Miraculous Self Healing 508

[mike1002]

Got up this morning and flipped on the receiver to the Holiday Channel and the music was only coming from one channel. The right channel was silent. Or at least it seemed that way. If I cranked my audio receiver's volume up to near max I could hear the right channel. I then spent about an hour troubleshooting cables and switchboxes. All to no avail. My mind then went to having to ship the 508 back to get another one. I then tried rebooting the 508 on the off chance that audio is controlled by digital values. After it rebooted it went into downloading of the program guide and voila, the right channel was back. It seems more and more that we should treat these things as PCs. When in doubt....reboot.

Alls well that ends well. Merry Christmas everybody.
:D
Mike

[gcutler]

This is effectively a moderately sophisticated PC we have sitting in our entertainment centers. There is always the chance of something flaking out that requires a reboot. As long as it isn't once a day or once a week you are ahead of the game :D

[Jacob S]

It is a computer, just a different kind than the desktop, and will flake out just as a desktop would.

[MrAkai]

<rant>All "Flakeouts" on PC or DBS reciever are results of bugs or poor programming.

Just because Microsoft has conditioned people to think crashing appilcations and operating systems in an acceptable level of reliability, I've noticed a general apathy around crashing home electronics, where there shouldn't be.
</rant>
When was the last time you rebooted your VCR? :)

[gcutler]

But a VCR can only do a few # of specific things (Play SL or LP tape, Record SP or LP, Foward, Reverse, Scan FF, Scan RR, Record up to 8 events at a certain time).

A PC or Reciever does alot more things (go thru the menu and just count the # of commands and settings). Comparing a VCR which is Analog to something dealing with digital and things go very different. My CD Player would sometimes "Crash" when I put a junky CD in and it would freak out and require a power on or off (or eject of the CD and reinsert). But even that a PC or Reciever does more than CD player, DVD player closer and I've had my DVD player lockup or go wacky on me.

[TomCat]

Originally posted by MrAkai
[B...Just because Microsoft has conditioned people to think crashing appilcations and operating systems in an acceptable level of reliability, I've noticed a general apathy around crashing home electronics, where there shouldn't be....[/B]

You are exactly right, sir. And it doesn't have to be that way. I've had an iBook running OS X for over a year, which I use at least a couple hours every single day. I never shut it down, just let it sleep, and I have had to reboot it exactly once.

[Loose Cannon]

gcutler,

A VCR is only partially analog.

Loose.

[DarrellP]

Mike1002, it looks like you are fairly new to this forum, so you've probably missed all the excitement us "oldtimers" have had with the 501. It is well known that the 50x series needs an occassional reboot. I do mine at least twice a month. Before the latest software patches, it was more like daily just to keep it running in half way decent shape.

[mdrobnak]

DarrellP,

That's very strange...I had a 501 since May, iirc. I've only had it "glitch" on me maybe twice in that time, where it did not play a program back correctly. Other than that, it's been a very good item.

-Matt

[Jacob S]

I did not think the 501, 508 was run off of Windows but Linux or some other program.

[mike1002]

DarrelIP - Yeah I'm new here. But I have been reading about the history of the 501. Makes me glad I entered when I did. I love my 508 though. Even with its little 'eccentricities'. It has helped me clean up my tube watching. No longer do I waste time channel surfing. I've got all I can do to keep up with the stuff I find in SEARCH and my ongoing weekly shows.

I definitely appreciate having a place to come and commiserate with fellow-50X owners. Its a great place to confirm goofy happenings on the Dish Network.

Thanks folks for your replies.
Mike

[Unthinkable]

Wait until you see the miraculous self rebooting/crashing 501/508...

[mike1002]

I put up with Windows 3.1/95/98 all these years and they did it daily. The 50x is much better. Its not XP or 2K yet but its getting there.


Mike