# VIP922 is a Great Receiver. You think dish has given up on it?



## Conway

Wonder if Dish has given up on this receiver.


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## P Smith

It just unfortunate, the 922's SW team (I would estimate 10-15 guys working on it) totally switched to models 813/110 [h2k/J]


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## Yoda-DBSguy

Really? For their priorly called "flagship" receiver it was buggy to say the least. The sling integration had alot to be desired and no real inprovements seemed to come forth from their software/engineering department in terms of real fixes. They have already stopped producing, much less selling the unit.

What I don't understand is the fact that now dish seems to be screwing the customers that got the unit into buying new equipment when they should be upgrading them for free (and in my oppionion without contract extention).


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## Stewart Vernon

There are a lot of unfounded rumors being spread about lack of support for the 922.

Given the push for the Hopper, I get why these rumors are gaining ground... AND it wouldn't surprise me at some point to find out that the 922 goes the way of the dinosaur (as well as 622, 722, and all the rest of the ViP series for that matter).

But... at the moment, all we have are unfounded rumors about lack of development support for the 922.


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## P Smith

> all we have are unfounded rumors


Really ? All ? Rumors ? Unfounded ?

It was direct words from last CES - they are working on 813's FW instead of 922. Words that 922 FW bug fixing and features adding postponed because of 813 spin off.
I wouldn't qualify it's as x y z rumors. Perhaps the cup is half way full ...


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## Stewart Vernon

P Smith said:


> Really ? All ? Rumors ? Unfounded ?
> 
> It was direct words from last CES - they are working on 813's FW instead of 922. Words that 922 FW bug fixing and features adding postponed because of 813 spin off.
> I wouldn't qualify it's as x y z rumors. Perhaps the cup is half way full ...


All I will say is that you are making a statement that cannot currently be substantiated... i.e., to state that there are no developers working on 922 firmware right now is an unfounded statement unless you can factually prove that right now there are no developers working on firmware updates for the 922... and I'm pretty sure nobody can substantiate that.


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## P Smith

Edit: well, after thorough research, it's seems they did put a couple gamma post-S1.16 versions on 'backyard' tpns/sat 129W ... for merely 80 and 300 boxes. When ? I don't know.


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## MCHuf

Stewart, I don't understand why you keep acting like the 922 is as good as Dish's other dvrs?

FACT: The 922 team was temporarily pulled to to work on the H/J and get it out the door. That tells me how important the 922 is to Dish.

FACT: The 922 is not available except to replace other 922's (unless you want to buy it from other vendors).

FACT: [email protected] doesn't work with the 922, yet it works with every other HD DVR that Dish Network supplies it's customers with. The H/J is designed from the 922 and it has [email protected]

While the other dvr's will eventually be pulled in favor of the H/J and it's successors, the 922 is already a "lame duck" and will probably have a far shorter than typical Dish receiver life cycle.


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## Stewart Vernon

MCHuf said:


> Stewart, I don't understand why you keep acting like the 922 is as good as Dish's other dvrs?


This first question is of a different type than the others. This one is about opinion. In my opinion the 922 is as good as all the other Dish DVRs. It is NOT everything it was advertised to be... so it is a disappointment, don't get me wrong... but all other things being equal, of all the ViP receivers I still would prefer a 922.



MCHuf said:


> FACT: The 922 team was temporarily pulled to to work on the H/J and get it out the door. That tells me how important the 922 is to Dish.


How do we know this is a fact? But wait, before we argue about it... I'll accept this as a reasonable assumption because of the similarities of the interface AND the fact that Dish wanted to move these Hopper/Joey configs clearly... so logically, it makes sense for them to re-purpose resources to help that happen quicker. Companies do this all the time, so assuming it to be fact, I don't see this as a negative at all.



MCHuf said:


> FACT: The 922 is not available except to replace other 922's (unless you want to buy it from other vendors).


This is unfortunate... but again, it makes sense. With Dish pushing [email protected] it makes sense to not sign new customers up for a 922 and then have to explain why they can't get those movies.

BUT... given that the Hopper/Joey is based on 922 code... my guess/thought is that with Hopper/Joey out the door it is probably a trivial thing to start back-developing Blockbuster support into the 922 and get those out the door again.



MCHuf said:


> FACT: [email protected] doesn't work with the 922, yet it works with every other HD DVR that Dish Network supplies it's customers with. The H/J is designed from the 922 and it has [email protected]
> 
> While the other dvr's will eventually be pulled in favor of the H/J and it's successors, the 922 is already a "lame duck" and will probably have a far shorter than typical Dish receiver life cycle.


It sure does look like Dish wants to push Hopper/Joey as the way of the future... then again, I remember when the 921 was the next big thing (don't ask people who bought one of those about that!)

Then the 622 was the next big thing... but the 722 came... then the 722K... then the 922. So... it does seem like shorter lifecycles are becoming the norm at Dish... so it wouldn't surprise me terribly if in a couple of years we start hearing about the "Leaper" that has 6 tuners instead of 3 or something like that...


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## James Long

P Smith said:


> Edit: well, after thorough research, it's seems they did put a couple gamma post-S1.16 versions on 'backyard' tpns/sat 129W ... for merely 80 and 300 boxes. When ? I don't know.


First of all, thanks for your edit. The claim you replaced this text with was incorrect.

Second, if you are going to make up terms please be consistent. In another thread you referred to 'gamma' testers as being the first customers to receive a new piece of firmware. 'beta' being the insiders who receive firmware during the testing process and report back to DISH on functionality and 'gamma' being people outside of the testing program who are somehow selected to be guinea pigs.

Generally speaking, when DISH is testing they use beta labels. There have been few instances of a beta labeled firmware being sent to a customer's receiver - none without their knowledge. So if you are seeing new firmware in the stream with beta labels it is going to people testing the firmware for DISH. Firmware with production labels has historically been released to beta first, then an increasing number of customers until it becomes the standard release. If you see a production release going to more than the beta group it is most likely a relabel of recent beta that has been tested and approved.

You have not shared the label on the "post-S1.16" version you have seen ... but it's existence shows that there is development ongoing. DISH is not done with the 922 and all of the people developing firmware for the 922 have not been pulled off. DISH has not given up on the 922.

Hopefully we can put that false rumor to bed and never speak of it again.


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## BobaBird

MCHuf said:


> FACT: The 922 team was temporarily pulled to to work on the H/J and get it out the door. That tells me how important the 922 is to Dish.





Stewart Vernon said:


> How do we know this is a fact?


Because it was acknowledged at CES. I got it directly from someone involved in software development.


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## James Long

BobaBird said:


> Because it was acknowledged at CES. I got it directly from someone involved in software development.


I trust you enough to agree with "temporarily". The problem is that some have read that as being a permanent end to development on the 922. A "all hands on deck" scramble to hit a deadline makes sense, especially with similar firmware. Abandoning the 922 forever does not.


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## BobaBird

Agreed, but the proof will be in the updates or lack thereof. S116 didn't include [email protected] because of the focus on Hopper. If lack of a promised future feature is being put forth as the reason Dish has suspended installations, I have to wonder how any of us got a 922 at all (one example: limited EHD capabilities at introduction). I hope the beta addresses bugs that didn't make the cut for the last update.


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## Stewart Vernon

BobaBird said:


> Agreed, but the proof will be in the updates or lack thereof. S116 didn't include [email protected] because of the focus on Hopper. If lack of a promised future feature is being put forth as the reason Dish has suspended installations, I have to wonder how any of us got a 922 at all (one example: limited EHD capabilities at introduction). I hope the beta addresses bugs that didn't make the cut for the last update.


While I don't disagree with your assessment (re: why the 922 was released with some big bugs but now they aren't delivering new 922 receivers to customers because of lack of an important feature)...

It's fair to say history might be repeating itself with the Hopper/Joeys. Reading that forum, I see things like the inability for dual nodes to see each other and need to connect internet everywhere (or install a HIC) as examples of things that probably should have been finished before that model release... but Dish reached a point and wanted to "cut and run" and get some in customer hands.

Perhaps not coincidentally... there have also been some reports of EHD bugs with the Hopper too... so apparently even that reasonably tested/supported code from the 922 wasn't adopted to the Hopper adequately before release.

Bottom line... sometimes companies release stuff before it is ready... and sometimes companies don't support products as well or as fast as we think they ought to do.

I have a Samsung Blu-ray player that hasn't seen an update in nearly 1.5 years and lots of unplayable movies... but nada from Samsung about firmware though they claim to be "working" on something.

Business as usual.


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## big boot

Stewart, I'm with you on the Blu Ray fiasco. I first read that blu rays were on their way out over a year ago. I didn't believe it at the time, but now having used streaming and blu rays I can see that is the case. Who wants to have to upgrade their disc player all the time like it's some kind of PC ? All most of us want is just to watch a movie in HD. Another consumer electronics failure. I can get the blu ray discs for no extra charge from BB mail, but I don't because I just want to see the movie, not spend the evening debugging a disc player.

As for the 922 it's just like so many not ready for prime time products released by the sat / cable providers. I can use mine now most the time for slinging, but it did take some debug time with support. This is too much trouble for consumers and ensures the device will ultimately fail even if it had some great ideas behind it. 

I'm hoping there is some truth to Jobs and Apple having cracked the interface problem. It would be great if it was some kind of box that just plugged in to your existing TV (not an expensive new TV) and took care of all the timer / search / remote access issues that everyone has today. I'm waiting to see.


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## Jhon69

I am one who wanted a VIP922/wMT2 after DISH quit leasing them,so I bought one off of EBay(always check the receiver ID# with DISH before you buy on EBay).I was leasing a 722k/wMT2 from DISH.

The Hopper&Joey just did not seem to fit what I needed(no disrespect intended).What the Hopper&Joey did when DISH brought them out was it made the VIP922 cheaper to buy for those of us who wanted one for a long time.

So far I really like my VIP922/wMT2,it has the new Logo Guide,Menu Tiles and builtin Slingbox,it has 2SAT+2OTA tuners for 4 tuner recording at one time.For those who don't care if the second TV is HD,then DISH's Duo HDDVRs work great as it saves me $7. a month that I would have to pay for a another receiver,I have since added 2 VIP211ks installed also.If DISH would enable the DISH USB wireless adaptors to function on the 211ks,They would be able to see and view from my 922.

Not having BBMP yet is not an issue with me as I had it with my 722k for awhile and then cancelled it.

My Logo guide in my 922 has been updated 3 times because I keep track of the numbers provided in Menu/Diagnostics/Counters.

So my system I have now is what I want until I find a need to upgrade to the Hopper&Joey which would be sometime in the future.

And for me,Yes the 922 has been a great receiver!.


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## MCHuf

Stewart Vernon said:


> Then the 622 was the next big thing... but the 722 came... then the 722K... then the 922. So... it does seem like shorter lifecycles are becoming the norm at Dish... so it wouldn't surprise me terribly if in a couple of years we start hearing about the "Leaper" that has 6 tuners instead of 3 or something like that...


Don't lump the 622/722/722K family with the 922. They're still being given out to new accounts, while the 922 isn't. They have a far longer lifespan than the 922. I'm willing to bet that they'll still be given out when the "next big thing" is released.

And if the "Leaper" does have 6 tuners, it will still be playing catch-up, since there are already WHDVR's with 5 or 6 tuners.


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## Jhon69

MCHuf said:


> Don't lump the 622/722/722K family with the 922. They're still being given out to new accounts, while the 922 isn't. They have a far longer lifespan than the 922. I'm willing to bet that they'll still be given out when the "next big thing" is released.
> 
> And if the "Leaper" does have 6 tuners, it will still be playing catch-up, since there are already WHDVR's with 5 or 6 tuners.


My "Dream Hopper" would have 4 satellite tuners.It would also have the slot inside to accept the MT2 Module for a total of 6 tuners(4SAT+2OTA).

It would also have Slingbox builtin.


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## P Smith

When they get taste of using of components residing outside and paid by customers (Sling, OTA USB stick, etc) , it will be never manufactured by the company.


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## Jhon69

Stewart Vernon said:


> This first question is of a different type than the others. This one is about opinion. In my opinion the 922 is as good as all the other Dish DVRs. It is NOT everything it was advertised to be... so it is a disappointment, don't get me wrong... but all other things being equal, of all the ViP receivers I still would prefer a 922.
> 
> How do we know this is a fact? But wait, before we argue about it... I'll accept this as a reasonable assumption because of the similarities of the interface AND the fact that Dish wanted to move these Hopper/Joey configs clearly... so logically, it makes sense for them to re-purpose resources to help that happen quicker. Companies do this all the time, so assuming it to be fact, I don't see this as a negative at all.
> 
> This is unfortunate... but again, it makes sense. With Dish pushing [email protected] it makes sense to not sign new customers up for a 922 and then have to explain why they can't get those movies.
> 
> BUT... given that the Hopper/Joey is based on 922 code... my guess/thought is that with Hopper/Joey out the door it is probably a trivial thing to start back-developing Blockbuster support into the 922 and get those out the door again.
> 
> It sure does look like Dish wants to push Hopper/Joey as the way of the future... then again, I remember when the 921 was the next big thing (don't ask people who bought one of those about that!)
> 
> Then the 622 was the next big thing... but the 722 came... then the 722K... then the 922. So... it does seem like shorter lifecycles are becoming the norm at Dish... so it wouldn't surprise me terribly if in a couple of years we start hearing about the "Leaper" that has 6 tuners instead of 3 or something like that...


I agree with you.+100%.


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