New Freeview Dish TV recorder - 1TB, Chromecast support, 4K HD

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Master Geek
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#2155170 6-Jan-2019 08:44

psychrn:

Is there a way to remotely record a programme from say a cellphone yet. I used to be able to do this with TIVO??

From what I can see, there is no way to record from a Cell phone, but you can just stream the programe on demand from the main channels if you forgot to record something.

Smithy

Smithy47

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#2155172 6-Jan-2019 08:56

DickDastardly:

No, my comment wasn't a jab at all.

My comment was that as you haven't paid for the box (fact) but if you had paid $400 bucks and it just provided you with an annoying cause of frustration (as in not working correctly), I can see why the earlier poster would be annoyed enough to call the box junk. Just look at the history Dish TV has on this site for customer frustration.

My respect also extends to the fact I would be keen to read your review of the box, yes you have provided a few more comments now, but again, respectfully this isn't a review.

Do you actually have an A2 box to make these comments? freitasm got one sent to him as the nature of his job, I have purchased one myself mid Dec and had a few teething problems at the start, but since the update to 118 it is working really well so far and find it quick and easy to use, (even my wife said it was easier to use than the T2200 we had).

Are there any question you want answered on the box?

Smithy

Lewk

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#2155174 6-Jan-2019 09:30

I am looking at purchasing one of these so we can return our Sky box. My wife records mostly freeview series and plays them back when she is doing ironing etc. I am interested in hearing comments from those using them and how the update to 118 has improved it. I see The Warehouse has them for $349 but there is only one review comment from a customer on their website - "I am an ex TiVo user and I feel this unit does not come up to it. No hdmi cord or batteries included. Remote very flimsy and slow when giving commands. Comes with no instructions or information"

I am not worried about a lack of an HDMI cable or instructions but find the comment on the remote very interesting. The confusing thing is the information on the Warehouse site says you can record two channels either on terrestrial or Satellite. Then in the Features and bennefits part is says you can record 4x Channels. We have a media cupboard with terrestrial and the Sky satellite cables so could use either one.

We have looked at the Panasonic recorders but reviews on Geekzone for these have been quite mixed and leave you wondering about spending some $350 on something that may not work well.

I realise that we run a Smart dns service and should be streaming these series - and we certainly do do this but old habits sometimes die hard :-)

Keen to get Geekzone members feedback on this recorder particularly after the recent firmware update and how it is performing for them.

IceFragmatic

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#2155178 6-Jan-2019 09:42

I got one in the HN new year sale.

I feel $#50 is a fair price considering the tuner and 1TB storage built in.

The unit can record either 2 terrestrial channels OR 4 satellite channels. You cannot use both sources at the same time (terrestrial carries a higher definition image).

I have no issues with the remote...It is plastic and lightweight - but flimsy is over the top.

I do like the "seamless integration between recordings and "On Demand".

If you view your scheduled recordings, you can see on demand episodes of that show below the list of current recordings and upcoming shows.

John

Smithy47

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#2155187 6-Jan-2019 10:33

Lewk: I am looking at purchasing one of these so we can return our Sky box. My wife records mostly freeview series and plays them back when she is doing ironing etc. I am interested in hearing comments from those using them and how the update to 118 has improved it. I see The Warehouse has them for $349 but there is only one review comment from a customer on their website - "I am an ex TiVo user and I feel this unit does not come up to it. No hdmi cord or batteries included. Remote very flimsy and slow when giving commands. Comes with no instructions or information"

I am not worried about a lack of an HDMI cable or instructions but find the comment on the remote very interesting. The confusing thing is the information on the Warehouse site says you can record two channels either on terrestrial or Satellite. Then in the Features and bennefits part is says you can record 4x Channels. We have a media cupboard with terrestrial and the Sky satellite cables so could use either one.

We have looked at the Panasonic recorders but reviews on Geekzone for these have been quite mixed and leave you wondering about spending some $350 on something that may not work well.

I realise that we run a Smart dns service and should be streaming these series - and we certainly do do this but old habits sometimes die hard :-)

Keen to get Geekzone members feedback on this recorder particularly after the recent firmware update and how it is performing for them.

To answer some of your questions, from what I have noticed and seen the update to 118 stopped the problem of only playing back 45 min, also it seem to improve the picture quality as well. The menu layout got better and faster to record stuff. Yes there is no HDMI cable (you need one as only way to connect to the TV) or batteries in the box.

To me the remote is very similar to an Apple TV remote and I (and wife) find easy to use, push top right button and menu drops at bottom of screen move across to what you want and click your in. Instructions how to use are in the settings menu of the on demand app, instruction on how to hook it up are on the box lid.

If you are on an Ariel you can record 2 Channels and watch a 3rd one, on satellite you can do the 4 (on Sat it is not in HD). If you look at the Panasonic pages allegedly they have a problem with the new Freeview platform, not sure if it is true or not.

Smithy

Naekyr

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#2155377 6-Jan-2019 17:38

Hi,

I just purchased and setup 2 of these boxes and having the same issues on both machines

I'm unable to watch Lightbox and OnDemand as the video lags and buffers and sometimes says "no connection" with an error message

To eliminate internet issues, I've disconnected all devices except for one box and connected just using and ethernet cable. For a speedtest I've tested this cable on my PC and I get 950mbps down and 500mbps up

Yet, this is apparently not enough for this Freeview box - the video is buffering and is very jittery even on low image quality. I've tried uninstalling, redownloading and updating the lightbox app from the google play store on the Apps menu on this Freeview Android box but the issue persists, OnDemand I can't uninstall, it's just always there but no matter what video I select the video is lagging and stuttering

Funny enough, I don't have any issue with the youtube app on this freeview box, I can play 4K 60fps video with zero issue, but some of the apps like Lightbox and Freeview OnDemand constantly lag

I've tested running lightbox on my ps4, directly from another TV and on my PC and none of these devices have any issues.

It's only these 2 freeview boxes that seems to have issues streaming video content

Should I go get my money back or is there a known resolution for this issue?

Thanks

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Smithy47

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#2155393 6-Jan-2019 18:50

Naekyr:

Hi,

I just purchased and setup 2 of these boxes and having the same issues on both machines

I'm unable to watch Lightbox and OnDemand as the video lags and buffers and sometimes says "no connection" with an error message

To eliminate internet issues, I've disconnected all devices except for one box and connected just using and ethernet cable. For a speedtest I've tested this cable on my PC and I get 950mbps down and 500mbps up

Yet, this is apparently not enough for this Freeview box - the video is buffering and is very jittery even on low image quality. I've tried uninstalling, redownloading and updating the lightbox app from the google play store on the Apps menu on this Freeview Android box but the issue persists, OnDemand I can't uninstall, it's just always there but no matter what video I select the video is lagging and stuttering

Funny enough, I don't have any issue with the youtube app on this freeview box, I can play 4K 60fps video with zero issue, but some of the apps like Lightbox and Freeview OnDemand constantly lag

I've tested running lightbox on my ps4, directly from another TV and on my PC and none of these devices have any issues.

It's only these 2 freeview boxes that seems to have issues streaming video content

Should I go get my money back or is there a known resolution for this issue?

Thanks

Have you updated to the 118 version of the firmware? If you look back a few pages explains it all.

Smithy

freitasm

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#2155452 6-Jan-2019 21:05

@Naekyr:

I'm unable to watch Lightbox and OnDemand as the video lags and buffers and sometimes says "no connection" with an error message

You say in another thread you have a Netgear router - have you tested these boxes with different routers? Do you have any setting on this router to "enhance performance" (sometimes these settings make things worse actually)? Are you using ethernet or Wifi?

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Naekyr

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#2155520 7-Jan-2019 06:53

freitasm:
@Naekyr:

I'm unable to watch Lightbox and OnDemand as the video lags and buffers and sometimes says "no connection" with an error message

You say in another thread you have a Netgear router - have you tested these boxes with different routers? Do you have any setting on this router to "enhance performance" (sometimes these settings make things worse actually)? Are you using ethernet or Wifi?

Hi

I’ve tested this over wifi and Ethernet no difference
I’ve also tested his by bypassing the Netgear and tried Wi-Fi and Ethernet directly from the Vodafone modem (black ultrahub) and again no difference between Wi-Fi or Ethernet and no difference between connecting to the router or connecting to the Vodafone ultrahub

I have not tried a firmware update as was suggested - is it possible to se what firmware is loaded using the android OS menus?

Smithy47

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#2155522 7-Jan-2019 07:06

Naekyr:
freitasm:

@Naekyr:

I'm unable to watch Lightbox and OnDemand as the video lags and buffers and sometimes says "no connection" with an error message

You say in another thread you have a Netgear router - have you tested these boxes with different routers? Do you have any setting on this router to "enhance performance" (sometimes these settings make things worse actually)? Are you using ethernet or Wifi?

Hi

I’ve tested this over wifi and Ethernet no difference
I’ve also tested his by bypassing the Netgear and tried Wi-Fi and Ethernet directly from the Vodafone modem (black ultrahub) and again no difference between Wi-Fi or Ethernet and no difference between connecting to the router or connecting to the Vodafone ultrahub

I have not tried a firmware update as was suggested - is it possible to se what firmware is loaded using the android OS menus?

To Check the Firmware

To find the Version, push "Menu" on the Remote, then go to the far right to "Settings", at the bottom "Advance Settings", then go to the bottom again and press "System Info" and it is on the right.

How to update Firmware is at the bottom of page 7.

When you are watching you do get into the programme for a few minutes as the adds always look bad and it take a minute or 2 for the programme to adjust to a good picture for the streaming rate?

Smithy

tdgeek

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#2155525 7-Jan-2019 07:37

Im watching this thread as I'd like to upgrade the BWT720

I dont know what the issue is in this country, but we have the Panasonic brand that has the Freeview 1975 based UI. Slow menu. Dish brought out the T2200, looks great, but bugs throughout that thread. Now this new model, and bugs as well. Streaming issues, records 3/4 of an episode...

Do I stick with my BWT720 as that actually works???

Dyson

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Naekyr

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#2155660 7-Jan-2019 11:07

Smithy47:

To Check the Firmware

To find the Version, push "Menu" on the Remote, then go to the far right to "Settings", at the bottom "Advance Settings", then go to the bottom again and press "System Info" and it is on the right.

How to update Firmware is at the bottom of page 7.

When you are watching you do get into the programme for a few minutes as the adds always look bad and it take a minute or 2 for the programme to adjust to a good picture for the streaming rate?

Sweet thanks I'll check the firmware versions later - to be honest I'm not really that keen on firmware/bios updates, I've bricked stuff before trying to do them

Yep tried that as well, left it for about 5 minutes but was still stuttering

I'm now convinced it's an issue with the box - I decided to try a power reset and pulled both boxes power sockets out from the wall for 10 minutes - and voila the issue was fixed and now both OnDemand and Lightbox is streaming smoothly with the HD image option. I'm wondering if something is corrupting on the OS or otherwise maybe the memory is leaking or not being cleared - I only noticed this after the power reset, but turn out the remotes were working super slow as well, taking ages to respond to key presses

Naekyr

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Geek
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#2155756 7-Jan-2019 13:12

Naekyr:

Smithy47:

To Check the Firmware

To find the Version, push "Menu" on the Remote, then go to the far right to "Settings", at the bottom "Advance Settings", then go to the bottom again and press "System Info" and it is on the right.

How to update Firmware is at the bottom of page 7.

When you are watching you do get into the programme for a few minutes as the adds always look bad and it take a minute or 2 for the programme to adjust to a good picture for the streaming rate?

Sweet thanks I'll check the firmware versions later - to be honest I'm not really that keen on firmware/bios updates, I've bricked stuff before trying to do them

Yep tried that as well, left it for about 5 minutes but was still stuttering

I'm now convinced it's an issue with the box - I decided to try a power reset and pulled both boxes power sockets out from the wall for 10 minutes - and voila the issue was fixed and now both OnDemand and Lightbox is streaming smoothly with the HD image option. I'm wondering if something is corrupting on the OS or otherwise maybe the memory is leaking or not being cleared - I only noticed this after the power reset, but turn out the remotes were working super slow as well, taking ages to respond to key presses

Asked DISHTV about the issues I've been having and got this reply:

We have seen this issue also and the software team is currently working on a resolution. We hope to have an update to fix the problem in the next week or so.

The issue is only seen on DRM content and its not an internet speed issue. You should find if you power reset the unit the playback will be ok for a while.

msukiwi

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#2155759 7-Jan-2019 13:23

Naekyr:

Asked DISHTV about the issues I've been having and got this reply:

Glad you actually got a reply!

Still waiting for mine!

sweet308

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#2155816 7-Jan-2019 14:39

Does this box output 5.1 (or better) audio?

My T2200 has only ever been able to deliver 2.0 audio, which destroyed my trust in the Dish TV brand given that 5.1 has been ubiquitous for a long time. It was just weird that a modern product couldn't do something so fundamental.

I still have the T2200 but just use it for programming that doesn't need decent audio, and use my TiVo or Panasonic PVR otherwise. But I certainly wouldn't want to get any other Dish TV product without knowing for sure that it can support proper audio.

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