DishTV S7090PVR

Admin Comment: Dish TV has released a new firmware update to address most of the issues reported in this post 1/9/2014

I bought a DishTV S7090PVR in February. Avoid this product. It is a putrid pile of poo! I had to return it 3 times for a replacement before I got one that would even turn on. Then I almost wish it didn't. It is riddled with annoying bugs and quirks that will have you throwing the remote at it within a week. Here are just some of the things that I have discovered with it.

If you view the booking list While you're recording a program it sometimes crashes! Other times it won't show you all the booked items. If you edit a program to take out the ads, it sometimes chops the last half hour off your program and you can't get it back. If it's in standby, and there's a power cut, it doesn't go back into standby. If you record a program, and stop it and delete it before the end, it doesn't go to standby properly after the next morning's 4am update. It is painfully slow to copy programs to the USB. When you're copying to the USB, it sometimes tells you that the hard disk drive is full when it isn't. It doesn't remember the order you like the library sorted. It doesn't record the end of a program if it's also recording another channel. Even if you select programs in the guide which don't overlap, it sometimes will tell you that they do. To bookmark a point in a program is so involved a process when it could just be a hotkey. The guide takes ages to display. Sometimes you have to press the key 3 or 4 times. Pressing the STOP button while watching a recorded program sometimes doesn't! The SKIP keys often don't! There is more, but you get my point.

And Dish TV's support is woeful. I wrote to them in early March, detailing the exact steps to take to recreate one of the faults I listed above, and they promised to remedy it. Now, 4 months and 3 software versions later the bug still isn't fixed. Whether they were lying to me when they said they'd fix it, or are simply incompetent and don't know how to, I will not presume to judge. The latest version of the software, actually broke something that used to work OK! And the online manual for the 7090PVR on their website is out of date and doesn't match with what you actually see on the screen.

As soon as a reputable company such as Sony or Panasonic make a satellite PVR, I will buy it regardless of cost, and take a sledgehammer and reduce this near useless pile of junk to bits.

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Permalink Reply by Annie on December 27, 2015 at 20:30

Thank you so much Alan for your quick reply and even on a holy Sunday ;)

Just checked the Software version, which is
A3U_11_016A
with a date of May 31 2014

So I would say, you are pretty good with your guess that the Software is old like rotten socks.
I guess, it is no excuse that if you do not know there is an update, you do not know that the version you have is an old one ;)
but to be honest, it makes me a bit angry that they sold it to us like that without even a hint.

Thanks also for your advice, getting the update, but unfortunately we do not have a PC to download it.

I have posted another discussion with some problems we have.
So I think we better go back to the retailer and let him sort it out as we still should be in the warranty time.

Cheers,
Anja

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Dish TVPermalink Reply by Dish TV Support on December 27, 2015 at 21:43

We require customers to call through or contact me, or mention these issues in order for the software team to get these looked into.

As this has been raised now, I'll get this sent through to the software queue, currently this has been setup as the Hamilton office is closed till the 5th Jan and I am working from Auckland and unable to get these things sent through now.

With the info provided, I'll create a report this week and get it sent through, we may message through some more details.

Thanks Guys
Dish TV Online Support

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Permalink Reply by Alan Douglas on December 28, 2015 at 10:12

Don't blame DishTv or your retailer too much for the old software in your S7090.

The box could have been on the shelf for some weeks (months) before you purchased it and the boxes are never opened to check software versions before sale.

Software is usually updated automatically over the airways to keep these devices up to date with the latest versions. But as there has not been an update for so long I don't know if the current software version is still being broadcast. Hopefully the DishTV guys will clarify that for you.

Note: There is a comment in the S7090 manual that you must set an option in the 'Settings' menu called 'Auto OTA Search' for the Over The Air upgrade to function. This setting is no longer part of the current firmware. (It may be part of yours, I don't know) So if you can't find the setting on your S7090 then don't panic. It is just that the manual has not been updated.... Fail DishTV!!!

And just to make you feel a bit better. A few years ago I purchased a software product, for over $12000, for work. It came on writable CD's so I assumed they contained the latest version. Well no!! The shipped software version was so old that it would not even install on my systems. Sigh!

Regards

Alan

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Dish TVPermalink Reply by Dish TV Support on December 28, 2015 at 12:24

Software updates over the air are no longer frequent, we only broadcast updates over Freeview if Freeview has an upcoming major change that needs all boxes to be ready, regular software updates are now available through our website here http://www.dishtv.co.nz/support/downloads.htm

Our newer boxes now update via the internet when available automatically

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Permalink Reply by Annie on December 28, 2015 at 20:10

Relax Mr. or Mrs. Dish TV Online Support in AKL ;)
Be assured, we will survive :)
Many thanks for your very quick reply.

In the meantime I browsed thru your homepage and found the following under your FAQ,

Question: I am unable ... to download and update the software of my Freeview receiver?
Answer: ...request a Flash Drive with the Software to be sent to your address here.

Maybe that might be a solution, provided it is free of charge of course ;)

Cheers,
Anja

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Permalink Reply by Annie on December 28, 2015 at 21:57

Hi Alan, I would not say blame, I would prefer responsible ;)

Ages ago I managed the IT-equipment incl. Software to build the A380.
The tech-world has dramatically changed since then and I have to say, I have totally lost it what is going on nowadays.
But what I will never lose is my knowledge or better said understanding of 'customer service'.

One of the magic words here is 'communication' like so:

Manufacturer talks to the retailers,
'Hey guys we have an update for S7090PVR. So, if a nice customer is coming to buy it, please inform them about it and of course we will support them and you with anything needed to make everyone happy.'

Easy as,
saving a lot of pain and time on either side and I guess a much better solution than opening the boxes to check the software version ;)

Thanks for your note, usually I do not panic about stuff like that.
I have learned there are more important things in life.

After reading the first reply from Mr./Mrs. Dish TV, I was pretty confident that everything will be clarified.
But after reading the reply of his/her sister/brother, I am not sure anymore.
So I guess it depends with which family member I have to deal with in the future.

You have made me laugh, thanks for that :)
Luckily it was not out of your own pocket ;)

I once sent 60 biiiig monitors to the french engineers ... without an order (maybe I dreamt it), but somehow I managed that they kept ALL of them - do not ask me how.
I think good communication and a very good relationship ... and of course very nice monitors ;)

Cheers,
Annie

P.S. Sorry about my sarcasm regarding 'Mr./Mrs. Dish TV', I really feel for them, not having an own name, poor 'DishTV guys'

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Permalink Reply by willis on December 29, 2015 at 1:10

download at your nearest library onto a flash /usb drive[warehouse?]

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Permalink Reply by Alan Douglas on December 29, 2015 at 10:39

Good luck getting the update on a Flash drive from DishTV. Hopefully this will solve the majority of your problems.

Mr/Mrs DishTV are actually pretty good to deal with. I dealt with them a lot about a year ago trying to get some bugs fixed.

It is their bosses that make it difficult for the support guys. As in most companies!

I really agree with you about customer service, and I would also add vendor responsibility to that. All these problems would be solved if the software was broadcast at least once a month to catch machines with the older firmware. But I am guessing the Freeview dudes charge like a wounded bull for vendors to do this, and that makes it very costly/impractical to do.

And I wonder where this over the air or internet upgrading, especially of defects, is going to end.

Maybe in a few years we might get a new car delivered to us only to find that it is missing the accelerator pedal or steering wheel. The manufacturer tells us this was a problem in manufacture and a new part can be downloaded from the internet and printed out on the customers 3D printer..

Yikes!

Alan

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Permalink Reply by Annie on January 28, 2016 at 10:49

Hi Dish TV Guys, any help in sight for us? After a month a reply would be much appreciated. Thanks, Annie

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Permalink Reply by Alan Douglas on January 28, 2016 at 11:44

Annie,

I really feel for you.

If you have a flash drive that you could mail to me I would be happy to copy the latest firmware on to it and post it back to you. It only needs to be a small one as the firmware is only about 30MB.

Just call me DishTV support. :-)

You can contact directly if you want me to do this: alien_douglas AT hotmail.com.

(Replace the 'AT' with '@'. I just do this to stop any nasty hackers that want to send unwanted emails to me.)

Alan

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Dish TVPermalink Reply by Dish TV Support on January 28, 2016 at 12:02

Hi Annie,

Which method did you sue to contact us? If you call us and request a USB device then that is a faster method, however Private Message Me your address and I can get this sent as soon as possible.

Very sorry about the long delays, I am only assigned to the online desks and not the actual email systems nor phone lines.

Cheers