# 942 Problem-Spontaneous Reset



## djm61

For the last few days the 942 I have has been resetting on its own. We'll be watching on any channel and it will go to a blank screen, the orange light will go out and then the green light will go out. About 1 minute later the "Acquiring Satellites" screen will come up and then all will be back to normal for varying lengths of time from several seconds to an hour or so until the next reset.

I have tried soft resets, hard resets, and the check switch test to try to resolve this. A Dish tech support rep said that the check switch test "usually" resolves this problem but 20 minutes after I got off the phone with her it started doing it again. 

Is my 942 screwed or what?
I am open to any suggestions at this point.

This 942 was purchased in Oct 05 and has been good til now.

Software L285
Single Mode
2 dish setup 
Satellites 110,119,148

TIA

Dave M


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## Jon Spackman

How hot is your 942? Did you change any furniture or cabinets recently? Does your area of CA suffer from brownouts or power glitches?


Jon


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## SakuraDelia

::groan:: Yeah, mine is doing the same thing. This is the second DVR I've gone through in 6 months. My first DVR had the same problem but to a much worst extent (it was simply unwatchable after a few days). My DVR isn't hot at all, so I don't know what the heck the problem is. The DVR is on the bottom self (open front and back) of my entertainment center. Like I said, it's not hot at all. 

Normally, the DVR will reset it self fine (but it takes 3 minutes to do so) but sometimes it freezes for hours. I can soft reset it but then I get a hard drive 05a1 error. Then I have to hard reset it to fix that problem. SO annoying. Some days the DVR will be fine but some days (like today) I'll have to reset it like 4-5 times an hour! Crazyness. This whole upgrade to a DVR system has been a complete nightmare. It was easier just to record things on my VCR.. =\


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## Jon Spackman

How is the power in your area? voltage overages and dips can cause this behavior. Do you have the 942 connected to a UPS or a surge protector?


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## SakuraDelia

Mine was plugged into a power strip when it started (the same strip my TV and DVD are plugged into). I later plugged it into a battery backup and it still has the same problem. It's SO weird that I'd have two different systems have the same exact problem.. :: sigh ::


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## LtMunst

SakuraDelia said:


> Mine was plugged into a power strip when it started (the same strip my TV and DVD are plugged into). I later plugged it into a battery backup and it still has the same problem. It's SO weird that I'd have two different systems have the same exact problem.. :: sigh ::


Does your batter backup have AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation)? If not, it won't protect against brief undervoltages. The 942 is very sensitive to voltage fluctuations.


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## Jon Spackman

Good call LTmunst, Undervoltages even for second could cause reboots.:grin: Its strange or possibly the same issue causing it in two diff. setups in one house.


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## wrzwaldo

Jon Spackman said:


> Good call LTmunst, Undervoltages even for second could cause reboots.:grin: Its strange or possibly the same issue causing it in two diff. setups in one house.


That sounds like a design flaw?


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## Stevious

I'm also experiencing this problem. It seems to have started after L286 was released. As to cabinet changes, power or any other changes, there have been none. The 942 is sitting in the same spot it has been for months. I haven't moved anything in its vicinity that might cause airflow interruptions. I've also been using the same power strip. No, I haven't plugged any new devices into the power strip. I tried soft and hard resets, to no avail.

IMO, it's just too great a coincidence that the problems started after L286, and other people are experiencing it. Makes me want to point a finger at the software. DISH devs, if you're listening, please help. There's nothing more annoying that having a spontaneous reboot in the middle of a recording session.

Edit: Just read the release notes, and L286 was released after this post was started. Still don't understand the reason for the sudden reboots, when the problem didn't exist before. <shrugs>


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## joebird

I've been having this problem for a few weeks now also. Mine is in a pretty open-air environment. No problems like this until recently. Though usually the re-boots are not spontaneous, but happen when I hit the browse button, or start scrolling through channel listings, etc. (i.e. they are a result of remote keys being pressed, not happening by themselves out of the blue). I've had it re-boot when controlling the DVR from the 2nd (UHF) remote from TV2 as well as the main TV1 remote.


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## smccaffity

I'm having the exact same problem. Just started a couple of days ago and has increased in severity. Now the receiver resets itself after only a couple of minutes of being turned on.

Soft, hard resets have not solved the problem. Nor has check switch.

Nothing has changed with the receiver, i.e. same position, same plugs, same everything, for the last year and it literally just started less than a week ago.

Any news on this error?


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## kmcnamara

My 942 has gotten pretty unstable in the last week too. I can't imagine why since there hasn't been a software update. Maybe it's just North Dallas.


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## Tom in TX

smccaffity said:


> I'm having the exact same problem. Just started a couple of days ago and has increased in severity. Now the receiver resets itself after only a couple of minutes of being turned on.
> 
> Soft, hard resets have not solved the problem. Nor has check switch.
> 
> Nothing has changed with the receiver, i.e. same position, same plugs, same everything, for the last year and it literally just started less than a week ago.
> 
> Any news on this error?


Mine has started doing this today. I was watching NBC OTA asnd it does it every few minutes. I put it on HDnet, and it didn't do it in the 30 minutes I watched. Were any of you watching OTA when this happened??

Tom in TX


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## Mark S.

Tom in TX said:


> Mine has started doing this today. I was watching NBC OTA asnd it does it every few minutes. I put it on HDnet, and it didn't do it in the 30 minutes I watched. Were any of you watching OTA when this happened??
> 
> Tom in TX


Yes, I was watching NBC OTA HD when this started happening. I switched to Discovery channel but it continued.

Coincidentally, I too am in Dallas?????

I called E* and they are sending me out a replacement 942. Sure am going to hate losing a bunch of my recordings. Tried but failed to talk them into upgrading me to a 622.

Oh well...


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## Tom in TX

Mark S. said:


> Yes, I was watching NBC OTA HD when this started happening. I switched to Discovery channel but it continued.
> 
> Coincidentally, I too am in Dallas?????
> 
> I called E* and they are sending me out a replacement 942. Sure am going to hate losing a bunch of my recordings. Tried but failed to talk them into upgrading me to a 622.
> 
> Oh well...


I have 2 942's, so I tuned my other unit to OTA NBC, and it did the same reboot. Then I watched on SD satellite NBC and it did not reboot. Other OTA channels did not reboot either. Maybe something wrong with OTA NBC ??

Tom in TX


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## wrzwaldo

Mark S. said:


> Yes, I was watching NBC OTA HD when this started happening. I switched to Discovery channel but it continued.
> 
> Coincidentally, I too am in Dallas?????
> 
> I called E* and they are sending me out a replacement 942. *Sure am going to hate losing a bunch of my recordings.* Tried but failed to talk them into upgrading me to a 622.
> 
> Oh well...


To bad we can't swap out the hard drives on a receiver replacement.

Are you listening E*?


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## dishbacker

I got 2 spontaneous reboots in about a 5 min span watching NBC 5-1 news via OTA on Saturday night. Changed over to 8-1 OTA and all of my reboots were gone. Maybe its related to a non-HD program from KXAS?

I didn't make it to the Hall of Fame game last night to see if it was happenning there or not.


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## Tom in TX

dishbacker said:


> Maybe its related to a non-HD program from KXAS?


Mine was doing it during NASCAR (HD), so it's not specific to non-HD.

Tom in TX


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## Tom in TX

Had another reboot last night, while watching a program that was recorded in May, on NBC OTA (Law&Order). So it evidently doesn't have to be "live" for it to occur. Starting to get annoying!

Tom in TX


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## scn101

I was watching Saturday night live on OTA NBC (signal strength 93) and my 942 rebooted four times in a row, each reboot about 2 mins apart. I switched OTA channels and the reboots ceased (test time 30 mins).  I then tried satellite NBC and watched SNL without reboots (test time 20 mins). Switched back to OTA NBC and reboots occured within a couple of minutes.

This has never happened before. The 942 has been rock solid for over a year now.

It would appear that something NBC has in their data stream locks up the 942. Hopefully Dish can correct this in a software update.


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## Tom in TX

scn101 said:


> It would appear that something NBC has in their data stream locks up the 942. Hopefully Dish can correct this in a software update.


Anyone know if Dish is aware of this problem? Anyone have an email link to report technical troubles?

Tom in TX


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## dishbacker

There was a time... about 2 years ago... that NBC5 wouldn't allow time shifting on a recorded event on my 921. Was a real pain (had to watch all the commercials! If you did a FFwd, once you hit play it would start at the beginning of the event). That eventually got fixed, I think with a new software version for the 921.

Maybe NBC5 has been playing with their PSIP? I could see that affecting DVR events as well since you see the Signal Strength meter show up on the banner when playing a DVR event, even though you truly aren't tuning the channel?

Here are some tests that I might try if I get a chance:

1) Record NBC5 OTA and see if the receiver reboots during the recording.

2) Record a different OTA station and watch a NBC5 OTA DVR event and see if the receiver reboots while watching.

3) Watch the weather station (5-2) and see if a reboot occurs.

Since I don't watch ER anymore, I really only care about sports on NBC... and SNL (all repeats now)... So I haven't been exposed to this to see when it started.


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## JM Anthony

I had a spontaneous reboot while watching OTA last night. My power is clean and rock solid, so that's not the source. Haven't had this problem before.

John


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## kmcnamara

Well, the NBC5 (KXAS) reboots continue to occur. I had it happen this morning 3 times. The 3rd time it happened, it had just finished rebooting 5 seconds earlier and I didn't even have time to change the channel off of NBC. So the next time I had to wait for the reboot to finish and immediately change the channel to ABC so it wouldn't happen again.


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## Tom in TX

kmcnamara said:


> Well, the NBC5 (KXAS) reboots continue to occur.


Same here, I tried to watch the NASCAR race tonight, and within 2 minutes, I got another reboot. Hope they can fix this before the new fall series begin!!

Tom in TX


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## Jon Spackman

Have any of the three of you in Texas called the station to see if they can help you all out? It seems weird that three of you in Tx have the same issue.


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## tferrio

I am also in Dallas having trouble with the NASCAR race.
I was gone for the weekend and recorded it on the 942. It seems to have recorded fine but I cannot watch a stretch of more than 5 minutes or so without having it freeze and reset. It seems to do it in the same place every time but I can usually fast forward past the "freeze point". But then there is another "freeze point" a few laps later in the race.

There seems to be something in the recorded signal that the machine does not "like" when it goes to generate a picture. And the problem is very repeatable.

Odd that the only recent reported occurances of this instance are with NASCAR on KXAS in Dallas.


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## kmcnamara

I never watch NASCAR and still get reboots while on KXAS. I got it while watching the Tonight Show the other night.


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## scn101

kmcnamara said:


> I never watch NASCAR and still get reboots while on KXAS. I got it while watching the Tonight Show the other night.


Consistently over the past few days whenever I watch NBC (KXAS, channel 5 here in Dallas) via OTA the 942 will freeze and reboot within a minute or two. Signal strength in the high 80s. Switch to any other OTA station or NBC via satellite, no reboots.

My ATSC equipped HDTV receives NBC over the same antenna as does the 942 and I can watch NBC without issue. Note that I even tried with the 942 simultaneously tuned to NBC and I could see it reboot via the LEDs on its front panel but my TV had no problems with the signal.

I think that it is about time that DISH fix this very annoying bug!


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## kmcnamara

As Jon has indicated, we all need to call Dish and make sure they are aware of it so they'll get on it. It's certainly not difficult to duplicate.


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## tferrio

kmcnamara said:


> As Jon has indicated, we all need to call Dish and make sure they are aware of it so they'll get on it. It's certainly not difficult to duplicate.


I called today (with great dubiousity) and they submitted a "report to engineering". I tried to stress that I have a recording on my 942 that absolutely repeats the problem every time. I also mentioned this thread. Perhaps something will happen ... or not.


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## Tom in TX

tferrio said:


> I called today (with great dubiousity) and they submitted a "report to engineering". I tried to stress that I have a recording on my 942 that absolutely repeats the problem every time. I also mentioned this thread. Perhaps something will happen ... or not.


I know for a fact that Dish is working on this problem. I cannot divulge further details, but they are aware of it, and wotking on it.

Tom in TX


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## cbd1

Wow! I have been having the same issue exactly with my 942.. I found this site and this thread as I thought I would do a quick search before calling customer support. It definately does it only on KXAS and happens 5 mins or so into the recorded show. I can't watch Office or Scrubs and it's really pissing me off!!


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## dishbacker

Same reboots for me too on KXAS. Got them on Sunday night during Nascar as well as on Monday night while I had turned on KXAS HD for a few minutes to watch some show (maybe the news).

I'm just hoping it gets fixed so I can watch Nascar and NFL in HD. Mods, any word on this being a software issue?


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## Jon Spackman

Have any of you tried a powercord-pull reboot then watch one of these affected shows?


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## cbd1

Jon, yes I have tried that and its the same result every time.  I would have to say my 942 has been a pretty stable machine (knock on wood) up until this problem. Though it still works fine on anything recorded on any other channels, including other OTA HD sources.. Man, I mean you start a show recorded off OTA KXAS and within 5 minutes the picture freezes for about 20 seconds and it reboots. Seems crazy to me :icon_stup , but I know nothing about these data streams or how they interact with the DVR. I'm sure to some of you guys, this probably could make some sense.


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## Jon Spackman

cbd1 said:


> Jon, yes I have tried that and its the same result every time.  I would have to say my 942 has been a pretty stable machine (knock on wood) up until this problem. Though it still works fine on anything recorded on any other channels, including other OTA HD sources.. Man, I mean you start a show recorded off OTA KXAS and within 5 minutes the picture freezes for about 20 seconds and it reboots. Seems crazy to me :icon_stup , but I know nothing about these data streams or how they interact with the DVR. I'm sure to some of you guys, this probably could make some sense.


Ok how bout if you temporarily change the output resolution to 480i or 480p and try it (just curious if it matters). Are you using HDMi or Component?


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## kmcnamara

Jon Spackman said:


> Ok how bout if you temporarily change the output resolution to 480i or 480p and try it (just curious if it matters). Are you using HDMi or Component?


This isn't an output problem. It's an encoding/decoding problem. There's something in the data stream causing this.


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## johnstred

cbd1 said:


> Wow! I have been having the same issue exactly with my 942.. I found this site and this thread as I thought I would do a quick search before calling customer support. It definately does it only on KXAS and happens 5 mins or so into the recorded show. I can't watch Office or Scrubs and it's really pissing me off!!


Same here... I just left a message on the software bug thread. I am in Dallas as well and the freeze/reboot problem started about a month or so ago on episodes of Office, Law & Order and Scrubs... alas, all from the OTA NBC station in HD. However, on Wednesday it happened while watching soccer on GOAL TV... coinicidence?


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## cbd1

I am using component. Just tried it a 480p and 720p anyway just to see.. yep, same thing..


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## AmEx

REBOOTING RECEIVER???
Your receiver is overheating! This is a very common problem. People will tell you to keep it cool, move it around, open the cabinet to let the air in etc... remember that there is a fan in the back of your 942. After a while, your receiver will collect a lot of dust inside. The best thing you can do, is open the case and get some "canned air" from any computer store and clean it up inside. This will improve your airflow inside the receive and it will work like brand new.

Remember, your 942 is just like your computer. The more things you do like pause, rewind, switch between hd/sd etc, the processor will work hard and will require more air to stay cool.


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## LtMunst

I just starting having reboot problems with OTA. Two nights ago my 942 rebooted after what I assumed was a spot of signal loss on a recorded Fox OTA program. Last night it froze and rebooted while watching ABC live OTA. Couldn't tell if the trigger was a signal loss or something funny in the stream. There was no pixellation...just a sudden freeze followed by a reset maybe 20 seconds later.


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## Tom in TX

AmEx said:


> REBOOTING RECEIVER???
> Your receiver is overheating! This is a very common problem.


I don't think overheating is the problem spoken about in this thread. If you look at all the posts, it has to do with people in the D/FW area, watching NBC via OTA. Very specific commonalities, if that's even a word!!

Tom in TX


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## AmEx

So by looking at these "Very specific commonalities", are you suggesting that NBC is sending some kind of a code via OTA to your receiver causing it to reboot?? WOW, that's something new... I think that the signal that comes from NBC via OTA could be a little bit stronger than other signals causing your receiver to reboot, simply because your receiver needs to work harder to compress the bandwith and if it's not maintained properly (like keeping it clean) it will eventualy overheat and keep rebooting and finally go dead...


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## kmcnamara

I just ordered a 622 so this problem should go away for me. On to a whole new set of problems!


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## AmEx

There is a thread already out there for ViP622 problems... good luck


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## cbd1

kmcnamara said:


> I just ordered a 622 so this problem should go away for me. On to a whole new set of problems!


YUP! Me too.. New 622 on the way.. I've had enough of the 942. Oh, and by the way, mine sits atop my stereo rack with nothing on it or around it, and is on a Monster Power conditioner. If that ain't enough to make it happy, to...


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## kmcnamara

cbd1 said:


> YUP! Me too.. New 622 on the way


Actually, my 942 has been very solid. This is one of the few problems I've had with it.


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## dishbacker

NBC-HD OTA in Dallas has been working great ever since labor day. No spontaneous reboots during the 3 NFL regular season games so far. I'm guessing it was a PSIP thing with NBC and how the 942 decoded it (my parents 921 never had any issues with it) since we haven't gotten a software update for the 942 in a while.

Hope it stays fixed. The bulk of the fall schedule primetime schedule starts tonight.


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## Jon Spackman

Let's hope the issue has been found and taken care of.


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## kmcnamara

Mine's been pretty stable too on NBC. However, they still need to duplicate and fix the problem on the 942 because it will happen again - either with NBC or some other station.


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## JTravers

I have been and still am having spontaneous reboots while watching NBC HD OTA here in Columbus, OH!

It is quite annoying and doesn't happen with other OTA channels.

I've raised up my 942 to improve its ventilation, and I still get the reboots on NBC.


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## mrplow

I am having the same Problem w/my 942 NBC Columbus, OH. It rebooted 12 times on Monday night. I keep my 942 cool (Max temp 110), It has a Ups.


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## Tom in TX

Maybe they shifted the problem from D/FW to Ohio!!  
Seems like they fixed the problem here, as I haven't seen it in well over a week.

Tom in TX


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## kmcnamara

This is some kind of rolling NBC conspiracy.


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## adamsdm

Hi all!

I just wanted to see if anyone else is still having this problem. I have been having this issue for some time now on KXAS-HD OTA. I just had it happen in 2 different spots during "Studio 60..." Funny thing is it recorded the whole 1.03 hr show with no interruptions but when replaying it back it rebooted in 2 different spots. 

Any thoughts?


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## dishbacker

I got the same reboots on my DVR replay of Studio 60 last night (started watching it around 10p). My recording overall was very very choppy, and KXAS is usually one of my stronger signal strength OTA channels. I was able to FFwrd through the part that is rebooted on just fine and only miss a small portion of the action.

I had no breakups and no issues last week when I watched Studio 60.

Uggh. I hope my new 622 does a better job with the KXAS video then my 942 is.


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## mrplow

I took Studio 60 out of my HD/OTA timers, set up a SD timer. No more reboots.


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## adamsdm

Good to hear someone else had the same issue on the same show. My recording was choppy as well.

I think I will be upgrading soon.


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## Tom in TX

I tried watching Law&Order, Criminal Intent, tonight on NBC OTA, and had three reboots!
Kinda getting pissed here!!!!

Tom in TX


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## 942sucks

Happening to me in the DFW area on KXAS HD too, Heroes and both Law and Orders recorded to DVR lock up while watching.

Glad to hear it's not a unique situation.


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## kmcnamara

Nice username.


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## 942sucks

kmcnamara said:


> Nice username.


I paid several hundred dollars to warrant the name thank you. 

BTW, my problems started about a month ago, I thought it was a unique situation, but most likely I just haven't used KXAS HD in the interim.


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## Tom-Tx

Well, I never experienced a spontaneous reboot till last night while watching / recording L&O SVU on NBC OTA HD here in the DFW area. Recording had started and about 7 minutes into it I hit DVR, Start Over, and got what appeared to be a frozen screen shot. Could not tell if it was frozen or just recorded that way. By the time I reacted and started hitting buttons, the 942 rebooted. Did that two more times while I watched the show on my TV's OTA input. Then I pulled the plug on the 942 for about 15 minutes. After the restart, the 942 recorded for about 25 minutes to the end of the show. I just deleted the 4 recordings and watched the NBC news with out further incident.


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## mrplow

I called Dish about the NBC reboots, They said they had no reports of any one else having a problem. So they are sending me a new 942.


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## Tom in TX

mrplow said:


> I called Dish about the NBC reboots, They said they had no reports of any one else having a problem. So they are sending me a new 942.


I sure hope it helps you. Please let us know if it does.
I, however, have two 942's, and it does it on both of them! I think it is a problem with KXAS here in D/FW. It seems alot of people are having the problem, almost exclusively with KXAS OTA. I've never had the problem with any other channel.

Tom in TX


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## Tom in TX

A portion of what I received from Dish:

"Our engineering department is aware of this issue; it has been determined the issue is software related and we are actively working to resolve it as soon as possible. It will be resolved with a software update in the near future. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Maybe help is on the way!

Tom in TX


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## adamsdm

Good news to hear! Thanks for sharing that.


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## johnstred

Tom in TX said:


> I sure hope it helps you. Please let us know if it does.
> I, however, have two 942's, and it does it on both of them! I think it is a problem with KXAS here in D/FW. It seems alot of people are having the problem, almost exclusively with KXAS OTA. I've never had the problem with any other channel.
> 
> Tom in TX


The problem has returned with a vengeance. After a few solid weeks, last night - while watching NBC HD OTA in Dallas - it started to reboot every five minutes or so. I now have about 20 separate 3 minute recordings of Kidnapped on my 942.... just like Tom, no problems on any other channel.


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## dishbacker

One note to pass on, even though I had 2 reboots while watching Studio 60 on Monday night, it did record the entire show to DVR without a reboot. I didn't start watching it until about 10:15p...

So, even though it is a very frustrating event, if you want to ensure that you can see the entire show, try recording it, wait until it is done recording, and then watch it. At least you will be able to FFWD to the reboot spot and pick up where you left off.

Or just record it / watch it on the SD channel until the new software is released.


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## Sauron99

I had two reboots as well. Studio 60 and Heroes.


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## tferrio

We had great distress in our household during ER this week. Lots of reboots in the first 20 minutes of the show. The last 40 minutes worked ok.

I hope that software fix comes soon. FiOS TV is sounding better and better!


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## scn101

The reboots on KXAS NBC 5 here in Dallas returned on Thursday (ER) and Friday (Law and Order). The 942 continuously rebooted. I switched to my TV's ATSC HD tuner to watch L&O live and could see a "glitch" in the picture every 1-2 minutes. I'm thinking this picture "glitch" is what's causing the 942 to reboot. The TV has no issue with the feed other than to glitch the picture. I wish the 942 would do the same!

Hopefully the software update will fix this. For now, I'm recording all NBC programming on Satellite SD feeds.


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## cbd1

Well, I have had my 622 for a week now and it has no problems with KXAS here in dallas, at least so far. My wife and I like it alot better than the 942 at this point as it seems to provide a better HD picture (maybe it just seems that way with more content), and I get my local HD channels on 2 tuners now allowing more HD local recording with fewer conflicts. The search feature is also a little better. For $99 I'm glad I did it.


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## johnstred

scn101 said:


> The reboots on KXAS NBC 5 here in Dallas returned on Thursday (ER) and Friday (Law and Order). The 942 continuously rebooted. I switched to my TV's ATSC HD tuner to watch L&O live and could see a "glitch" in the picture every 1-2 minutes. I'm thinking this picture "glitch" is what's causing the 942 to reboot. The TV has no issue with the feed other than to glitch the picture. I wish the 942 would do the same!
> 
> Hopefully the software update will fix this. For now, I'm recording all NBC programming on Satellite SD feeds.


My 942 now reboots even if I am not watching anything, TV off and all, just that the OTA tuner is set to NBC. I am not recording anything either but I am seeing the thing reboot by its panel lights. Also, if I am watching a recorded program from any channel, but if the OTA tuner is set to NBC here in Dallas, the 942 keeps rebooting. The worst is now about 20 times per day.


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## Tom in TX

I watched quite a bit of NBC - OTA yesterday, with no reboots. Anyone else have any in the last day or two?

Tom in TX


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## lakebum431

I have not, but I honestly haven't had any reboots at all so I guess you probably weren't talking to me


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## adamsdm

I watched the game last night and had no issues. I don't think I have ever seen it reboot on sports shows (footbal, nascar, etc.) I mainly see it in primetime shows and the evening news. My wife tried to watch the E.R. that we DVR'd the other night and had 2 reboots within the first few minutes.


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## Tom in TX

adamsdm said:


> I watched the game last night and had no issues. I don't think I have ever seen it reboot on sports shows (footbal, nascar, etc.) I mainly see it in primetime shows and the evening news. My wife tried to watch the E.R. that we DVR'd the other night and had 2 reboots within the first few minutes.


I've had it before on NASCAR. But most of my viewing is Prime Time, so we'll see tomorrow with two different Law & Orders's on.
Tom in TX


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## kmcnamara

I had the Notre Dame game on Saturday and had 2 reboots within the first couple of minutes so I switched channels.


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## mrplow

I got my Replacement 942, It Still freezes and reboots when I record Studio 60.


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## kmcnamara

[Homer]Mr. Plow. That's my name. That name again is Mr. Plow.[/Homer]


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## PLHOG

Well, I'm very relieved to have found this forum and a discussion of the exact problem we're seeing. We've had a 942 for about a year, and suddenly we started seeing screen freezes followed by a reboot. I'm the CTO of a company that makes what is essentially a set-top box, and so understand that effective troubleshooting starts with good observations. After a few days of this, we've noticed two things: a) the crashes almost always occur on the OTA NBC channel here in Columbus OH; and, b) in the Diagnostics screen, the "MiniWatchdog" counter increments by one every time it crashes.

The DVR was up for several hours without crashing this afternoon, but at 18:21 EDT I switched to OTA NBC (4.1) and a crash occurred within minutes. I left it tuned to OTA NBC, and it crashed 15 mins later, at 19:40. Then again at 19:45 and 19:56. I switched to the sat version of the local channel, and it is now 20:52 and no crash.

Our original DVR ran for a year without problems. When I first reported this, Dish sent us a replacement DVR. It crashed within minutes of powering up. I called again, and they said they would have to send a tech to my house, I said okay, but I wouldn't pay for it, because this sure seemed like a software problem. A supervisor finally agreed to send the tech for free, but said it couldn't be a software problem or everyone would be reporting it (groan). 

The tech got here, checked everything out (including power), repositioned the DVR, but said nothing was wrong. As he left, it crashed. He observed that this model was having software problems. He called tech support himself, and they sent another DVR. I installed it yesterday, but the crashes continue.

This probability is about 99% that this is a software problem, and it smells like a memory corruption issue. Maybe there is something about the format of the NBC OTA signal that is unexpected (e.i. the packet size is bigger than the software expects), and the result is that the memory adjacent to one of the video buffers is getting trashed. The consequence is that the software eventually gets sufficiently screwed up that it quits sending the "I'm alive" message to the watchdog, which does what it's supposed to do and reboots the machine.

There was a bug a year ago, in L281, that the engineering guys told me was related to a problem with the electronic guide from one of our local stations. That tells me that the design of the software is such that it doesn't try to do much in the way of data validity checking. I understand that you can't go nuts with validity checking in real-time systems, but it's generally a good idea to do validity checks on external data streams that get loaded into array structures, especially when the field length is embedded in the data stream, as is the case with most digital a/v streams.

Last thing: Dish pushed real hard a few months back to get us to upgrade to a newer model DVR. I said I would consider it if they credited 100% of my investment in the 942. They declined to do so. I think they've decide the 942 is fatally flawed, and want to get them out of the network. So why don't they just give us all the appropriate incentive?

I've left a callback request with the engineering guys. So far no response...


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## PLHOG

mrplow said:


> I am having the same Problem w/my 942 NBC Columbus, OH. It rebooted 12 times on Monday night. I keep my 942 cool (Max temp 110), It has a Ups.


We're also in Cols OH, and having problems with NBC4 OTA. We're watching WCMH on the sat channels no problem, but it sucks not being able to watch in HD.

The NBC-owned local affiliates like WCMH produce their shows from New York these days. That means the chances are good that the digital feed we see in Columbus originates from the same production systems that feed other cities, like DFW which is also owned by NBC.

If I had to quess, I'd bet that NBC upgraded their equipment and it now sends out a slightly different format in the digital stream, probably making a data block larger than the memory structure the 942 software has set up in which to store it. The bug might even be in the NBC digital system, but it still means the 942 software isn't very defensive. I hope these guys get on this...


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## mrplow

I called many times about the NBC OTA reboot problem, They said they have no record of anyone else having this problem (with the 942). So I email tech support from the Dish web site, They keep asking questions every few days. I think anyone who has this problem should Email dish, so they can see this is a major problem w/all 942's. In Columbus, Oh and other places.


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## Jerry 42

My 942 crashed last night as well. It has done it perhaps 3 times before but not on a regular basis. I was playbacking back a prevoius L&O recording while recording Comedy Central.

With all these posts it is very unlikely an individual's home power or heat is the problem - I have exterior fans cooling each of my system components so I can guarantee its not heat in my case.

It would seem to be a software problem. Mr. Lang may jump on me but I believe Dish is paying more attention to MPEG 4 machines than fixing 942s / MPEG2 machines.


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## LtMunst

Jerry 42 said:


> Mr. Lang may jump on me but I believe Dish is paying more attention to MPEG 4 machines than fixing 942s / MPEG2 machines.


OTA is MPEG 2 on the 622s as well. If there is a problem station for a 942, I'd bet it would give 622s trouble also.


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## Sauron99

Mine locked up again last night. That's three weeks in a row that Heroes has crashed. It locks up at 8PM and 8:30PM CST while recording NBC-005-01 (OTA). Other shows recording at that time are on CBSHD 8:00PM to 8:30PM, Two and a half men.

It only reboots on Monday nights at 8:00PM and 8:30PM CST.


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## Jon Spackman

I know it doesn't mean much but Dish does care and hopefully a solution will be had soon.


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## PLHOG

Jon Spackman said:


> I know it doesn't mean much but Dish does care and hopefully a solution will be had soon.


I was talking about the NBC crashes with a friend of mine who is a video hobbyist, and he said that the NBC station is the only one in Columbus that broadcasts in 1080i -- everyone else is using 780p.

If that's true, then this is starting to make sense: it takes more memory to buffer the 1080i frame, and if the software isn't expecting this larger frame size, it might overflow into adjacent stuff and create a memory corruption issue (which eventually causes a freeze up which the watchdog detects and corrects with a reboot).

It sure would be nice to get a definitive statement from Dish that they have figured out the cause, and have software distribution planned (after appropriate testing!). Do they ever do that?


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## PLHOG

PLHOG said:


> I was talking about the NBC crashes with a friend of mine who is a video hobbyist, and he said that the NBC station is the only one in Columbus that broadcasts in 1080i -- everyone else is using 780p.
> 
> If that's true, then this is starting to make sense: it takes more memory to buffer the 1080i frame, and if the software isn't expecting this larger frame size, it might overflow into adjacent stuff and create a memory corruption issue (which eventually causes a freeze up which the watchdog detects and corrects with a reboot).
> 
> It sure would be nice to get a definitive statement from Dish that they have figured out the cause, and have software distribution planned (after appropriate testing!). Do they ever do that?


I just sent an email to the Director of Engineering at WCMH to see what she knows about how the NBC signal/format might be different than the other local stations. Will post what I learn.


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## JTravers

PLHOG said:


> I was talking about the NBC crashes with a friend of mine who is a video hobbyist, and he said that the NBC station is the only one in Columbus that broadcasts in 1080i -- everyone else is using 780p.


Not true.
CBS (WBNS) is 1080i, as is The CW (WWHO).


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## kmcnamara

The 1080i thing wouldn't make sense anyway because there are lot of stations (and sat channels) that broadcast in 1080i and they don't cause the receiver to reset.

Incidentally, NBC locally hasn't rebooted for me in over a week.





Maybe it has something to do with me upgrading to a 622.


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## PLHOG

kmcnamara said:


> The 1080i thing wouldn't make sense anyway because there are lot of stations (and sat channels) that broadcast in 1080i and they don't cause the receiver to reset.
> 
> Incidentally, NBC locally hasn't rebooted for me in over a week.
> 
> Maybe it has something to do with me upgrading to a 622.


I just had an email conversation with the director of engineering at WCMH. She says WCMH and KXAS use the same encoders. The chief engineer at KXAS told her some folks in DFW found some benefit from rescanning the local channels, especially folks with weak signals. My NBC signal is 100%, so I doubt that this is the problem. Did you do this?

She also told me that WCMH had a problem with the closed captioning on the digital feed, and they had to reboot the encoders to fix it. Do you guys know of a problem like this at KXAS?

It seems like the freeze up problem appeared in Dallas, then later in Columbus. Hopefully they will compare notes on their change logs and see what it was KXAS changed a while ago and WCMH changed more recently.

Meanwhile, this points to a bug in the 942. I'll keep my bet on it being a buffer overrun. If the frame format (1080i) isn't what's different between the NBC feed and the other channels, it's something else.

Were one or more of the sat feeds changed over from MPEG2 to MPEG4 recently? If so, that could exercise some stuff that hadn't been used before (and perhaps setting up a situation that screwed up the processing of whatever is unique about the NBC signal). Just hypotheses -- but that's an important part of the debugging process.

Oh, I just read the line about your upgrading to a 622. What did you pay to do that?

PL


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## kmcnamara

PLHOG said:


> Oh, I just read the line about your upgrading to a 622. What did you pay to do that?
> 
> PL


$199 less $100 rebates = $99.


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## mrplow

It's a 942 problem, if I record the same show on my 622 from WCMH OTA (nbc), It records and plays back fine- No reboots. So I moved all my NBC shows to the 622


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## tferrio

Just to document, after some weeks of freeze and reboot problems with 005-01 in Dallas, it has been working fine for a couple weeks now. Other posts seem to agree that Dallas is fixed (for the moment). I thought maybe Dish sent new software down, fixing it, but I see other cities are still having the problem. Sorry.
Tom


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## Jon Spackman

There can be other guide related things that can affect the 942 (and any receiver with a guide). There does not have to be a software update for there to be a change on your end. I do not know if/what has or has not been done, I just wanted to point out that it does not take a software update to a new revision to correct things


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## Tom-Tx

Strange...

Yesterday I tried to record an episode of Heroes that I had missed. The constant reset bug popped back up again. I just deleted the recoding schedule and switched channels after about 8 or so 1 minute recordings. This was episode number 2 so I started wondering if there was something in the original transmission bask then that was causing the conflict w/ the 942 and they have subsequently fixed / removed.

Anyone else notice any problems in the DFW area?


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## tferrio

Yesterday was a bad day for watching 005-01 in Dallas - NASCAR caused near-constant resetting of the 942. Had to go to SD signal.

Did others have this problem in Dallas or other cities?

Thanks, Tom


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## dishbacker

Another interesting thing... I was watching my DVR recordings of 30 Rock on my 622. I recorded it off of Sat. It was horrible about cutting in and out... in the middle it eventually switched over to SD (but still had the NBC in the HD corner) which would tell me it was a network issue and not a local retransmission issue.

Maybe the overall issue in NBC quality is more than just NBC5?

Also, at the very end of the episode, the video freezed, no sound, and I thought a reboot was coming on. But after about 3-4 secs, it came back. Seems that the Dish Network encoders are able to handle the junk that NBC5 is putting out and therefore its not affecting the MPEG4 channels that the 622 can receive.

I didn't see any issues on Sat night watching SNL OTA, but I think that was via my 622 as well. So, its the best of both worlds... the new MPEG4 channels and no NBC5 reboots on my 622 and a Very Reliable box for everything except NBC5 on my 942.

Guess I'll find out tonight duing Studio 60 if the reboots are still there. Think its time to fine an engineer at KXAS to send emails to when we see it happenning?


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## jayna_95

I ran into this problem again Saturday night while watching World Series on FoxHD (OTA local KMSP) and again Sunday during Vikings-Seahawks game, also on Fox. The problem Saturday occured while watching live (pixlation, followed by signal loss, followed by reboot). Sunday, the signal loss occurred during recording, but when I was watching the recording (prior to it ending), I got a reboot. This happened in January on Fox, then went away until this weekend. Something must have changed in the Fox signal or the 942's software in the last few days.


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## Tom-Tx

Well last night was a real pain for me. I had a few shows set to record, one of which was Heroes on NBC (OTA) in the DFW area. All I had was constant re-boots. Every time the 942 started up again, it tried to record Heroes and then locked up. I finally had to disconnect the ant and delete the recording. By the time all had settled down, 45-minutes of other recordings were lost.


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## jayna_95

Well, the problem with Fox-HD (OTA) in Mpls continued last night. Watching the WorldSeries (signal strength = 90-91) was filled with sound dropouts followed by pixelation followed by signal loss help screen followed by reboot. I used the split screen feature on my TV to view the OTA signal directly to the TV's tuner on one half and the output from my 942 on the other. The TV's tuner side was flawless, so the problem is clearly in the 942. I also experimented with the local ABC (KSTP-HD) OTA signal and it seemed to be fine during Boston Legal. So, something must've happened to the Fox signal between the end of the ALCS and the beginning of the WS (I'd had no problems like this since January before this weekend). Anyway, I called Dish and, of course, they said this was the first they'd heard of this problem, but would let engineering know about it. They said that if the problem isn't corrected in "a couple days" to call them back. Question for the group: Should I use this as an opportunity to swap the 942 for a 622 and subscribe to the Sat feeds for my local HD channels?


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## Tom-Tx

jayna_95 said:


> ....Question for the group: Should I use this as an opportunity to swap the 942 for a 622 and subscribe to the Sat feeds for my local HD channels?


Isn't this a problem for the 622 as well? I have a yearly subscription that will expire in December, and I have been thinking of signing up for the upgrade but am afraid of facing the same or at worse, new problems.


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## jayna_95

Last night I watched a couple of recordings from ABC-HD (OTA) that were recorded in the last few days and they were fine, unlike the Fox recordings mentioned earlier. However, I had another reboot occur in the middle of watching a recording of a SD sat channel (ComedyCentral) while nothing else was going on (ie. no background recording). This is a new phenomenon to me, does it mean that my hard drive could be going bad?


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## Moridin

Maybe, maybe not. I've experience that sort of behavior if the OTA tuner is tuned to, but not necessarily recording, a station that has a sporradic dip in signal strength.


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## jayna_95

Tuner might've been on Fox at the time - I do recall something similar a few months ago. Probably a good idea to keep tuner on non-OTA channel whenever possible - unless dish figures this out and solves it.


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## Tom-Tx

jayna_95 said:


> Tuner might've been on Fox at the time - I do recall something similar a few months ago. Probably a good idea to keep tuner on non-OTA channel whenever possible - unless dish figures this out and solves it.


I too have experienced these hiccups associated with a weak OTA signal. Luckily in my area a weak signal is very rare. I believe that the hiccups are caused not only by a weak signal, but also whatever else the 942 doesn't like (example: suspected data stream thingies for NBC in the DFW area).
The thing you have to remember is that the box has 3 tuners. The OTA is dedicated for OTA thus you can't put it on a non-OTA channel, but you could keep it on the most reliable OTA you have in your area. This is a bit of a pain and again luckily for me an unnecessary step.
Oh and the "...unless dish figures this out and solves it." :lol: This digital, HD. HDMI, etc. stuff is still too new and with everybody doing their own thing slightly differently, I think it will be a while yet before all those involved learn to play nice with each other.


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## jayna_95

Well, last night, the Fox OTA signal was unwatchable via my 942 - even worse than before. However, it was pristine on my TV's built in tuner. The thing I don't understand about this is that I had no problems prior to last weekend. Also, signal strength (or, rather weakness) doesn't seem to be a factor. My local ABC signal is only in the 70s, yet works fine. The problematic Fox signal is around 90.


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## kmcnamara

Tom-Tx said:


> Isn't this a problem for the 622 as well? I have a yearly subscription that will expire in December, and I have been thinking of signing up for the upgrade but am afraid of facing the same or at worse, new problems.


I upgraded from a 942 to a 622 about 3 weeks ago. No reboots so far on any channel. YMMV. Of course there are other issues on the 622.


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## zerokills

kmcnamara said:


> I upgraded from a 942 to a 622 about 3 weeks ago. No reboots so far on any channel. YMMV. Of course there are other issues on the 622.


I just moved to the DFW area (Arlington) from Sac, CA. Never had a problem with NBC in CA, but ever since I've moved here, it seems to be a regular thing with OTA channel 5. Mostly with Hero's and SNL. Happened tonight with Law & Order. Guess I should call Dish and get a complaint going.

Kmcnamara...were you able to get a good deal on your upgrade? Any tips? Tks.

...does everyone who has this problem have the box set on 1080i? Would bumping it down to 720p help?


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## Jon Spackman

Zero, resolution doesn't help. There is something funky with the data stream from either Dish's guide data or the OTA signal in that area. Does knows about it  . I am hoping a solution will be had shortly.


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## jayna_95

After having nothing but trouble with the FoxHD ota signal for about 2 weeks, it has magically corrected itself in the past 3 days. I watched the vikings-49ers yesterday and, other than the quality of the football, the picture was fine. Only a a couple pixelated moments - no dropped signal, no reboots. And, I don't think dish did anything, so maybe the fox signal was underpowered for a couple weeks for some reason.


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## Tom-Tx

zerokills said:


> I just moved to the DFW area (Arlington)
> ...does everyone who has this problem have the box set on 1080i? Would bumping it down to 720p help?


Welcome to the area! Changing resolution doesn't seem to make a difference. For me it seems the problems start whenever I have set a recording on OTA NBC.


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## kmcnamara

zerokills said:


> Kmcnamara...were you able to get a good deal on your upgrade? Any tips? Tks.


Same deal as everyone else. I opted to sell my 942 on ebay instead of turning it in to Dish (I cleared an extra $200 by doing that). Otherwise, I'm waiting on my $10/month rebate to start. 

However, I'm happy to report that I still haven't had a single reboot on NBC-OTA or anything else.  It's really ridiculous that Dish hasn't fixed this on the 942 yet.


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## quellebeast

Tom in TX said:


> Same here, I tried to watch the NASCAR race tonight, and within 2 minutes, I got another reboot. Hope they can fix this before the new fall series begin!!
> 
> Tom in TX


I have had this prob since I got the 942 last year- I am on my 4th one.

NBC5 KXAS - especially "the office"


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## Tom in TX

I also have a 622, so I watch/record all my NBC stuff on it, so I really don't know if it's still prevalent on the 942!
Tom in TX


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## PLHOG

quellebeast said:


> I have had this prob since I got the 942 last year- I am on my 4th one.
> 
> NBC5 KXAS - especially "the office"


I've used a 942 pretty much ever since they came out. Suddenly last year, it started crashing and the wife figured out that it happened whenever we were watching, recording or playing back programming from our local NBC affiliate (Columbus OH). You guys in DFW were having the same problem with your NBC OTA there. I talked to our station's chief engineer, and she said our station and yours use the same encoders for their digital signal.

L289 definitely fixed our crashing problems, but maybe it was a cooperative thing between DISH and the local NBC station. Clearly the problem started when the NBC stations changed something. I've figured it was something in the digital protocol (e.g. the frame size value in the header not matching the actual frame size in the stream). My suspicion has always been that a bug introduced to the broadcast encoders was exposing another bug in the 942 code.

So if you have L289 loaded, it could be that the local station needs to change something too (ie a software update on their encoders) to make the problem go away.

I've never understood why neither DISH nor these NBC stations will tell us what's going on. Even Microsoft does better.


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