EchoStar Rolls External Hard Drives for DVRs
After a slow quiet summer, things are about to pick up for both satellite TV companies.
Dish Network will start rolling out its long awaited “USB External Storage” solution for its ViP622 MPEG4 High Definition DVR on Thursday. This USB External Storage solution will allow Dish Network customers to hook up an external USB hard drive to their ViP622 receiver and save content from their receiver to the external hard drive for later viewing. Dish Network will be charging a one-time $39.99 enabling fee for the service, and with the software going out on the 9th, customers will not be able to subscribe to this service until Aug. 15.(So those folks who have been waiting for this feature will need to wait just a little longer.)
Also with the scheduled Aug. 9 ViP622 software update, Dish Network will be turning on a new feature which will allow the satellite receiver to “phone home” via the Internet using an ethernet connection. This means a phone line would no longer be required to be hooked to the 622 to phone home and report PPV purchases. The enabling of the VIP622’s ethernet port is the first step as Dish Network is getting ready to launch their new DishONLINE Video On Demand service which is scheduled for this September.
(Update: August 9th 4:00PM - When Dish Network said this software was slowly going to roll out, they meant it! So far it appears that this update has only been sent out to a few hundred receviers. It has not be mass released at this time)
The DirecTV 10 satellite which was launched July 6 from the Baikonum Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, and will soon be in its test orbit for full testing, when testing is complete the new bird will be moved over to its new home at 102.8 degrees and will allow DirecTV to make good on its promise to deliver more HDTV and will also be used to help DirecTV expand it’s international channel offerings. It is expected that this new bird will be in full operation on or around September 15th.
XM Satellite Radio customers woke up Sunday morning to find that the music channels on XM sound a lot better. XM has been working with its partner Neural Audio for over a year to upgrade their audio processors. These upgraded processors give XM’s seventy plus music channels a fuller and richer sound. The feedback online has been largely positive by XM customers.
Ted Bundy commented:
This feature is completely useless and doesn't work. Dish support has been completely worthless. None of the eight technicians I talked to actually had ever hooked up a hard drive to the unit. And kept blaming the hard drive as the problem for the 850 incompatible message. They refused to provide a list of ANY known compatible devices, and refused to transfer me to anyone else. THIS IS AN UNSUPPORTED FEATURE THAT DISH TECHS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT.
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Scott Greczkowski commented:
Thanks, the picture was done by Brad Walker. The good folks at MultiChannel News sent him a photo of me, and he did the rest. I laughed when I got it for 2 reasons 1) The full photo has me in a fancy suit (I haven't wore a suit in years) 2) A lot of folks say I have a big head. This picture gave me a even bigger head. :) Thanks for reading and make sure to check back here tommorow for another update. Best, Scott
Satellite Guru commented:
Scott, Congratulations. I like the picture! Was it done by one of those artists that work those summer art fairs that can be found on village greens in Connecticut? As I remember the one in Guilford is really great!
Fr8mvr commented:
To bad the haters from DBStalk could not be happy for they guy. Congrats Scott
rirwin commented:
About time you got a gig like this. Maybe now D* will take u seriously, and open up to you more like Charlie at E* has.
JimboG commented:
Supporting external harddrives seems like a no-brainer for cable and satellite companies. Let the consumers pony up if they want more than a modest amount of storage space. However, any idea why Dish Network is charging $40 to enable this feature on their set top box? Doesn't seem like a bright move at a time when DirecTV is about to launch about 100 HD channels before the end of 2007.
Gnuze commented:
Nice article but really nothing new here. It's really just open facts floating about the internet that someone found and put together. I've seen both satguys and DBSTalk.com and have to tell you that they have CE (Cutting Edge) there for a reason.
David Bott commented:
Great column. Keep up the great work.
Drone35 commented:
Good job Scott, hope u like ur new job,, just a few more Iron's in the fire,huh!
Jiggiefly commented:
Great work Scott, nice artical looking forward to more reading in the future.
Darkman commented:
Hey Scott .. Nice to see you here! Keep 'em coming! :)
Artemis commented:
Scott's blog should be a good addition to multichannel news. As a regular DBSTALK.COM user, none of what Scott had to say was news to me. That being said, it's helpful to see it replayed here, for those who may have missed it, or who dont' frequent DBSTALK.
8bitbytes commented:
Great to see good, solid information getting out to more readers. Great job Scott! I'm looking forward to your columns in the future!
digiblur commented:
Nice to see a column like this. Excellent addition to Multichannel News!
Scott S commented:
Good info Scott. Looking forward to more of your reports.
motjes2 commented:
great to have you here Scott. It is quite impressive.
Jerry commented:
You guys are nuts! Scott is hated by the industry and directv won't give him the time of day. Shame on the editors of this publication for even considering this clown as a contributor.
James Long commented:
Satelliteguys now has the upper hand.
retorq commented:
Hmmm I thought you looked different in real life.
rockymtnhigh commented:
Congrats on the first article. Looks like the Multichannel news folks will get to hear what we learn all that time at Satelliteguys.us.
masterdeals commented:
Great to see your new column. Looks like a promising future.
Neutron commented:
Great first article Scott!! I can't wait to read the next one. Looks very nice.
lakebum431 commented:
Great information! Looking forward to future articles.
dfergie commented:
Yes, it is nice to see Scott here at Multichannel News to give satellite information. He knows his business and we at Satelliteguys.US are proud of him!
Brewer4 commented:
Hey I know that guy! Great to see you write here. Cant wait to see what else you add. Folks at satelliteguys.us are excited to see Scott here. He is a very knowledgeable individual in the satellite and TV world so he is an excellent addition to Multichannel News. Keep up the good work.
