Thanks all. Tried the unplug and re-boot. Drive is recognised but the programs are all erased. Lesson learned, next time I'll protect the programs I want to keep.

I have a new 6131 which I have fitted an external HD to, that began acting up yesterday- Every few minutes the pix freezes for a few secs, then goes to black for about 30 seconds. Audio continues throughout. Does not respond to remote during the black out. Signal strength 95-98 on both birds. Using SW21, everything checks out ok. Bell advises I have a HDMI cable problem, yeah, right.......This problem only started yesterday, HD has been in service for almost a week, and works great.
Any Ideas?
Sparx

Guess I'm the ony one that experienced this problem, anyway, after contacting my provider several times, they reluctantly sent me out a refurbished (used) receiver. I connected it up, on power up there was a pop, and a small wisp of smoke, and nothing else. I contacted my provider again, insisting on a new replacement which they adamantly refused to do offering another used unit or a deal on a new replacement.
The CSR Ispoke to was really arrogant, suggesting if they were to provide new warranty replacements to everyone, they would soon be out of business.
At this point I demanded to speak to her supervisor which she initally refused to do, ïndicating "he will only tell you the same thing."When I finally spoke with her super, he offered a new replacement, and offered to have one of their techs check my installation, which I agreed to. Good thing, as the replacement receiver took out my Sw21 and both LNBs. Everything was replaced no charge.
Ás far as the 6131, so far so good. Oh yeah, they reduced my satellite bill by five bucks a month.

IMHO, Bell should provide new replacements for new receivers that fail within a certain time frame. Handing someone a refurb, of questionable vintage, to replace a new DOA unit is close to fraud.

the replacement receiver took out my Sw21 and both LNBs.

So your installation was defective, who did the Installation, Bell.?

First of all I must apologise for asking this question a second time. I know I got a response about 6 months ago but I did a search and nothing came up. I just got a replacement 6131 from Bell because my original one dropped dead on me. Must say Bell was great and got a replacement to me within 4 days. Pretty damn good service if you ask me.

Now my question and it involves hiding channels. The first three favourite lists are All Channels, Sub Channels and All HD Channels. Rather than set up another favourite called HD channels, I would like to hide all the French and PPV HD channels from that favourite list. I have tried locking channels as a first step, but it appears that I can do nothing with that "all HD" list. Is there any way I can hide unwanted channels in that favourite list? In addition, is there any way to get Capitals when you edit the name. Currently, it would appear that only the first letter of the first work is capitalized.

I would appreciate hearing your comments/suggestions.

Thanks for reading my post.

Hi mapleleaf-mick, see http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1167917&postcount=827

So your installation was defective, who did the Installation, Bell.?
Actually it was the defective refurb that pooched the switch and lnbs, probably hit them with line voltage LOL.

Is there any way I can hide unwanted channels in that favourite list?
As mentioned, check the channel lock functions in the menu. 'Lock channels' and a password must be entered for channel locks to take effect.

Currently, it would appear that only the first letter of the first work is capitalized.
Case is ignored so don't be concerned.

Thanks for the responses. I seem to remember someone on the forum telling me how to lock HD channels on the "all HD's" list and then correspondently hiding them. Using that manouver says me from wasting a favourites list on wanted HD channels (excluding French and PPV's) When I show my favourite titles, the first letter is capitalized and no other. Not the next word, nothing. So it does appear to display capital letters.

Hello all,

I have a couple of questions about the PVR. I just got around to hooking up an eHD to my 6131 receiver. I've been playing around for the last couple of hours and am curious about a couple of things.

1) I tried setting a recording to record a show in the future. I was still watching TV at the time the recording rolled around. The 2 minute timer came up and timed out and nothing happened. I expected it to switch to the channel I wanted to record and start recording it. It didn't, I continued to watch the channel I was on and nothing recorded. So now let's say I want to record something at 2am and leave my receiver on inadvertantly; does that mean it won't record the show I want to record?

2) Changing channels now with the PVR hooked up. Every time I go to change channels, the message comes up something like "you will now switch to live TV and stop this recording" Yes/no/cancel. Is there a way to get rid of that message every time I want to change to another channel?

3) The channel recall button brings up the same message and I click yes and expect it to switch to my previous channel but nothing happens. Is this normal? How to I fix that? I use the recall button quite often.

4) Does the receiver need to be in standby in order to record a show that is on a timer? Let's say I'm watching a show until 10pm and then recording a show starting at 10pm. Do I have to put the receiver in standby since it won't switch to the channel i want to record automatically?

I like the idea of a PVR and this is the first time I'm playing around with one. But if all these issues came up in the first few hours of using one, I'm kind of rethinking the whole PVR thing. I understand that the 6131 has only a single tuner and I'm OK with that. I know you can watch a recorded show and record another at the same time, but you can't record a show and watch another show live.

Sorry for such a long post and I appreciate your replies.

It should switch automatically to the show you are recording. You don't need to have the 6131 off. You should not get the "stop recording?" message if you are watching live and want to switch channels.

CheapCharlie, there are a couple of things I'd suggest;
1) Is there any chance you had pressed REMIND rather than PVR?
2) There is a chance your unit is not working, even though it thinks it is recording. Have you done any recording with it yet?
Download a manual that will give you a idea of how it should work, see:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=1205016#post1205016 or
http://www.dishnetwork.com/downloads/user-guides/receivers/211_411_UserGuide.pdf and see pages 120 and on.

hey guys , pretty new to this site , yet ive known bout satellites for about 4-5 years now . my 6131's are having some troubles recording . they go to record a program ( we have 1TB HDD Seagate ) and it records it , but when i go for play back , it jump around and it says "satellite signal was interrupted" but i stayed up and watch it once and no signal was interrupted yet the play back was the same . any ideas ? sorry in advance for the long post

Anyone know what the current firware the 6131 is using? I got mine over Christmas and was wondering if I am up to date on firmware. Thanks, JoeB

Also, I am using the component cables that came with the receiver, and the receiver is set to 1080i. I am wondering if I should go HDMI. Has anyone made some comparisons between the two. Thanks.

See for current software http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=44637, it appears to be V168.

was wondering if I am up to date on firmware.
The 6131 will automatically update to the latest firmware.

Bell only transmit 720p (Apart from VOD Movies that are stored on the Hard Drives, these can be 1080p), so unless you need the Component outputs for a second TV, I would not bother.

HDMI provides a simpler hookup since it also carries audio. There is no need to pay more than about $10 for a 6' HDMI cable.