New Caller ID Feature

[Justin]

I recently saw a commercial with Marnie Brooks advertising the new "Caller ID" feature, appearing on the main menu. I leave my receiver off at night time, so it should update.. but I still don't see it. I've tried removing/re-inserting the smart card and the Caller ID feature still isn't there. I have a model 3900 receiver.. and I'm not really sure on the requirements she said, I caught the tail end of the commercial.

Can anyone give me some info on this? Thanks. :)

[DishDude1]

Sorry, no CID on the 3900. It is on 5000, 301, 501/508, 721 and possibly 6000.

[blue]

And even on those systems its a crap-shoot on whether its going to work for any particular installation. Check out all the posts re:CallerID.

[DVDDAD]

Works flawlessly on my 6000, and only occasionally on my 508, even with the grounding attachment they sent me. I bought a separate caller ID box called "Bright ID'er" from Independent Technologies Inc. and put it in my equipment rack. It displays a bright red LED clock when no calls are coming in and works all the time. The 501/508 & 721 don't display caller ID info when recording by design. I've given up on getting the caller ID to work on my 508.

[Lyle_JP]

DVDDAD,

CallerID works perfevtly on my 501 (identical to the 508 in every way but hard-drive space) and it absolutely does work while recording.

[jm9]

I have it working on my 501 and 301. I have distinctive ringing and dsl without a problem. I did have the modem die in my first 501. They made me take the box to a different location to test that the DSL filter was not causing the problem. I said it worked before and just stopped working. They then sent me out a new 501 with out any problems. I think splitters can reduce the signal strength and cause modems problems with a weaker signal. I also run my phone line into the monster surge protector on the 501 to protect it from further damage.

[Cyclone]

Its working on my 6000.

[DVDDAD]

Originally posted by Lyle_JP
DVDDAD,

CallerID works perfevtly on my 501 (identical to the 508 in every way but hard-drive space) and it absolutely does work while recording.

Lyle_JP,

My 508 has only worked on occasion and I honestly couldn't tell you if it ever displayed while I was recording (because it rarely displays at all). However, every time I called for tech support, I was told that Caller ID info will not display while you are recording (by design). Maybe you can consider yourself lucky, but others might not feel the same way if they had the Caller ID info display on a recorded program, to run to the phone to find out that no one was there. For me, I'd like the caller ID to display only when the phone is actually ringing.

I'm not sure if a new receiver would necessarily solve my problem, as there are so many others that have had similar problems like me. Besides swapping out receivers would cause me to lose the 30+ hours of programming on the hard drive. For me the "Bright ID'er" will display my Caller ID info, at least until the 921 comes out and we'll see if they get it right with that box.

[Jacob S]

I thought they already had the caller id features before?

[Poosh]

I have used the caller ID function on my 301 for about 9 months now. It has worked great. I have only noticed one time that it did not display the number in those 9 months when the phone rang.

[tampa8]

1. My caller ID does work while recording

2. It does not show up on the recorded material - nothing from your TV screen does including the picture itself. The recording takes place before going to your TV - not from the screen itself.

3. There is a grounding problem with the caller ID - many posts about it and I think mentioned on a charlie chat or tech chat. Your box has to be properly grounded - possibly meaning your electrical system or outlet has to be properly grounded as well as the dish system itself.

[Lyle_JP]

Maybe you can consider yourself lucky, but others might not feel the same way if they had the Caller ID info display on a recorded program, to run to the phone to find out that no one was there. For me, I'd like the caller ID to display only when the phone is actually ringing.

The caller ID display is just a screen overlay, it is not part of the picture signal being recorded to the hard-drive and will not show up when played back later. It's the same thing as bringing up the program guide in the middle of a recording, the program guide won't pop up out of nowhere when you watch that recording again.

[xgrep]

Originally posted by Lyle_JP
The caller ID display is just a screen overlay, it is not part of the picture signal being recorded to the hard-drive and will not show up when played back later.True on PVR-type units. On my 301, it shows up on the recording. It was funny the first time, but got tired real fast.

What would be really nice is if you could set CID so that it wouldn't display during a timer event, but would otherwise. In order to avoid recording CID alerts, I have it set off all the time, but it would be nice to have it on while watching TV.

x

[BobaBird]

A solution for that problem was designed for the first Dish receiver with CID. The 5000's 2nd set of A/V outputs is designated "VCR" and does not get the overlay. This is not an option for the 301 but is something to wish for in the non-existant "401."

[Marcus S]

There is a caller id bug where distinctive ringing caller id works on the 5000 & 6000 but does not work for most on the 501 & 508. If it is working for you it is by shear luck. It was also discussed on the last Charlie Chat that their engineers are working with the modem manuf to find out if it can be fixed.

There was a similar problem on the Dish Player where the Dish Player would not detect an incoming call waiting call if it was a distinctive ring interrupt tone. I finally dumped it after I realized how complacent WebTV was about fixing problems.

Here is a more complete comparison list of both current and discontinued E* receivers features.
E* Receiver Feature Comparison (http://echostar.swiki.net/101)

[switzma]

Anyone think the caller id feature will ever make it on the 4700's or 4900's? Didn't know they could even do it. I assume the modem would need to have that feature

[Marcus S]

Nope, the 4700 has a different modem than the 4900 which is capable of caller id. Charlie cheapness by merging software, it will never happen now because it would make the products unique again.

[reddice]

I don't use the caller id.