522/625 - L2.90 Software Release Notes and Discussion

[Jason Nipp]

Software Version L2.90 for the 522/625 :

Allows editing of DVR event names
Closed Captioning updates
DISH Pass search updates
Allows * and # prefixes for the phone setup menu
Support for authorization pop-ups 128 and 129
Audio enhancements for ITV applications with audio
Ok and Cancel keys now working on blacked-out event pop-ups 743, 744

[jessshaun]

Allows editing of DVR event names

About time... can't wait until my 625 updates. :)

[mikemorin]

can't wait til my 522 updates! i tried to force it by powering off receiver by remotes and waiting stil on 2.55

:(

[saweetnesstrev]

same here 811 and 625,, and 625 had 2 updates now

[maximum]

L2.58 was released over a month ago and I'm still on 2.55. Wonder how long it will take before they finally to a full distribution update?

[ColoradoDBS]

2.58 was a fix for a disasterous partial software update - it was either 2.56 or 2.57 that caused a large percentage of the rcvrs that downloaded it go to constant Hard Drive errors. If you have 2.55 it just means you never got the bad update and therefore didn't need the fix/restoration. That being said - here's hoping for a quick move to 2.90's quick bug free rollout. I too am looking forward to some of the enhancements.

[maximum]

Oh, so maybe it's good not to be the 1st on the block with the newest software release.

[Racerx]

2.58 was a fix for a disasterous partial software update - it was either 2.56 or 2.57 that caused a large percentage of the rcvrs that downloaded it go to constant Hard Drive errors. If you have 2.55 it just means you never got the bad update and therefore didn't need the fix/restoration. That being said - here's hoping for a quick move to 2.90's quick bug free rollout. I too am looking forward to some of the enhancements.

At this point, I'd be happy with ANY bug-free rollout. This scrap of metal and plastic hasn't worked right, from day one. I never thought cable would start to look appealing......

[Kevin Brown]

Hopefully the video and audio dropouts, skips, etc, will be improved.

[Racerx]

LOL. Are you hoping for better looking skips and dropouts, or just fewer, or no, dropouts. LOL.

[jk-]

New dish customer as of today :) , the installer came this afternoon and hooked everything up.

I have the 625 as part of my subscription and upon first powering up the receiver it downloaded the latest firmware (L290).

So far I have had no issues/annoyances with anything in terms of DVR or receiver functionality...

[allen98311]

how do I make the receaver upgrade to the newest partial software release?

[BobaBird]

:welcome_s to DBSTalk!

You don't. You allow it by setting upgrade preferences to "w/o my permission" (or is this one of the receivers w/o that option?), regularly putting the receiver into standby (aka 'off'), and then waiting your turn. Dish typically does a phased release of updates to "test the waters" before authorizing all receivers to take the update. See http://ekb.dbstalk.com/295. Newly installed receivers have no choice but to get the latest because they never had the previous version. They come from the factory with just enough in the tank to get to a gas station.

[DJ Lon]

I have a DVR-522 with L2.55 and something funny happened last Friday. I always record "Sci-Fi Friday" on ch. 122 from 6PM-9PM as a 3-hour manual timer since Sci-Fi doesn't always end/start on the hour. Didn't think anything of it since it always works but when I got home from work that night there was nothing to choose in My Recordings. The Daily Schedule indicates "event completed by user 2/AV recorded" but yet there is no title for me to choose in My Recordings. Any ideas on what happened?

[Kevin Brown]

I don't have any idea, but I also record those shows, and I've never had a problem with just recording by show (8 months now). If you are paranoid about stop and end times, you could always just manually move back the start time of the 1st show, and then move ahead the end time of the last show.

FYI: Battlestar is repeated Mon night. I'm not sure about the others.

[adv_dp_fan]

I have a DVR-522 with L2.55 and something funny happened last Friday. I always record "Sci-Fi Friday" on ch. 122 from 6PM-9PM as a 3-hour manual timer since Sci-Fi doesn't always end/start on the hour. Didn't think anything of it since it always works but when I got home from work that night there was nothing to choose in My Recordings. The Daily Schedule indicates "event completed by user 2/AV recorded" but yet there is no title for me to choose in My Recordings. Any ideas on what happened?

I've had that same problem on and off for as long as I've had my 522 I think. I've had to go and delete my timers (happens with straight name-based ones too) and recreate them. Then they start working again. Hasn't happened to me in a while though.

[liferules]

Same thing happened re Sci-Fi last Friday. It recorded SG1 but didn't do SG-A, but then did Battlestar Galactica. Weird! I looked and my subscriptions are still there, it just "forgot". These recording timer "glitches" are getting old. Not very reliable and it seems to miss the shows you most want it to record.

Then this Sunday, I had it scheduled to record both NFL playoffs...luckily, I caught up with the Seattle game, having FF'd thru the Pit game. Oddly, the DVT stopped the Seattle game 41 minutes in... I couldn't then get it to record. It said it was already recording, but the red light wasn't on and no timer was listed for it... after a reboot, I finally got it to manually record, but by then it was 21-3! I'll have to check which version software I have...I hope its not the newest!

[Kevin Brown]

Same thing happened re Sci-Fi last Friday. It recorded SG1 but didn't do SG-A, but then did Battlestar Galactica.

You know what? Mine did the same exact thing, but I kept thinking that I must have forgot to record SG-A! Luckily, they repeat them, so I got it the 2nd time. Man, that's strange! That bug affected more than 1 person.

[allen98311]

What I did when I was recording scifi friday was:

Create 3 name based timers, with the following options:

SG-1 -- Start early: 1 min, End late: 0 min
SG-A -- Start early: 0 min, End late: 0 min
Battlestar -- Start early: 0 min, End late: 1 min

I did this so that there is no timer overlap.

[adv_dp_fan]

You know what? Mine did the same exact thing, but I kept thinking that I must have forgot to record SG-A! Luckily, they repeat them, so I got it the 2nd time. Man, that's strange! That bug affected more than 1 person.

SG-A is being skipped because the guide data is wrong for it making the box think it's an old episode.

[Kevin Brown]

Nope. I set up the timers every week manually. Not just "new" episodes. Every week, I do a timer for a "once" recording individually for each of the shows I want to record.

Allen- The 522 automatically takes care of overlapping timers. You don't have to do it manually.

[DJ Lon]

SG-A is being skipped because the guide data is wrong for it making the box think it's an old episode.

It's really not an issue of what I intended to record; it's an issue of me programming the timer, the box saying it recorded it and no title to watch being available in "my programs."

[saweetnesstrev]

Still waiting for 2.90 hopefully patience pays off.

[Jason Nipp]

Still spooling as of this morning. Does not appear to be at full distribution yet.

I don't have it yet either.

[jk-]

Ok, looks like there is a L2.91 firmware spooling now...

Anyone have an idea on the fixes for this new update?

Thanks!

Ever since I've gotten my replacement DVR receiver things seem to be going good (Crossing fingers). I have the L2.90 firmware...

[jk-]

Whoops, check that...I just looked at my receiver and I have the new L2.91 firmware now. :D

[phat_b]

LOL...
From dishnetwork.com...

L2.91, 1/26/2006
L2.90, 1/13/2006
L2.58, 12/12/2005
L2.55, 9/27/2005

All current versions for the 522/625.

How can they afford to test software on paying customers? How do they get comprehensive testing and reporting from John Q. Public? :confused:

[saweetnesstrev]

lol i dont got 2.90 or 2.91 ,, i only got 2.58,,, and 2.91 whats changed?

[LtMunst]

Same thing happened re Sci-Fi last Friday. It recorded SG1 but didn't do SG-A, but then did Battlestar Galactica. Weird! I looked and my subscriptions are still there, it just "forgot". These recording timer "glitches" are getting old. Not very reliable and it seems to miss the shows you most want it to record.



The Stargate glitch has another posting in the 942 forum. It turns out the problem was with the episode data that was sent from SciFi. It is not a receiver glitch.

[liferules]

The Stargate glitch has another posting in the 942 forum. It turns out the problem was with the episode data that was sent from SciFi. It is not a receiver glitch.

Maybe, but its happened before as well. Currently the DVR won't allow me to record both Survivor's debut as well as Dancing with the Stars (I know...my wife...:lol: ). There are no conflicts, TV1 is doing nothing and there are no recordings going before that time, but for the life of me, I can't get it to record both shows on the 2 timers...

I guess my point is that the recording bug is still present.:(

[LtMunst]

Maybe, but its happened before as well. Currently the DVR won't allow me to record both Survivor's debut as well as Dancing with the Stars (I know...my wife...:lol: ). There are no conflicts, TV1 is doing nothing and there are no recordings going before that time, but for the life of me, I can't get it to record both shows on the 2 timers...

I guess my point is that the recording bug is still present.:(


This is a separate bug. I call it the Dual mode timer conflict bug. There are a couple of workarounds. You can switch to Single mode or temporarily switch the default record TV in Record Plus. Either will allow you to get both programs scheduled. I do not see any progress in getting this bug addressed.

[phat_b]

This is a separate bug. I call it the Dual mode timer conflict bug. There are a couple of workarounds. You can switch to Single mode or temporarily switch the default record TV in Record Plus. Either will allow you to get both programs scheduled. I do not see any progress in getting this bug addressed.

I reported this bug to E* almost four months ago. The initial response was that they were working on a fix, to make sure my box was set to automatically check for updates, bla bla bla...

Last week I got ticked off after burning another hour of lamp life off my projector bulb to schedule a 1/2 hour cartoon for my son on tuner 1 (so the wife & I didn't have to watch it) so I emailed back asking if any progress had been made on the issue. The response was that they were unable to reproduce the problem, and it must be a hardware issue.

I've since exchanged numerous less than friendly emails with this tech, and the last word was that I should call in and get the receiver replaced. I don't want to lose all my recordings and timers just to prove that they're idiots, so I guess I'll wait a few more weeks. Then I think I'm going to try to trade my 522 in for a 322 and go out and buy a couple standalone Tivos - at least they'll work as advertised. That or I'll pay more to switch back to D*. :-\

[saweetnesstrev]

My family and i have problems with that too Phat_B

[liferules]

I reported this bug to E* almost four months ago. The initial response was that they were working on a fix, to make sure my box was set to automatically check for updates, bla bla bla...


I can't believe they are pretending that they don't know about it! If they read these forums, or any forums, its the most common complaint by users. That really ticks me off that after all these updates, they still aren't even in the same league as TiVo (which is one of the smoothest, unflawed programs I've ever seen).

Here's hoping the 622 won't have this bug, given its 3 receivers...

BTW, I'm still on L255!

[James Long]

Are those having problems using "Record Plus" settings in Dual Mode to suggest a tuner to be used for recordings? If so, it is best to set up the recordings from the TV that is NOT set to be the "Record Plus" tuner.

For example if TV2 is set as Record Plus and you set a timer from TV1 it will record on TV2's tuner. A second timer set from TV1 that overlaps will record on TV1 (since TV2 is in use). If you set these from TV2 the first timer will be set to record on the Record Plus tuner (TV2 in the example) and the second timer will be set to the 'local' tuner (TV2) - creating a conflict where something won't record.

Record Plus is intended to be pointed at the less used tuner. If you're setting records from both locations don't use Record Plus.

[LtMunst]

Are those having problems using "Record Plus" settings in Dual Mode to suggest a tuner to be used for recordings? If so, it is best to set up the recordings from the TV that is NOT set to be the "Record Plus" tuner.

For example if TV2 is set as Record Plus and you set a timer from TV1 it will record on TV2's tuner. A second timer set from TV1 that overlaps will record on TV1 (since TV2 is in use). If you set these from TV2 the first timer will be set to record on the Record Plus tuner (TV2 in the example) and the second timer will be set to the 'local' tuner (TV2) - creating a conflict where something won't record.

Record Plus is intended to be pointed at the less used tuner. If you're setting records from both locations don't use Record Plus.

Whether by design or by software glitch, this type of timer behavior is not acceptable. The receiver should use both tuners for scheduled recordings when conflicted regardless of which tuner is the default or which TV the recording was set from. Yes, there are workarounds for this bug, but this should have been fixed long ago.

[LtMunst]

Then I think I'm going to try to trade my 522 in for a 322 and go out and buy a couple standalone Tivos - at least they'll work as advertised. That or I'll pay more to switch back to D*. :-\

Ok, don't be hasty. This would be biting off your nose to spite your face. Standalone Tivos do not work well for SAT. The picture quality will go to hell since TIVOs recompress the video. Also, with regards to D*, go over and check the forums on their new DVR's. Talk about a horror show!

This bug is easily worked around. If you notice a conflict in your scheduled recordings, simply switch the default in Record plus. Then you will see both programs scheduled properly. A little annoying but minor in the greater scheme of things.

[James Long]

This bug is easily worked around. If you notice a conflict in your scheduled recordings, simply switch the default in Record plus. Then you will see both programs scheduled properly. A little annoying but minor in the greater scheme of things.Record Plus was not intended to be a toy. It was intended to be a set and forget setting. Changing the Record Plus setting after setting up events is an invitation to miss recordings.

Using the proper TV to set the recording up is not a 'workaround' ... it is the correct way to use your equipment. To do otherwise is like complaining that the receiver takes a long time to boot up and download the EPG when you plug it in to watch TV.

[LtMunst]

Record Plus was not intended to be a toy. It was intended to be a set and forget setting. Changing the Record Plus setting after setting up events is an invitation to miss recordings.

Using the proper TV to set the recording up is not a 'workaround' ... it is the correct way to use your equipment. To do otherwise is like complaining that the receiver takes a long time to boot up and download the EPG when you plug it in to watch TV.


James, Are you kidding!!! People are having problems with the 625 (942 also) not recording 2 things at once and you have an issue with me telling them how to get it to work??? Your acting like I told them to open up the box. The fact is Record Plus is NOT a set and forget setting. It should be, but unfortunately many of us have problems with 2 programs recording simultaneously.

I prefer to have my receiver default to TV1 so that my recordings do not interfere with my wife on TV2. I also prefer to set all my recording from TV1. Now, when 2 programs conflict, the receiver will not record both. I have 2 choices, switch to Single mode or temporarily change the default back to TV2.

I'm sorry that TV1 is not the "proper" TV. Dish gave us the option to change the default in Record Plus. Crazy me, I did not realize we weren't supposed to use it.

Guess I should just accept that the receiver will not record 2 programs at once. I know how to do it, but to do so would be using the receiver as a "toy".

This whole idea that we should somehow anticipate conflicts by setting timers from a correct TV is ridiculous. I watch programs on both TVs. When I see something I want to record, I should not have to think "Is this the right TV to set this from?".

[James Long]

James, Are you kidding!!! People are having problems with the 625 (942 also) not recording 2 things at once and you have an issue with me telling them how to get it to work??? Your acting like I told them to open up the box.No I am not. Don't throw around false accusations.

What I am doing is cautioning people that doing it 'your way' may lead to more lost programs, and reacting to you calling the instructions I gave a 'workaround'.

Folks, if you want to risk losing programming LtMunst's suggestions might work. It isn't hacking, I never said it was and I never will.The fact is Record Plus is NOT a set and forget setting. It should be,And that may be part of your problem - if you are constantly fiddiling with the setting.

You are telling your receiver conflicting information ...
1) TV1 is the lesser TV and should be interrupted for recordings
2) TV1 is the control and should be able to interrupt TV2 for recordings
And when you have a conflict on TV1 you lose recordings unless you go flip the settings again (which could place other events at risk).

And we're back to my last post ... complaining about the boot up time when plugging the receiver in to watch TV.

[LtMunst]

You are telling your receiver conflicting information ...
1) TV1 is the lesser TV and should be interrupted for recordings
2) TV1 is the control and should be able to interrupt TV2 for recordings
And when you have a conflict on TV1 you lose recordings unless you go flip the settings again (which could place other events at risk).

And we're back to my last post ... complaining about the boot up time when plugging the receiver in to watch TV.

So your basic premise is that even though Dish allows us to change to TV1, we should expect to lose 2 program record capability. BTW, this bug also crops up for those who keep the default at TV2 but are silly enough to set recordings from TV2.
This may be by design, but for most people, this behavior is not desired. I think the vast majority of Dual mode users would prefer to be able to set recordings from either TV without worrying whether conflicts would be passed over.

I should not have to tell my wife "honey, don't set that recording here, you better go downstairs and do it or it might not record".

Also, nowhere in any of the manuals/documentation does it say that if you use Dual mode, you must set your recordings from the opposite of the defaut Tv or else lose 2 program record capability.

This is hardly the same as complaining about boot time.

To all-- James is correct that toggling the Record plus setting can cause problems with other programs. That is why I said "temporarily".

Basically these are the options for Dual Mode users:

#1. Make sure you set ALL timers from the single "proper" TV, even though no such requirement is ever mentioned in the documentation.

#2. Switch to Single Mode prior to the problem conflict.

#3. Toggle the Record Plus setting to the other TV with the understanding that you will probably have to switch it back at a later time.

#4. Live with the fact that some conflicts will not record based on where you happened to set that timer.

Personally, I think the best option would be for Dish to simply update the code to allow conflicts to record, no matter where they were set.

[James Long]

The way you are doing recordings perhaps Record Plus is not a good option for you.

[LtMunst]

The way you are doing recordings perhaps Record Plus is not a good option for you.

Unfortunately, there is no other good option. If you turn off record plus, you cannot get conflicted timers to record without specifically picking the tv to record from. If you keep it on, you must set all recordings from a single tv. Neither method makes sense for most people. We want to be able to set timers from either tv, and expect the top 2 priority programs to record as advertised.

What makes it worse is that this undocumented software behavior is resulting in many people thinking they have a defective machine. Calls are being made to tech support with answers ranging from "there's a fix coming" to "we have not heard of this" to "we'll send you a new receiver".

I was told this would be addressed in a future software release. Maybe..

[liferules]

Bottom line: there is definitely a programming flaw with occasional missed programs when trying to record 2 at the same time. The program should sort them out and do one on TV1 and the other on TV2, but it doesn't.

This bug has happened to me whether I try to program from TV1 or TV2 (usually I use TV1 with TV2 set as the Record Plus default).

I hope it gets fixed soon but have my doubts as its been happening for over a year and no fixes as of yet...

[fwampler]

Occasionally my 625 skips audio. Usually 1-2 words. Not very often. I have version L2.58. Will L2.90/2.91 fix the hiccup? Or is this problem due to something else. My signal is strong.

[LtMunst]

Occasionally my 625 skips audio. Usually 1-2 words. Not very often. I have version L2.58. Will L2.90/2.91 fix the hiccup? Or is this problem due to something else. My signal is strong.


This is a common complaint with the 625. My old 625 did this all the time. I have since received a replacement for a seperate issue (HD Failure), and the new machine does not do it at all.

My new machine has a distinctly different HD sound to it, leading me to believe the HD supplier is different. I'm guessing the audio/video pause issue is related to the HD.

[fwampler]

This is a common complaint with the 625. My old 625 did this all the time. I have since received a replacement for a seperate issue (HD Failure), and the new machine does not do it at all.

My new machine has a distinctly different HD sound to it, leading me to believe the HD supplier is different. I'm guessing the audio/video pause issue is related to the HD. Thanks for the prompt reply. I guess that fits in with what I know. My first 625 lasted 24 hours. While I was waiting for the replacement I had no HD at all and the audio hiccups stopped after the HD failed. (Suprisingly enough, the DVR continued to function, other than recording.)They were present during the 1st 24 hours. The problem is not bad enough to ask for a replacement but I'm hoping the HD will last awhile.

[phat_b]

Ok, don't be hasty. This would be biting off your nose to spite your face. Standalone Tivos do not work well for SAT. The picture quality will go to hell since TIVOs recompress the video. Also, with regards to D*, go over and check the forums on their new DVR's. Talk about a horror show!

I know. That's why I suggested geting standalone Tivos first. I just feel extremely put aside by E*'s handling of this minor bug, especially when it used to work perfectly before NBR. Don't get me wrong, I love NBR....

This bug is easily worked around. If you notice a conflict in your scheduled recordings, simply switch the default in Record plus. Then you will see both programs scheduled properly. A little annoying but minor in the greater scheme of things.

The problem with this is that the conflict reappears as soon as the box downloads the guide data again and refreshes the searches. At least that was my experience.

Record Plus was not intended to be a toy. It was intended to be a set and forget setting. Changing the Record Plus setting after setting up events is an invitation to miss recordings.

I agree with you on this completely. My level of irritation with this bug stems solely from the fact that as I mentioned, it used to work correctly before NBR. Before NBR I had in fact set it and forgot it. It worked perfectly and I thought this box (or more accurately the software on the box) was quite nearly the TV watcher's equivalent of heroin.

Using the proper TV to set the recording up is not a 'workaround' ... it is the correct way to use your equipment. To do otherwise is like complaining that the receiver takes a long time to boot up and download the EPG when you plug it in to watch TV.

But I don't understand why you then contradict yourself with this statement. The whole point of Record Plus, and the ability to set the preferred tuner was in essence to allow the user to tell the software which tuner they intend to use the least. E* broke the functionality of record plus for everyone who had tuner #1 set as their preferred or 'least used' tuner, and the way I read this comment it seems that you're suggesting that we were imagining that it used to work correctly. I appreciate your contribution to this discussion James, but I'm a programmer by trade, and I know how things like this happen. Somebody was either lazy or ill-informed when NBR was being implemented and hardcoded the default tuner to #1. It's a perfectly understandable mistake, but one that's easily rectified. My angst regarding it is the fact that they're telling me it doesn't exist and in effect that up is now down and right is left. I really take issue with a company who treats it's customers this way. If I'm mis-interpreting your comments I apologize, but if I'm not then I really can't see why you should be commenting on this further unless you have some information about it that we don't.

[jessshaun]

My software got updated from 2.58 to 2.91 last night... the skip back feature is about 3X faster than it used to be. I'm happy so far!

[saweetnesstrev]

My software got updated from 2.58 to 2.91 last night... the skip back feature is about 3X faster than it used to be. I'm happy so far!

Mine did too :) and 3x faster too :)

[mplsjeffm]

I will just plug the cables from the old box to the new one.
How should I set up some of the settings? I read about problems in changing modes when you have things in queue to record. I, for now, will only use the box to run one TV. I should set it for dule mode, right? What more should I do?
Thanks very much
J

[LtMunst]

I will just plug the cables from the old box to the new one.
How should I set up some of the settings? I read about problems in changing modes when you have things in queue to record. I, for now, will only use the box to run one TV. I should set it for dule mode, right? What more should I do?
Thanks very much
J


If you are only running one TV, keep the receiver in Single Mode.

[totalhavoc]

I just want to know what god I have to pray to in order to get a software update. I'm still running 2.55. 522 receiver set to shut off after 4 hours of inactivity and set to except updates.

[liferules]

I just want to know what god I have to pray to in order to get a software update. I'm still running 2.55. 522 receiver set to shut off after 4 hours of inactivity and set to except updates.


Ditto...

[LtMunst]

I just want to know what god I have to pray to in order to get a software update.

Cthulhu. :lol:

[Heavy A]

I finally got the update last night on my 625.
I was on 2.55 and then 2.58 forever.

For anyone else that is waiting for it, try standing on 1 leg and hopping around in a circle while patting yourself on the head and rubbing your belly. It probably won't help, but will entertain everyone else around you.

[liferules]

Well, I received the L291 this week. I'll have to see if the sound cut outs are any better. I'm also eager to see if the programming conflict bugs are any fewer...

Here's crossing my fingers...

[Shagno1]

The L2.91 download has created closed caption issues on my 522. Only one tuner now displays captions. I had this happen last year on one of the software downloads, and after many pleas it was finally corrected in the next software download. If you call on any L2.91 issues, please mention the caption problem. I've reported it, but of course the CSR didn't really see it as a DISH problem! Thanks

[DJ Lon]

Quick update...

Haven't had any timer problems but over the past week DVR events have become almost unwatchable; tiling, pauses w/catch-ups, audio peeps, can't forward/reverse, box shuts off all by itself, etc. Still software L255--I called Dish; their response, "sounds like your hard drive is failing." They're going to send me a "new" box via UPS (I asked what model 522/625, new, refurbished, etc. - support person wouldn't commit to anything) next week. We'll see what happens.

[DJ Lon]

Quick update...

Haven't had any timer problems but over the past week DVR events have become almost unwatchable; tiling, pauses w/catch-ups, audio peeps, can't forward/reverse, box shuts off all by itself, etc. Still software L255--I called Dish; their response, "sounds like your hard drive is failing." They're going to send me a "new" box via UPS (I asked what model 522/625, new, refurbished, etc. - support person wouldn't commit to anything) next week. We'll see what happens.

A refurbished 522 came via UPS this past Wednesday; hooked it up, no problems. Software is now L291 and other than the skip buttons being erratic and time position banner appearing briefly when pressing stop I don't appear to have any issues with it so far.

[Racerx]

Just noticed I had the update, as well as the past due "rename" feature, about an hour ago. Finally, a practical feature I've been waiting for. Now, if only they would allow us to edit the files, so as to top-and-tail, and remove commercials. THAT would be sweet. Then, I might not have a need to upgrade my set-top recorder to one with a harddrive.