# Final Call before I create new Wish List polls



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Ok... finally call before I post new Wish list polls. Yes multiple polls this time. I went through the current Wish List and came up with the following list. Mostly based on if I could figure out the feature, if I saw it more than one post requesting it, or it sounded good to me. I believe I also removed USB support since it obviously is currently being worked on and VOD removal because it is obvious that this feature is here to stay.

Last chance to get your pet feature added to the list so people can vote. This time, I plan on creating two polls: one for overall features and another for User Interface improvements. See the list below and if you think something is missing provide feedback. I will take a look at this thread over the weekend and add any of the choices that seem cool or have a significant amount of people wanting them added to the list. 

I plan on posting the polls on Monday. 

General Wish List Items
-----------------------------
Web Scheduling
Native resolution pass-through
Sticky Playback
Save Preferences and timers using USB Drive. 
USB Keyboard Support
Content Sharing Between 622s
Screen Positioning
High Resolution Support for Pictures
Account Validation/PPV through Ethernet 
Discrete code for CC on/off. (CC enable Disable through Remote)

Sticky Playback - The ability to pause a recorded program you are current watching, PIP 
swap to your Tuner Buffer and Pip swap back to your recorded Program. 

Account Validation/PPV through Ethernet - Ability to authorize you account by having your 622 hooked up to Ethernet instead of phone line.


User Interface Improvement Wish List
-----------------------------------------------
Folders (Ability to roll up Based on Show name and drill down)
Ability to filter TV1 and TV2 recorded shows. 
Improved Search capabilities. (Do not include unsub shows etc.)
Improve the Naming Scheme used for Tuners and TV. 
Seperate AO and NR rating restrictions.
Transponder and Satellite Added to Banner
Manual Positioning of PIP window (Better default PIP window positioning for 16x9 sets)
Dish Pass (Batch Restore/Skip Ability) 
Blackout Icons in EPG for Sports Channels. 

Dish Pass (Batch Restore/Skip Ability) 
When using a Dish Pass to search for a show, all shows found by the search function will have timers automatically set up. Then you have to go through your timer schedule to delete shows that you do not want or not really what you wanted. There should be an option to just list the shows found by the search, and then pick the show(s) you wish to record.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

Bulid in slingbox like feature and native pass through


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Damn.. I can't believe I forgot Native Pass through. Going to add that one to the list ASAP. There was mention of it on a Tech Chat, but it has been quiet and that one does need to be on the list.


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## Guitar1969 (Oct 19, 2006)

Ron Barry said:


> Damn.. I can't believe I forgot Native Pass through. Going to add that one to the list ASAP. There was mention of it on a Tech Chat, but it has been quiet and that one does need to be on the list.


Ability to view playback progress bar at bottom of screen by hitting the play button - Right now the only way to see it is to actually pause the program.


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## elbodude (Jul 13, 2006)

Buffering of tuners while box is in standby and while watching recorded programs.


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

elbodude said:


> Buffering of tuners while box is in standby and while watching recorded programs.


 Seconded


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## Skates (Apr 15, 2004)

1. A PIP label key so I can press a button and see what channel my PIP window is tuned to instead of having to swap to it to find out.


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## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

Something analagous to TiVo's Suggestions.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

Hunter Green said:


> Something analagous to TiVo's Suggestions.


Hunter I believe this will not happen as it is part of TIVO patient.


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## 4bama (Aug 6, 2006)

As we all know each time we repeatedly hit the "Guide" button we switch the 622 to a different guide. We have the ability to create up to 4 different "customized" guides.

Any search function should search ONLY the channels in the currently active guide.

ALL, ALL SUB, ALL HD (these are hardwired) or custom favorite channel guides like MYFAV, SPORTS, MOVIES etc...

This will allow us to narrow our searches to only the selected channels in the guide we are currently using...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Ability to remove the pause bar ... but is that cared enough about to vote on?

I'd also like "content shared between ViP receivers" ... why limit it to the ViP-622? Let me play that content over on a 211! (I'm thinking no on playing it on a 942 since MPEG4 content would have to be converted to play on a 942.)

Transfer via USB 2.0 or Ethernet would be acceptable!


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

elbodude said:


> Buffering of tuners while box is in standby and while watching recorded programs.


I understand the desire for buffering while watching recorded programs... that would be nice!

But buffering while in standby? That doesn't make sense to me. It wouldn't be in standby if it was buffering tuners... so it technically already does that, just don't turn it off!

If you want nightly updates to the EPG and so forth, those updates would necessarily interrupt the buffering process... so I'm not seeing a use for buffering while in standby.

Seems like you should just leave your receiver on when you are wanting buffering to occur. Am I missing something?


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

James Long said:


> I'd also like "content shared between ViP receivers" ... why limit it to the ViP-622? Let me play that content over on a 211! (I'm thinking no on playing it on a 942 since MPEG4 content would have to be converted to play on a 942.)


True James.. That would also make a 622 with a 211 into a 622 with two HD outputs.  Well almost.


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## 4bama (Aug 6, 2006)

Another idea....If you have OTA connected you should still be allowed to do PIP functions even in dual mode...limit one PIP window to OTA and the other to a Dish channel. Maybe the software logic would require the user to be watching an OTA channel then turn on PIP...I don't see why that would take very much software modification.


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## elbodude (Jul 13, 2006)

HDMe said:


> I understand the desire for buffering while watching recorded programs... that would be nice!
> 
> But buffering while in standby? That doesn't make sense to me. It wouldn't be in standby if it was buffering tuners... so it technically already does that, just don't turn it off!
> 
> ...


I guess I still have TiVo blood, as that is what my TiVo box did. Correct, it would buffer "on or off" as long as it was plugged in. Just a nice feature.


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## rbonzer (May 13, 2002)

In the scheduled list of timer events, I want a third option of hide/show skipped events. I want a 'hide not new'/'show conflict' option, which would hide the events skipped because the show is not new, but show events that are not going to be recorded because of a conflict.

I usually show skipped events, but when I added a timer for Planet Earth, the show gets repeated so many times that the list get full of skipped events that it was a pain to read through the noise.

Not sure if this warrants a entry in the wish list, but it has bugged me for a while. (Do you have a young daughter that records Hannah Montana?)


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## apco25 (Oct 2, 2005)

Add the ability to remember where you are in a paused show that is being recorded, after you go do something else (like watch another recorded show). Now you can only "start over", it does not remember where you were.


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

Make OTA Tuner 3. I don't understand why we have Tner 1 and Tuner 2 but OTA is anonymous.

Also add the option to pad the ending time of an event up to 3 hours instead of just 1.5. For some sports events (NASCAR in particular) 1.5 hours is not enough.


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

Add "OTA" or an antenna symbol similar to the new "HD" logo used on the DVR list and other places.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

While watching recorded program and switching tuners, don't stop the recorded program.
Fix the skip fwd/skip back while in pause mode
Don't clear all buffers if OTA signal is lost.


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## blackwhole (Apr 12, 2007)

4bama said:


> Any search function should search ONLY the channels in the currently active guide.
> 
> ALL, ALL SUB, ALL HD (these are hardwired) or custom favorite channel guides like MYFAV, SPORTS, MOVIES etc...
> 
> This will allow us to narrow our searches to only the selected channels in the guide we are currently using...


Sounds good to me. But I would guess Dish considers showing what's available on unsubscribed channels to be a sales tool--"look what you can see with an upgrade!"


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## jgurley (Feb 1, 2005)

Ability to sort channels in the program guide alphabetically. Remember when we received our new membership packet and it included the channel listings? And how were they listed? Alphabetically!

Here's a challenge. Imagine a friend calls one night and leaves a message that you need to check out some really interesting program showing on HGTV (or think of some channel you never watch and don't know the channel's number). See how long it takes you to pull up the guide and scroll through all the channels until you find the one you need.

If you can sort alphabetically you just look for the H's and you're there.


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## voripteth (Oct 25, 2005)

James Long said:


> Ability to remove the pause bar ...


The way I do that now is to do a single frame advance while paused and then the bar disappears.


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## voripteth (Oct 25, 2005)

elbodude said:


> Buffering of tuners while box is in standby and while watching recorded programs.


While this was a feature that was occasionally useful on my TiVo I think it did lead to premature failure of hard drives. Recording everything 24/7 will certainly put quite a bit more stress on the hard drives than we have now. While I'd love to think that hard drives are robust enough to handle such tasks, I've seen enough reports of failed TiVo hard drives to make me think this isn't such a good idea. At least make it an option if it's added at all.


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## tkearney (Aug 29, 2002)

Hi Ron -

I'd like to explicitly assign a timer to TV1 -or- TV2 (from either TV) while in Dual mode. Adding this as part of "Timer Options" would be fine.


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## MQuinn (Apr 18, 2005)

James Long said:


> Ability to remove the pause bar ... but is that cared enough about to vote on?


Either the ability to remove it or the ability to move it on the fly - many times I try to pause to view something that ends up being coverred by the pause bar - your only recourse then is to try and slomo it.


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## MQuinn (Apr 18, 2005)

voripteth said:


> The way I do that now is to do a single frame advance while paused and then the bar disappears.


Aha - nice tip - thanks....


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

voripteth said:


> While this was a feature that was occasionally useful on my TiVo I think it did lead to premature failure of hard drives. Recording everything 24/7 will certainly put quite a bit more stress on the hard drives than we have now. While I'd love to think that hard drives are robust enough to handle such tasks, I've seen enough reports of failed TiVo hard drives to make me think this isn't such a good idea. At least make it an option if it's added at all.


I ran a DirecTivo nonstop from February 2001 until December 2006 when I retired it and replaced it with the 622. The Maxtor 80 gb 5400 rpm IDE hard drives never skipped a beat the entire time.

I miss the continuous buffering and wish Dish would implement it on the 622. I would like to have a 1/2 hour minimum buffer on all 3 tuners at all times.


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## elbodude (Jul 13, 2006)

voripteth said:


> While this was a feature that was occasionally useful on my TiVo I think it did lead to premature failure of hard drives. Recording everything 24/7 will certainly put quite a bit more stress on the hard drives than we have now. While I'd love to think that hard drives are robust enough to handle such tasks, I've seen enough reports of failed TiVo hard drives to make me think this isn't such a good idea. At least make it an option if it's added at all.


I am not sure that is the case. I think todays hard drives were designed to be "on" constantly. I maintain servers where I work, and they have been powered up for many years with no disk problems. It's the workstations that are powered down at night that have the most disk problems.


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

voripteth said:


> While this was a feature that was occasionally useful on my TiVo I think it did lead to premature failure of hard drives. Recording everything 24/7 will certainly put quite a bit more stress on the hard drives than we have now.


 You are right. Scientific Atlanta DVRs, specifically the 8000 and 8300 series, frequently had HDD failures though many blamed it on _heat_. Hmmm, running and recording 24 hours will generate more heat, which in turn can kill the drives....


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Heat then cool then heat then cool isn't exactly a good idea either. 
But this is a wish list, not a technical discussion.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Please forgive an intrusion by a DIRECTV customer, but one interested in furthering the DVR state of the art for all consumers:
Personalized lists/settings for multiple users (with parental review) which would include:

favorite channels
timers
UI colors/skins (someday, perhaps)
recordings and folders
searches and saved searchs
auto-recordings
suggestions

Interesting to note, my 10 year old panny D* receiver had some notion of multiple users and had favorites based on that. I'm thinking the above would be the DVR extension of that concept.

Cheers,
Tom


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Some of that is there but it would be interesting it all work together nicely.


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## joebird (Sep 15, 2003)

voripteth said:


> The way I do that now is to do a single frame advance while paused and then the bar disappears.


I also use this method, however with the latest couple of updates, the trick play features have been very problematic. For instance, sometimes I'll pause, and then the first press of the frame advance button will bring me right back to live TV. In that case, this 'workaround' to remove the pause screen won't work.

So my vote is for the trick play to be fixed. It used to work great. Now, when you FF or RW, it seems that it's very choppy, and as mentioned the Frame Advance produces mixed results. Sometimes it works, other times it goes back to live TV immediately. And the first frame advance, if it DOESN'T go back to live TV, is often more like a 3 second advance than a single frame.


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## Packy (Apr 20, 2007)

It's probably that I came from a Tivo just weeks ago, but what about having the timeline show when you press the play button (while playing). The only way I can see how far I am into a show is by pausing it, which seems silly.

I LOVE the idea of folders for the recorded shows! I got spoiled with folders on our old Tivo.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

Perhaps its too obvious. USB Disk support.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Not too obvious tnsprin, but given it was #1 on the last list and that there is strong evidence it is being worked on I thought putting it on this list did not make a lot of sense. Most everyone would vote on it and since the poll asks for 5 votes per user I figured having things that either it is obvious they will not add or that their is strong evidence they are actively working on did not make a lot of sense.


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

Enable the OTA chip in the 622 to also perform QAM tuning so those customers whose local HD channels aren't offered or otherwise available on E* or who are too far for OTA-could still have a *chance* of getting them into their 622 via local cable company.
Although technologically possible it might not be practical or desireable by either company. Maybe that's like having a cell phone that can work off multiple cell networks. hrm...oh wait actually that does exist.

Another suggestion is to have a built-in National Weather Service weather radio tuner with alert. So if you are watching a non-local channel such as HBO or ESPN and the NWS issues a weather warning for your local area you could have an optional screen interupt sending you to TWC and your local weather radio audio until you chose to return. And better yet continue buffering what you were watching so you can resume where you left off after the emergency alert is heard.

You could also get Amber alerts this way....

Sure you can buy a $30 radio to do the same thing but many home owners don't have one. Again this is a wish.


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## Hunter Green (May 8, 2006)

tomcrown1 said:


> Hunter I believe this will not happen as it is part of TIVO patient.


So is Trick Play, but we still have that, just "different enough" (plus lawsuit settlement). Anyhow, parts of how TiVo does it (like collaborative rating) are controlled by patent, but the same thing done by different means would not be.

The real reason we won't get it is because it's far more complex to implement than a lot of things that are already taking years to do (like external HD support, network support, or streaming audio/video).


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

kbuente said:


> Enable the OTA chip in the 622 to also perform QAM tuning so those customers whose local HD channels aren't offered or otherwise available on E* or who are too far for OTA-could still have a *chance* of getting them into their 622 via local cable company.
> Although technologically possible it might not be practical or desireable by either company. Maybe that's like having a cell phone that can work off multiple cell networks. hrm...oh wait actually that does exist.
> 
> Another suggestion is to have a built-in National Weather Service weather radio tuner with alert. So if you are watching a non-local channel such as HBO or ESPN and the NWS issues a weather warning for your local area you could have an optional screen interupt sending you to TWC and your local weather radio audio until you chose to return. And better yet continue buffering what you were watching so you can resume where you left off after the emergency alert is heard.
> ...


Enabling the Qam tuner I like. The weather on the eights feature is suppose to be enabled soon and is suppose to include the alerts on all channels.


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

Ron Barry said:


> Not too obvious tnsprin, but given it was #1 on the last list and that there is strong evidence it is being worked on I thought putting it on this list did not make a lot of sense.


 What if Dish actually considered the results of your poll in adding features ?? If they look at a current poll and USB disk support isn't listed, maybe they could think that people gave up on the idea and are no longer interested in it.


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

kbuente said:


> Enable the OTA chip in the 622 to also perform QAM tuning ...


 Is it as simple as "enabling" or writing code to support this ?? Does any of the hardware, or the chipset, support QAM ??


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## sthor (Oct 1, 2006)

kbuente said:


> Enable the OTA chip in the 622 to also perform QAM tuning so those customers whose local HD channels aren't offered or otherwise available on E* or who are too far for OTA-could still have a *chance* of getting them into their 622 via local cable company.
> Although technologically possible it might not be practical or desireable by either company. Maybe that's like having a cell phone that can work off multiple cell networks. hrm...oh wait actually that does exist.
> 
> Another suggestion is to have a built-in National Weather Service weather radio tuner with alert. So if you are watching a non-local channel such as HBO or ESPN and the NWS issues a weather warning for your local area you could have an optional screen interupt sending you to TWC and your local weather radio audio until you chose to return. And better yet continue buffering what you were watching so you can resume where you left off after the emergency alert is heard.
> ...


I don't want Amber Alerts interupting my viewing. I was considering a Tivo 3 and cable before choosing Dish. One of the problems with Tivo 3/cable is that Amber Alerts and weather alerts stop recordings in progress to warn of a thunderstorm 100 miles away in another county.


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

Packy said:


> It's probably that I came from a Tivo just weeks ago, but what about having the timeline show when you press the play button (while playing). The only way I can see how far I am into a show is by pausing it, which seems silly.
> 
> I LOVE the idea of folders for the recorded shows! I got spoiled with folders on our old Tivo.


I do this all the time by hitting the right arrow on the remote. It doesn't show the elapsed time but it will how you the remaining time without having to pause the show. Just click on "Cancel" to remove it.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

kbuente said:


> Another suggestion is to have a built-in National Weather Service weather radio tuner with alert. So if you are watching a non-local channel such as HBO or ESPN and the NWS issues a weather warning for your local area you could have an optional screen interupt sending you to TWC and your local weather radio audio until you chose to return. And better yet continue buffering what you were watching so you can resume where you left off after the emergency alert is heard.


A decent idea although doing it through hardware would require replacement of every receiver ... and via hardware it still would not work for those who do not have reception of a NWS signal.

This feature is actually part of the new interactive Weather Channel features. A small icon similar to the "recording" clock that pops up on the 50x series receiver to let people know that something important is happening. (And although it IS an important life saving feature and EAS - Emergency Alert System - interruptions ARE required on cable systems, I would want a way to filter what warnings are displayed or the ability to turn off the cross-channel alerts.)


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Hall said:


> What if Dish actually considered the results of your poll in adding features ?? If they look at a current poll and USB disk support isn't listed, maybe they could think that people gave up on the idea and are no longer interested in it.


E* has announced the feature and demos it often. I doubt if they will stop development if it is left of the poll. Considered it a "wish granted" - in the 'soon' category.


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## Packy (Apr 20, 2007)

lujan said:


> I do this all the time by hitting the right arrow on the remote. It doesn't show the elapsed time but it will how you the remaining time without having to pause the show. Just click on "Cancel" to remove it.


Cool, I'll give that a try. I'm still learning the new GUI


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

- Switch from dual to single mode and back again via the remote
- Swap button while editing or viewing a timer switches which tuner will record the program
- one-button on the remote for change of format (1080i/720p/480p/etc)


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## allargon (May 3, 2007)

You guys must all have plasmas or TV's that display SD content without a hitch. I would like automatic upconverting of SD content and a native display setting so I don't have to switch ESPN/ABC/FOX down to 720p when everything else is 1080i.


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

allargon said:


> You guys must all have plasmas or TV's that display SD content without a hitch. I would like automatic upconverting of SD content and a native display setting so I don't have to switch ESPN/ABC/FOX down to 720p when everything else is 1080i.


I second third and forth native display must have native display pass through


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

i agree about native pass-thru. i thought that was already on the list.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

lujan said:


> I do this all the time by hitting the right arrow on the remote. It doesn't show the elapsed time but it will how you the remaining time without having to pause the show. Just click on "Cancel" to remove it.


Doesn't just pressing 'Cancel' do the same thing?


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## kbuente (Mar 25, 2007)

James Long said:


> A decent idea although doing it through hardware would require replacement of every receiver ... and via hardware it still would not work for those who do not have reception of a NWS signal.
> 
> This feature is actually part of the new interactive Weather Channel features. A small icon similar to the "recording" clock that pops up on the 50x series receiver to let people know that something important is happening. (And although it IS an important life saving feature and EAS - Emergency Alert System - interruptions ARE required on cable systems, I would want a way to filter what warnings are displayed or the ability to turn off the cross-channel alerts.)


I would venture to say more people can receive a NWS signal than they can pick up OTA HD. But you are correct the 622 does not have an analog VHF receiver.

And I agree, you certainly should be able to configure WHAT counties or types of events you receive alerts for and it should only happen while watching live TV--not for anything being recorded for play-back later, it would out of date anyhow.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

Hall said:


> Is it as simple as "enabling" or writing code to support this ?? Does any of the hardware, or the chipset, support QAM ??


The chipset supports QAM. It may however need other hardware changes, don't know. Probably couldn't handle any encryption (cablecard) type requirement of Digital Cable. But its certainly worth asking for and see what they say. If nothing else may get them to consider including in a future model.


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

TulsaOK said:


> Doesn't just pressing 'Cancel' do the same thing?


I don't know I always press the right arrow?


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## tomcrown1 (Jan 16, 2006)

tnsprin said:


> The chipset supports QAM. It may however need other hardware changes, don't know. Probably couldn't handle any encryption (cablecard) type requirement of Digital Cable. But its certainly worth asking for and see what they say. If nothing else may get them to consider including in a future model.


How about a future model with a bulid in Slingbox. This will work great for DISH partner ATT--Since ATT can now advertise that with one sloution you can carry your DISH program with you anywere even on your ATT cell phone.


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## hokie-dk (Feb 4, 2006)

Mr.72 said:


> - one-button on the remote for change of format (1080i/720p/480p/etc)


This would be an extremely useful feature.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

I agree. Same goes with a CC button based on the threads I have read. This of course would required a remote upgrade. Would be nice if they released a remote with these features and allowed users to upgrade. I am adding these to the list, but the only way I could see this done with the existing remote would be with a key combination (if that is even possible). Then perhaps the code could be capture by a universal and for people with a universal they would have a one button solution.

So this might be doable but in the long run I think they need to add those buttons to the remote. The other one that is talked about frequently is the dual single mode. I also added this one to the list, but I this one I am not to high on because I think it has potential side effects.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

kbuente said:


> And I agree, you certainly should be able to configure WHAT counties or types of events you receive alerts for and it should only happen while watching live TV--not for anything being recorded for play-back later, it would out of date anyhow.


I doubt that it would record the weather alerts ... that would be used live only ... and it would be useful to have live alerts even when watching a DVR event. (Able to be turned off for dubbing, of course.)

If there is an EAS alert people need to know NOW, not when they play back the recording and not when they are done playing back their recording. It should not be hard for the receiver to continue monitoring the satellite stream for alerts regardless of what you are watching. How much of that alert will be able to be displayed without stopping a recording is another unknown about the new feature. So many questions! Hopefully it will be available soon (for the rest of severe weather season) and have an off switch for those who don't want it.

All OT for this thread (since it isn't a feature for the wish list but one that is coming "soon"). At least it provides the functionality of the requested "weather radio alert" feature.

PS: I want the CC on/off button on the remote too!


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## Hall (Mar 4, 2004)

DVRs don't record the caller-id window or if you hit "Info" while a show is recording so I'm sure they can make it so that it does NOT record a weather alert.


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## lujan (Feb 10, 2004)

TulsaOK said:


> Doesn't just pressing 'Cancel' do the same thing?


I just tried it and it works great. It's easier than pressing the right arrow. Thanks for the tip. I learn something new every day about the 622.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Closed thread since I have added the polls in the sticky area for now. Please participate and vote for your fav 5 for both UI and feature wants.


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