Tech Chat Thoughts / Thank You Leslie!
Last night Dish Network held their quarterly Tech Chat with Mark Jackson and Dan Minnick, and while it wasn’t the greatest Tech Chat ever held, it wasn’t that bad either.
The highlight of the chat was the demonstration of the search features of the upcoming 922. I sat in a chat room with a good number of members of SatelliteGuys and many were impressed with what they saw in the demo.
One person commented that the search features were so good that he would have a hard time finding the time to watch all of the shows and movies the searches found.
The 922 search not only searches within the satellite guide listings but also searches the expansive DishOnline VOD service as well. So when your in the mood for say something from Chevy Chase there is always something to watch.
Its no secret that I am a beta tester of the Slingloaded ViP 922 receiver, and while I am waiting for actual release software to base my review on but I must admit I have been very impressed with the progress made on Dish Networks soon to be flag ship product over the past few weeks. It is appearing now that the wait for the 922 might indeed be worth it.
And while the 922 was demonstrated last night on the Tech Chat no release date was announced for the product. From what I have seen from the Echostar’s engineers over the past few weeks has me thinking this one could hit the streets before the new year.
Also on last nights show it was announced that Dish was planning on rolling out software from SRS Labs to set top boxes to control the volume levels on the set top boxes. Soon for Dish Network customers they wont have to worry about loud commercials anymore. Dish will be the first company to use this new technology from SRS Labs in their set top boxes.
Thank You Leslie!
Someone’s smiling face was missing from last nights tech chat, and that face missing was the Echostar / Dish Network “Tech Goddess” Leslie Harper.
Today on Dish Networks Retailer Chat a very tearful Leslie Harper appeared to announce that she has taken a new position within the company and wouldn’t be in front of the cameras or at the trade shows anymore.
Leslie is a woman who loved to talk tech and knew what she was talking about, she quickly built a fan base of retailers and Dish Network customers who loved to talk tech with Leslie both in person and on Dish Network shows such as the Charlie and Tech Chats.
I was able to work a few times with Leslie at various events and she was always a class act, the last time I worked with her is when I hosted a live call in radio show with her at this years Consumer Electronics Show. (Video of this can be seen at http://satelliteguys.blip.tv/)
I appreciated being able to work with her and wish her well in her new role in the company. Her smiling face and personality will be missed on the Dish Network TV shows and at the major Dish Network events. Thank you Leslie for everything!
MLBurks1974 commented:
Thanks for the info on Leslie. I will sure miss her! I always enjoyed listening to her explain things. I always got the impression that she knew what she was talking about. It would have been nice for her to make one last appearance or at least have a mention of good luck in her new position. It just won't be the same without her in front of the cameras.
SEaton commented:
While I must admit, the 922 sounds quite exciting. It sounded quite exciting when they told me early this year that they would release it in the spring.
Vaporware is always cool, but come on, it was supposed to be released roughly 9 months ago. I would rather have some glitches and have something now.
I am starting to think its time to look at a linux lmce setup, or some kind of media center. The key feature being that it is real, and I can actually have it for christmas.
I just bought a new house and was thinking how cool that I could subscribe as a new user, and have this cool toy. Now I am thinking the heck with dish and their vaporware.
I have a really cool alien invisibility ray I will release later this year also if your interested.
Sorry for the vent, but they are turning a 15 year customer ( used to be dealer ) into an ex customer. I guess I will use all of my extra time waiting for this product that we might see some time in the next who know's when months, to search for media center home automation solutions that I can replace them with.
Shield95 commented:
Tech Chat a good show for us subscribers,
wish DirecTV would start shows like this one.


















