# Why is the 921 so bad?



## Notorious (Aug 18, 2005)

I waited and waited to buy an HD DVR , when the 921 droped it price I bought one. But at $500+ Im astonished that DISH could release such a buggy device for so much money that has to be reset at least once or twice a day. 
Among the 2 most frequent problems are the remote freezing up and you losing control of playback or any other function. Its a disaster. I bought my 921 from Radio shack, will DISH send me a new one? I mean this is highway robbery. My old 501 DVR is so much more solid, how could their HD DVR stink so bad?

What to do?

Thanks.


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

:welcome_s

Well if you just got it, I would suggest returning it and getting a 942. It will cost you a bit extra but you will be happier in the long run. I suggest doing a search on 921 and looking at a number of threads. It should give you a good idea the issues with the 921. THis has been 
covered over and over and over again. Should be easy to find your answers using the search.


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

I must be the lucky one... I had to reboot tonight for the first time in at least a couple of months because mine would not let me go to SD to archive ...


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

I'm with Ron.

If you can, get your money back, and get the 942.

You are aware both the 921 and 942 are going to be replaced with mpeg4 capable models in the next 6-9 months. E* will probably have some kind of upgrade offer, but no details are available.


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## ntexasdude (Jan 23, 2005)

I've had my 921 for about 8 months now. It has worked almost flawlessly. It's actually the coolest piece of gear I own.


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## mwgiii (Jul 19, 2002)

Personally, I think the 921 was a rush job. Dish was trying to be the 1st to get a HD PVR to market and cut corners on the hardware (no HD PIP, etc) and had to rush the software.

I also believe that some of the components in the 921 have changed over time. That is the only explanation as to why some people have almost zero problems and why some people can barely use their 921.

ntexasdude, you need to at least hook up your skyfi to a home kit to be listening to your XM.


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

A rush job? It took them two years to get the first one built and seven months later before they were able to make more than a handful.

Bottom line, it was version 1.0 of an HD PVR for them. The Dishplayer, their version 1.0 for an SD PVR was equally snakebit with awful code. It finally got fairly stable two years after it was discontinued. I was desperate to get HD and didn't want to give up PVR functionality so I grabbed one in 1/2004 the first chance I got. I will be swapping it out for a version 1.0 Mpeg4 HD PVR when they are released (I'm a glutton for punishment, but I like my cutting edge toys.....)"


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## lpickup (Jul 12, 2005)

David_Levin said:


> You are aware both the 921 and 942 are going to be replaced with mpeg4 capable models in the next 6-9 months. E* will probably have some kind of upgrade offer, but no details are available.


Can you state your source for the 6-9 month timeframe? I haven't seen any announcments at all on timeframe and everything I have heard is that the transition will be quite gradual (in the multi-year type of time span).

...Lance


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## cybersleuth58 (Aug 18, 2005)

lpickup said:


> Can you state your source for the 6-9 month timeframe? I haven't seen any announcments at all on timeframe and everything I have heard is that the transition will be quite gradual (in the multi-year type of time span).
> 
> ...Lance


check out cnet's HDTV World : Three ways to get HDTV programming

Here is a direct quote:

With big changes come big sacrifices. Existing DirecTV and Dish Network dishes and set-top boxes won't be compatible with upcoming MPEG-4 services. Neither DirectTV nor Dish Network have announced plans for how their existing HD subscribers will get new equipment--or whether they'll have to pay for the upgrade.

Because the new satellite HD offerings will require new equipment, our recommendation for those interested in getting high-def via satellite is this: wait until at least fall 2005. That's when DirecTV and Dish Network are slated to begin rolling out their new MPEG-4 services and hardware. Dish Network hasn't released details of its MPEG-4 rollout, but DirecTV has already named the first 12 markets to get local HD stations: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, and Tampa. Otherwise, you may have to trade the set-top box you just bought for a new (and pricier) model to take advantage of all the new HD programming.

I called Dish I was given the impression that they had no idea what the whole MPEG4 controversy was about. Not helpful since I am trying to decide whether to buy the 942 or wait. If I know I won't need to shell out $800 or thereabouts for an MPEG4 based system, I would go for it. But with Dish being coy about whether they will help out existing customers I feel it is safer to wait.


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## Notorious (Aug 18, 2005)

Either way its just rediculous that DISH sells an item for $1000 bucks thats mostly a lemon and now they seem to have pretty much abondoned any further real improvements on the unit to focus on newer units. The 921 is what a year or 2 old and they dump it just like that?

That totally makes me hesitant to invest in DISH anymore...todays 942 will be next months ignored unit.


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## Jon Spackman (Feb 7, 2005)

the big difference is that the 942 is based on a much more stable platform (522/625) versus the 921 which is based on the buggy 721. So even if support stopped tomorow for the 942. it would be ok becuase it works, unlike the 921 (i'm embarassed i ever bought a 921, thanks costco for the sweet return policy).


Jon


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## garypen (Feb 1, 2004)

When I had the 721, I found it to be very stable and feature-rich. (Although, I understand the last SW update or two has screwed it up.) I wonder how much of the 721 the 921 uses?


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Actually my 721 is running smoothly and have had no complaints from the person using it and I don't recall the last time I was called in to fix it. I have had the 721 for over a year and I would not classify it as buggy. I am sure some people are running into some issues, but personally I think the buggy classification on the 721 in its current state is an overstatement. 

As to the 921 being born from the 721. I am sure there was a fork in the code. This fork happen well before the 921 was released. Question is after the fork, does the 721 and 921 share common code? My guess is they do not and that fixes are manually ported between the two. So other than using the 721 as a launching point, I believe at this point the code bases are significantly different. This is ofcourse opinion based on a number of factors relating to the projects. Location etc. I do believe the 721 code was not designed for the type of transformation it made to the 921. This I believe is one of the contributing factors to the ghosts that appear from time to time. 

As to the 942 and the 522. Well not sure here. Hopefully these teams are more tightly integrated and there is a common code base and then some plateform dependent portions of the code. 

I guess the point is that we don't really know. However,


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## lpickup (Jul 12, 2005)

cybersleuth58 said:


> check out cnet's HDTV World : Three ways to get HDTV programming
> 
> Here is a direct quote:...


Okay, I've read the quote (which is from a 3rd party by the way, not an official source) and still came away with the fact that there is nothing official and the whole 6-9 months is merely someone's speculation (for E* anyway).

I know a lot of folks are anxious about this, and perhaps it would be prudent to wait. But I personally believe that in 6-9 months the 921/942/etc. will be useless. I think that either a receiver swap of some type will be implemented and/or the transition will occur gradually. Worst case, any NEW HD channels added will be in MPEG4 only, so to receive them, you will need to upgrade the receiver.

...Lance


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

lpickup said:


> Okay, I've read the quote (which is from a 3rd party by the way, not an official source) and still came away with the fact that there is nothing official and the whole 6-9 months is merely someone's speculation (for E* anyway).
> 
> I know a lot of folks are anxious about this, and perhaps it would be prudent to wait. But I personally believe that in 6-9 months the 921/942/etc. will be useless. I think that either a receiver swap of some type will be implemented and/or the transition will occur gradually. Worst case, any NEW HD channels added will be in MPEG4 only, so to receive them, you will need to upgrade the receiver.
> 
> ...Lance


Dish did say they would be going to MPEG4 in the FALL. Then they said later in the year or early next year. Mentioned also in the plan for adding the remaining missing VOOM channels.

Based on their past record this probably means anything from next month to two years from now for an initial limited rollout.


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