View Full Version : Pocketdish freezes 622
ppepe99
07-25-07, 06:33 PM
Hi: I am a new member. My pocketdish is not working well. It freezes the 622. I called dish network and they blame Archos. I call Archos and they blame Dish Network and say that dish network changed the software and now you can not download from the USB port. Help. Thank you
shortspark
07-25-07, 07:04 PM
Hi: I am a new member. My pocketdish is not working well. It freezes the 622. I called dish network and they blame Archos. I call Archos and they blame Dish Network and say that dish network changed the software and now you can not download from the USB port. Help. Thank you
This has been discussed several weeks ago. I had the problem and so did a few others. It will freeze the 622 but usually the download will take place if you leave it alone. Wait 15 minutes and then do a soft reboot and the 622 will come back on (and of course go through all that bull of finding signals). The thing is the recording of the saved program goes through to the PD even though the 622 shows it is frozen. I don't understand that. This happens on single program transfers and multiple transfers as well. Something is wrong but, as you said, no one wants to take blame for it. Of course it is the problem of Dish as the Archos has had no software updates and it worked fine before. But Dish will not accept responsibility.
I have not tried it in a while so I don't know if mine will still work properly or not. I know one of our members here (Chuck) had the problem as well but the last time he downloaded to the PD everything was fine. Hard to figure.
Another reason may be that Dish recently downloaded software that prevents certain programs from being copied and then retained. By that I mean that certain copyright stuff (such as HBO and Max) have entered into agreement with E* not to allow duplicate copies of their programs. So, they revised the USB software to prevent these programs from remaining on the 622's hard drive after being downloaded to the PD. In other words, if you keep the recorded program on the 622 you can do so forever. However, once you download it to the PD it disappears from the 622. This applies to certain content be it digital or analog. This also applies to transfers to a dvd recorder.
I am pretty certain that all these problems concerning the PD and the 622 freeze are directly related to this copyright issue and the software bug that went along with it.
ppepe99
07-26-07, 02:55 PM
I will try this. Thank you
ppepe99
08-02-07, 03:58 PM
I tried this sugestion and it did not work. The 622 froze and it did not transfer. Any other ideas. Thank you
Did the program(s) transfer to the PD before the 622 hung and rebooted? Like shortspark, I had this problem but in fact the content was transfered. The last time I tried it on the 622 it worked okay but I have not done it in several weeks. I don't remember the software level of the 622 when it last worked for me.
shortspark
08-02-07, 09:02 PM
I tried this sugestion and it did not work. The 622 froze and it did not transfer. Any other ideas. Thank you
The tendency is to stop and reboot once the unit freezes. This is usually the problem. It appears the unit is doing nothing after about a third of the transfer to the PD takes place. But you must not reboot when it freezes; you must let it go for about 15 minutes and eventually the transfer takes place. I messed with it right after it froze and the transfer did not take place. But when I left it alone for 15 minutes (if you are downloading one movie) it sure enough appeared on the PD. Then I did the reboot of the 622.
All I can suggest is to just leave it alone for several minutes longer than it normally would take. Usually, a two hour movie will download in 10-12 minutes so let it run 15 minutes. An audio only file will be shorter. For example, I download operas from the Sirius MET Opera channel that are three hours long but because there is no video, the download to pocketdish does not take as much hard drive space and the download is much faster, about 7 minutes. So, depending on content and how many files you are downloading just be patient and give it a good long time. I bet it will work. If not, then the thing is totally messed up and our pocket dish will have been rendered useless. I will try mine again tomorrow and will report back my results.
I called tech support this evening regarding this problem and they claimed that I was the only person that has reported this problem. I know this not to be true from this forum and I also reported this same problem about 4 months ago and never received a response as promised. I'm ready to ship my PD back for a refund since it does not perform as was promised when purchased.
shortspark
08-03-07, 12:44 PM
I called tech support this evening regarding this problem and they claimed that I was the only person that has reported this problem. I know this not to be true from this forum and I also reported this same problem about 4 months ago and never received a response as promised. I'm ready to ship my PD back for a refund since it does not perform as was promised when purchased.
They lie like rugs! I contacted them a couple weeks ago and received an email from them to either call a tech rep or do it over live chat. The email said they could resolve the issue so I know they have heard of this before. However, I bet it was their standard form letter and the guy who wrote it probably has no clue as to what a pocket dish is. Several other people have indicated in the past they have contacted E* about this problem as well.
In any event, I promised to try it again and did just a couple minutes ago. I recorded Short Circuit 2 a few days ago (don't laugh, it is really pretty cute!). It showed on my dvr screen to be 1 hr. 57 min. long and when I went to download it to the PD the loading banner showed it would take 8 min. and some odd seconds to download. Sure enough, it worked like a charm and the time for the download was spot on. Just like the old days and without a hitch. I can't explain it.
Maybe it just happens with certain stations that have that copyright stuff on it. I checked back on the 622's saved programs after the download and the movie was still showing there and was never deleted after the download. So, I have to assume the station that had Short Circuit did not have the copyright agreement with Dish. I don't recall now what station that was. As I understand it, some stations like HBO and Max won't allow dual replication of their programs. That is to say, the recording on the 622 is suppose to disappear from the hard drive once it downloads to the PD. All along that is what I thought caused the freeze problem (and still might be - at least for certain stations). All I can say is keep trying.
I have had the same intermittent lockups on my 622 while transferring to the PD. Other times it works fine.
ppepe99
08-07-07, 03:18 PM
I tried it again last night. When you try to download several shows together it will always freeze, and will not complete the download at all. I was able to record one show at the time. I woild finish the download and disconected the pocketdish, conected again and download another single program. This seemed to work the best. At times it froze, I let it be for a long time and it only downloaded parcial until it froze, so I rebuted and tried again. It is still better than recording on real time, but what a scam from dish.
shortspark
08-07-07, 04:01 PM
I agree, what a bunch of crap! I still can't help but think it has to do with that copyright thing. Like I said in my other post, when I tried it the other night it worked well but was only one program, not multiple. Someone here (or maybe it was at another forum, I can't recall now) mentioned that if a program is recorded and then downloaded to the pocket dish directly it always seems to work. By "directly" he meant that it was never viewed off the 622's hard drive and was not in "resume" mode. He indicated that problems occurred when multiple shows were downloaded (as you found out) and also when a show has been partially watched on the dvr, stopped prior to completion and then downloaded to the PD. Just too much stuff to fool around with!
Well, in any event, I believe we will see some important stuff about this come up on our software update between tonight and the 15th. It is during this time that Dish will provided us (cross your fingers!!) with roll-out L4.40. This is the long anticipated USB download capability that E* touted so loudly at the CES show earlier this year. According to sources (how reliable I have no idea) the new software will allow us to hook up not only the PocketDish to download programs to but also an external hard drive up to 750gb. However, the downside is that you must pay $40 to enable this feature. As I understand it, even if you get L4.0 tonight you can't sign up for the feature until the 15th. 750 is a lot of storage of course but once a program is stored on the external hard drive it is no longer on the 622 hard drive. It goes from one to the other and can not be saved on both as has been the case with the PD. There is a big thread on this specific topic so I won't go further but maybe, just maybe, this new download will have a smoother transition to other hard drives so as to fix this PocketDish issue.
And I am also hoping it fixes the problem using the PD as the External recording device. That would make it possible to get HD program recorded on the PD (in SD of course) without a lot of hassle.
Someone here (or maybe it was at another forum, I can't recall now) mentioned that if a program is recorded and then downloaded to the pocket dish directly it always seems to work. By "directly" he meant that it was never viewed off the 622's hard drive and was not in "resume" mode.
All the programs that I transfer to the PD have never been watched/viewed. My 622 always freezes up excpet I've noticed if I transfer a program that is 30 min. in length and I transfer them one at a time it works fine. Any program longer than 30 min. or any multiple transfers freezes the 622 up.
Latest update. Spoke AGAIN with dish tech support last night. Again they claimed they have not heard of this problem before. Said there is nothing they can do about the problem and that I need to contact Archos. I advised them it was not a hardware issue and if they could not provide a fix then I wanted to send the unit back for a refund. Dish claims they cannot offer a refund cause they do not sell the PD. I thought pocketdish.com was a unit of Dish Network. That is were I made the purchase. I contacted Archos and they advised me that it is a probelm with Dish. I needed to get a refund from them. So back to dish I go with the same results. "We cannot offer a refund since we didn't sell the unit". What a mess.
shortspark
08-08-07, 01:29 PM
Latest update. Spoke AGAIN with dish tech support last night. Again they claimed they have not heard of this problem before. Said there is nothing they can do about the problem and that I need to contact Archos. I advised them it was not a hardware issue and if they could not provide a fix then I wanted to send the unit back for a refund. Dish claims they cannot offer a refund cause they do not sell the PD. I thought pocketdish.com was a unit of Dish Network. That is were I made the purchase. I contacted Archos and they advised me that it is a probelm with Dish. I needed to get a refund from them. So back to dish I go with the same results. "We cannot offer a refund since we didn't sell the unit". What a mess.
I hope someone resolves this for you but I can almost guarantee no one on either side will admit blame. As I said in my last post, the new USB download software (L4.40) will be coming to us between now and the 15th, or so I have been led to believe. We are hoping that E*'s major undertaking in receiver downloading capability to external hard drives will smooth out the transition for all transfers to hard drives, including the pocket dish (which after all is a hard drive device). Let us pray that it does or our PDs will be nothing more than a glorified mp3 player.
www.pocketdish.com is a Dish Network site so if you got it there, I am sure you bought it from Dish. What does your credit card statement say? I got mine from a Dish reseller, not the web site. The tech support contact number from the pocketdish.com web site is 1-877-300-8879. Did you try that one?
Actually, I would hold off for a few more days since we are expecting a new software release that contains major changes in the USB file transfer process in support of the external HDD. Of course, this is just rumor until it occurs but it sounds likely to occur. Chances are the whole download process has been well shaken out since it would be a major component of the EHDD support.
www.pocketdish.com is a Dish Network site so if you got it there, I am sure you bought it from Dish. What does your credit card statement say? I got mine from a Dish reseller, not the web site. The tech support contact number from the pocketdish.com web site is 1-877-300-8879. Did you try that one?
Credit card statment is from "Echostar Communications" Dish! However Dish still insists they did not sell me this product. Matter of fact I was told by one CSR that Echostar/Dish has nothing to do with the PD except for lending their name. The tech support number on the website takes you to Archos tech support who do not deal with refunds. Dish still claims that I did not purchase the product from them and refuse to give me a refund. They keep sending me to Archos. Archos in turn keeps sending me back to Dish. Back and forth etc.
Well don't accept that crap! Call Dish and demand to speak with the CSR's supervisor. If that person does not understand what the credit card statement says, demand to speak to their supervisor until you get someone that can help you.
Another option you have is to email ceo@echostar.com and describe your situation to them.
I'm sure the problem is not with the PD but with the 622 software. I expect the 622 will be fixed soon so simply waiting a bit may provide you with less hassle trying to return the PD and give you the video viewing experience you originally wanted in the first place.
Sheesh this just gets worse. So I get to speak with a supervisor. Dang if I don't get into an arguement with this lady. She flat out tells me since I do not have the original receipt then the warranty is not valid and they will not replace it. I remind her that the PD is not the problem. The problem is with the receiver and its software. I also had to remind her that I was not looking for a replacement as I would still have the same problem. I simply wanted a refund. Again I hear, "Well this is not a known issue" blah blah blah. They refuse at this point to do basically anything. The supervisor matter of factly told me, "I'm sorry but you are out of luck".
Email the whole story to ceo@echostar.com and explain you want to return the PD because it can not be used as advertised with the 622 receiver. You were mislead to believe the 622 would perform as described.
But, just so you know, mine is working fine.
In all honesty I don't want to return the unit. I can still use it. It will still transfer programs but has the problem of locking up the receiver and having to perfom a front panel reset each time I transfer a program is a pain. The very mention of "refund" and Dish starts you down the trail of no answers. Yesterday I was offered to have the receiver replaced. I declined as I'm on my 3 replacement since December and don't believe it to be a hardware problem. Who knows. I'm just horribly frustrated with the response from Dish each time I attempt to get any answers. They refuse to take any responsibility.
I have emailed as suggested which in turn resulted in a phone call less than 24 hours later. This person I spoke with was very understanding, professional and curtious. Not a hint of attitude that I received from the numerous CSR's I've dealt with thus far. This person promised she would either get me an answer on when a fix is expected or would kindly fully refund the unit. It's a shame that CSR's cannot all display the same professionalism I experienced with this person.
ppepe99
08-20-07, 03:52 PM
I tried a multiple download yesterday and it worked. It may be the new software. I hope they corrected the problem.
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