# Anyone else having a rebooting problem?



## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

I've had my ViP622 for 3 weeks and it reboots itself a few times a day. It then goes through the Sat check and downloads the guide so it takes a few minutes before it is back up. When this happens during a recording, which it does a lot, the program will be broken up into 2 or 3 sections with several minutes lost in between. 

I phoned Dish last week and they (Advanced Support) said this was a known problem and they were working on a software fix. I was hoping rev 355 would fix it but it hasn't. 

Is anyone else having this problem? If not, I'm wondering if I don't just have a defective DVR. Any advice on the best way to get this resolved?


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## BIGBALDITO (Feb 24, 2006)

David Im having the same problem. First they told me it was the clouds affecting signal. So I asked him how come it only affects my 622 and not my other boxes. Then he admitted that they are trying to solve the problem as we speak. I hope it get solved quik because it seems to be getting worse.


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## hankmack (Feb 8, 2006)

In over 2 weeks I have had one rebooting. System seems to be working fine.


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## wyattg (Feb 22, 2006)

David-A said:


> I've had my ViP622 for 3 weeks and it reboots itself a few times a day. It then goes through the Sat check and downloads the guide so it takes a few minutes before it is back up. When this happens during a recording, which it does a lot, the program will be broken up into 2 or 3 sections with several minutes lost in between.
> 
> Is anyone else having this problem? If not, I'm wondering if I don't just have a defective DVR. Any advice on the best way to get this resolved?


I had a program I attempted to download overnight last weeek. It broke it up into 7 pieces and it was a hour long program. Needless to say I wasn't able to watch it not mention I programmed my 622 to record Earl last night and got the first 3 minutes and then it stopped, no reboot, no restart, nothing. Didn't notice it until it was too late..grrrrrrr


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## voripteth (Oct 25, 2005)

When I've heard other people report behavior like this they said that Dish sent out a replacement unit.


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## wyattg (Feb 22, 2006)

voripteth said:


> When I've heard other people report behavior like this they said that Dish sent out a replacement unit.


I have a tech coming out to, in the words of the "advanced tech", "Fix all my problems." We will see what happens since it looks like I may have a switch issue. After the tech leaves and it continues I will push for a new unit.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

I dont know about anyone else, but IF and when a tech is dispatched, they should come equipped with a spare everything that was supplied to you, D*, or E*, switches, dishes, receivers, so you can get back up and running, and they dont have to come out again.....anything less is sheer stupidity, and a total waste of time and resources...


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

wyattg said:


> I have a tech coming out to, in the words of the "advanced tech", "Fix all my problems." We will see what happens since it looks like I may have a switch issue. After the tech leaves and it continues I will push for a new unit.


 Advanced tech will come out and "Fix all my problems."

Sounds like you are going to get "whacked", when the installer comes out. That line sounds straight out of "The Soranoes".


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## wyattg (Feb 22, 2006)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> Advanced tech will come out and "Fix all my problems."
> 
> Sounds like you are going to get "whacked", when the installer comes out. That line sounds straight out of "The Soranoes".


Felt that way. The Advanced Techncian wan't very advanced. I was listing off all issues I was having, sounding cutting out, jittery video, recordings stopping for no reason, mysterious reboots, check switch errors. No once did he acknowledge that they were known issues. He basically sat quietly while I mentioned the problems, he then must have been reading from a script would ask me a question and it would deviate from what he expected me to say. Finally he said, he was sending the tech out. I asked him if he had heard of any of the issues and he said he had not heard of any audio issues. I knew then I was not dealing with an advanced technician.

Wish Me Luck!!!


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## cfisher (Sep 7, 2004)

Having the exact same issues you describe - all the kids shows we record are split randomly - and we have the mysterious reboots several times daily.

At first it seemed 355 made the problem worse but after a few days it seemed better actually. Might have to do with the following;

I wonder if it has anything to do with OTA channels. I still have the antenna attached, but I removed all but 1 or 2 channels from the setup screen and the frequency of the reboots, as I said, seems to have gone down.

I'm hooked up via components for video and optical to a receiver for sound so I havent had the audio problems others have seen.

I'll bet $5 we'll see some pretty hefty updates prior to the April 1st mark. Just a guess there'll be some pent up demand.

Good to hear at least 1 tech thinks it's a known issue being worked on. I hope it solveable via software 'cause I'm already on my second unit.

Despite these issues, I think the receiver is actually pretty slick!


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

David-A said:


> I've had my ViP622 for 3 weeks and it reboots itself a few times a day. It then goes through the Sat check and downloads the guide so it takes a few minutes before it is back up. When this happens during a recording, which it does a lot, the program will be broken up into 2 or 3 sections with several minutes lost in between.
> 
> I phoned Dish last week and they (Advanced Support) said this was a known problem and they were working on a software fix. I was hoping rev 355 would fix it but it hasn't.
> 
> Is anyone else having this problem? If not, I'm wondering if I don't just have a defective DVR. Any advice on the best way to get this resolved?


I just had my 622 re[laced by Dish because of reboots/black screens/screeching sounds that had been occuring almost daily since my 2/23 install. I am now happy to say that all is fine, at least since yesterday. Not one watchdog in the counters menu at all! And the sound has been good too! I bet if we compared serial numbers, we'd find a pattern of bad initial boxes.


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## GATER (Mar 17, 2006)

I have had the same thing happen on mine as well. Power off-power on- acquire sat signal. It has only happened a few times over the last 2 weeks. Hopefully a software update will fix the problem.


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## Guragu (Feb 15, 2006)

I've had the same problem.... the screen will go black and then it will reboot itself. It's happened twice today. I also had a problem with periodic audio dropouts, even with no other recording going on, on SD channels. That little problem only used to happen when I had a bunch of activity going on (multiple channels recording, etc) I will call in and log yet another report...

it would be helpful if they actually called us all beta testers and gave us a more convenient way to report our bugs :sure:


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## alysenlynn (Jan 8, 2006)

David-A said:


> I've had my ViP622 for 3 weeks and it reboots itself a few times a day. It then goes through the Sat check and downloads the guide so it takes a few minutes before it is back up. When this happens during a recording, which it does a lot, the program will be broken up into 2 or 3 sections with several minutes lost in between.
> 
> I phoned Dish last week and they (Advanced Support) said this was a known problem and they were working on a software fix. I was hoping rev 355 would fix it but it hasn't.
> 
> Is anyone else having this problem? If not, I'm wondering if I don't just have a defective DVR. Any advice on the best way to get this resolved?


My unit was not rebooting at all for the first 2 weeks. We were have some color shift issues, flickering on 1080i output and sound drops at times. Then after it downloaded rev 355 the rebooting began. The first episode of the Sopranos was recorded in 3-5 minute intervals. I talked to 4 tech people before anyone would acknowledge that all of the above we issues. They made me move my 311 reciever to that TV to "prove it wasn't our electricity causing a problem" and when it worked fine the 4th tech guy agreed to send out a replacment. His comment was that he felt it was a software issue and a box replacment might not help. I agreed but no one could tell me if they were working on fixing the issue so I wanted a new box.

The box arrived this week and so far we've had NONE of the rebooting, color, flickering or sound drop issues.


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## cfisher (Sep 7, 2004)

I knew it! As soon as I wrote the problem got better when I eliminated the OTA...guess what happened...yup...I've had about 8 reboots today!

I called Support and he had me do 1 fresh reboot - aparrently for his enjoyment 'cause it didn't do anything for me. Anyway, he said he'd had 1 other call about the rebooting for the 622 but had not heard much else.

Because this was my second call on the same receiver, he offered to replace the box for me. But there was going to be a charge!

$14.95!!!!! I explained the "Special Offer" wasn't supposed to be until 4/1 .... and it ain't 4/1 yet!

He said he'd waive the $14.95 handling charge because it was my second call. (Never mind this'll be my 3rd 622 - the 1st one was DOA) Thanks! 

He also explained that he couldn't see this being a software issue b/c more people would be complaining. 

And before you jump to conclusions...the guy I talked to sounded like a regular old tired teenager - no accent.

Let's hope #3 is the lucky one!


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## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

Thank you all for your responses. It is good to know that I'm not alone. 

I just got off the phone with customer service. This was the 4th person I've talked to since my account was activated Saturday, 2/25. It was also the most pleasant. The line was picked up immediately (after going through the phone maze). After I told her that I was still having the reboot problem she gave me an RA number and said a new one would be sent via second day UPS.

I then asked her if I could have a rebate on my monthly service charge. She said she would give me $15 off. I said that considering it hasn't been very usable, I was thinking something more like a full rebate. She asked me to hold while she talked to a supervisor. She came back a minute later and said the best way was to wait until I was sure the problem was fixed and then they would give me a full rebate. She said she put in a note to that effect and she gave me her operation ID in case there was any question about that.

I feel a lot better about Dish now. I'll feel even better if the new 622 solves the problem. I was starting to think I had made a mistake switching from DirecTV. (I'm still keeping my DirecTV account active until I'm sure that Dish is going to do it for me.)

_cfisher wrote:_



> Despite these issues, I think the receiver is actually pretty slick!


I've been a TiVo user for many years. The ViP622 is my first non-TiVo DVR. I would agree that the 622 user interface is slicker than TiVo's. The video window that is in the most used menus is very nice. Other features, like PIP and 2nd TV support are also very cool. I don't have a 2nd TV at this time but maybe I will in the future.

However, I find the TiVo interface to stick more closely to the KISS principle. This is immediately obvious when you compare remotes, for example, as the Dish remote has about twice as many buttons. The Dish interface is less consistent. The "info" button works one way in one menu and differently in another, for example. Overall I find myself making far more mistakes with the 622 than I do with TiVo. I'm sure I'll do better when I get more used to it.

One big advantage of the 622 over TiVo is that it is much faster. When adding or deleting a recording, TiVo takes many seconds, sometimes over a minute during which time you can't do anything else. This gets worse as you add more recordings, "Season Passes", and "Wish Lists" to it. The 622 almost never has any delays during normal operation. The most I've seen is a couple seconds.

IMO, the most significant difference between the 622 and TiVo is that TiVo calculates how much disk space will be needed *as you set up recordings*. If you try to record more hours than you will have available, TiVo refuses to let you set up the recording. The 622, on the other hand, doesn't care. If you program more hours than the disk can record, you won't know about it until after it is too late and see that some of them weren't recorded or that it deleted existing recordings. Perhaps the lack of this feature explains why the 622 is so fast but I'm very disappointed with this aspect of 622's design (and I assume other Dish DVR's).

I switched to Dish because the 622 handles MPEG4 which DirecTV's HD DVR doesn't at this time. Another big plus was the Voom channels, and unlike some people, I like a number of them. I think Dish video quality is a little better with less MPEG artifacts for both SD and especially HD. If the 622 replacement fixes the rebooting problem, I think I'll be happy with the decision to switch to Dish.

Thanks again for your comments. I'll let you know if the replacment is the cure.

-David


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## wyattg (Feb 22, 2006)

Well the tech came out today. Looks like I had a bad LNB on my Dish 1000. No more check switch errors but as soon as the tech left reboot. Called Dish and nicely suggested they send a new unit. They are sending one 2 day UPS so hopefully it arrives by Wednesday. Had 1 more reboot since after the call, plus audio drops, audio sync issue, but on the positive side no more check switch errors or digitizing.


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## Guragu (Feb 15, 2006)

I've been experiencing the rebooting problem, and it seems to be growing in frequency. I called in yesterday and they said there were known issues with the two problems I reported (reboots and audio dropouts) that were introduced during the last SW release. They said to await a new SW release. No ETA, though, :nono:


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

Supposedly with L352 Dish said the rebooting was a software problem so I was optimistic when L355 was released. Unfortunately I still have the problem. It doesn't happen often so I'm going to give them more time before I ask for a replacement 622, which may not help anyway.


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

David-A said:


> IMO, the most significant difference between the 622 and TiVo is that TiVo calculates how much disk space will be needed *as you set up recordings*. If you try to record more hours than you will have available, TiVo refuses to let you set up the recording. The 622, on the other hand, doesn't care. If you program more hours than the disk can record, you won't know about it until after it is too late and see that some of them weren't recorded or that it deleted existing recordings. Perhaps the lack of this feature explains why the 622 is so fast but I'm very disappointed with this aspect of 622's design (and I assume other Dish DVR's).


What are you talking about?? The Tivo works exactly the same as the 622 in this regard. When the drive becomes full it starts deleting the oldest unprotected recordings. I have used Tivo for years and never had it refuse to set up a recording due to a full drive.


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

BillJ said:


> Supposedly with L352 Dish said the rebooting was a software problem so I was optimistic when L355 was released. Unfortunately I still have the problem. It doesn't happen often so I'm going to give them more time before I ask for a replacement 622, which may not help anyway.


I had one or two reboots daily with L352 and L355. My 622 was replaced and since then (last week) I have had no reboots at all. My counters are all zero too! Before many of them were increasing daily. This new 622 is great! I suspect that there is a hardware issue with many of the early boxes.


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

LtMunst said:


> What are you talking about?? The Tivo works exactly the same as the 622 in this regard. When the drive becomes full it starts deleting the oldest unprotected recordings. I have used Tivo for years and never had it refuse to set up a recording due to a full drive.


You missed the point of the original poster. I had a first generation Tivo until my 622. Tivo WARNS you if the event you are scheduling will exceed your storage space and lets you know which previously recorded program will be deleted earlier than planned. The 622 does not warn you, as far as I know. It just deletes the oldest event unless protected.


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

DAG said:


> You missed the point of the original poster. I had a first generation Tivo until my 622. Tivo WARNS you if the event you are scheduling will exceed your storage space and lets you know which previously recorded program will be deleted earlier than planned. The 622 does not warn you, as far as I know. It just deletes the oldest event unless protected.


I had never seen this on my Series 2. In any case, if Tivo would simply add the long overdue feature of showing record time remaining, such a warning would be unnecessary.


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## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

Guragu said:


> I've been experiencing the rebooting problem, and it seems to be growing in frequency. I called in yesterday and they said there were known issues with the two problems I reported (reboots and audio dropouts) that were introduced during the last SW release. They said to await a new SW release. No ETA, though, :nono:


I guess it just depends on which person you talk to as to whether they decide to send a new 622 or not. There appears to be no set policy on this. If you call often enough, you will eventually get someone who will send you a new 622.

I've had the rebooting problem since DISH was installed a little more than 3 weeks ago. It occurs about the same frequency with the L355 build as it did with L352. It is rather sporadic, though. Some days it will reboot more than others. Last night it rebooted 3 times in almost as many hours. It screwed up my Soprano's and West Wing recordings.



DAG said:


> You missed the point of the original poster. I had a first generation Tivo until my 622. Tivo WARNS you if the event you are scheduling will exceed your storage space and lets you know which previously recorded program will be deleted earlier than planned. The 622 does not warn you, as far as I know. It just deletes the oldest event unless protected.


Yes, that's correct. TiVo has a "keep until" time for all recordings that I don't believe Dish has. This would be like setting a recording to "projected" but just for a specific number of days (which can also be set to keep forever). On the other hand, TiVo has no recording priority option but with its design, it doesn't need it.

It appears to me that Dish DVR designers had a different philosophy than TiVo about how this disk filling up issue should be handled. Whether this is because it was easier for Dish to implement, or because of TiVo patents, or for performance issues, or simply because the Dish didn't like TiVo's design, I don't know. For me, at least, TiVo's approach meant that once I set up a recording I could be certain that the recording would be made and that existing recordings would not be deleted for a designated period of time. With Dish, there appears to be no way to insure this other than to manually go through the daily schedule and do the math prior to the recording date.


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## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

LtMunst said:


> I had never seen this on my Series 2. In any case, if Tivo would simply add the long overdue feature of showing record time remaining, such a warning would be unnecessary.


The remaining time only tells you how much disk space is available at the current moment. It doesn't tell you anything about how much time will be available at a future time. It doesn't tell you whether the recording you want to make a week from now will have enough disk space. TiVo knows this because it knows all the other recordings you will be making and how long you've specified they should remain on the disk. Dish's time remaining is no substitute for this.


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