# 522/625 - L2.96 Software Release Notes and Discussion



## Jason Nipp

Model 522/625 Software Revision L2.96:

Extended program guide access updates
Update to interactive applications (OpenTV) support.


----------



## jp7794

Thanks Jason. It also appears that L2.96 has created slow performance and random rebooting for me on my 522.


----------



## Jason Nipp

Sorry I can't try to replicate this one, as I no longer have a 522.


----------



## jessshaun

I've been having problems with this release as well. Random rebooting when trying to record 2 shows at once, HORRIBLE pixilization and audio loss on recorded programs. Sometimes, it is near impossible to watch a recorded show. All shows on my 625 that were recorded before the update are just fine.


----------



## DJ Lon

L296...still getting audio dropouts and occassional tiling. Strangest thing...part of picture is sometimes delayed. For example: let's say we have a head shot and they're turning their head...the eyes will turn and then the nose follows a few boxes later. Doesn't happen all the time but it does record that way. Haven't had any timer problems/rebooting so far but we'll see...I have a full slate of recordings set for both tuners tonight.


----------



## Fred Furd

I have a 625 and version 296. I have noticed lately that when watching live tv that the picture will sometimes freeze for 20 or 30 seconds, and then resume live tv. Very annoying.


----------



## kf4omc

Fred Furd said:


> I have a 625 and version 296. I have noticed lately that when watching live tv that the picture will sometimes freeze for 20 or 30 seconds, and then resume live tv. Very annoying.


I still have 295 and still have all of those problems. Had them with 293 also. Don't think it is the software. When mine frezze like that it happens on both TV at the same time and then the reciver resets and the hard drive check screen comes on. Then it looks for signal and then it come back on. Unit been doing that thou the last 3 software updates.


----------



## DJ Lon

Timers are still disappearing at random. I had to go into work early for a meeting today and I didn't check my timers like I usually do. When I got home today there were no little red lights on but I had a timer set for that time. I pulled up the daily schedule and 13 individual timer events were not there.

Grrr!


----------



## DJ Lon

Checked this morning...re-programmed timers have disappeared again and I also have a nice 5 minute PocketDish ad in My Recordings.


----------



## tnsprin

Xandir said:


> Timers are still disappearing at random. I had to go into work early for a meeting today and I didn't check my timers like I usually do. When I got home today there were no little red lights on but I had a timer set for that time. I pulled up the daily schedule and 13 individual timer events were not there.
> 
> Grrr!


Are the timers themselves gone, or are they just failing to pickup the shows you want? What type timers (dishpass, all ep.,new ep. once,manual, etc)? Anything in DVR history or timer history about the timers?


----------



## DJ Lon

tnsprin said:


> Are the timers themselves gone, or are they just failing to pickup the shows you want? What type timers (dishpass, all ep.,new ep. once,manual, etc)? Anything in DVR history or timer history about the timers?


Sorry...name-based timers are gone. Manual and Movie timers remain in Daily Schedule but name-based TV show timers disappear and it doesn't matter if it's once, mon-fri, etc. For example I record a soap mon-fri and have been for almost 3 months. Timer just disappears. These timers also disappear from DVR/Timer history as well but the events are still in the program guide at the proper times/dates.


----------



## DJ Lon

Okay now...this morning all timers I had programmed (name-based _or_ manual) disappeared from timer list except for Saturdays timers. I had things programmed like Stargate SG-1 on Friday, weekday soaps, NASCAR this Sunday, etc. All the programs that disappeared are still available in the program guide.

Otherwise the DVR works fine.

This is driving me crazy!


----------



## tnsprin

Xandir said:


> Okay now...this morning all timers I had programmed (name-based _or_ manual) disappeared from timer list except for Saturdays timers. I had things programmed like Stargate SG-1 on Friday, weekday soaps, NASCAR this Sunday, etc. All the programs that disappeared are still available in the program guide.
> 
> Otherwise the DVR works fine.
> 
> This is driving me crazy!


Sounds like a software problem, except I don't see anyone else responding with a ME TOO.

Maybe a NVRAM reset will help. But probably you will have to contact tech support or even have them replace the machine.


----------



## DJ Lon

tnsprin said:


> Sounds like a software problem, except I don't see anyone else responding with a ME TOO.
> 
> Maybe a NVRAM reset will help. But probably you will have to contact tech support or even have them replace the machine.


Today everything I had programmed yesterday was still there. We'll have to see what happens. I sent an e-mail to Dish on Wednesday but haven't heard back yet.


----------



## DJ Lon

Still haven't heard back from Dish but the timers have stopped disappearing as of my last post.


----------



## psnarula

Ack! Where are all of my timers? I have a 625 with L296 and this morning I was dismayed to notice that the red light wasn't on when I knew it should have been on. So I checked my timers and only six are left. Not sure why these six got spared. This better be a one time event but it sounds like others have had this problem too...


----------



## wmyersw

Have same freeze for up to 30 seconds and pixalation that other folks are reporting. Box is a 522 with L296 loaded. Had same issues with L295 and hoped that L296 would be an improvement. At least I don't loose recording setup and recordings. Think they need to quit working on features and fix the basics first. 
At this rate, DirectTV is looking pretty good. 
--bill


----------



## DJ Lon

I lost 5 more timers this morning.  

I finally received an e-mail from Dish this morning and they asked me to send them the Model ID, Receiver CA ID, Smart Card CA ID, The number starting with DNASP, Software Version and Botstrap Version. The letter says, "this information we will submit to our engineering department. That way the problem can be isolated and resolved as soon as possible."

Um, yeah...


----------



## psnarula

i recreated my timers and they seem to be stable.


----------



## DJ Lon

My system updated to L297 today.


----------



## Sleepylazy2006

Jason Nipp said:


> Extended program guide access updates


Does that mean we get more than 9 days or what does that mean exactly???


----------



## DJ Lon

My system updated to L298 today. Missing timers are occuring again (they stopped with L297) and I've also noticed that when playing back DVR events they sometimes skip ahead about 5-7 seconds at random but so seamlessly that you don't always notice they occur.


----------



## Fred Furd

I checked my 625 today and saw that it had version 298. Haven't noticed anything different yet. Still have the problem with the picture freezing periodically. I guess my hard drive is bad.


----------



## type2kevin

Xandir said:


> My system updated to L298 today. Missing timers are occuring again (they stopped with L297) and I've also noticed that when playing back DVR events they sometimes skip ahead about 5-7 seconds at random but so seamlessly that you don't always notice they occur.


ME TOO! My event timers started disappearing randomly for no reason about a month & a half ago. I'd check my box & find almost all the timers I set except maybe one or two where gone. I called Dish & they sent me another 522 & it happened again with the new box. When I called them about it happening with the new box I was again told that I was the only one this was happening to & they sent out a tech to check the system & see if it was "grounded". He couldn't find anything so he took my 522 & gave me a 625 nine days ago & surprise, it lost my timers yet again & when I called in last night I was told that no one else was having this problem & the want to send out another tech this Friday. Convinced I wasn't the only one this was happening to I searched Google today for "missing DVR event timer dish 625" & found your messages here. I called back after reading your messages & told them I am in fact not the only one & they said they'll send an uncommon trend report to their engineers. I don't have any faith that this will be fixed any time soon but if it's happening to the two of us it's happening to others & if enough of them call & write too, Dish might actually get to the bottom of this.


----------



## DJ Lon

type2kevin said:


> ...I called back after reading your messages & told them I am in fact not the only one & they said they'll send an uncommon trend report to their engineers. I don't have any faith that this will be fixed any time soon but if it's happening to the two of us it's happening to others & if enough of them call & write too, Dish might actually get to the bottom of this.


They know this is going on, I've been in e-mail contact with Dish ever since this started happening. I don't know if CSRs are informed of all technical issues though.


----------



## robert koerner

I checked my 522 today, 298. It says last version was 296.
I haven't lost any timers.
I've seemed to notice more pilization lately--could be normal dropouts though.
I have noted problems after it runs a hard disk check though.

I wonder if a CSR has ever correctly diagnosed a system that actually became ungrounded? Plus, where would it become ungrounded? The box seems to be grounded via the AC cord to the electrical outlet; incoming coaxial shield is grounded to the box. The box sends DC to the LNB. So, I assume, as long as we get signal from the LNB, the system is grounded?


----------



## Jammasterd

My DVR625 was updated to L298 recently. Here are some problems I noticed:
The rewind feature stays at one slow speed even though it may say15x,60x,or 300x.
While watching a recorded show, pressing stop on the remote sometimes locks the 625 up.
Picture quality has really gotten bad on local channels, not sure if this is software related. Pixilization almost causes the picture to be unwatchable.(tested signal strength-high 90's)
Sorry if this is the wrong section of the forum to post software glitches, please direct me to the right way.


----------



## Delta5

My 625 has also updated to L298 but I have not noticed any problems (or differences) from L296/7. I am not experiencing any of the problems you mentioned, Jammasterd. My signal strengths are around 98-103, FWIW.

I am eagerly awaiting the search w/ themes functionality as mentioned in the latest Tech Talk.


----------



## javaman

I've also had a problem with the visual rewind on the 522 with L298. So far I haven't been able to predict when it will happen but I'll hit the rewind to go back a ways during a live event and it won't work. Everything seems to be stuck in slow motion and its actually going forward. The only way I can go back is by hitting View Live TV and then Skip and that takes forever if you want to rewind a large chunk of time.


----------



## DJ Lon

javaman said:


> I've also had a problem with the visual rewind on the 522 with L298. So far I haven't been able to predict when it will happen but I'll hit the rewind to go back a ways during a live event and it won't work. Everything seems to be stuck in slow motion and its actually going forward. The only way I can go back is by hitting View Live TV and then Skip and that takes forever if you want to rewind a large chunk of time.


I'm getting the same thing.


----------



## cobra2225

just got a new 625 today software says L2.98


----------



## robert koerner

Well. It's happening on my 522 now, 298.

When Dish changed the promotional free channels, I programmed my 522 to record may of the movies on IFC.

I noticed last night that none of what I had programmed on IFC was not recorded. None of what I had set up to record from IFC was in memory, or indicated in the future program guide.

It still seems as if pixalisation is more common in whatever I've recorded.

Now, I keep bumping into the hard disk check, which disrupts anything being recorded. I'm now have recordings with the first 2 or 3 minutes missing. That is about how long the hard disk check lasts.

Bob

For a native language, press 1; for English, Spanish, and French, press 2, hang up and learn a native language. : - )


----------



## fwampler

Jason Nipp said:


> Model 522/625 Software Revision L2.96:
> 
> Extended program guide access updates
> Update to interactive applications (OpenTV) support.


My DVR 625 was replaced recently because of a HD problem. My replacement has L2.98 installed. Why is that software version not listed yet? BTW, it seems to work great.


----------



## jessshaun

I've had 2.98 for over a month now... I'd like to know what's changed since 2.96. It's irrelivant now, but I still want to know.


----------



## Kevin Brown

I have 296 or 298, I don't even know and I don't even care. What I care about is that this bug was fixed in a prior version, and now it is back. (It's actually been back a while, but it freaking pisses me off to no end.  )

If I have one show to record from 8 to 9pm, (7:59pm to 9:03pm), and then another show that starts at 9 pm to 10pm (8.59 to 10:03), the stupid DVR automatically switches what I'm watching at 8:59pm so it can actually record the overlap between the 2 shows with the two tuners. Stupid.

In an earlier version, it would spot that overlap, and simply record the 1st show up to 9pm and then switch to recording the other show beginning at 9pm (using 1 tuner). It would not switch what I'm watching.

Yes, I can set up the two timers manually to avoid that overlap, but that isn't the point. In a previous version, the software would automatically take care of it, but this has been broken again for a while.

Audio and video dropouts aren't bad, but also have been better previously. But other revs have been worse for those, so at least we get something.


----------



## kf4omc

Kevin Brown said:


> I have 296 or 298, I don't even know and I don't even care. What I care about is that this bug was fixed in a prior version, and now it is back. (It's actually been back a while, but it freaking pisses me off to no end.  )
> 
> If I have one show to record from 8 to 9pm, (7:59pm to 9:03pm), and then another show that starts at 9 pm to 10pm (8.59 to 10:03), the stupid DVR automatically switches what I'm watching at 8:59pm so it can actually record the overlap between the 2 shows with the two tuners. Stupid.
> 
> In an earlier version, it would spot that overlap, and simply record the 1st show up to 9pm and then switch to recording the other show beginning at 9pm (using 1 tuner). It would not switch what I'm watching.
> 
> Yes, I can set up the two timers manually to avoid that overlap, but that isn't the point. In a previous version, the software would automatically take care of it, but this has been broken again for a while.
> 
> Audio and video dropouts aren't bad, but also have been better previously. But other revs have been worse for those, so at least we get something.


Do you have you DVR in Dual mode? I have a 625 with 298 and I dont have the problem you have. If I have two times set on TV1 the same way you explained my first time ends at 9 and the 2nd one start at 9. I have never had that problem with it with any software upgrade.


----------



## Kevin Brown

Single mode. Record Plus to TV2, and I do have 298 now.


----------



## olguy

My 625 got L3.81 last night. Wonder what it does? I did notice with the first press of the DVR botton, there is now a third option that I don't remember having before. It is titled TV Entertainment. But it's grayed out. Also, there is text below the options list that tells me I have 18 VoD items, etc.

Wonder what else 3.81 does


----------



## rmroadee

olguy said:


> My 625 got L3.81 last night. Wonder what it does? I did notice with the first press of the DVR botton, there is now a third option that I don't remember having before. It is titled TV Entertainment. But it's grayed out. Also, there is text below the options list that tells me I have 18 VoD items, etc.
> 
> Wonder what else 3.81 does


My 625 also has this update. We have 20 VOD items lots of the PPV's that are running plus some older movies for less then the newer ones.

Rmroadee


----------



## olguy

rmroadee said:


> My 625 also has this update. We have 20 VOD items lots of the PPV's that are running plus some older movies for less then the newer ones.
> 
> Rmroadee


Interesting that mine had 18 VoD items yesterday and yours had 20. And this morning mine has 19. You'd think, at least in my simple minded way I do, all the 625s with this version would have the same number of VoDs. Not that it matters to me. In the 6 years with D* and nearly 1 year with E* I've only purchased 1 or 2 movies. That was when we first got D* and were trying everything out.

What I would like is for the VoD to be user optional. Turn it on if you want it and turn it off if you don't. And if it's off, make that space available for user programmed recording.


----------



## saweetnesstrev

theres another new feature on the guide and info of programs that list the episode number and original air date... that comes in handy


----------



## Jammasterd

I really would like "folders" for "My Recordings" , group similar shows titles in a folder.


----------



## BobaBird

Moderator: Can the L298 and now L381 discussions be split off into their own threads?


----------



## Sleepylazy2006

saweetnesstrev said:


> theres another new feature on the guide and info of programs that list the episode number and original air date... that comes in handy


Yeah I agree, it does come in handy, I think it cool.


----------



## eracet

I am also having a problem with timers Disappearing , and it seems to skip at random.
This morning I checked timers and there was 3 manual timers. last night there was 18 random ones.
one of the ones when I checked this morning was one that I deleted a long time ago.
Makes me wonder if there is a timer memory problem . since timers that are no longer used or deleted are comming back


----------



## DJ Lon

Has L383 filtered down to any 522s yet? Still at 298 here.


----------



## jp7794

Showing L411. Not sure when I received it but E* shows 10/24 as the rev. date.


----------



## DJ Lon

Timers had been disappearing with L298 again and I've been e-mailing Dish (of course the first letter was the obligatory "need to reset, unplug and restart") and this morning I woke up to L411. Noticeable cosmetic change: Episode numbers, Original air date & year above selected recording in My Recordings.


----------



## DJ Lon

Got L417 today.


----------

