# Dish Network Tech Forum Recap - 2/12/07



## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Dish Technical Forum 2-12-07
© 2007 Mark Lamutt and DBSTalk.com
All Rights Reserved

Your Hosts: Mark Jackson and Dan Minnick

Tonight's Agenda includes:

Product Updates
Guest - Dish Network Engineering
iTV Updates
Trivia Giveaways
Q&A

Heck of a show (according to Mark Jackson&#8230 And remember, technical questions only, please!

Excited to announce our 31st HD channel! A&E HD launched Feb 1st! Channel 9419 from 129 and 61.5 sat locations. More will be added over the year. All new HD channels launched in MPEG4.

Existing Customer Promotion:

Upgrade to a 622 receiver:
Customer pays either $149 or $199 up front depending on your current equipment and programming package.
You get $50 back with the Dishin' It Up Bonus.
Sign up for HD programming, you get a $100 bonus.
Meaning, your net upgrade price is either FREE or $49.

That's fully installed, with new Dish1000. Can't beat that deal (according to Mark).

Upgrade to a 211 receiver:
Customer pays either $99 or $149 up front depending on your current equipment and programming package.
You get $50 back with the Dishin' It Up Bonus.
Sign up for HD programming, you get a $100 bonus.
Meaning, your net upgrade price is either you get $50 back or (practically) FREE!

Once again, fully installed with new Dish1000.

The HD Bonus is an 18 month commitment to the programming package you sign up for. Call 1-800-333-DISH or your local retailer.

622 new software - L401 within next 2 weeks. Features include:

Side by Side PIP feature - press PIP 3 times, Swap swaps back and forth, can pause both of them. Will be out by March 1st

HD Channel Mapdown and HD Icons - an HD icon will show up in the program guide, view banner, DVR list and Favorites list for your HD channels. HD Mapdown will make it easier for you to find your HD programming. ESPNHD on 9424 will be mapped down right next to your standard def ESPN channel on 140. Both will be called channel 140, but the HD channel will take priority when you enter "140" on your remote, define timers, etc. This can be disabled in the Channel Display Preferences menu option.

[Editorial comment here - this feature is such a waste&#8230;I really wish they had spent the time working on more worthwhile features... Anyone smart enough to have an HD television is smart enough to find the HD channels in the 9000 range. But, that's just my opinion&#8230;]

DishPASS enhancements - new button "Set Resolution". You can now tell DishPASS events to set up timers on only HD channels, only SD channels, or both, with HD channels preferred. This feature I useful, but I still wish they'd add the NEW option to DishPASS. Then it'd really useful.

L401 in final test right now. Will be out by March 1st. (I hope they make it&#8230;this was supposed to be out in February&#8230

Give away a 622! Include the install! Trivia Question time - RG6 cable used to connect dish to satellite. What does RG stand for, and what is minimum frequency cable has to be rated to? Call 1-888-662-3473 to win!

CES video time. Dan Landreth, VP from Atlanta (a great guy, and a personal friend of mine, BTW) was there shooting the video. Really cheesy music&#8230;Video was highlight of show&#8230;lots of 1080p. So, we have senior systems engineer John Card to talk about 1080p.

Once upon a time&#8230;skip forward if you're watching this on a DVR&#8230;yes, he did actually say that! History of cinematic video display&#8230;24 FPS standard&#8230;Projector displays 49 frames per second (duplicate frames). Now analog television&#8230;signal coming in controls electron stream on screen. Interlaced system, 30 FPS. Odd scan lines drawn, then even lines. The eye sees this as 60 screen updates per second, even though it really is only 30 updates per second. Analog ends Feb 17, 2009. That's all folks! Digital displays updates individual pixels blasted out to display all at once. Progessive scan. 60 FPS standard. Interlaced signals are deinterlaced by the display. Etc&#8230;

[side note here - this is actually a pretty good technical explanation of all of this stuff. Dry definitely, but pretty good&#8230;better than some food channel host, that's for sure! Good job, Dish Network!]

Question time!

Email - Peter from Chicago, can't get his 622 to dial out over VoIP service. Enter *99 in the prefix option in the Phone System setup. That may help.

From Scott - When will DD 5.1 be available over HDMI on the 211 and 622? Dan - it will be in the next 622 release L4.01. The 211 software will be out sometime in May.

From Gary - equipment upgrade questions...

From Herbert in PA on Phone - PIP question. Side by Side PIP was supposed to be here in December as per last tech forum. Now March. HD channels would be all listed in HD, that's not there either. That'll be in March now. Herbert doesn't sound very happy. Dan looks chagrined.

From Rob - Why does TV2 output have to be modulated. Why can't it go to channel 3 like TV1 on the dual tuner receivers? Lots of broadcast channels down in that area to cause confusion and overlap. Read about lockout mode in your manual or on the website. You can enter a code to keep the remote from changing the TV2 channel away from the modulated channel.

From Mike - My HD television and receiver have multiple ways of connecting. Which is best to use? Very little difference between component and HDMI. Good experience from both. Don't use SVideo.

From Scott - Update feature enabled at 3:00AM. Have to turn power off to get the updates. Why? TV1 and TV2 will automatically power down to take the update if there's no timers set to record in the next 30 minutes.

From Lee - Add remote access to DVR boxes via modem to access boxes away from home? Working on it now, hopefully have it available first half of the year - use Internet to manage recordings, set timers, etc.

Back to the script now&#8230;new technical help center accessed from Dish Home. Option 1 - Service, then Technical Help Center. General stuff there now, but more will be added over the next few months. Available on most interactive boxes except for the 622 (coming next couple of months).

Customer Support App - credit card autopay&#8230;you can set it up right on your receiver, without needing to talk to someone in India! Yay! All about making your life easier!

What is Scott Higgins up to these days? iTV update! Yay again! Racing this time around. Skip Forward&#8230;Skip Forward&#8230;Cricket&#8230;Skip Forward&#8230;Skip Forward&#8230;

Amazing!

Winner on first trivia question - Andrea wins! RG stands for Radio Guide, and minimum frequency is 2150 mhz. Congratulations!
Scott Higgens' giveaway time! What were the last 2 special events held on Dish Home Channel 100 mosaic? PocketDish AV700 is the prize! Call to Win!

Now, remote control tricks. Leslie, the resident Tech Chick!

Guide button opens guide.
Guide button then changes between Favorites lists.
Skip Fwd moves ahead 24 hours
Skip Back moves back 24 hours
Press 1 or 2 digit number and Right Arrow to move forward that many hours
Press 1 or 2 digit number and Left arrow to move back that many hours

Press DVR twice to get to My Recordings list.
Press DVR three times to get to Daily Schedule.

Swap while in Single user mode swaps to the other tuner.

Press VIEW to cancel out of any menu immediately back to live TV.

Swap button in My Recordings list toggles between last 2 sort methods (huh&#8230;I didn't know that one, seriously!)

More Questions!

From Kent - HDMI stopped working on my 622. Told Software issue. HDMI connector flawed design, and is most likely broken. CSRs - LISTEN TO THIS!!! THIS IS FROM MARK JACKSON, YOUR BOSS! STOP MAKING US CALL OVER AND OVER AGAIN!

From Nathan - Have 622, but no locals offered in my area. 622 antenna in only supports OTA broadcasts, but the Broadcom chip is capable of demodulating VSB and QAM signals. Plans to allow this? We have a QBox, that is designed for apartment units, but you could buy this box. In theory, we could make it work, but don't know if there would be enough demand for it, and how we would solve the tech issue of getting the guide information to the box on the OTA signals through the QAM.

EDTV Plasma - do receivers have 480p mode? Yes.

From Bill - Does the 622 receive and record OTA? Yes

From Richard - Has 4x4 switch, with 110, 119, 129, 61.5 into switch. Force 622 to pick the 61.5 versions of the channels rather than the 129 versions? No, the datafile structure picks the satellite automatically. Mark will check, though.

From Dave - On my 211, how to adjust the picture shape of my SD programs? * button on remote.

From David - Will I ever be able to use the USB port? How about photos from a thumb drive, external hard drive? When? Photos today on the 622 and 942. Working on external hard drive. Hopefully not later than this summer. Mark says it's working now&#8230;(not very well, but that's a secret&#8230 Probably be a one time fee to enable it. Won't support TB and larger drives yet. 750GB drive will work fine. Should be no later than summer.

From Larry - when can I get HD locals in Souix City IA? Have to get back to you&#8230;top DMAs only at the moment.

From Debbie - I want to order 2 622s. Not a tech question&#8230;grrr&#8230;.Through DIP production, can lease only 1 622 receiver. Have to purchase the 2nd one.

Scott's waving frantically with the winner! Craig Mitchell from Collins, IA knew the answer to his question - ESPN Winter X Games and NBA League Pass Multi-Cam event.

From Doug - will my 942 receive HD locals? Nope&#8230;HD locals are MPEG4 only. You'll need to upgrade to a ViP receiver (622).

From Greg - Have 211. Do any channels support PCM audio? All of them should output PCM audio.

Gary from TX on the Phone! Have 522, want to record 2 shows back to back, simpler way to record them so that they both record on the same tuner than having to set options for each? That's the way it is automatically on the 622 now. Will be in the next release by end of March for the 522.

From Janice - Have Dish1000. Want to add international channels from 118.7. What do I need? Upgrade to a Dish 1000+ dish (that's my answer). $59.95 upgrade fee with additional commitment to service.

Last one, Duane - Live in NM. Do I need to change my dish to upgrade to HD? Yes, you'll need a Dish1000.

That's it gang! Great questions! Rebroadcasts through the month, and next Charlie Chat Monday March 12th. Thanks for your business, and for joining us tonight!


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## Dishguy2001 (Feb 10, 2007)

What is the difference between the dish 1000 and the dish 1000.2 and will they ever make a dish that has a better signal on the 129?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Dish 1000.2 is slightly larger, as is the Dish 1000+, both of which would give you better signal on 129, theoretically (the 1000+ did for me in Denver).


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## Dishguy2001 (Feb 10, 2007)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Dish 1000.2 is slightly larger, as is the Dish 1000+, both of which would give you better signal on 129, theoretically (the 1000+ did for me in Denver).


Why not just go with the 61.5 for HD channels though?? is there any down fall other than you have two dishes. I have installed many O' 1000's and several 1000+ and just recently have been installing the new1000.2. granted the 1000+ and 500+ are for international channels as well but for I am still figuring out why the 1000.2??

I am just trying to get a grasp on the concept. I work almost 7 days a week installing dishes and all Help is appreciated and I would love to give any help if needed.


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## kb7oeb (Jun 16, 2004)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Press DVR twice to get to My Recordings list.


I hate the stupid menu when you hit dvr once, why don't they have the dish button do that instead.

I was trying to use my mom's cable dvr the other day and I'm so used to hitting dvr twice it took me a moment to figure out why the dvr list would appear and disappear.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Dishguy2001 said:


> Why not just go with the 61.5 for HD channels though?? is there any down fall other than you have two dishes.


Depends on the geography of the customer... Atlanta HD locals, for instance, are only on 129... so an Atlanta customer needs to see 129 if the customer wants those channels.

Dish may similarly do other things, like the RSNs in HD, on 129 or 61.5 depending on location... so Dish is defining who needs to see 129 vs 61.5 in some cases.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Mark Lamutt said:


> L401 in final test right now. Will be out by March 1st. (I hope they make it&#8230;this was supposed to be out in February&#8230


Wasn't this the "November" update? Or did I miss that one?


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Thanks for the recap Mark... As usually I miss the chat since I am on the west coast and at work. Good Work!!

Looks like a lot of questions this time and some interesting stuff for the L4.01 release.. Some more info on USB external.. 

Dang.. don't see anything on Native Resolution support.


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## kdwebsol (Jan 29, 2006)

I missed this last night. Thanks for the recap Mark!


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## juan ellitinez (Jan 31, 2003)

I really dont think HD Mapdown is for the customers. I think its THE PROGRAMMERS who want their channels "grouped" together


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## derwin0 (Jan 31, 2005)

juan ellitinez said:


> I really dont think HD Mapdown is for the customers. I think its THE PROGRAMMERS who want their channels "grouped" together


I like the HD channels to be beside thier SD component. If I'm browsing the various HBO's, Showtime's, etc... I'd like to see thier HD channel with them.
Same with ESPN-HD and the other ESPN's.

Sometimes I just want to watch a particular type of show without regards whether it's HD or SD.


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## RoyW (Nov 19, 2003)

Dishguy2001 said:


> Why not just go with the 61.5 for HD channels though?? is there any down fall other than you have two dishes. I have installed many O' 1000's and several 1000+ and just recently have been installing the new1000.2. granted the 1000+ and 500+ are for international channels as well but for I am still figuring out why the 1000.2??
> 
> I am just trying to get a grasp on the concept. I work almost 7 days a week installing dishes and all Help is appreciated and I would love to give any help if needed.


Unfortunately getting line of sight on 61.5 just isn't an option in some areas of the country because the "Elevation" setting is so low. Consequently being able to get a decent signal off 129 for HD is the only other option left.


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Thanks Mark, great recap. I wasn't able to watch live so this was nice to have.


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## Cold Irons (Dec 7, 2005)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Dish Technical Forum 2-12-07
> © 2007 Mark Lamutt and DBSTalk.com
> All Rights Reserved
> 
> [Editorial comment here - this feature is such a waste&#8230;I really wish they had spent the time working on more worthwhile features... Anyone smart enough to have an HD television is smart enough to find the HD channels in the 9000 range. But, that's just my opinion&#8230;]


Thanks for the recap, Mark - good job as always.

Have to disagree on this one point - this has been on my wish list for a while - didn' t expect it to happen, though. I can certainly find the HD stuff in the 9000's, but it'll be much more convenient (for me) to have them near the "related stuff". If I'm surfing sports, I'd like to stay "near" the ESPNs at 140+ channels. When my wife is surfing, she'll like having all the Food/HGTV/FineLiving nearby....

to each his own.....


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Cold Irons said:


> Thanks for the recap, Mark - good job as always.
> 
> Have to disagree on this one point - this has been on my wish list for a while - didn' t expect it to happen, though. I can certainly find the HD stuff in the 9000's, but it'll be much more convenient (for me) to have them near the "related stuff". If I'm surfing sports, I'd like to stay "near" the ESPNs at 140+ channels. When my wife is surfing, she'll like having all the Food/HGTV/FineLiving nearby....
> 
> to each his own.....


I think the problem is in the implementation, not the the feature itself, at least in my opinion. If the channels were just next to each other that would be one thing, but having them have the exact same channel number is going to be confusing for some people. On top of that some of the channels don't broadcast the exact same content, i.e. Food Network HD does not have the same schedule as Food Network SD, so when I type in 110 I'm expecting the show on Food SD, not one of the handful of shows they repeat over and over on Food HD. Personally it's a feature I'll be disabling. I'm glad they are going to implement it as an option, this way both sides of the fence will be happy. =)


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Cold Irons said:


> Thanks for the recap, Mark - good job as always.
> 
> Have to disagree on this one point - this has been on my wish list for a while - didn' t expect it to happen, though. I can certainly find the HD stuff in the 9000's, but it'll be much more convenient (for me) to have them near the "related stuff". If I'm surfing sports, I'd like to stay "near" the ESPNs at 140+ channels. When my wife is surfing, she'll like having all the Food/HGTV/FineLiving nearby....
> 
> to each his own.....


I'm glad you'll find this new feature useful, Cold Irons. I'll retract my "total waste" comment then.


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## psnarula (Aug 13, 2005)

> Swap button in My Recordings list toggles between last 2 sort methods (huh&#8230;I didn't know that one, seriously!)


i'm confused. what is this all about?


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

James Long said:


> Wasn't this the "November" update? Or did I miss that one?


For the first time I didn't watch.


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

psnarula said:


> i'm confused. what is this all about?


 You can hit swap when you are in the dvr menu of recordings. Then it will swap between the two different ways you last sorted your recordings.


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## Grampaw (Feb 6, 2006)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Dish Technical Forum 2-12-07
> © 2007 Mark Lamutt and DBSTalk.com
> All Rights Reserved
> 
> ...


Wasn't the 211 upgrade $49 last momnth ?

Living on Social InSecurity, guess I'm stuck with my 2 811s for a while...

Walt


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

psnarula, the 622 My Recordings screen has a menu with several ways to sort the list of recordings. If you have 2 preferred sort views (I use date and name) you can use PIP SWAP to toggle those views, bypassing the menu. This was added to the 942 in its most recent update.

The EKB version of the Tech Forum Summary is also available.


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## Guitar1969 (Oct 19, 2006)

Mark Lamutt said:


> Dish 1000.2 is slightly larger, as is the Dish 1000+, both of which would give you better signal on 129, theoretically (the 1000+ did for me in Denver).


Is there a way to tell which model Dish(1000 or 1000.2 )you have from the 622 service/diagnostics menus)?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Mark Lamutt said:


> I'm glad you'll find this new feature useful, Cold Irons. I'll retract my "total waste" comment then.


I'm kinda lukewarm on it. I agree with Rob's comments that two channels with different content with the same number (such as Food, HGTV and Discovery) is confusing. I suppose if it really annoyed someone they could lock out the downmap and watch the 9400 series channels (or turn off the downmap).

When I get the feature I'll probably leave the channels alone ... I rarely type channels directly and seeing the HD content might remind me that it exists! I'm one of them thar people who forgets to check the 9400's when looking for something to watch.

It would be nice if they mapped down the rest of the channels (In particular, the Voom channels) to vacant channel space in the 300s or close to there. Put HDNews on 201 since that is long vacant. There are not many other holes but having all the channels in three channel land could be helpful.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

I'm torn on the mapdown thing... On the one hand, I like ESPNU and ESPNNews at times and those are SD only... so it would be convenient to have ESPNHD and ESPN2HD mapped down there so they are in the same group...

But, Voom doesn't have any SD counterpart to map downto... so I'd still have to go look in the 9000s anyway for the rest of my HD.

I may try out the feature and see when it first becomes enabled... but I have mixed feelings at the moment.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Perhaps mapdown will give E* the ability to put the RSNHDs in a high number range as well as right next to their SD counterparts without spending more numbers?


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## archer75 (Oct 13, 2006)

"From Lee – Add remote access to DVR boxes via modem to access boxes away from home? Working on it now, hopefully have it available first half of the year – use Internet to manage recordings, set timers, etc."

Coolest thing ever.


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## jldhawk (Apr 9, 2006)

> From Larry - when can I get HD locals in Souix City IA? Have to get back to you&#8230;top DMAs only at the moment.


For the Record, it is spelled Sioux City, Ia

I wish they would have answered that question too, since cableone here in SIOUX CITY is now offering 3 of the 4 major networks in HD.


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

archer75 said:


> "From Lee - Add remote access to DVR boxes via modem to access boxes away from home? Working on it now, hopefully have it available first half of the year - use Internet to manage recordings, set timers, etc."
> 
> Coolest thing ever.


 I am sure it is coming SOON. :sure:


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## tedb3rd (Feb 2, 2006)

Here's a tech question I wish they would address:

When are the engineers going to rig the system so that we can get National Geo channel in the lower packages? (I swear I wouldn't tell.)

I've given up on the programming folks re: this one!! ( - :


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## Stew (Nov 9, 2005)

[Editorial comment here - this feature is such a waste&#8230;I really wish they had spent the time working on more worthwhile features... Anyone smart enough to have an HD television is smart enough to find the HD channels in the 9000 range. But, that's just my opinion&#8230;]
I'm on the fence on this one. I can see why someone would want it, but since we have so few HD channels, I like it just as it is. Thanks for the update, Mark!


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

The reason why they are giving you the option to replace the sd equivalent of the channel with the hd one is because someday all channels will be in true hd. There is no reason to have 2 different channel ranges for the basic same channel - just to get better pq. Some day when you get a Dish hd receiver it will be a simple matter of paying a tech fee and then if you buy the sd programming pack you will have the hd equivalent enabeled instead of the sd one. The hd pack will be done away with. IT will be much like Directv is doing. That is why they are going to add HD to the side of all HD channels in the channel guide. I don't know if this will happen if you down map them to the lower numbered channels.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

tedb3rd said:


> Here's a tech question I wish they would address:
> 
> When are the engineers going to rig the system so that we can get National Geo channel in the lower packages? (I swear I wouldn't tell.)
> 
> I've given up on the programming folks re: this one!! ( - :


Never. It is not an engineering issue.

If you want National Geo, you MUST subscribe to AT250.


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## Andy64 (May 4, 2006)

RE: HDMI connector.

In the recap (THANKS!) it says:

"HDMI connector flawed design, and is most likely broken. CSRs – LISTEN TO THIS!!! THIS IS FROM MARK JACKSON, YOUR BOSS! STOP MAKING US CALL OVER AND OVER AGAIN!"

I'm not clear on who actually said this. Does this mean that I should be able to call and get my busted 622 replaced without a lot of hassle from the CSR?

Thanks,


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

Andy - Mark Jackson said that the connector is a flawed design, and that it was most likely broken for that email'd question. 

The comment about the CSRs listening to this was from me.


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## Andy64 (May 4, 2006)

Thanks for the clarification, Mark.


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## BobaBird (Mar 31, 2002)

And it was back in the August Tech Forum they said (paraphrased), 
"If [HDMI] was working then it stopped, it's probably broken."​So the CSRs have had 6 months to learn this, or E* has had 6 months to teach the CSRs or put it in their script.


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## ehren (Aug 3, 2003)

someome should have asked why 1280x1080 and 1440x1080 are acceptable HD resolutions to Dish, then we have a good tech forum, otherwise ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ


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## TNGTony (Mar 23, 2002)

Why are those resolutions okay? Take a look at most TVs specs. That is what they are capable of providing. Only the most expensive sets have higher numbers. IOW, to the vast majority of HDTV owners, higher resolution numbers would not translate into clearer or sharper pictures

See ya
Tony


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Here we go again.

1440X1080 is in the ATSC specification for HD satellite TV.

I don't think Dish does 1280X1080 do they?

Isn't that DirecTV?


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## Guidry (Feb 25, 2007)

Based on the Dish Network Tech Forum Recap - 2/12/07, senior systems engineer John Card stated that analog ends Feb. 17, 2009. Does this mean that Dish Network will no longer offer analog signals, but only HD? If this is the case, will subscribers then have to get a HD tv?


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## Rob Glasser (Feb 22, 2005)

Guidry said:


> Based on the Dish Network Tech Forum Recap - 2/12/07, senior systems engineer John Card stated that analog ends Feb. 17, 2009. Does this mean that Dish Network will no longer offer analog signals, but only HD? If this is the case, will subscribers then have to get a HD tv?


Technically every station Dish broadcasts is digital, in some cases it is 100% digital from the source but in others, i.e. a lot of the SD local stations, they are picking up a analog stream and converting it to MPEG2 digital and sending it out to you home.

This cutoff date is for stations still broadcasting analog. Once they stop broadcasting an analog signal Dish will have to change it's equipment to pick up their digital signal if they haven't already. It may be that the signal they pickup and retransmit is HD or it may mean that it is SD, it just won't be analog anymore. This will not affect anything you have today from Dish Network or how you hook up to your TV.

Subscribers will not have to buy an HDTV to continue to receiver Dish Network TV. As far as consumers you are really only affected if you are using an analog only TV today to pick up your local stations via an antenna. When the conversion is complete you'll either need a TV with a digital tuner (ATSC) or you'll need a box that has a digital tuner in it that can convert it to analog (NTSC).


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