since i know first hand how annoying audio issues can be. However, I also know that root causing these type of issues are tough given not all receivers are seeing them and it my be a localized issue. In my opinion, Quickest way to a resolution is to both report it here and with Dish. More details the better and if you can reproduce at will by all means give the exact steps here for others to try.

Given the timing and that it started appearing a few days after the release another possibilty is something was changed upstream that is effecting your receiver.

What I recommend for reports like this. I would create a new thread with as much details as you can offer. That way others can post directly to that thread and it gives it a bit more focus. We like to keep discussions here, but if a report smells like what I would consider a severity #1 defect then having a seperate thread makes sense and gives the topic more focus. I would then contact Dish with the same info. Possible point to the thread and we can go from there.


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## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

Ron Barry said:


> So what are you watching that you are seeing it on. I am in Orange County and I am not seeing what you are describing so figured we might be able to do a comparison if it is everything.


Almost everything we watch! NCIS, Lost, Life on Mars, Star Trek Enterprise (off hdnet), tcm movies, Maverick episodes off of Encore Western, basically everything!



girdnerg said:


> My 622 with 6.18 really started acting weird yesterday. Did a power cord reset and problems still exist.
> 
> -skip back button presses were delayed by 10 seconds. at first I thought the 622 had locked up, but it hadn't. this was on live TV. I was just trying to go back in the buffer.
> 
> -previously recorded events do not play back properly. slow, studdering, not showing the correct time left, and trick play delays.


We also are seeing trick play problems (again - how do they keep breaking this?) and lots of of the studdering, even while watching live.

Edit: Interesting. Here is another thread that equates the studdering to the new Smart Card http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=155105. We started having it mildly right after getting our Smart Card. I'd forgotten that we wondered then if there was a problem between the software and the card. Since getting 6.18 the problem is problem 10X worse. I'd forgotten it until I saw this thread.


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## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

We've had the same problem with our 622 - somewhat since plugging in the Smart Card but way worse now that we've received 6.18 software.


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## 4apex (Nov 13, 2003)

Thanks for this thread. I pointed out the same thing in another but was asked to move to a seperate thread.

I started experiencing the "stuttering / freezing' issue shortly after I received L6.17. I say "shortly after" because I don't know exactly when I received 6.17 BUT I do know that I was one of the later ones to get it (I check in on this forum for releases, but not daily). I also was one of the later ones to get 6.18, I was hoping that would fix the problem, but it didn't.

Also, I should point out that I, like others here, was having that random "channel" problem (something to the effect of "you are not subscribed to that channel, press up or down" that would occur usually late at night and would pop up twice within minutes of each other. Because of that I was awaiting 6.17. 

So to summarize;

The issue seems to be centered around the DVR functions. WHen I'm watching live TV, if I pause, rewind, press the jump backi/forward buttons, the picture will wither stutter, or more recently, "freeze" for up to 10 seconds. During this "freezing" period, the receiver is unresponsive, any button press *seems* ignored, but when playback resumes, sometimes the button presses "catch up". Sometimes. Still, the freezig is VERY real. Also, MOST of the time (but not always), when resuming play, the audio sync will be off, pausing briefly then pushing play will re-sync the audio (weird since the original pause was what caused the issue). If I'm watching live TV, but don't pause/rewind/whatever then things flow smoothly. Also, usually if I can catch up again to live TV, the problem seems to go away.

During playback of pre-recorded shows also seems to exhibit this behavior. What I *dont' know* is if playback is stuttering/freezing because video is being streamed off the hard drive, OR if playback i sstutering/freezing because it was recorded that way. I can, but haven't yet, test it by watching a recorded show that has the stuttering/freezing problem, then reboot the receiver and play it again right after. 
While I certainly don't know the programming behind the receiver, the best way I can describe it is like a memory leak on a computer. When you reboot a computer it runs fast and smooth, but then over time, be it days or weeks, the comouter begins to slow down, sometimes even stuttering when opening a new program or toggling over to one that is already open.

-Doesn't matter what channel I'm watching
-I'm in the Los Angeles area
-a reboot helps temporarily, but the problem eventually resurfaces
-My receiver is on an open shelf, no vent issues
-Iv'e done the power-cord reboot, smart card reboot, and power-button reboot
-No discernible noise from the fan or hard drive
-NO External Hard drive, not now or ever
-Signal strength is fine, pixelization or lost signals have not been a problem

I think this is about as clear as I can get. Not only does this infuriate my wife to no end ("Why can't we just have regular TV service?!"), but I'm also paying dish their "DVR Service" fee for this privilege.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

I've started getting the same problems, plus when I skip or ff I sometimes lose the audio and have to stop the playback and start it up again. These problems are what I've frequently experienced on my 612, but since it's not my primary DVR I just put up with it. On my 612 I can minimize the problems by not watching anything (thus no skips or ff) while its recording. That performance level will be completely unacceptable on my 722.


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## T-Rex (Jan 16, 2008)

When I called tech support, I was instructed to access the menu then select 1. installation, 3. system informaiton, then 6. system setup. From here if you select "details" then page down you will see values 0 thru 9. All of these values were zero except 7 which was -2 and 8 which was 1. The value of -2 is what led Tech Support to conclude that my HD was corrupted.

Does anyone know the meaning of these values? Perhaps they need software with the ability to perform routine maintenance on the hard drive such as defragmentation, to prevent problems like this? Just wondering.

If anyone is experiencing similar stutter problems, you may want to check these values.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

T-Rex said:


> When I called tech support, I was instructed to access the menu then select 1. installation, 3. system informaiton, then 6. system setup. From here if you select "details" then page down you will see values 0 thru 9. All of these values were zero except 7 which was -2 and 8 which was 1. The value of -2 is what led Tech Support to conclude that my HD was corrupted.
> 
> Does anyone know the meaning of these values? Perhaps they need software with the ability to perform routine maintenance on the hard drive such as defragmentation, to prevent problems like this? Just wondering.
> 
> If anyone is experiencing similar stutter problems, you may want to check these values.


What I understand from your explanation is that you are looking at this screen...










...and saying that the tech person concluded that if the values for item #7 is -2 and #8 is 1, then the drive is corrupted.

If that is the case both my 722 and my 612, and my previous 722, all have corrupted drives and always have. But I don't know what those items mean. I just always accepted the "Status Good" to mean that everything was OK.

Maybe someone who knows about these things will provide information?


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## T-Rex (Jan 16, 2008)

phrelin said:


> What I understand from your explanation is that you are looking at this screen...
> 
> ...and saying that the tech person concluded that if the values for item #7 is -2 and #8 is 1, then the drive is corrupted.


Correct. That is what I was told, though I have no idea what these values are measuring. Perhaps someone else can chime in here with more information?
I certainly don't want to replace my receiver if it doesn't solve the problem, since it would mean losing alot of recorded content.


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## keiths2112 (May 17, 2007)

While watching Lost, which was recorded last week, about 5 mins into the show, there is some pixelation on screen, some of it a bright greenish color, then the video returned to normal, BUT, the audio was then out of sync with the video. The audio was about 3-4 seconds ahead of the video. It was terrible, we could not even watch the rest of the show, and instead viewed the show at abc.com. I have a 722 and I'm using L6.18, not sure how long I have had it.

This was recorded at HD, off the local ABC station in Raleigh NC, channel 11.

So between this and the audio drop outs that happened this past Monday on CBS shows, this "update" has really messed things up.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

keiths2112 said:


> While watching Lost, which was recorded last week, about 5 mins into the show, there is some pixelation on screen, some of it a bright greenish color, then the video returned to normal, BUT, the audio was then out of sync with the video. The audio was about 3-4 seconds ahead of the video. It was terrible, we could not even watch the rest of the show, and instead viewed the show at abc.com. I have a 722 and I'm using L6.18, not sure how long I have had it.
> 
> This was recorded at HD, off the local ABC station in Raleigh NC, channel 11.
> 
> So between this and the audio drop outs that happened this past Monday on CBS shows, this "update" has really messed things up.


If you can capture a picture of the screen when it's green and/or pixelating, send it along with what channel you were watching, what time it occurred, etc. to [email protected]. I usually just press INFO and it displays the information needed. We were having issues with our Atlanta locals and I would send this information whenever something like this happened. They are very responsive. I believe this goes to the uplink center. If no one but us knows this is happening, not much gets fixed.


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## T-Rex (Jan 16, 2008)

I have tried playing back a couple of recorded programs on the replacement receiver I just received without any "stuttering" problems. However, unfortunately all of the recorded programs which were saved on an EHD are no longer in folders, each episode appears separately both on the EHD and on the new receiver (after being resored). This is a big pain since I have hundreds of episodes of some programs which I have to scroll thru. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? thanks.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

There is a Group option isnt there.... Sounds like it is not set properly. One thing to remember.. When you bring up the dialog to change the option it does not reflect the current setting ("I consider this a bug") so don't get fooled by that.


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## bort269 (Sep 29, 2008)

T-Rex said:


> Correct. That is what I was told, though I have no idea what these values are measuring. Perhaps someone else can chime in here with more information?
> I certainly don't want to replace my receiver if it doesn't solve the problem, since it would mean losing alot of recorded content.


all mine are 0 except for #7 which is -2

I'm gonna ask for a new HD before my DHPP (dish home protection plan) expires next month.

My DVR has been getting crazy loud lately, with a very high-pitched squeal that is very annoying!


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## Kevin Brown (Sep 4, 2005)

keiths2112 said:


> While watching Lost, which was recorded last week, about 5 mins into the show, there is some pixelation on screen, some of it a bright greenish color, then the video returned to normal, BUT, the audio was then out of sync with the video. The audio was about 3-4 seconds ahead of the video. It was terrible, we could not even watch the rest of the show, and instead viewed the show at abc.com. I have a 722 and I'm using L6.18, not sure how long I have had it.
> 
> This was recorded at HD, off the local ABC station in Raleigh NC, channel 11.
> 
> So between this and the audio drop outs that happened this past Monday on CBS shows, this "update" has really messed things up.


Lost from last week? I had this very same problem watching the recorded Lost from this week, last night. Interesting !! But ... in my case, the audio stayed normal during and after the green splash. The video dropped out, and then came back, but the audio continued.

Duh. Next time I will take a picture. Didn't even think of that.


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## 4apex (Nov 13, 2003)

Well, since I've been very vocal about this issue, I should provide an update.

I finally called Dish to complain loudly. They had me do the menu-menu thing then selct details and scroll down. I had the -2 and 8 values as well. That was the FIRST thing they had me do, and as soon as I told them the values the CSR said they would get a replacement unit out to me. I asked what it was and I was told that the software was corrupted. I asked if it was the hard drive, but she said "no, I don't think so. That indicates software corruption".
Now, a failing hard drive could corrupt the software, BUT it still seems odd to me that this all begain right after 6.17

Further, I did another power cord reboot, and when the system rebooted there was a big "311" error on the screen that said "AN issue has been detected that will prevent pausing or recording live tv. Unplug the receiver then plug it in again. If the problem persists, call DISH at..."

I took a picture of that error, I'll post it a little later. But right after that message, the receiver contiued to boot but would not allow ANY DVR functions, no pausing, no skipping back or forward, and ALL my recordings were lost.

While unrelated, I will say that the first replacement receiver (a refurbished model) arrived poorly packaged and was DOA right out of the box - Hard Drive Error message as soon as I turned it on. So they sent another one out, it's been 24 hours and so far so good.


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## ChuckA (Feb 7, 2006)

311 indicates the HDD is bad. It is either really dead or it has become corrupt and needs to be reformatted.


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## Ray_Schwarz (Jan 22, 2003)

I also got the 311 message yesterday morning and the replacement is on its way. When I turned the VIP722 on this morning, the DVR function was working again ....


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## Ray_Schwarz (Jan 22, 2003)

As I mentioned in the last message, I got the 311 message on Thursday.
On Friday, the VIP722 DVR function returned. I watched several programs 
on Friday with no problems but last night I tried to watch Life which was recorded on Ch11 (NBC) and got frequent freezes throughout the program.

I have been having problems with CH05 (CBS) programs since I got software version 6.18 - freezing but this was the first on NBC. Today I watched the
Mentalist and got the frequent freezing again. I moved it to my external 
hard drive and had freezing using the VIP722 to watch it from the hard drive.

I then switched the hard drive to my VIP622 and restored the Mentalist to the VIP622 (on Software version 6.18).

I watched the rest of the show with no freezing. This confirms (in my mind) that the VIP722 is failing and I should replace it with the unit they are sending to replace it.


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## dave1234 (Oct 9, 2005)

I posted this earlier in the main 6.18 thread and thought it worth posting here. After 6.18 downloaded I could no longer play ANY of my recorded content. They were all still in the list, but when I try to play one it says the recording is not accessable with an error code of 05. Another aspect was the time remaining was at 30hrs. HD and 200hrs. SD indicating no recording on the drive, but the list was still populated with all my previous recordings. However I could record new shows and play them back just fine.

When I called tech support I also had a -2 at #7 and the tech immediately said my unit was bad and they replaced it. The replacement works fine. So was my experience just coincidence? or a 6.18 bug? I'll never know.


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## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

Ray_Schwarz said:


> As I mentioned in the last message, I got the 311 message on Thursday.
> On Friday, the VIP722 DVR function returned. I watched several programs
> on Friday with no problems but last night I tried to watch Life which was recorded on Ch11 (NBC) and got frequent freezes throughout the program.
> 
> ...


Since Ch11/NBC and Ch5/CBS are the ones I am having problems with from San Francisco, I'm guessing that you are also watching the same channels from San Francisco. I get occasional problems with my 722 on these channels but my main concern is with my 211s which freeze and reboot when watching anything recorded from these two channels, I'm starting to think that something is amiss in the signal coming from these two stations via DISH. (I'm too far away to watch or record OTA.

I'll be watching for your report when the replacement arrives.


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## thewolfman (Jul 11, 2008)

I have been experiencing the pixelating/mosaic screen issue since Sunday(April 19). It started Sunday, late afternoon, with a few random pixel freezes, and developed into a full blown pixelating/mosaic green screen fest. I recorded the celebrity apprentice on Sunday and it was stuttering and pixelating so bad it was almost unwatchable. 

I called dsih and a tech came out on Tuesday to investigate. I showed him the recording of the apprentice and he thought it was a low signal issue. He replaced the LNB on my 61.5 dish and on the 110/119 dish, along with the ground block and even the fitting on the wall that wasn't rated for an HD setup. After all that work, he unplugged the receiver for five minutes and plugged it back in and the problem was still there. He rechecked the 61.5 dish to make sure there were no trees in the way and called the office to see if anyone else was having the issue. The guy at the local office said that he didn't know of any one else having the issue. I felt bad for the tech at my house, as he tried everything he could think of. He was leaving and he told me to call the office and ask for a new receiver. Later that evening, I was thinking about the issue and thought, "could it be my antenna?". I unplugged my antenna and went to bed. I had no more of the pixels/mosaic green screen!. I then re-connected the antenna on Thursday and everything was fine until this morning when the issue reappeared. I unplugged the antenna again and after an hour or so, the issue was gone.

Now, here is my dilemma. Should I go ahead and ask for a new receiver or wait until a new software version has been released for the VIP722??

Has anyone heard of this issue with an OTA antenna before??

How many of you that posted with this issue have an OTA antenna?? Have you tried to disconnect it to see if the problem goes away?

It could be a coincidence, but it is pretty freaky that the issue goes away when the antenna is disconnected.


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## Spoonser (Feb 16, 2008)

Sheesh. I have the dreaded -2, 1 values, though Phrelin makes me wonder if it matters. It's hard to believe the techs would be trained to be so aggressive with replacing units if they weren't sure, but I'm sure they've been wrong before. I just want to be certain that I need to mess with this before I worry about replacing my box.

My issues so far have been mild, with lip synch issues happening somewhat randomly. In addition to what I already reported, last night I was watching Star Wars Return of the Jedi (recorded from Spike HD) and had the same problem with synch going in and out.

I have seen some green pixellation recently too (note: I have no OTA). Definitely on DVRed material, can't recall any on live TV. Just a horizontal band on the bottom, taking up about 20% of the screen, lasting about 1 second, with no sound change. Coincidentally or not, all of this seemed to start after 6.18 for me. 
*
QUESTION*: Do I need to buy into the DHPP now to be safe in the event they tell me I need a new box? Right now it's livable, but if I have bad hardware it will need to be addressed eventually.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Don't rely on me. What do I know? I've been reporting pixelation issues (though not green) and video freezes.

My only problem with ordering a new box is that when I got my first 722, it had to be replaced within the first week. When Dish Quality asked for my box for Echostar Engineering to play with the major audio dropout problem, they were downright paranoid about telling me to make sure the replacement worked. It didn't, but the second replacement did. So if I have a "generally working" box I want to keep it.

But it doesn't mean that yours doesn't need to be replaced. Get a DHPP the day before your box fails.:sure:

Actually, many here say you can call and get a DHPP, then call in about an hour to report to tech support that your box failed. Me, now that I think I'm too old to get up on the roof, I just pay for my every 18-month service call feeling it's just fair.:whatdidid


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## thewolfman (Jul 11, 2008)

thewolfman said:


> Now, here is my dilemma. Should I go ahead and ask for a new receiver or wait until a new software version has been released for the VIP722??
> 
> Has anyone heard of this issue with an OTA antenna before??
> 
> ...


Anyone?


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

thewolfman said:


> Anyone?


Certainly many stations have had problem with their sync. In fact you occassionaly catch them doing sync tests. Pretty much all such cases are nothing that Dish can do anything about.


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## thewolfman (Jul 11, 2008)

I don't understand what this has to do with my post.

I'm saying that the antenna seems to be the trigger for the stuttering/pixelating issues that people are having.


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## dbconsultant (Sep 13, 2005)

thewolfman said:


> I don't understand what this has to do with my post.
> 
> I'm saying that the antenna seems to be the trigger for the stuttering/pixelating issues that people are having.


We don't have OTA but do have the stuttering/pixelating issues. Some people have suggested that it may be related to the new smart cards and I can verify that our problems started after the smart card was installed.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

thewolfman said:


> I don't understand what this has to do with my post.
> 
> I'm saying that the antenna seems to be the trigger for the stuttering/pixelating issues that people are having.


I didn't go back to your earlier post. This thread is about audio stuttering/lip sync issues, rather than pixelating issues.

Pixelating on OTA is very common if for some reason the signal strength is low. Again not usually a problem with dish receivers, but can be if something is wrong with the OTA tuner.


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## thewolfman (Jul 11, 2008)

tnsprin said:


> This thread is about audio stuttering/lip sync issues, rather than pixelating issues.


I know what the thread is about, thanks. Pixelating is very common when the signal is low, I agree, not when the signal is pegged at 100%.

I was getting the symptoms on the OTA channels and the satellite channels as well.

It seems that dbconsultant has the same symptoms that I am experiencing, without the OTA solution, interesting. I believe my issue has to do with the 6.18 software version.


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## Supershooters (Mar 12, 2007)

Stuttering (or judder) has been a problem for DISH since the 301s came out 8-10 years ago when they were going Dish Pro. I am amazed DISH still has not been able to fix this. All they can do is come up with more disasters to market instead of fixing things. I am constantly having to reboot my 722 to clear up stutter. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It happens to me on any channel doesn't matter what. Lately I've mostly been watching TNT because of the basketball and it is hopeless. I should be calling DIRECTV, but yet I read threads about their own set of problems. I remember going through numerous 301s, LNBs and cable years ago trying to nail down why those receivers skipped, which carried into many other models. It seems the problem got significantly reduced when they changed to a 3-prong plug on the receivers, but that was years ago and here it is yet again. It doesn't matter the configuration. I have been hooked up to legacy, dish pro, dish pro plus, one line, two lines, cable grounded, cable ungrounded, surge protector, no surge protector, every configuration possible and it doesn't matter. DISH Network makes crap and the customer suffers yet again. I wish we could all go back to analog where none of this stuff ever existed.


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## perryville (Apr 22, 2009)

Supershooters said:


> Stuttering (or judder) has been a problem for DISH since the 301s came out 8-10 years ago when they were going Dish Pro. I am amazed DISH still has not been able to fix this. All they can do is come up with more disasters to market instead of fixing things. I am constantly having to reboot my 722 to clear up stutter. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It happens to me on any channel doesn't matter what. Lately I've mostly been watching TNT because of the basketball and it is hopeless. I should be calling DIRECTV, but yet I read threads about their own set of problems. I remember going through numerous 301s, LNBs and cable years ago trying to nail down why those receivers skipped, which carried into many other models. It seems the problem got significantly reduced when they changed to a 3-prong plug on the receivers, but that was years ago and here it is yet again. It doesn't matter the configuration. I have been hooked up to legacy, dish pro, dish pro plus, one line, two lines, cable grounded, cable ungrounded, surge protector, no surge protector, every configuration possible and it doesn't matter. DISH Network makes crap and the customer suffers yet again. I wish we could all go back to analog where none of this stuff ever existed.


Sorry to be late to the party here. I just got DISH, have a 722. I have been having stuttering problems sporadically only with DVR'd programs. It skips through the program like a scratched CD skips on a stereo. For example, I was watching Superbad late Sunday (9ish) while it was being recorded. I switched over to the NBA game to watch the end of it. When I tried to resume superbad, it was skipping like mad, the original broadcast was excellent.

What is wrong with my reciever and what do I need to ask from DISH?


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## Slordak (Dec 17, 2003)

perryville said:


> What is wrong with my reciever and what do I need to ask from DISH?


Audio which skips/drops out briefly on recorded content but not on live content is, from what I can tell, a known 622 software problem. It was introduced some time back and was never fixed, and now manifests in all receivers in this family (622, 722, etc.). Replacing the receiver with an identical receiver will not address this problem.

As an example... I can watch a movie live on HBO-HD for an hour and never have one audio glitch, but if I pause it for 2 minutes to go to the bathroom and unpause it when I come back, the audio drops out every few minutes from then on until I change channels or fast forward to "Live TV".

What can you do about it? Not much, from your side. You can minimize your use of the DVR functionality. You can try watching SD versions of channels and/or use the analog audio connections, since the problem may be related to Dolby Digital. But no, not exactly a solution, per se.


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## perryville (Apr 22, 2009)

Slordak said:


> Audio which skips/drops out briefly on recorded content but not on live content is, from what I can tell, a known 622 software problem. It was introduced some time back and was never fixed, and now manifests in all receivers in this family (622, 722, etc.). Replacing the receiver with an identical receiver will not address this problem.
> 
> As an example... I can watch a movie live on HBO-HD for an hour and never have one audio glitch, but if I pause it for 2 minutes to go to the bathroom and unpause it when I come back, the audio drops out every few minutes from then on until I change channels or fast forward to "Live TV".
> 
> What can you do about it? Not much, from your side. You can minimize your use of the DVR functionality. You can try watching SD versions of channels and/or use the analog audio connections, since the problem may be related to Dolby Digital. But no, not exactly a solution, per se.


See here's the thing, I dont think a lot of people understand my problem. It is not an audio thing so much as a picture thing. Think of it as like watching a DVD with deep scratches.


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## SteveinDanville (Jun 26, 2002)

I've got a 622 and the recorded stuttering is driving me crazy. Showtime is bad (Nurse Jackie) and HGTV is very bad (HD feed). It was unwatchable last night, and nothing seems to fix it.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

SteveinDanville said:


> I've got a 622 and the recorded stuttering is driving me crazy. Showtime is bad (Nurse Jackie) and HGTV is very bad (HD feed). It was unwatchable last night, and nothing seems to fix it.


Stuttering on Showtime was a problem on my 722 last night, also.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

200 timer event sis not a lot for a 722 and I know plenty of people that are running over 400+ without a hitch. Be curious how many Dish Pass Timers do you have? I have always had a theory that Dish Pass timers are a lot more resource intensive and should be used with caution. They should be used for searching for a particular show by an actor or keyword and should not be used for season pass type needs. All and New timer types are what should be used for those type of situations in my opinion. 

There has been issues reported where where users have configured a large number of Dish Passes that have resulted in box rebooting and slow responsiveness. This might be another use case of this happening.


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## SteveRS (Feb 8, 2004)

Ron Barry said:


> There has been issues reported where where users have configured a large number of Dish Passes that have resulted in box rebooting and slow responsiveness. This might be another use case of this happening.


I think you have something there.
I recently went thru my timers and deleted the obsolete ones. I did have 1 Dish Pass that was deleted after running ~ 1 1/2 years. 
Coincidentily the same length of time the audio dropout blip on recorded programs lasted on the 622.
I have 116 events with 24 hrs HD remaining on the internal hard drive.

I did have the audio dropout blip(split second) on all recorded material including 2 750 gig external hard drives ~half full. 
So glad it is gone now and won't take any chances with Dish Pass. Hallelujah!


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## advocate (Jun 29, 2009)

Okay, I take it all back. My hard drive is bad. I've deleted my prior messages re: the # of events, which appears to have nothing to do with the problem

I called Dish. They had me check the values section in system info, and found the values were outside what was normal. So, they're sending me a new unit..


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## brettbolt (Feb 22, 2006)

Hi,

I have a 722 with L6.18 in single mode. 

Audio is fine. However, I watch lots of news shows with scrolling headlines on the bottom. The problem is that frequently the video skips a bit, like there are frame dropouts. I only seem to notice it when there are scrolling headlines on the bottom of the screen, like on CNN or FOX Business. 

I'd say it happens several times per minute.

Is anyone else seeing this?

Brett


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## drewski11 (Jul 16, 2009)

I've seen lip-sync issues twice that I can recall. Both were replaying Fox HD shows via Sat recorded to the DVR. One was American Idol and the other So You Think You Can Dance from a couple of week's ago.

The AI issue was just a fraction of a second. I stopped and restarted the playback and the issue diminished to be barely noticable. This particular episode had considerable pixelation as well. Don't know if they were related problems. This episode was something that we had watched earlier with no problems.

The SYTYCD lip-sync problem was > 1 sec out of sync. Stopping and restarting would reduce the gap, but when I FF'd through commercials the gap would increase again. Wasn't able to ever get it into complete sync. Didn't try a reset or anything, though.

Haven't noticed anything since.


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