[ratoren]

This has probably been asked a lot on this site, but is it better to keep the 721 on all the time, or turn it on/off several times a day?

I ask because my kids stayed home this week, and turned everything on/off several times. I had to reset the unit yesterday, which I haven't had to do in several months.

This is probably like asking if I should keep my computer on all the time, and will get the same number of yes/no answers, but just wondering.

Thanks all.

 

[Bowlin]

Others more knowledgeable than I may respond, but here's my take:

First, you cannot turn the 721 "OFF." When the green power light on the front panel goes out in response to you thinking you've turned it off, it just shuts down part of the box, but most of the box is still alive and active. In fact, after one of the recent software upgrades, even the video generator is still on as it generates that "Press Select to Continue" message that floats around the screen with the Dish logo.

After it's been "off" for some time, the disk may spin down, and that's probably an advantage to turning it off. Don't be surprised, though, if the disk spins up from time-to-time, even when the unit's been "off" for days.

The only way to truly turn it off is to remove power from it as in unplugging it. That's a royal PITA, though, because when you do turn it back on, it has to do a full boot, find the satellites, load the guide...and that can take quite some time. Plus, of course, it won't execute any timers without power.

All that said, I've had a 721 for a couple years. I turn it "off" every time I stop watching. It remains essentially happy and stable. Sure, it goes "wonky" every month or two and has to reboot (or be rebooted), but we've come to expect that from most complex computerized devices these days and certainly from Charlie's crack engineering team.

 

[Charise]

I, too, have a 721, and I also turn it "off" when I'm not watching. I haven't had to reboot since February, so mine is working very well with this method.

 

[rcwilcox]

Well I almost never turn mine off but it turns itself off after a couple of hours anyway, I have had it for 3 or 4 years just have to reboot from time to time say 5 times a year or so. Do not unplug do not disconnect it can take forever to stabalize

 

[flatus]

even the video generator is still on as it generates that "Press Select to Continue" message that floats around the screen with the Dish logo.

I wish they would replace the floating logo with the current weather forecast. It wouldn't seem as 'wasteful' then.

 

[kstuart]

Actually, it is better to leave your computer on all the time, and is better for a hard disk not to spin down and up and down and up (I checked this with a hard disk drive engineer).

Heating and the cooling is the enemy of electronic longevity - leaving things running at the same temperature 24/7 is better.

But, as far as my 721, I leave it on all the time - simply because if it is "on" then it will use the background tuner to record, and then I won't be spoiled if I turn the TV on in the middle of a sports event or dramatic program that I am planning to watch later...

 

[flatus]

Actually, it is better to leave your computer on all the time, and is better for a hard disk not to spin down and up and down and up (I checked this with a hard disk drive engineer).

If you have power saving enabled, the drive will spin down automatically. The electricity you would waste by leaving your computer running at full power 24/7 will far outweight the replacement cost of a disk drive. Buying a new drive every 2-3 years has more benifits than trying to preserve an old one by wasiting electricity.
The new hybrid disk drives will spin down even more frequently