New ViP211 Adventure

[Foxbat]

I did my part to keep our economy running, what with Black Friday and Cyber Monday and all. I took Dishstore up on their Thanksgiving Day special and ordered a ViP211 to replace my 811. I like the new GUI on the 942 and going back to the 811 made me jones for the 3-hour guide w/video and descriptions liek the 942. The extra 10% was the extra push I needed.

I came home tonight to find that UPS had delivered the ViP211,, so I knew what I'd be doing tonight! It took all of ten minutes to disconnect the 811 and plug in the 211. It would have gone faster, but Dish moved the connectors around a bit between the two, and I added the CAT5 Ethernet cable (even though it isn't doing anything yet) for the future. Since my set in the bedroom doesn't have HDMI and to minimize the chance that pushing the receiver around might stress the HDMI connector, I left that off for now (awaiting a new HDMI-equipped flat panel some day?)

After a last minute check (hmmm, only one set of analog audio outputs, so I need to find my RCA "Y" cables) that everything is plugged into the right jacks, I do the smoke test and the ViP211 springs to life. I get to aim my dish (w-w-w-way ahead of you, buddy) and run a switch test to introduce it to my DP34. ViP does its 3 tests, finds the right satellites, and gets to downloading the latest firmware.

Reboot, and I'm looking at a screen that says "You haven't activated your receiver yet" so I call 1-800-333-DISH and hope for a good technical CSR. Bingo, he understands that I'm swapping out my 811 for the ViP211, gets the R# and S#, and even makes it my primary receiver (thinking ahead to the ViP622). No change is necessary to my legacy HD Pack + Voom originals, he says, unless I want to go the metal DishHD? No, thanks, I say, I just want to swap the receivers.

Bingo, a quick ten minutes of being on hold and my receiver is now restarting. After it comes back up, he walks me through some screens to make sure that is well, but my HD channels are red. Wait for 30-45 minutes, he says, and call back if it hasn't changed. I thank him for his time and hang up.

(now we come to the part of the story where it goes to heck in the proverbial handbasket)

45 minutes later and I still do not have HD And, in addition, my OTA ATSC channels that I scanned in and verified nice, strong signals on, do not appear in the guide and cannot be tuned in no matter what I try. Hmmmm, sounds like I don't have an HD-enabled ViP211. Well, I can watch the fish swim around in HD on 9443, but that's it. If I try to watch HDNet or any other HD Pack or Voom Original channel, I get:

Attention [765]

To activate your receiver's high definition functionality
please call 1-800-333-DISH (3474)

[ OK ]​

I'm sorry, but it is NOT OK. So, I call Dish again, and get a very nice woman who doesn't have the ViP211, but does have an HD set and seems very familiar with HD in general. I could continue to bore you with the details, but after spending an hour and twelve minutes on the phone with her, Dish was unable to get my ViP211 to believe that it was allowed to receive my HD channels.

Here's my question to those of you with ViP211s: When you look at the System Info screen, how is your ViP211 identified? Mine says "ViP211 - SD", and I think the "SD" means that it is not HD-Enabled. The CSR says that my receiver has been sent the "HD-Enable" signal, so either the receiver is defective, or I just need to wait to see if maybe my receiver picks up the right bits...

 

[gjh3260]

sorry to hear about your horror story. I checked my 211 and it says ViP211- HD. Hope your problem gets fixed.

 

[Foxbat]

I checked my 211 and it says ViP211- HD. Hope your problem gets fixed.

Thanks, that confirms my suspicions. The CSR didn't think SD meant Standard Def, but if yours says "HD" and you get High Def, well, I'm willing to go with my original assumption.

Back to my troublshooting: I noticed that my ViP211 hadn't "phoned home" yet, so I forced it to do the Connection Test on the Diagnostics menu. The first two times it tried, the box came back "FAILED", and then rebooted. I thought the modem might be bad, so I went into Dish Home and brought up my account. Worked like a champ, so the modem is good. I tried the Connection Test one more time and this time it succeeded! So, now the DishNetwork mothership should know where this ViP211 is.

I guess I should just go to bed and try calling Dish again in the morning. I'll leave it in Stand-by and see if it gets authorized during the night.

 

[Foxbat]

Well, Claude PM'd me and I tried the CSR roulette again. CSR #3 told me I "the 211 is not compatible with my current equipment" and that I need to get a Dish 1000 in order to receive the 129 satellite position before it will work.

However, she did say that the ViP211 needs the HD enabled which is why my OTA ATSC channels are not available. Time to go Silver, I guess. So much for my grand 811 replacement plan.

I just wish that one of the first two CSRs had enlightened me that the ViP211 requires a DishHD metallic package in order to receive even the legacy HD programming, it would have saved me a lot of time typing tonight!

 

[Foxbat]

I'm coming to the conclusion that I mucked up here in not pressing the first two CSRs to fix my situation. At this point, I don't care about my HD Pack + Voom on the 211, I just want to be able to watch my OTA HD stations. CSR #4 now tells me I need the 129 orbital location in order to get the HD Enabling added. The computer will not let them add this without some code that verifies the 129 satellite.

Likewise, I can't sub to the Silver DishHD package until the Dish1000 is installed, so even more time without HD upstairs. I'm tempted to climb up there tonight and aim my Dish300 to 129W, give Dish the magic code, then swing it back to 61.5W!

Foo!

 

[JohnEL]

Do not understand the problems you are having. You say that you have HD programming downstairs, had the 811 hooked up before. I'm guessing that you had HD on your 811 before.
You should be able to receive HD programming now. I had an 811 also and upgraded to the 211. My dishs pointed at Sats; 119,110 & 61.5 for HD. Do not need 129, I did not elect to receive my HD locals that are on 129, as I get them FTA. Maybe look again to the 211 as problem or maybe go back to the 811, "if it works, don't fix it!!!"

 

[Foxbat]

Do not understand the problems you are having. You say that you have HD programming downstairs, had the 811 hooked up before. I'm guessing that you had HD on your 811 before.
You should be able to receive HD programming now. I had an 811also and upgraded to the 211. My dishs pointed at Sats; 119,110 & 61.5 for HD. Do not need 129, I did not elect to receive my HD locals that are on 129, as I get them FTA. Maybe look again to the 211 as problem or maybe go back to the 811, "if it works, don't fix it!!!"

How long have you had your 211? I wonder if it was a case of a change in the system that won't let new ViP receivers work with the Legacy HD package or local ATSC channels unless the HD Enabling is added.

I think the issue I was having was related to the "after hours" staff. I called first thing this morning and was told that the ViP211 needs to be enabled to receive the legacy HD channels. Compared to the abuse I was received last night, this morning I had a very nice woman who was very patient with me and explained everything. She also told that my 61.5 dish is just fine (in fact, preferred in my area) for the DishHD Silver package, so I went ahead and set up a ViP622 install for this week with the "Dishin' it Up" promo.

I did find out that my 811 was not pulled off the account, so I will take care of that tomorrow. Now, I need to get to work to pay for all this HD Goodness! :

 

[Kb Cool]

I'm coming to the conclusion that I mucked up here in not pressing the first two CSRs to fix my situation. At this point, I don't care about my HD Pack + Voom on the 211, I just want to be able to watch my OTA HD stations. CSR #4 now tells me I need the 129 orbital location in order to get the HD Enabling added. The computer will not let them add this without some code that verifies the 129 satellite.

Likewise, I can't sub to the Silver DishHD package until the Dish1000 is installed, so even more time without HD upstairs. I'm tempted to climb up there tonight and aim my Dish300 to 129W, give Dish the magic code, then swing it back to 61.5W!

Foo!

Are you saying that you only had the HDpak plus vooms($19.99) on your 811 before with no other programming(basics)? If so, I had the same thing Hdpak plus vooms on a 811. I then upgraded to a 211 receiver, called DISH to activate receiver and they made me purchase the new Hd only pak for additional 15 bucks a month.
What a mistake on my part. I should have kept my 811. Because the additional channels I now receive with the 211 are not worth the extra $15.00...

 

[JohnEL]

I've had the 211 since about March. I did not have to take nor do I have the metalic packages. Those packages started after I changes to the 211. Still have the old HD pack + voom. So I currently recieve my OTA stations ( much better to lock signals via the 211 than the my old 811), the 5 HD stations via the HD pack and the 9 voom(I think) chanels, also the family pack.

 

[Miner]

Foxbat,

I think the problem is the way your account is set up. I just upgraded to the ViP622 a month ago and at the time they CSR (talking to the installer) added the 622 to my programming which included the original 5 + Voom10, but didn't set me up with the new Metal package. Everything worked fine but I upgraded to the Metal package in order to get the $100 rebate. Once I received my first new bill, it showed 1 week of my old package including the $6 HD Enabling Fee that allowed me to keep my old HD package + the HD locals. Its a way to encourage people to subscribe to the new HD package as the original + Voom + HD enabling fee ($10+$5+$6) costs more than the Metal package ($20) per month.

I think you are SOL if you want to keep your old package or just get your locals OTA w/out paying the HD enabling fee. Since you were already receiving the voom channels you have a 3 satellite feed (61.5 or 129), adding a Dish 1000 will not help the issue with HD programming. If your HD Locals are on the satellite (61.5 or 129) that you don't have, you would need to re-aim to that satellite if possible. But that isn't going to help the issue with the HDs.

I don't know if there is anyway to resolve your situation without paying more than you used to pay. I will say the Metal package is slightly better than the original + Voom. Having the major locals in HD is also nice especially here in the NW, with lots of trees that wreak havoc with OTA.

Miner

 

[JohnEL]

I agree with Miner regarding the cost differences except I have the family pack for kids and wife. They like boomerang, science and halmark chs. For me this is the cheapest way to go. Maybe when my annual is up, I'll try to convince wife to change to the Bronze pack, but will also wait and see if they have additional HD programming next april.

 

[bhelms]

I concur with the above re: the legacy pak vs. a new metallic pak. When I added my 622 I originally stuck with the old programming (AT60 + locals + HD Pak + voom). There was also the HD enabling fee required. During a subsequent tech call the techie asked me why I didn't go to HD Bronze + locals. It actually worked out to be $1 per month cheaper (no HD enabling fee) and that allowed me to get the extra MPEG-4 headered HD channels that only the ViPs could receive, which at that time was 10 more channels including ESPN2-HD. All additional HD channels including HD LiLs (if they ever add them for my/your DMAs!) will be in MPEG-4 and you need a metallic package to get them.

Bottom line: if you have a ViP receiver, I think it's foolish to stick with the legacy HD programming package. Of course, YMMV...!

 

[kb7oeb]

HD locals only require a mpeg4 box, they are included in any local package subscription.

 

[Foxbat]

Well, I wanted to put in an update on this post. The local Dish installer came by towards the end of the install window and made quick work of disconnecting the 942 and hooking up the ViP622 (not like I couldn't have done it, but Dish wanted the installer to check over my dish farm since it's covered on the extended warranty and now I have a leased receiver.)

He called in the receiver's numbers and within five minutes we had Silver DishHD up and running. Now, was that so hard? Compared to the brick walls I was running into before, I was relieved to have everything working as before. Better, since now I can watch WorldSport and all those old episodes of "UFO" that I haven't seen in ages!

I did find out that Dish still had my old 6000 on my account even though I had removed it last year when I got the 942. I told the CSR to remove the 6000, the 811, and the 942 from my records just to make sure that there were not problems in the future (say, my old 6000 shows up in some pirate's home) and I am held to account for it.

One big plus of my ViP622 over my DVR 942: It is a lot quieter! I didn't realize how loud the 942 had gotten until I shut off the UPS to remove power to it. The new ViP622 is much quieter, to the point that I can't hear it over the background noise of the furnace fan. :up

Now, I know what I'm doing with the 811, but I'm trying to figure out whether I should send the 942 in to Dish for the $100 bounty, let my brother sell it for me on eBay, or find someone at work with DishNetwork that would like to get into HD. What's the story on 6000/811/921/942 receivers? Will Dish allow these to be added to existing accounts? In a way, it would be nice for someone who had an HD set but no way to record local ATSC broadcasts to record Dish SD and OTA HD, but if Dish doesn't allow them to be activated, then I guess it isn't worth anything to anybody but Dish.

 

[Foxbat]

Oh, one last thing: my installer said that I could take the 942, connect it via USB to my computer, and extract the programming so I could burn DVDs of the programming I have on the 942's HDD. I haven't heard of this at all (I think he might be thinking of a Tivo) but I wondered, has anybody ever tried a USB-to-USB connection between their PC and the 942?

 

[lakebum431]

The USB transfer to the computer will Not work.

 

[Foxbat]

The USB transfer to the computer will Not work.

That's what I figured, but I thought I'd mention it. I mean, if it could be done, this forum would of had this information listed someplace. That's why I chalked it up to installer lore.

 

[kb7oeb]

Now, I know what I'm doing with the 811, but I'm trying to figure out whether I should send the 942 in to Dish for the $100 bounty, let my brother sell it for me on eBay, or find someone at work with DishNetwork that would like to get into HD. What's the story on 6000/811/921/942 receivers? Will Dish allow these to be added to existing accounts? In a way, it would be nice for someone who had an HD set but no way to record local ATSC broadcasts to record Dish SD and OTA HD, but if Dish doesn't allow them to be activated, then I guess it isn't worth anything to anybody but Dish.

They will activate the receiver but not the new HD packs. If someone already subscribes to one of the new HD packs the old receivers will receive all of the HD channels they could before. They are good choices for anyone who only wants Dish SD and local ATSC.

 

[Poke]

Well if you still having issues make sure to E-mail them.

 

[Foyd Zimmerman]

Well if you still having issues make sure to E-mail them.

Floyd,
Yes by all means E-mail Dish. It will get results.