Why do dish receiver have to update every day?

[mopardude01]

If there's nothing new, why must they update every day? Is this really necessary? Thanks

 

[NYDutch]

Updates to the EPG...

 

[mopardude01]

Updates to the EPG...

I've just seen one that specifically said it was for the guide ,this morning. Thought maybe I'd get the guide data for the local channels, but no.

 

[NYDutch]

I've just seen one that specifically said it was for the guide ,this morning. Thought maybe I'd get the guide data for the local channels, but no.

The guide is updated and extended to add another day.

 

[olds403]

Updates to the EPG...

And yet I see channels in my guide that say "to be announced" for days at a time in spite of being updated every day. Hmmmm.

 

[bluenerd]

And yet I see channels in my guide that say "to be announced" for days at a time in spite of being updated every day. Hmmmm.

Dish has sh*t guide data? Why has nobody ever mentioned this?!?!?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Lots of stuff happen in the updates.

Updates to guide data
Updates to Channel Mappings
Software updates of Apps for your receiver

It also does a clean up / optimization of your system to keep it running as smooth as possible at that time as well.

 

[TheKrell]

If there's nothing new, why must they update every day? Is this really necessary? Thanks

As Scott implied above, the nightly reboot also addresses memory leaks. My 4900 never needed this.

 

[NYDutch]

And yet I see channels in my guide that say "to be announced" for days at a time in spite of being updated every day. Hmmmm.

Dish buys the guide data from a third-party provider. They can only publish the data they're supplied. There may be better listings vendors they could be using of course, but that's not my call to make.

 

[ekilgus]

Dish buys the guide data from a third-party provider. They can only publish the data they're supplied. There may be better listings vendors they could be using of course, but that's not my call to make.

The better vendors cost money, that's why.

 

[Bobby]

The better vendors cost money, that's why.

The better vendors cost 'more' money. The one they are using also cost money. DISH is using the same vendor that TIVO is using.

 

[rvvaquero]

The better vendors cost 'more' money. The one they are using also cost money. DISH is using the same vendor that TIVO is using.

And, yet, my Tivo's stay up to date and accurate. DISH still hasn't corrected the stations which changed back in January, despite my notifying them on three separate occasions.

 

[bookworm370]

As Scott implied above, the nightly reboot also addresses memory leaks. My 4900 never needed this.

Yup, a fix for crappy software!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yup, a fix for crappy software!

Or more likely crappy drivers. Remember a lot of the drivers are not done by Dish / Echostar they are provided by whoever made the chipssets being used.

I have learned a long time ago these guys sell DISH these things and promise all kinds of updates after and getting updates from them is like pulling teeth. I know DISH had to change vendors from some of their chipsets because of the lack of support they were getting.

Sometimes there is a lot more going on behind the scenes then we get to see.

 

[DishSubLA]

The EPG can update any time of the day, not limited to daily re-boot. I've noticed that even after I have permanently deleted recordings, the real big savings in HDD space appears AFTER the daily re-boot.

IMHO, the daily re-boot was instituted to avoid the common practice of many Dish subscribers back in the earlier days of Dish, specifically with the first STB's and later the 3900's, etc. or pre-ViP equipment, meaning 1990's and early 2000's boxes.

For some time, the 1990's boxes would NOT immediately show video or play audio when powered on. Instead, a black screen with a message stating that is was accessing--if I remember correctly--or something like that would appear until video and audio could be output. The boxes were waiting for the key in the digital stream to allow access. This can take several seconds to longer than 30 seconds and even up to a minute. This really bothered people, so some subscribers would--either on their own OR from advice from installers/retailers--just leave the box on at all times 24/7. I found this to be an incredibly common thing for Dish subscribers back in those days, and I had family who did this, too. Eventually Dish fixed the long wait for video and audio problem by sending the key at more frequent intervals allowing a picture to appear in about 5 seconds, but people still had the habit of leaving the STB on ALL the time 24/7, sometimes just to have TV in the background or fall asleep to watching TV, and this created a problem:

Well, quite a few customers would call to complain about their Dish system behaving strangely or not functioning correctly. Most often this is because the subscriber had NOT put the STB in stand-by for like WEEKS or MONTHS. The solution was to put the STB in standby and wait several minutes, and this would allow the STB to get the firmware updates it should have gotten a long, long, time ago. I know many who had to do this as they just watch TV a lot and just leave the box on and shut the TV off. So, to elminate this problem of a bad habit, Dish designed the future boxes to re-boot itself once a day, or not too long after if the viewer wanted to continue to watch TV or record.

The daily reboot does a lot, as Scott stated in a previous post, and we all know that a re-boot can fix all many of little problems, and for Dish STB's it is a good "re-fresh," for the new day, but the daily re-boot also ensures that STB's will get the latest firmware update as soon as it is available to be pushed to that STB, and this prevents a lot of costly calls to CSR's and ensures a a better Dish experience to the customer.

The one thing I DO NOT LIKE about the H3 is that if one has NOT had the opportunity to put the box in stand-by, then after about 36 hours a message pop's up stating that "Something is Wrong" because I have gone to long without putting the box in stand-by and the H3 WILL re-boot itself and you can NOT stop it, so I have interruption in what I was watching LIVE because I was not recording it, and the box just dumps and re-boot. That is so irritating. It drives me crazy! It's like an Airbus Airliner that leaves the computer in ultimate control and not the pilot.

Daily re-boot means the end of leaving your STB powered ON at all times of the day and night for days and weeks and months.

 

[TheKrell]

I left my 3900 on all the time without any issue.

 

[Tvland1]

I have my receivers update at times when I know I'm not watching tv.. Problem I have is with my VIP222K. Every day after the update I have to rescan my OTA locals..For some reason I loose all of my sub-channels in the guide with the update but they are all still saved in my local channel list.. Only way I can get them back is rescan and save

 

[DishSubLA]

I left my 3900 on all the time without any issue.

Good for you. But many had problems after some months, and the fix as per Dish CSR's was to put the box on standby--not force a reboot--and wait for the update a few minutes later, and then all was well. I've known many who had to do that way back when, and they then started to shut the box off when not using it overnight.

 

[DishSubLA]

I have my receivers update at times when I know I'm not watching tv.. Problem I have is with my VIP222K. Every day after the update I have to rescan my OTA locals..For some reason I loose all of my sub-channels in the guide with the update but they are all still saved in my local channel list.. Only way I can get them back is rescan and save

That sounds AWFUL, losing our some of your OTA locals. I can tell you that is NOT standard behavior. I can sure understand if you don't want to, but you could consider having Dish replace that unit. Although I, too, dread replacements unless it is absolutely necessary. The best of luck to you.

 

[Tvland1]

That sounds AWFUL, losing our some of your OTA locals. I can tell you that is NOT standard behavior. I can sure understand if you don't want to, but you could consider having Dish replace that unit. Although I, too, dread replacements unless it is absolutely necessary. The best of luck to you.

We only use the receiver in the camper so it's not too big of a deal.. Really strange though.Every day after the update it loses every OTA channel but the big 4 NBC,CBS,ABC and PBS. All of the sub channels and others like decades are not in the guide but still in my list on the OTA locals..