# Who else is getting "black screen" with the 211/411?



## mth

I turn on the TV at 9:00 last night, ready to watch some Scrubs, and miss the first 5 minutes because I'm rebooting my receiver.

At least once a week, maybe 2-3 times, I turn on the TV and the receiver, and I just have a black screen. The guide and info show up, and I'm getting audio, but the picture on locals and satellite is just black. 

Signal strength is fine. 

Real PITA. 

So. . .what the hell? Is it the new technology? Do I have a dud? Should I call my installer or Dsh? 

So what if I do call Dish. . .he's going to tell me to reboot and it will be fine. I don't want to be rebooting several times per week. That's not what I signed up for. 

Anyone else seeing this?


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## ggw2000

mth said:


> I turn on the TV at 9:00 last night, ready to watch some Scrubs, and miss the first 5 minutes because I'm rebooting my receiver.
> 
> At least once a week, maybe 2-3 times, I turn on the TV and the receiver, and I just have a black screen. The guide and info show up, and I'm getting audio, but the picture on locals and satellite is just black.
> 
> Signal strength is fine.
> 
> Real PITA.
> 
> So. . .what the hell? Is it the new technology? Do I have a dud? Should I call my installer or Dsh?
> 
> So what if I do call Dish. . .he's going to tell me to reboot and it will be fine. I don't want to be rebooting several times per week. That's not what I signed up for.
> 
> Anyone else seeing this?


I have had this happen to me once so far (exactly as you say) but have only had the unit a few days and do not use it as my primary unit. Did you go into the menus and turn off auto power off (or something like that)? Gerry


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## leestoo

I have not had this problem.


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## riche119

I've had this happen twice in the 2 weeks that I've had my 211, but I have to do a system reset almost every day to get audio on OTA channels. A reset always cures any problem but the frequency is getting to be be a pain in the posterior!


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## leegart

mth said:


> I turn on the TV at 9:00 last night, ready to watch some Scrubs, and miss the first 5 minutes because I'm rebooting my receiver.
> 
> At least once a week, maybe 2-3 times, I turn on the TV and the receiver, and I just have a black screen. The guide and info show up, and I'm getting audio, but the picture on locals and satellite is just black.
> 
> Signal strength is fine.
> 
> Real PITA.
> 
> So. . .what the hell? Is it the new technology? Do I have a dud? Should I call my installer or Dsh?
> 
> So what if I do call Dish. . .he's going to tell me to reboot and it will be fine. I don't want to be rebooting several times per week. That's not what I signed up for.
> 
> Anyone else seeing this?


I've had it happen on my 211. The only thing that has worked for me is pulling the power cord out, waiting about 30-60 seconds and putting it back in.


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## saweetnesstrev

ggw, nice Australian Sheppard,, use to have a few when i was a kid.


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## ggw2000

saweetnesstrev said:


> ggw, nice Australian Sheppard,, use to have a few when i was a kid.


She's a sweet heart! Good dog and smart as a whip..... Gerry


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## tnsprin

I don't have a 211 yet, but

Put up a poll. We all need to know how many have seen this. Make it a large period, or those who just got one will report they did not see a problem even if it turns out to be the number 1 problem with 411/vip211.


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## Ghostwriter

ahhhh the joys of early adoption...


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## James Long

Several questions (for those having problems):
Do you have the "inactivity timeout" disabled - if not, how many hours?
Was your 211/411 "on" when you got the black out screen (green light on front)?
What channel was your receiver left on? SD/HD/Local?

Just for information and trying to find a pattern.


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## kzosat

I was thinking the same things James. I am wondering if it is due to the standby/inactivity mode. 

Btw, The only problem I have with my 211 is the becoming more common caller ID popup not working every time. I have had my 211 about 2 weeks now.


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## mth

James Long said:


> Several questions (for those having problems):
> Do you have the "inactivity timeout" disabled - if not, how many hours?
> Was your 211/411 "on" when you got the black out screen (green light on front)?
> What channel was your receiver left on? SD/HD/Local?
> 
> Just for information and trying to find a pattern.


I have "inactivity timeout" set for 4 hours. The period between having a picture and losing a picture is less than 4 hours. (I turned it off around 7:00 and turned it back on at 9:00)

The last time it happened, it happened when the receiver was turned back on. That is, we turned it back on and had audio, but no video.

I think it was on a local station when turned off/back on.

Was this ever a problem with the 811s? My inlaws have the 811 and they never have this happen with theirs.


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## citico

JAMES: I have not had this problem with my 211. I leave it on both OTA and Sat
depending on station choice. Set in standby always. Inactivity timeout set as MTH.
No problem setting up locks, and favorite list. Timers seem to be fine. The OTA
issue will be moot as Dish adds HD locals. Maybe as said above , this is why it scans digital only. Since this is a HD box why not let the HD TV handle all OTA? You
would have to change inputs but that's no big deal.


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## jKp

kzosat said:


> I was thinking the same things James. I am wondering if it is due to the standby/inactivity mode.
> 
> Btw, The only problem I have with my 211 is the becoming more common caller ID popup not working every time. I have had my 211 about 2 weeks now.


I have had my 211 for a few weeks now and have the same problem with the caller ID.


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## James Long

I havn't had the black out problem, but it is my first week and I have not watched that much TV since Friday night. I'll have to test the Caller ID.


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## BobaBird

Also, which video connection are you using to your TV? Does it matter which device you turn on first?


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## mth

BobaBird said:


> Also, which video connection are you using to your TV? Does it matter which device you turn on first?


I haven't really bee keeping a log of it or anything, but I suspect it's 50/50 which I'm turning on first.

I use component video cable. The audio goes out separately. Hmmmm.


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## jerryez

My 211 inactivity switch does not work, I have it disabled and it still goes into standby and does not record what I have my TiVo set up to record. Al I get is a floating logo that says press select to continue. Also, thew 211 screen blacks out with no audio or guide or anything at least once a day for the week that I have had it. I have to reboot it to get it to work.

More junk from Dish Network! Another 811 piece of junk.


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## mth

I had another black out two nights ago. I rebooted in the middle of a movie. I called them to let them know that I want to start a file. 

I get a call at work from the wife today that says we've totally lost dish, not recognizing any satellites. She called up Dish and got a supervisor. They're sending a regional manager/specialist or something out tomorrow. 

I think the problem is the rooftop installation. I think the Dish moves a little, and I get the black-screen problem, then it moves some more and it goes totally blank. 

It's getting very annoying.


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## bhenge

I have had my 411 4 days now and have seen the blackout twice. The first time was simply turning on the 411. The unit was funtional (menus and program guide displayed and worked) but no picture, no audio, just a black screen. The second time occured when I went from looking at an OTA channel to watching ESPNHD. The screen went black with no audio, but this time after about 2-3 minutes the 411 re-booted on its own and everything worked again. I tried to reproduce this last scenario but have not been able to.


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## mth

Followup: 

They were supposed to come on Friday between noon and 5. 

4:30 rolls around. No call. No show. The wife needs to take the dogs out. We have evening plans. We call them up and the lady says the guy should be coming but she'll call us back soon when she finds something out. 

No call back. No guy ever shows up. 

I get a call Saturday morning from a guy apologizing that no one showed up. He reschedules for Tuesday. 

Well, something came up Tuesday morning, so my wife called Dish to reschedule. The woman on the phone tells her, "oh we have it written down that someone came on Friday and replaced the lines". 

:eek2: 

You WHAT?

This is getting ridiculous. 

Now, fortunately, the Superbowl was fine, but on Friday, at about 7:00 pm I lost service for a minute, but it came back without rebooting. Got me worried, though.


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## johnputnamjr

I have my 211 connected via HDMI to HDMI and have an OTA antenna hooked in as well for local HD. Mine also has had to be re-set twice in the last 6 days. I get audio but no video...hitting "select" as the screen indicates does nothing. Have to shut it down and re-set. Very frustrating - seems to happen for no reason at all whether the system is on or off.


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## sendy

I have Vip211 2 weeks now 5 blackouts  
thank god not during the superbowl couse i had 40 guest :eek2:


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## CoriBright

First blackout this morning .... receiver was powered off overnight, last channel was a SAT. Same as others, audio, but no video. Disconnected from power and reconnected (but that means reaching round the back of the tv)...


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## salem66

I also have been having issues with blackouts of the video feed. Audio works fine. Have to power cycle the 211 for it to check switch and download program in order for the video to return. I am like you guys...this is getting to be annoying!! I had no issues like this ( blackouts or lip synch issues) with the 811. It appears to me to be receiver specific...possobly issue with mpeg 4


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## rdr

I had my 211 installed on the 5th and for the first time this afternoon the screen went blank. Still had audio. Did a reset and now ok. Never happened with the 811. Is this something we are going to have to put up with or is Dishnet aware of the problem?


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## DrJHilty

I have a 411 and have had my picture go blank 5 times in 2 weeks. A 3-5 minute reboot is very frustrating when it occurs in the middle of a show. I'm assuming this is a software issue and not hardware related. 

I also had a problem where the unit would "lose" the sattellite signal and the error message would pop up. However, if I changed the channel or just hit the menu button the picture would show up perfectly again. For some reason the unti wouldn't "find" the satellite signal again on its own. It would keep that stupid error message up there until I hit the menu button.


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## Zappy

I have a 211 connected via HDMI to HDMI and have satellite local HD. I had the screen black out (no logo) but still had sound only one time so far. It happened when I tried to change the channel; I had just changed the channel a minute before with no problems. The picture only came back after I unplugged the receiver for 30 seconds and had it reboot.

Zappy


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## richiephx

I have had my 211 receiver for 2 days. I have experienced a black screen with audio 3 times already and I had to reset the receiver to get video back. Each time I was on an off-air local channel (FOX) to be exact and I lost the local digital signal when it happened each time. Needless to say, I wont watch FOX local anymore. I contacted DN tech support and had the guy write up a problem report. Personally, I think it's the receiver. You think they would have learned after all the problems with the 811 receiver. I guess rocket science is complicated, huh? I would recommend contacting DN Tech support to let them know you are having this type of problem so they do something fast, maybe?


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## James Long

If you are having this problem do contact dish with as many details as possible - especially channel numbers and times and what you were doing at the time (channel change - selecting banner - whatever). The more details the better.

"It don't work" is a problem report that doesn't lead to a fix.


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## mth

My guy finally came. He was a dish network regional manager, or something like that.

He changed two aspects of the install. 

One was the "combiner" for the dish/rooftop antenna. He said the original installer used one that was for cable. 

Two was another connector that he said was wrong. It is a simple connector -- one cable to another cable -- that he said was for cable, not satellite. 

He said if I had any more problems, he'd replace the receiver. So far so good.


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## AcuraCL

That's good mth. Sounds like you got the white glove treatment (or at least light gray  ).


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## bulldog200024

Also having the "black screen" problems. I have a 411 and it has happened four times in less than a week. Twice, it occured while changing from an OTA HD channel to a SD channel. Not sure about the other two. I called dish and they said to call back again when it is happening and they might be able to pinpoint the problem. It happened again yesterday so my wife calls and they said they dont know what the problem is. So, looks like I am relying on the best customer service Dish has, this site!


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## Alan R. Pope

I Have A 411 Since Feb 3rd. Now Have A Black Line About 1 Inch Wide On The Left Side Of The Screen
On Most Channels. The Voom Channels Its Smaller. Called Dish And Said They Will Submit It To Engineers. My Analog Over The Air Channels Are Fine So Its Not My Tv. I By-passed The 411 And Hooked The Antenna Directly To My Tv, A 42 Philips Plasma.


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## cuquiandgus17

jKp said:


> I have had my 211 for a few weeks now and have the same problem with the caller ID.


make sure you connected a phone line to box


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## leegart

The blank screen problem, which was daily when my 211 was first set up, seems to have disappeared. I have no explanation but it has been behaving for about a week now without needing to do the "unplug it" reset. Does anyone else notice improvement?


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## mth

leegart said:


> The blank screen problem, which was daily when my 211 was first set up, seems to have disappeared. I have no explanation but it has been behaving for about a week now without needing to do the "unplug it" reset. Does anyone else notice improvement?


Well, I completely lost service again yesterday. Not just black screen.

We called Dish up and LET THEM HAVE IT.

We told them, "come fix it, or come get it." This is just friggin' ridiculous. We did get a guy to give us a $50 credit. But I just want my damn dish to work.

The biggest thing is that you can't get a smaller window for a technician to come by. It's always 12-5.

We told them, "we can't keep taking half days to wait for technicians for the TV." Especially considering they scheduled us once and never showed up.

I just don't know what to do anymore. It's something every single week. I don't want to get rid of Dish. I like it when it works. But, it's to the point where I don't want to turn my TV on because I'm worried I'm not going to have service.


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## mruk69

My 211 has been doing the blackout thing and have had problems with losing color in the menu. The biggest problem is i sometimes turn on the Tv and it is black no audio.
My receiver is hooked up to both HDMI and Svideo. When it is black on Digital In i change to video 1 and can see boot receovery, vital info is been downloaded. This does not always complete and requires the unplug re plug method about 5 or 6 times before I it will actually start aquirring the signal and downloading the program guide. I have called Dish tech support six times and got BS responses. Th receiver is already at the latest software upgrade. One thing to note, if it is in boot receovery the only way to know is to to make sure you change your Tv input from HDMI to non-hdmi as HDMI output only works when out of the boot receovery.


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## cuquiandgus17

kzosat said:


> I was thinking the same things James. I am wondering if it is due to the standby/inactivity mode.
> 
> Btw, The only problem I have with my 211 is the becoming more common caller ID popup not working every time. I have had my 211 about 2 weeks now.


do you have a phone hookedup to your 211? you need one for caller id to work


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## Mikey

I've noticed that the caller ID on the 211 seems to be intermittent. When my son calls on his cell phone, the 211 always shows "Unknown" and doesn't give the number. My other phone's caller ID always has the right data. 

He called from a landline yesterday, and the caller ID data on the 211 was correct.


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## Jeff43

Oh darn....................I got the black screen tonight when changing the OTA digital channels. I call Dish Network and the engineering team called me back right away. Only way out of this issue is a complete pull the plug reset. Now I got two issue with the ViP211- digital output lip-sync and the darn black screen. 

I was told the software fix will now be next month. I got a credit for the time to be down while waiting on the spooling of the software. If any Dish Network engineers are reading this forum.........please repair our broken ViP211's as soon as possible.


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## rockothomp

I have the same problem with my new 411 receiver,I lost the picture when i start it up in the morning.I HAD TO REBOOT.


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## dmils

I jinxed myself:eek2: -read this thread this afternoon and after 1month on my 411 got a black screen/no sound when I turned on my system tonite. Reset worked fine


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## HDdude24

Well I got my black screen this morning I hope they Fix this ASAP..


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## CoriBright

I had one this morning too.... box was turned off overnight, left on some satellite channel (not OTA).... 

I'm wondering if there is a pattern here, are our boxes phoning home the same night or something.... ????????????????


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## HDdude24

211/411 Software Update.

More info on the software at satelliteguys

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=57367


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## logray

In 3 days of having my 211, I just experienced this for the first time. It was after I had to reboot the box after having rewired a few things - disconnected component and svideo. No picture but audio was there. All of the EPG overlays were working fine. Reboot fixed it. Oddly enough had not seen it when I had component, svideo, and HDMI all connected at the same time. If it happens again I might try reconnecting the component and/or svideo to see if that resolves it.


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## Jeff43

HDdude24 said:


> 211/411 Software Update.
> 
> More info on the software at satelliteguys
> 
> http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=57367


Everybody hang on tight...........................our ViP211's/411's are going to start working right or the problems may just get worse. Let's hope this upgrade works.


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## mth

After my last post, a guy came to the house and swapped my 411 for a 211. He said that his office hadn't even ever received 411's. 

Anyway, it black-screened the very next morning. I did a reset, and I haven't had black-screen again. Maybe the box. Maybe the software, but for now, it's looking good. 

Also -- for some strange reason, I immediately started getting better readouts in OTA signal strength with the 211. With the same antenna and same positioning, I used to top out at 85 or so, and now I regularly get 95-100 on the nearby locals.


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## PDR

After a week of no problems I got the dreaded black screen with audio the first time I turned on my tv last night and the night before. Once I was using the HDMI connection, once component video. I do not receive any ota channels so that isn't an issue. A front panel reboot brought back the picture each time. For the record, I haven't had any of the lip sync problems that others have reported, but the black screen is becoming a real pain. I also disabled the automatic standby, but that also does not seem to have made a difference.


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## ewells38

I noticed the exact same problem. Blank pictures/video but the audio is fine. This happeneds no matter of I am watching SD or HD channels. I have been rebooting (hard reboot - unplug for 30 sec) and it has been happening consistantly. It's quite annoying. Will there be a software update for this problem? or does my Vip211 needs to be replaced? Any information would be greatly appreciated


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## ggw2000

ewells38 said:


> I noticed the exact same problem. Blank pictures/video but the audio is fine. This happeneds no matter of I am watching SD or HD channels. I have been rebooting (hard reboot - unplug for 30 sec) and it has been happening consistantly. It's quite annoying. Will there be a software update for this problem? or does my Vip211 needs to be replaced? Any information would be greatly appreciated


Those of you that are having the video "blackout" problems but have audio on power up. How are you turning on your VIP 211s? In other words are you pushing the "power" button or the "select" button? After my 2nd episode of this problem, I only use the select button to turn it back on and have not had the problem in over a month. Just a thought.. Gerry


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## ewells38

ggw2000 said:


> Those of you that are having the video "blackout" problems but have audio on power up. How are you turning on your VIP 211s? In other words are you pushing the "power" button or the "select" button? After my 2nd episode of this problem, I only use the select button to turn it back on and have not had the problem in over a month. Just a thought.. Gerry


Thanks for the reply Gerry

I also used the Select button on the Remote via the 211 and I get the same result (Audio is fine, but no Picture/Video). I called Dish Tech Support last night and spoke with the Tech for about an hour, Just verifying settings such as signal strenth (In my case above 95% for both 110/119 and 105% on 61.5). Then the Tech sent down an authorization signal which also made no difference. I was then asked to power off (unplug) the reciever for 30 seconds, while unpluged, change my connection from HDMI to Componet, Then power on the receiver (plug in)
After the aquiring signal and downloading of the Guide completed. I saw the channel bannar at the top of the screen, had Audio but still no picture/video. The Tech then noted that this was a known problem and a software fix should be available shortly. In the interim they are sending me a replacement 211. Given this it seems like I am out of luck in terms of watching TV until the replacement receiver arrives (Which I hopes corrects the problem) or until the software download is available. Thus I demanded a credit for the days I am unable to watch TV, The Tech issued the credit to my account with no problem. So at this point it seems that this is a known problem, but from the other posts I've read a reset usually corrects the problem, but not in my case. So I hope the replacement receiver makes a difference.. and the software download is available in the very very near future

My setup:
65" Mitsubishi 65908 HD Rear Projection
Vip211 connected via HDMI
Satellites 110/119/61.5


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## ggw2000

ewells38 said:


> Thanks for the reply Gerry
> 
> I also used the Select button on the Remote via the 211 and I get the same result (Audio is fine, but no Picture/Video). I called Dish Tech Support last night and spoke with the Tech for about an hour, Just verifying settings such as signal strenth (In my case above 95% for both 110/119 and 105% on 61.5). Then the Tech sent down an authorization signal which also made no difference. I was then asked to power off (unplug) the reciever for 30 seconds, while unpluged, change my connection from HDMI to Componet, Then power on the receiver (plug in)
> After the aquiring signal and downloading of the Guide completed. I saw the channel bannar at the top of the screen, had Audio but still no picture/video. The Tech then noted that this was a known problem and a software fix should be available shortly. In the interim they are sending me a replacement 211. Given this it seems like I am out of luck in terms of watching TV until the replacement receiver arrives (Which I hopes corrects the problem) or until the software download is available. Thus I demanded a credit for the days I am unable to watch TV, The Tech issued the credit to my account with no problem. So at this point it seems that this is a known problem, but from the other posts I've read a reset usually corrects the problem, but not in my case. So I hope the replacement receiver makes a difference.. and the software download is available in the very very near future
> 
> My setup:
> 65" Mitsubishi 65908 HD Rear Projection
> Vip211 connected via HDMI
> Satellites 110/119/61.5


I REALLY didn't expect you would have a problem with Component! Of course I have only had HDMI hooked up. I do notice however that when I hit the "select" button to turn on my 211 it seems like your "trying to kickstart" it into motion when looking at my TV screen with the screensaver on it. Hard to explain but kinda weird. Good luck with a replacement. Gerry


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## alfbinet

ewells38 said:


> I noticed the exact same problem. Blank pictures/video but the audio is fine. This happeneds no matter of I am watching SD or HD channels. I have been rebooting (hard reboot - unplug for 30 sec) and it has been happening consistantly. It's quite annoying. Will there be a software update for this problem? or does my Vip211 needs to be replaced? Any information would be greatly appreciated


I have had my 411 going on two weeks. At first this was just an intermittant problem. Now it is happening everday. Not only am I getting the black screen/with audio and guide...no picture. Now I am losing all signals on 110, 119, and 129. Tried the on/off switch fix and worked for awhile, now it doesn't work, and did the pull plug out for 30 seconds and that rebooted for 110 and 119 but can't lock onto 129 so I only get OTA HD channels. I am at work now but Dish is getting a call when I get home. Never, ever had this problem with my 6000 which, thankfully, I still have.


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## alfbinet

Dish is sending me out a replacement 211 for my 411. They have credited my account for the channels I have lost. Funny thing is two other non-HD receivers in the house have no problem. Just my 411. I am also connected via component since my Sony HD tv was purchased before HDMI was available.


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## rsprague

This is not really an answer to your question James, but I may have some usefull info:
I've had my 411 since Feb 10th. The first 2-1/2 weeks I had no black screen problems, not even once. The last 1-1/2 weeks its started black screening. No real pattern, just every now and again. PQ is not an issue, perfect in HD, good in SD. 
I believe there has been one software upgrade since Feb 10th. I'm wondering if my blackscreen problems started AFTER that softerware upgrade since I had no problems the 1st couple of weeks or so...

Thanks, Rick


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## jerryez

I had the black screen problem on my 211, but have not had it lately. Why is it that a software upgrade fixes some receivers and casues the same problem with other receivers. This seemed to be the same with the 811 problems.


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## jtthirty

I know nothing about the sound sync problem because I don't have an a/v receiver that accepts a digital input--it does analog discrete 5.1 with my DVD player (which is a pain because it requires 6 different cable runs). So, I can't get 5.1 sound with my 411. Anyway--the purpose of this post (and others may have notice also) is say that when I change channels from an SD one to an HD one that the sound lags behind. In other words--I was watching the new on channel 13 and flipped to 13.1 and heard the news caster repeat the exact same words that I'd just heard. I dunno, I thought maybe this is related to the sound sync problems.

See ya--
Rick


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## alfbinet

rsprague said:


> This is not really an answer to your question James, but I may have some usefull info:
> I've had my 411 since Feb 10th. The first 2-1/2 weeks I had no black screen problems, not even once. The last 1-1/2 weeks its started black screening. No real pattern, just every now and again. PQ is not an issue, perfect in HD, good in SD.
> I believe there has been one software upgrade since Feb 10th. I'm wondering if my blackscreen problems started AFTER that softerware upgrade since I had no problems the 1st couple of weeks or so...
> 
> Thanks, Rick


My problem with the 411 has only gotten worse. I have to reset the thing every time it is not in use. I have disabled the update feature, set so that the unit never turns off and still have problems. I can no longer get the voom channels. They are sending me out a replacement 211 unit but my hopes are not all that great. I have subscribed since 1999. Signed an agreement for the next 18 months. They have given me some credits on my account (we will see when I get my next bill.)


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