What the...? Screensaver turns on in mid-program!
Bill
I own a 510, and suddenly, while watching a show, the DISH screensaver
came on. Why? Is there a way to disable that damn thing? I haven't
called DISH. Just wasn't in the mood at the time for diagnostic checks,
resets, smartcard pulled out and back in, etc.
Thanks if you have any info. This has only happened once and with the
new software upgrade.
---Bill
Hallerb
>Hi,
>I own a 510, and suddenly, while watching a show, the DISH screensaver
My 721 did that twice yesterday, for unknown reasons. It didnt interrupt the
recording scheduled at that timr. Its a new nuisance but a minor bug as bugs
go.
my wife asked whats up with that
John Lodge
Yes you can, the Inactivity feature is in the newer Software and kicks
in after about 4 hours of no remote control signal being "seen" by the 501
receiver. The reason is that many subscribers leave their receivers on 24/7
so the guide data doesn't update and the receiver can't download firmware or
do any other internal housekeeping. So Dish coded the Inactivity timer to
let the receiver do those things after assuming the subscriber is not
watching.
Pull up the Menu, goto System Setup, then installation, then select
Inactivity Power Off and toggle the feature off.
John
John Lodge
It isn't bug but a feature that allows the receiver to do internal
housekeeping or Firmware, Guide updates. BTW the feature can BE TURNED OFF,
again ITS not A BUG.
John
MikeD-C05
Unless you turn you sat receiver off every night I would leave the
Inactivity mode enabeled. This feature is a mighty good feature that
comes in very handy. My parents would leave their 508 on at night and
couldn't figure why their guide had to be downloaded every few days
while they waited. Now all they have to do is hit select in the
morning and the disk spins up and they are all set with the 9 day
guide. Cool feature. :D
--
MikeD-C05
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Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> It isn't bug but a feature that allows the receiver to do internal
> housekeeping or Firmware, Guide updates. BTW the feature can BE TURNED OFF,
> again ITS not A BUG.
John,
That would be between 1:00AM and 5:00AM only.
Jerry
Hallerb
>Bob,
>
> It isn't bug but a feature that allows the receiver to do internal
>housekeeping or Firmware, Guide updates. BTW the feature can BE TURNED OFF,
>again ITS not A BUG.
My 721 dids this about 3 PM and once about 7 or so PM.
Like I said its not a biggie, more of another odd occurence. Thats common with
E
Todd Allcock
"MikeD-C05" <MikeD-C0...@news.satelliteguys.us> wrote in message
news:MikeD-C0...@news.satelliteguys.us...
>
> Unless you turn you sat receiver off every night I would leave the
> Inactivity mode enabeled. This feature is a mighty good feature that
> comes in very handy. My parents would leave their 508 on at night and
> couldn't figure why their guide had to be downloaded every few days
> while they waited. Now all they have to do is hit select in the
> morning and the disk spins up and they are all set with the 9 day
> guide. Cool feature. :D
It's a half-cool feature. It would be REAL cool if, after 4 hours of
inactivity, it powered down to do it's housekeeping and after a period of
time- say, an hour, it came back on so you DIDN'T have to hit select.
Then the feature would be there, but you wouldn't even know it was there...
John Lodge
That is blatantly wrong. The new inactivity timer that Dish incorporated into
the 501,508, 510 software specifically looks for a remote control signal if a
signal is NOT received within 4 hours the receiver is placed in suspended mode
and the "screensaver" is output on the Video jacks and the RF output is shut off.
Again the inactivity feature will kick-in after about 4 hours independent of the
time on the clock, it could be noon for that matter.
John
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> That is blatantly wrong. ...
Oh, nonsense. If you are able, negotiate the menus to:
MENU => 6 System Setup => 1 Installation => 9 Inactivity Power Off
and then highlight "HELP" and push SELECT.
Now read.
Those of us that have 508 receivers that have never had a problem and
have this nice feature enabled, do NOT see the receiver power off after
four hours inactivity except during the wee hours that DISH says the
feature requires.
I was simply trying to help and did not mean to embarass you.
Jerry
Hallerb
>How could it not be a bug if it came on during a program he was
>watching? Sounds like a Microsoft Feature.
>
>Tom Veldhouse
I had been on that channel at most a hour, and it wasnt the middle of the
night:(
Good old Dish, a new day a new bug.
All cpurtesy of the incompetents:(
John Lodge
I did tell the individual how to disable the inactivity feature. BTW,
if you disable the inactivity feature the receiver WILL NOT power down in
the middle of the night to download firmware or guide data.
Although Dish will sometimes force a firmware download usually in the
middle of the night, but Dish's single tuner DVR's with the inactivity
featuer turned OFF the receivers do NOT do any automatic housekeeping in
the middle of the night. How do I know? I have been on occasion up all
night and the receiver has never done it as well as if the receiver is on
all of the time with the inactivity feature turned off the guide data gets
older and older until I'm forced to do a guide update. I leave my DVR's on
all of the time.
John
John Lodge
It isn't a BUG as the inactivity feature tracks the amount of time since the
last remote signal if you watch hours and hours of programing or leave your DVR
on the same channel for hours, this can quite easily happen. If you don't want
this to occur the feature can be toggled off via the menu in the receiver, by
default the feature is toggled on.
John
"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 13:36:37 GMT, John Lodge
> <JNOSPAMlodge@Earthlink.**IHateSpam**.com> wrote:
>
> >Bob,
> >
> > It isn't bug but a feature that allows the receiver to do internal
> >housekeeping or Firmware, Guide updates. BTW the feature can BE TURNED OFF,
> >again ITS not A BUG.
> >
> >John
> >
>
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> I did tell the individual how to disable the inactivity feature. BTW,
> if you disable the inactivity feature the receiver WILL NOT power down in
> the middle of the night to download firmware or guide data.
> ...
John,
So I was blatently correct. ;-)
Jerry
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> It isn't a BUG as the inactivity feature tracks the amount of time since the
> last remote signal if you watch hours and hours of programing or leave your DVR
> on the same channel for hours, this can quite easily happen. If you don't want
> this to occur the feature can be toggled off via the menu in the receiver, by
> default the feature is toggled on.
And as pointed out above, the inactivity feature ONLY kicks in after
four hours of inactivity between 1:00AM and 5:00AM.
Jerry
John Lodge
Wrong the inactivitely timer can and with kickin at ANY TIME of the day if the
unit is on all of the time, say you watch satellite for a hour or so when getting
ready for work in the morning and leave the receiver on, IT WILL BE IN SCREENSAVER
MODE when you come home from work later in the afternoon.
The Inactivity Timer works INDEPENDENTLY of our 24 hour clock. The receiver can
and will go inactive at any time of the day and NOT be relegated to going in active
ONLY between 1-5AM.
John
John Lodge
The reason TIVO doesn't have to go inactive or off is two fold, first it has
two tuners so the receiver can and will pull bitstream data while using only one
of the two tuners, secondly DirecTV includes guide data on all transponders
instead of Dish only streaming EPG data on one Transponder for the 44 Hour Guide
on each satellite and only the 9 day DVR guide from transponder 29 at 110 west
longitude. Since all but 721 and 921 are single mode DVR's the tuner you are
watching would have to retune to transponder 29 at 110 and its highly unlikely
you are watching programing on the same transponder so the receiver needs
exclusive use of its tuner to pull down EPG Data and or Firmware updates.
BTW I'm glad you enjoy your Tivo enabled DirecTV receiver and the programing
that DirecTV serves you with. Dish affords me options that DirecTV can't namely
UPN and WB programing as well as Distants on all my receivers instead of only
one receiver via DirecTV's RV exemption program.
John
"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
> So ... why does the damn thing have to power down to download firmware
> and guide data? It is clear it may have to reboot if there is new
> firmware installed. The Tivo gets guide data in bits over about a 48
> hour period and when firmware is newly installed, it will reboot at
> the next 2AM time that has no active recordings going on (and will
> prompt the viewer first as well, in case somebody is watching). I
> NEVER poweroff my Tivo and it does not ever shut down either.
>
> Tom Veldhouse
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> The reason TIVO doesn't have to go inactive or off is two fold, first it has
> two tuners so the receiver can and will pull bitstream data while using only one
> of the two tuners, secondly DirecTV includes guide data on all transponders
> instead of Dish only streaming EPG data on one Transponder for the 44 Hour Guide
> on each satellite and only the 9 day DVR guide from transponder 29 at 110 west
> longitude. Since all but 721 and 921 are single mode DVR's the tuner you are
> watching would have to retune to transponder 29 at 110 and its highly unlikely
> you are watching programing on the same transponder so the receiver needs
> exclusive use of its tuner to pull down EPG Data and or Firmware updates.
John,
Thanks for this clear explanation - I was not aware of this and now it
certainly makes sense!
Jerry
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> Jsheldon,
>
> Wrong the inactivitely timer can and with kickin at ANY TIME of the day if the
> unit is on all of the time, say you watch satellite for a hour or so when getting
> ready for work in the morning and leave the receiver on, IT WILL BE IN SCREENSAVER
> MODE when you come home from work later in the afternoon.
John, so Dish is incorrect when they say in the Menu (And I quote):
INACTIVITY POWER OFF HELP
ENABLE/DISABLE THE INACTIVITY POWER OFF FEATURE
This feature, when enabled, powers off the receiver after four hours of
inactivity, if between 1:00 am and 5:00 am. Interaction through the
remote or the front panel buttons will keep the receiver active.
Select "Disable" to disable the feature.
Select "Save" to save changes.
END OF QUOTE.
Maybe you're simply funning me or else being obtuse, but again if you
are able on your 5XX goto:
MENU => 6 System Setup => 1 Installation => 9 Inactivity Power Off
=> Highlight "HELP" and then push SELECT
To do this I went to one of my 508's that has been inactive for 7½ hours
and yet was stiil in the power up mode. It will be powered down
tomorrow morning when I arise.
You are continuing to promulgate misinformation.
PLOINK.
Jerry (Back to learning.)
John Lodge
Dish has always provided EPG data from ONE and ONLY one transponder per
satellite, Dish's 9 day guide has always ONLY been available on the 110 satellite.
DirecTV handles EPG differently.
Secondly since MY Locals are not available on either Dish or DirecTV, Dish's
Superstation is the only way to get UPN and WB programing in my area except for cable
as the "LOCAL" WB channel is cable only as Time Warner is the local cable company and
they can't or won't get a OTA transmitter for our area. UPN is available OTA but from
a Low Power station that requires a good Quality UHF antenna even within 12 miles of
the transmitter (my Antenna provides an acceptable signal although not exceptional
and I'm only 7 miles from the transmitter).
John
"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
>
> I think you are wrong, because it doesn't get the programming data
> from one transponder, it gets from any transponder ... IIRC.
> Basically, the guide data is always streaming in no matter what
> program is being watched. With two tuners, this is simply faster. A
> friend of mine has his Tivo setup with a single tuner (he doesn't have
> a second feed run yet) and his machine does not behave like the Dish
> DVR and shut itself down for maintenance. It never had any trouble
> pulling down guide data while he was busy recording shows and setting
> up his season passes and wishlists. Within 48 hours there is a full
> 14 day (I think slightly less) indexed guide in place.
>
> > BTW I'm glad you enjoy your Tivo enabled DirecTV receiver and the programing
> >that DirecTV serves you with. Dish affords me options that DirecTV can't namely
> >UPN and WB programing as well as Distants on all my receivers instead of only
> >one receiver via DirecTV's RV exemption program.
>
> I get UPN and WB with my locals ... I don't care about getting it from
> some other location. Maybe I would care if I had experienced them
> (what are they called, Super Stations?), but I haven't. What does the
> "UPN and WB SuperStations(?) and Distants" offer that my locals don't?
> If the answer is timeshifting, then that is completely irrelavent for
> me (Tivo handles that wonderfully). Just curious.
>
> Tom Veldhouse
John Lodge
Again, if the inactivity Feature has NOT been toggled off in the receiver it WILL go
to Screensaver after about 4 hours of no Remote signals REGARDLESS of the ACTUAL TIME.
If you toggle the Activity feature OFF then the receiver will NOT go to Screensaver
mode EVER, or "Power down" by itself.
Even with the inactivity feature ON "IT WILL NEVER ONLY GO TO SCREENSAVER MODE ONLY
BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 1 - 5 AM", The screensaver mode will always be triggered by 4 hours
or slightly more of no remote signals ONLY, REGARDLESS Of the ACTUAL LOCAL TIME ON THE
CLOCK.
John
Jsheldon
John Lodge wrote:
> Jerry,
>
> Again, if the inactivity Feature has NOT been toggled off in the receiver it WILL go
> to Screensaver after about 4 hours of no Remote signals REGARDLESS of the ACTUAL TIME.
>
> If you toggle the Activity feature OFF then the receiver will NOT go to Screensaver
> mode EVER, or "Power down" by itself.
>
> Even with the inactivity feature ON "IT WILL NEVER ONLY GO TO SCREENSAVER MODE ONLY
> BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 1 - 5 AM", The screensaver mode will always be triggered by 4 hours
> or slightly more of no remote signals ONLY, REGARDLESS Of the ACTUAL LOCAL TIME ON THE
> CLOCK.
Err, Dish said "This feature, when enabled, powers off the receiver
after four hours of inactivity, if between 1:00 am and 5:00 am."
The feature is "Inactivity Power Off." This is not a screensaver.
I assume that you do not own a 5XX Receiver and while likely
well-intentioned, you are promugating bum dope.
Sheesh...
Jerry
John Lodge
Last time,
I have TWO 501's one has the Inactivity mode ON and one OFF. I have been sitting in front
of my TV connected to the 501 that has the Inactivity mode turned on, one day around 8am (my
wife will at times get up in te middle of the night and watch TV when she can't sleep) a small
dialog box comes up and tells me the receiver is about to power down if I do not press a
certain remote button. This has happened at other times of day as well.
When the Inactivity mode is triggered (about 4 hours of NO remote signals) the receiver
does display a Screensaver of sorts, with a Dish logo floating around the screen that says
please press "Select".
The Inactivity mode will trigger at other times besides 1 - 5 am, don't believe me try it
for yourself.
John
Bill Henley
>
> Jerry,
>
> Last time,
>
> I have TWO 501's one has the Inactivity mode ON and one OFF. I have been sitting in front
> of my TV connected to the 501 that has the Inactivity mode turned on, one day around 8am (my
> wife will at times get up in te middle of the night and watch TV when she can't sleep) a small
> dialog box comes up and tells me the receiver is about to power down if I do not press a
> certain remote button. This has happened at other times of day as well.
>
> When the Inactivity mode is triggered (about 4 hours of NO remote signals) the receiver
> does display a Screensaver of sorts, with a Dish logo floating around the screen that says
> please press "Select".
>
> The Inactivity mode will trigger at other times besides 1 - 5 am, don't believe me try it
> for yourself.
>
> John
On the one that has Inactivity enabled, call up the guide or something
to generate remote activity and then don't do anything for 6 hours.
Mine will NOT go into standby until it "passes through" the 1AM to 5AM
window. If you use the remote in that window at 4AM, then don't do
anything, I'm not surprised that it would go into standby at 8AM, but
I've not gotten up at 4AM to test<G>. I have powered a 508 on at 6AM
and it was not in standby by 10PM when the TV got turned back on. If
yours do power off after 4 hours in the afternoon, they are different
than everybody else's and you should be aware that most people won't see
your behavior. I have tried it lots of times with lots of different
50Xs.
--
Bill Henley
Jsheldon
Bill Henley wrote:
> On the one that has Inactivity enabled, call up the guide or something
> to generate remote activity and then don't do anything for 6 hours.
> Mine will NOT go into standby until it "passes through" the 1AM to 5AM
> window. If you use the remote in that window at 4AM, then don't do
> anything, I'm not surprised that it would go into standby at 8AM, but
> I've not gotten up at 4AM to test<G>. I have powered a 508 on at 6AM
> and it was not in standby by 10PM when the TV got turned back on. If
> yours do power off after 4 hours in the afternoon, they are different
> than everybody else's and you should be aware that most people won't see
> your behavior. I have tried it lots of times with lots of different
> 50Xs.
Bill,
This is precisely correct and it is what Dish says in their discription
under Help in the menu item. Your description is precisely the same as
on my 508's - there is not a screensaver at any time as there is no way
to cause a frame to be "frozen" for more than 6o minutes.
Jerry
Brian
would go into that mode at any time during the day, as long as it had been 4
hours, but it sounds like that info may have been incorrect.
"Jsheldon" <jsheldon...@his.com> wrote in message
news:4011...@news101.his.com...
Jean-Paul Carter
program, decide to record, then rewind a bit and finish watching. When the
program is done, it goes pvr menu and sits there. I have only seen the
screen saver come on when watching tv and you don't touch the buttons or do
anything.
>>> Brian<br...@mail.com> 1/25/2004 5:39:34 AM >>>