GaryJC
12-25-02, 09:23 PM
I just found this forum. I looked back a few pages in hopes of not duplicating a thread topic. I didn't see a match, so here goes... (EDIT - I found another thread, discussed at the bottom. Since the problem remains, the information below is still valid.)
501 PVRs don't offer the convenience of discrete on/off codes. Until the recent 1.67 firmware release, I had found two guaranteed button sequences for the 501 that worked like discrete on/off codes. These could easily be programmed into system remote control macros. Here's how they worked...
Before version 1.67, pressing the 501 remote control's INFO button was the same as pressing the SYS INFO button on the 501 console: It displayed the "System Information" screen, even when the 501 was OFF. In new version 1.67, the remote control's INFO button is ignored when the 501 is OFF.
The old version let users program their system remote control to put the 501 in a known on/off state:
501 OFF = Press INFO then POWER. If the 501 is ON, it displays Info for the current program, then turns OFF. If the 501 is already OFF, it displays the "System Information" screen, then turns OFF.
501 ON = INFO then POWER, then POWER again. It goes to the known OFF state (like above) then turns ON.
Restoring this 501 functionality is consistent with other Dish receivers that have dedicated SYS INFO buttons on the remote control (e.g Dish 6000). They behave just like the old 501 firmware, displaying the Sys Info screen, even if the unit is OFF.
If anyone at Dish is reads this stuff, Please Restore this 501 function...
1. When the 501 is OFF, pressing the remote control's INFO button behaves like pressing the SYS INFO button on the 501 console - Display the "System Information" screen.
2. User can exit the "System Information" screen by either pressing POWER (turns 501 OFF) or SELECT (restores prior state)
I realize this was an "unintended feature", but it was achievable using available buttons on the standard 501 remote control.
At other forums, I recently read there are working discrete codes (with remote control addressability) that work with Pronto remotes. GREAT. Why should we have to buy a $300+ remote to preserve/restore functions that should already be in the standard product?
EDIT - Ooops, with more looking, I found a thread that discussed it...
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9814
but the problem is still unresolved. One poster questioned the reliability of the workaround, but it was very reliable, and verified by many people. The reliabilty was due to the fact that OFF macro was guaranteed to turn off the 501 regardless of prior state.
Gary
501 PVRs don't offer the convenience of discrete on/off codes. Until the recent 1.67 firmware release, I had found two guaranteed button sequences for the 501 that worked like discrete on/off codes. These could easily be programmed into system remote control macros. Here's how they worked...
Before version 1.67, pressing the 501 remote control's INFO button was the same as pressing the SYS INFO button on the 501 console: It displayed the "System Information" screen, even when the 501 was OFF. In new version 1.67, the remote control's INFO button is ignored when the 501 is OFF.
The old version let users program their system remote control to put the 501 in a known on/off state:
501 OFF = Press INFO then POWER. If the 501 is ON, it displays Info for the current program, then turns OFF. If the 501 is already OFF, it displays the "System Information" screen, then turns OFF.
501 ON = INFO then POWER, then POWER again. It goes to the known OFF state (like above) then turns ON.
Restoring this 501 functionality is consistent with other Dish receivers that have dedicated SYS INFO buttons on the remote control (e.g Dish 6000). They behave just like the old 501 firmware, displaying the Sys Info screen, even if the unit is OFF.
If anyone at Dish is reads this stuff, Please Restore this 501 function...
1. When the 501 is OFF, pressing the remote control's INFO button behaves like pressing the SYS INFO button on the 501 console - Display the "System Information" screen.
2. User can exit the "System Information" screen by either pressing POWER (turns 501 OFF) or SELECT (restores prior state)
I realize this was an "unintended feature", but it was achievable using available buttons on the standard 501 remote control.
At other forums, I recently read there are working discrete codes (with remote control addressability) that work with Pronto remotes. GREAT. Why should we have to buy a $300+ remote to preserve/restore functions that should already be in the standard product?
EDIT - Ooops, with more looking, I found a thread that discussed it...
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9814
but the problem is still unresolved. One poster questioned the reliability of the workaround, but it was very reliable, and verified by many people. The reliabilty was due to the fact that OFF macro was guaranteed to turn off the 501 regardless of prior state.
Gary