Need advice determining state of Dish Vip722 DVR

[donstephens]

After moving from DirecTV to Dish, I now have a new receiver and a problem. I have a series of events triggered on the state of my Dish Receiver that no longer work because I don't know if the reciever is on, on TV1, on TV2 or off.

I've been trying to intercept the IR signals, but of course, they toggle; leading things to get out of sync. I was thinking of trying to read the LEDs on the front panel, but I don't have the expertise to figure out how to do that. Another problem is that the LEDs are pretty close together physically and the detector would have to be fairly narrow. The frustrating thing is that this receiver comes with both an ethernet port and a USB port. The hot setup would surely be be control or detect using one of these, but I haven't heard of anyone being able to control this receiver via either of these ports.... sigh.

Could anyone give me some advice as how to figure out what state this receiver is in?

Thanks;

Don Stephens

 

[Michael McSharry]

I have a VIP622 which is very similar. The USB is for multimedia and archiving. The network/phone is to give Dish access to monitor for interative/ppv activities. I have not tried very hard, but I do not think the VIP status can be determined. The indicators on the front are orange for single/dual mode, yellow TV1, blue TV2.. They are not traditional LED lamps, but something like a phosphor that is illuminated from behind. I think it would be hard to detect. Even if you could then I know my yellow TV1 is always illuminated as long as the power cord is plugged in so it cannot be used to indicate much. This is true when it is in power standby as well. Another obstacle is the power-down mode where you need to use Select button to wake it up. If you are trying to automate something then you will need to figure this into your control sequence.

 

[deranged]

The 722 does have discrete IR commands for ON and OFF, I beleive there is a way to get the remote to send the discrete IR commands so they can be learned or you could possibly find the Hex codes on the net somewhere.

I setup IR control of my Dish 522 a couple of years ago and it has been working fine, I have seperate discrete ON and OFF commands, and sending a ON command or a couple of Select commands does wake up the Reciever.

I think this was the steps for the 522 remote, they might work with the 722 remote also

- Press and hold the SAT button at the top of the remote until all mode button backlights illuminate (about 3 seconds), then release.
- While the SAT mode light blinks, press and release the large satellite Power button.
- Press Volume Up for discrete power on. Press Volume Down for discrete power off.
- Press the Select button to exit.

Only the TV1 can be controlled with IR, at least that was the case with the 522, I wish you could control TV2 with IR also that would be great.

StevenE

 

[donstephens]

Thanks guys;

I'll keep trying...

The 722 does have discrete IR commands for ON and OFF, I beleive there is a way to get the remote to send the discrete IR commands so they can be learned or you could possibly find the Hex codes on the net somewhere.

I setup IR control of my Dish 522 a couple of years ago and it has been working fine, I have seperate discrete ON and OFF commands, and sending a ON command or a couple of Select commands does wake up the Reciever.

I think this was the steps for the 522 remote, they might work with the 722 remote also

- Press and hold the SAT button at the top of the remote until all mode button backlights illuminate (about 3 seconds), then release.
- While the SAT mode light blinks, press and release the large satellite Power button.
- Press Volume Up for discrete power on. Press Volume Down for discrete power off.
- Press the Select button to exit.

Only the TV1 can be controlled with IR, at least that was the case with the 522, I wish you could control TV2 with IR also that would be great.

StevenE

 

[apostolakisl]

Thanks guys;

I'll keep trying...

The 722 does have discrete IR commands for ON and OFF, I beleive there is a way to get the remote to send the discrete IR commands so they can be learned or you could possibly find the Hex codes on the net somewhere.

I setup IR control of my Dish 522 a couple of years ago and it has been working fine, I have seperate discrete ON and OFF commands, and sending a ON command or a couple of Select commands does wake up the Reciever.

I think this was the steps for the 522 remote, they might work with the 722 remote also

- Press and hold the SAT button at the top of the remote until all mode button backlights illuminate (about 3 seconds), then release.
- While the SAT mode light blinks, press and release the large satellite Power button.
- Press Volume Up for discrete power on. Press Volume Down for discrete power off.
- Press the Select button to exit.

Only the TV1 can be controlled with IR, at least that was the case with the 522, I wish you could control TV2 with IR also that would be great.

StevenE

I have the 622 as well. It does have discrete on/off which logitech downloads into my harmony 890 universal remote and it is highly valuable to keep things from getting out of sync, especially when the kids start pushing buttons. If you don't have a universal remote that has it built in, I am not sure where you would get the code from.

As far as the cat5 input on my 622. You can control the unit via dishnetwork website. There is also a webpage that is designed for the iphone. It is actually easier to program recordings using my iphone than any other way. I can pretty much use my iphone as a remote control for the unit from any internet connection. You can have fun messing with your wife. You can see that perhaps she is watching Oprah and change it to say sportcenter.