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June 24, 2008

Dish Network - External Hard Disk Drive

I have been a subscriber to cable, DirecTV and Dish Network over the years. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Until last fall I had used a DirecTV HD satellite receiver with TiVo DVR (digital video recorder) as my primary receiver. It was great. But DirecTV, transitioning to a better method of compression, rendered it obsolete.

I switched from DirecTV to a Dish receiver with DVR for the follow reasons/features:

-the Dish's user interface, in my opinion, is easier to use than the current DirecTV receivers
-the Dish receiver that I chose - VIP722 - can output an HDTV signal to one TV and a different non-HD signal to other sets in the home. Very cool. I routed this second signal through the standard coaxial cables in my home. Now any TV can access any of the programming on my receiver.
-After paying a one time fee, you can connect an external hard disk drive to the receiver's USB port. From the receiver's menu, you can archive programs on this external drive. This frees up space on the receiver's hard disk drive, ideal for special programs that you might want to watch again in the future. And you can connect multiple drives (one at a time) to the receiver. You could have an external drive with sporting events, another for movies, etc. A great way to build a library.

Everything worked great until a few weeks ago. My receiver developed a couple of problems. I called Dish Network,s customer support and, much to my surprise, received a replacement the next day. I was told that I would be able to access the programs on my external drive with this new receiver.

Well, I couldn't. When I tried to view a program on the external drive, I got an error message and the only choices that I had was to reformat the external drive (and erase any programs that I archived on it) or cancel.

I called Dish Network and was told, "Unfortunately when you get a replacement receiver, sometimes you cannot access the external HD and it becomes necessary to reformat the drive."

On my external drive I had many movies -- and more importantly the Orange Bowl and the semifinal and final games in the NCAA basketball tournament. I am originally from Kansas. Kansas University has never been to a BCS bowl, let alone win one and its been 20 years since they won the NCAA basketball tournament. I had these games archived on the external drive in beautiful high definition, now they are gone forever.

I am still pleased with Dish, but if you are thinking about upgrading your Dish receiver or switching from DirecTV or cable and one of your primary reasons for switching is this external hard disk archiving feature, you might want to reconsider.

What's been your experience with cable and satellite companies? Do you have a DVR?

Posted by Bob Gatton at 6:13 AM | Comments (1)

June 16, 2008

Why the Switch to Digital TV

Years ago when consumer electronics companies and the federal government started working on digital TV they had multiple goals -- they not only wanted to make it possible for consumers to watch television programs with higher quality sound and video, but they also wanted to manage the usable spectrum in a more efficient manner.

Each digital channel uses about the same amount of bandwidth as an analog channel -- about 6 MHz -- but the old analog channels had to be spaced apart or else they would interfere with each other. Digital channels can be packed close together.

The usable radio spectrum is finite. Separate parts of it are used for radios, televisions, garage door openers, cell phones, cordless phones, WiFi and a lot of other things. Every year there are more and more wireless uses and users so the efficient use of this valuable resource is very important.

The Federal Communications Commission recently auctioned off what in the press is referred to the 700 MHz spectrum (it is actually from 698-806MHz and is currently used for TV channels 52 to 69) for about $19 billion. Verizon spent $9.4 billion and AT&T spent $6.6 billion. They will be able to use these frequencies starting next February when analog TV broadcast ends.

What are these cell phone companies going to do with this? More data and video capabilities.

$19 billion for channels 52 to 69 - there is a lot more of the spectrum for the government to sell. And you thought that the government just wanted you to have a better picture.

Posted by Bob Gatton at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)

June 10, 2008

U.S. Households Spend $1,400 Per Year on Consumer Electronics and Computers

According to Consumer Electronics Association the average U. S. household spent over $1400 on consumer electronics in the last twelve months. This included:
- televisions,
- MP3 players,
- computers,
- DVD players,
- cell phones,
For more information go to CE Daily News.

When I first read this, I thought the number was high. I know that I spend more than this amount each year, but electronics, particularly audio-video equipment are both a hobby and how I make my living.

But when I think about my friends that are not in the electronics business, many of them haven't purchased a new television in years, they don't have the latest cell phone or MP3 players. Most of them make a comfortable living, they could easily afford to buy more electronics stuff, but they don't. A few have bought new LCD or plasma televisions, but often these purchases were made because an old set broke.

This won't be scientific, but how much did you spend in the last twelve months on consumer electronics? I am curious. Don't include money spent for content or services, such as:
- cell or land line phone bills,
- cable or satellite bills,
- DVDs, video games.

Posted by Bob Gatton at 6:12 AM | Comments (3)

June 2, 2008

Using Your Cell Phone While Driving

Starting on July 1 it will be against the law to use your cell phone without using a wired or wireless headset while driving in California and Washington. These two states will join Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington DC.

17 states and Washington DC restrict cell phone use for novice drivers. 15 states and Washington DC prohibit cell phone use for school bus drivers while there are passengers on the bus, except for emergencies. And in many other states there are local laws that restrict cell phone usage while driving. To find out what restrictions there are in your state, go to the Govenor's Highway Safety Association.

- Do you think that your cell phone usage should be restricted while driving?
- Do you use a hands free (wired or wireless) with your cell phone when you are driving?
- If you use a Bluetooth wireless headset, what model do you have? Do you like it? I still like my Jawbone headset.

Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:16 AM | Comments (8)