# Can I choose which tuner does the recording?



## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

<I did a search first btw>

Can I choose which tuner fulfills a given timer? I've tried to change the tuner for the past 30 minutes and CANNOT find the option (if it exists) to change the tuner. I've recreated the timer twice (once manually) and still no go. Why would I want to do this? HEre's the scenario:

My wife records a bunch of BS shows (soaps.. girly shows, etc). she typically watches the soaps every night off of TV1, so the tuner for TV1 (e.g. tuner 1) is not in use. I like to watch separate programming on TV2/Tuner 2 at night (baseball now) and the 622 INSISTS on recording night events on tuner 2 even though tuner 1 is open and there are no conflicts. This sucks for me because tuner2 is busy recording something I dont care for, and tuner 1 is busy showing soap operas.

sure, I could set tuner 1 to record the show I WANT to watch, then "play it back" simultaneously on tuner 2, but that's a cheesy way around it.

is there a way to determine which tuner records which timer?


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

No there is no way to specifically select a tuner for a given show. Sounds like you are in Dual mode. have you seen this link?

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=50711

Might provide some help in how to get around your issue.


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## gilunionhall (May 8, 2006)

hello bairdjc -

i believe what ron barry said isn't correct.

if you look at the thread that he listed in his post - once you get to that thread, do down to the response by mike johnson.

once that document is open, you will see a nice, easy to understand chart that will give you settings that can determine whether TV1 or TV2 will be doing the recording.

also, if you originally had your 622 in single mode and change to dual mode , AND you will be using TV2 a lot - you will have most of the recording going on TV2 and run into a lot of conflicts where you will have to suspend recording in order to watch a different show.

gil


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

What me be incorrect.  

What I was meaning was that there is no way to go to a specific event and say.. .I want this event on Tuner 1 or Tuner 2. The only caveat here is that you can say I want this event on the OTA tuner by specifically creating an timer for a specific OTA channel.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Based on bairdjc usecase, looks like Scenario #4 is what he would want. But might cause some grief when the wife goes to watch something live.


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## bairdjc (Sep 22, 2005)

wow how incredibly..... stupid.

I appreciate the auto-tuner selection but there should be a manual way to override it.

actully the 622 JUST changed the tuner it was going to record LOST on - originally it was TV1 and now it switched to TV2. UGHHHhhhh.

as the link says... those ideas are basically workarounds.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Well personally I don't see it has stupid but a solution to the issue of two sources competing with two tuners. Having a manual override would be nice, but I could also see how it could quickly bubble into multiple conflict resolution that would be rather nasty to work with. 

Well after reading the document (Did not read it well when first posted) there is definitely a predictability to tuner selection in dual mode. I manual use my receivers in single mode so have not payed much attention to dual mode tuner conflict resolution.


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## cornflakes (Sep 30, 2005)

I don't quite get it... Sorry I don't have a vip622 yet (it's getting installed tomorrow). So if I were to have dual mode, TV1 can only watch what's being recorded on tuner 1 plus recorded shows, and TV2 can only watch tuner 2 plus recorded shows?

If tuner 1 is recording a show, there's no way for TV1 to switch around to other channels?


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## Rovingbar (Jan 25, 2005)

Maybe your best solution is to get a second DVR. We have two dual tuner DVRs now, and we don't have any problems recording or watching different shows.


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## CABill (Mar 20, 2005)

cornflakes said:


> I don't quite get it... Sorry I don't have a vip622 yet (it's getting installed tomorrow). So if I were to have dual mode, TV1 can only watch what's being recorded on tuner 1 plus recorded shows, and TV2 can only watch tuner 2 plus recorded shows?
> If tuner 1 is recording a show, there's no way for TV1 to switch around to other channels?


That setup is one of the choices for Dual mode (no record plus) - Scenario 2 in the .pdf. You would use that where the dual output receiver was shared by two siblings - each gets their own tuner and output and can't force their recordings on the other kid. Scenario 3 & 4 enable Record Plus to set a default output to be used for recordings. If something is going to be recorded from Sat, one output or the other will have to watch that recording or something else already (being) recorded. If you are in Single mode, it is pretty easy to Swap to channel surf while something records. In Dual mode, it isn't easy. In either mode, a timer for a future sat recording doesn't have a TV1 or TV2 output associated with it. The receiver will display which is due to get used at the moment, but it is really just a timer for a future recording somewhere. By the time that recording triggers, you could have changed Record Plus to a different default, you could have pushed Single/Dual any number of times (which can clear or cause conflicts all by itself). The only future recording that has an output accociated with it is an OTA recording. If you hit the Record button for something that is on now, you do get a display of TV1 / TV2, but that changes the behavior of the receiver - it isn't scheduling a future timer to use a specific output. That's what Ron said (correctly) back at post 2. You can't set an output/tuner a show/timer, ... but you can change the receiver behavior for all shows/timers/...


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## cornflakes (Sep 30, 2005)

Thanks for that reply, CABill... still a little confusing to me, but I think I got it. I'll have mine tomorrow so I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually!


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## gilunionhall (May 8, 2006)

"In either mode, a timer for a future sat recording doesn't have a TV1 or TV2 output associated with it. " 


i thought i understood the "dual mode with record plus" feature until now.

doesnt using the "record plus" (senariors #3 and #4) feature allow you to select which tv will be used for recording?

gil


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## CABill (Mar 20, 2005)

Record Plus enabled and TV2 selected as the default recorder for all timers does 
"allow you to select which tv will be used for recording" but not
"allow you to select which tv will be used for A recording".

Once you've picked TV2 as the default, you can't change the recording that is going to occur at 8PM on TV2 to use TV1 instead. You could do it indirectly - create a timer for some OTHER show at 8PM with a higher priority. That would cause it to be scheduled for TV2 and move the one that had been scheduled for TV2 to TV1.

A timer isn't marked as "I will record on TV2" - it is just something that needs to be recorded. If two things are due to start recording at the same time, the highest priority timer will go to the Record Plus choice and the other will go to the one that isn't the default. Single mode enables Record Plus to TV2.

Although the timer doesn't say "I'll record on TV2", each timer does remember which remote was used to create it. If you disable Record Plus, all the timers should eventually appear with the symbol for the remote that created them. If someone HAD to control this timer on TV1, this timer on TV2, ... you could disable Record Plus and keep changing remotes when you set the timers. There are times when you need to nudge the receiver to recompute where timers will fire and disable of Record Plus might require you to change some timer's priority to get them to be displayed correctly - not sure.


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## Jolard (Feb 14, 2006)

Exactly! If you want to be able to pick exactly which tuner every timer records on, you need to have the DVR set to Dual Mode, and Record Plus OFF. What this means is that whatever TV you are on when you set up the tuner, it will record on that TV. You will not be able to setup a tuner 2 recording on tuner 1, and visa versa, but you will be able to specify which tuner you want by setting it up on the correct TV. 

I know my wife and I did this for a while. We had certain shows that would record in the evening, and my daughter would often watch tuner 2 in the evening's before bed. we didn't want her to end up having to watch our recording shows, so we turned off record plus, and setup the recordings ourself on each TV to make sure the tuners worked correctly. 

Personally I prefer record plus now, as you get less other issues. 

However there is a simple solution.... Dish should update the receivers so you can change the tuner that will be used on an existing event!! It shouldn't be that hard, the trickiest part would be conflicts, but it could prompt you to choose what you want to do in case of a conflict.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

I thought about manual changing of tuner assignment and on the surfice it seems simple, however, my gut tells me there is more than meets the eye. 

Lets say you have alot of events for the day and you change your first events tuner. The result is a conflict so you need to either stop there or allow the user to resolve it. user resolves the conflict and thus creating another conflict and so on and so on. Add dual mode into this mix and I can see a lot of room for mistakes to be made and confusion. My guess here is that Dish wanted the tuner selection process to require as little user intervention as possible. 

Most people (Away from this board), don't have the concept of tuners. They have the concept of recording shows and my guess is they did not want to provide such an option given this type of user base. Would be a nice feature I agree, but my guess is that it is not as simple as one might think.


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## voyagerbob (Jul 14, 2002)

I may be mistaken but I thought if you found the show in the guide you wanted to record and hit the record button on your remote instead of the select button an option window would pop up asking you to select tuner 1 or tuner 2 to record the show on. It may have been in the browse guide that only shows one channel at a time though. I'm in dual mode record plus for tuner 2. I'm not at home to do this the way I usually do but it works for me every time I've tried unless there is already a timer set up at that time. I've only had to do this three or four times but the most recent being this pass weekend. I'm almost curious enough to call and have my wife do this. 

Voyagerbob


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## whatchel1 (Jan 11, 2006)

voyagerbob said:


> I may be mistaken but I thought if you found the show in the guide you wanted to record and hit the record button on your remote instead of the select button an option window would pop up asking you to select tuner 1 or tuner 2 to record the show on. It may have been in the browse guide that only shows one channel at a time though. I'm in dual mode record plus for tuner 2. I'm not at home to do this the way I usually do but it works for me every time I've tried unless there is already a timer set up at that time. I've only had to do this three or four times but the most recent being this pass weekend. I'm almost curious enough to call and have my wife do this.
> 
> Voyagerbob


It doesn't ask you which tuner it, ask if you want to create a timer. It will default to the tuner that is availbale at that time and is the primary tuner.


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## CABill (Mar 20, 2005)

Voyagerbob isn't mistaken. You don't need to call the wife, but if you do, you'll need to be pretty specific about what you ask her to do. Guide/Browse/Search/... and pick a START IN THE FUTURE show, and Select/Record won't ask which tuner - you are just setting a timer. If the chosen show is already started when you hit record, you will be prompted about TV1 / TV2. The question is asking more than just which output to use - what you choose may determine what happens on the TVx you are watching. Say you are watching Channel 3 live on TV1 and Browse/Guide and notice something is on Channel 4 that you want to record. If you hit Record on the ACTIVE channel 4 show, you can pick TV2 and the unit should silently start recording it in the background. If TV2 were busy recording, the TV2 choice should be grey. A person watching TV2 may be abruptly switched to this new recording. If you instead pick TV1 for the recording, YOU will be abruptly switched to the new channel and recording started. My 942 does something funny if I'm time delayed behind Live and I pick the "other output", but I haven't tried it in some time.

The popup asking whch TV1/TV2 should be used will appear from a Record button but only if the show has started. This applies to the channel you are currently watching (live or buffered) and just hit the Record button.


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## CABill (Mar 20, 2005)

Ron Barry said:


> I thought about manual changing of tuner assignment and on the surfice it seems simple, however, my gut tells me there is more than meets the eye.


I get a headache thinking about making the assignments myself. Consider Dual Mode w/o Record Plus and each gets their own recordings. Doesn't switching to Single automatically enable Record Plus and rearrange timer assignments? I know I've had timers change which shows are going to be skipped and recorded by switching between Single and Dual even with Record Plus for Dual. Just moving the priority of some timer to the top can change the assignments for several hours afterward. Maybe they could add something so you could move an upcoming recording, but it isn't simple.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

Set your record priority to TV1 instead of TV2 and it will solve your problem.


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## JHolman (Mar 2, 2007)

I'm a little confused about recording to TV1 vs TV2. My newbie question: Does which tuner matter for my purposes? If I'm almost always using the 622 in the Single Mode (rarely need to be watching something different on a second TV), do I have any reason to care if an HD show is being recorded via the TV1 or TV2 tuner? I guess I don't quite get the relationship between the 1 and 2 tuners and the 1 and 2 outputs -- I understand that the TV2 out is limited to SD. Does that mean an HD program recorded via the TV2 tuner will also be recorded at the lower SD resolution? Or are both tuners functionally identical, with only the outs being different (which wouldn't matter, if any recorded program can be later sent to either out)? Does selecting Single or Dual mode affect the resolution at which either the TV1 or TV2 tuners will record?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

There is NO relation between tuners and outputs. All tuners can and do record HD or SD. If you run in single user mode, it'll make no difference to you which tuner records because the 2 satellite tuners are exactly the same.

Welcome to DBSTalk, JHolman! :hi:


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Forget trying to control tuners.

What is needed is the ability to set up separate user list(s) of recorded events
with the ability to password-protect a list to prevent unauthorized viewing of the
list and its' content, and to prevent accidental/unauthorized erasure.

Nick's Event List - Enter PIN (_______)

Sue's Event List -- Enter PIN (_______)


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## articos (Oct 10, 2006)

Ron Barry said:


> I thought about manual changing of tuner assignment and on the surfice it seems simple, however, my gut tells me there is more than meets the eye.
> 
> Lets say you have alot of events for the day and you change your first events tuner. The result is a conflict so you need to either stop there or allow the user to resolve it. user resolves the conflict and thus creating another conflict and so on and so on. Add dual mode into this mix and I can see a lot of room for mistakes to be made and confusion. My guess here is that Dish wanted the tuner selection process to require as little user intervention as possible.
> 
> Most people (Away from this board), don't have the concept of tuners. They have the concept of recording shows and my guess is they did not want to provide such an option given this type of user base. Would be a nice feature I agree, but my guess is that it is not as simple as one might think.


Ron, I agree and I disagree. I do think Dish tries to err on the side of keeping it simple for the everyday user, but to the point of their detriment, sometimes. In this case, I think they just didn't think the feature all the way through. One of my annoyances with this box is if you schedule 2 back to back recordings, sometimes the box will miss a few seconds as it switches recording from one show to the next. The 2 programs could be set up on different tuners to record if you had control over it and you wouldn't miss anything. Or separately, if the Dish network time is off from the broadcast network time, it will cut off early and lose a few seconds sometimes as it switches to another recording. Unfortunately, there's no way to fix these/catch what you missed during either switch, even if you extend the record time, because of the way they have this set up. If I could control the tuners, I could prevent both of these situations and not have to deal with network time issues or tuner/buffer switches. On the whole, I think the engineering team did a stellar job with the 622 - there are some issues though that still need to be addressed to make it truly intuitive and able to "just work".


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

??? If you extend the time on back to backs, the 622 will automatically use different timers - unless you have created a conflict - in which case something will be skipped.

Pat


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## articos (Oct 10, 2006)

patmurphey said:


> ??? If you extend the time on back to backs, the 622 will automatically use different timers - unless you have created a conflict - in which case something will be skipped.
> 
> Pat


Nope, Pat, mine doesn't always do that - a lot of times it schedules both for the same tuner, and just runs from one into the other.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

articos said:


> Nope, Pat, mine doesn't always do that - a lot of times it schedules both for the same tuner, and just runs from one into the other.


True if you only have the standard pad. But if you extend by say 10 minutes, it may consider making conflicts and seperate timers.


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