Altering PrimeTime Anytime (& other hopping questions)

[lucasht]

Hopper questions from a potential DISH convert:


1.) I've read (somewhere in one of these many threads) that the lastest Hopper software will allow users to alter the times of "primetime" for the Primetime anytime feature. Does that mean you can have multiple "primetimes" during each day? For example, can I set PTAT to record all the networks from 5pm-6pm to catch all the nightly news shows AND have the standard primetime from 7-10 Central? If this is true, is there a limit to how many PTAT schedules you can have each day or week(aside from hard drive space)? I'd love to be able to grab the Sunday afternoon sports block, a morning news, evening news, and a late night talk show block.


2.) Commercial hop feature: if you save PTAT shows for future viewing, will the commercial hopping still occur (say a month from now) or is it limited to the 8 day window? And for saved shows copied or streamed to iPAD, does the hopping apply?


3.) I haven't been able to find any demos of the actual commercial hopping - when watching a show, is there any pause when the commercial block occurs, or is it so seemless that it can be mistaken for just any other fade to black? If you rewind a PTAT show, will it reverse through the commercials, or jump over?


Thanks for the guidance - it's so hard to commit to a new service & technology without being able to test drive it.


J

 

[gadgtfreek]

Its gonna record 7-10 regardless, you can edit which of the Big 4 you want, what days you want it to work, and how many days you want the shows kept (up to 8).

Autohop is initiated on the big 4 by simply enabling PTAT, it even works on OTA locals. For example, since I do not like PTAT, I have it on, set to record only Saturdays, and keep shows 2 days. This way it has very little tuner and space usage, yet I get to enjoy autohop on all my big 4 OTA recordings.

A second or two after the first commercial starts, youll see the kangaroo icon, then you'll land almost instantly in the last second or two of the last commercial before the show comes back on.

 

[theoak]

If I set PTAT for Saturday as suggested ... and I record a program for 2PM say on ABC for an hour ... do the other 3 channels in the big four get recorded automatically for that hour?

 

[Dirtydan]

If I set PTAT for Saturday as suggested ... and I record a program for 2PM say on ABC for an hour ... do the other 3 channels in the big four get recorded automatically for that hour?

PTAT records only from 7pm to 10pm, so a 2pm show on ABC will only record that one channel.
Dan

 

[Bobby]

But you would be able to watch a program on one of the other Big 4 channels on the same tuner....

 

[lucasht]

But you would be able to watch a program on one of the other Big 4 channels on the same tuner....

Maybe that is what I read... so could you set a timer to record all the Big 4 for non-prime hours? Or are you just saying that say one Joey could watch one Big 4 show while Joey2 watches a different Big 4 on the same tuner (and there would be 2 tuners avail for recording say ESPN & TBS)?

Darn - wish I could find the original thread that mentioned this. Is there another keyword beside PTAT that is used to describe this "flexible" Big 4 viewing/recording option?

 

[Bobby]

Maybe that is what I read... so could you set a timer to record all the Big 4 for non-prime hours? Or are you just saying that say one Joey could watch one Big 4 show while Joey2 watches a different Big 4 on the same tuner (and there would be 2 tuners avail for recording say ESPN & TBS)?

Darn - wish I could find the original thread that mentioned this. Is there another keyword beside PTAT that is used to describe this "flexible" Big 4 viewing/recording option?

I just set up timers to record all four networks at 9AM PDT. They will all be on tuner 3.....

 

[Bobby]

Just to continue, I am now recording ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC on tuner three. Tuners 1, 2, and OTA are all available....

 

[gadgtfreek]

Thats what I see as well.

 

[KAB]

At the risk of repeating some of the above, you can record all 4 networks on one tuner during non-prime time, BUT you would have to set up a separate timer for each show or time block.
During Prime Time, you can record one or all 4 automatically...you can set what networks you want to record on any given night....THOSE will record automatically.

 

[theoak]

PTAT records only from 7pm to 10pm, so a 2pm show on ABC will only record that one channel.
Dan

Okay,

Take 2

If I set up PTAT for Saturday only.

Now I set up a timer for ABC at 2 PM say for an hour and one for NBC at 2 PM for an hour also ... You are saying only one tuner will be used because they are both one of the Big 4 and recordings are at the same time. Correct?

Sent from my new iPad using SatelliteGuys

 

[DishSubLA]

Okay,

Take 2

If I set up PTAT for Saturday only.

Now I set up a timer for ABC at 2 PM say for an hour and one for NBC at 2 PM for an hour also ... You are saying only one tuner will be used because they are both one of the Big 4 and recordings are at the same time. Correct?

Sent from my new iPad using SatelliteGuys

Correct. At anytime, the Hopper system will use only the SAME tuner for all the big four simultaneously. The point made earlier, is that outside of the PTAT feature, you would need to create separate timers for the simultaneous access to the big 4 for recording (no Auto-hop outside of the PTAT feature). The PTAT is an automated feature that functions only during your local Prime-Time hours, and is the only way one can enjoy Auto-hop feature.

Maybe it is easier to understand it this way: in the vast majority of cases, the Big 4 nets are all on the same (spot-beam) transponder, so all the data for all the channels on that one transponder are in the stream to your dish and Hopper, anyway. What the Hopper does is, instead of discarding all the other data except for the one channel you choose to watch, all the data or all the data of all the channels are saved on the HDD and stored as if you were watching or recording each separately. This is why only ONE sat tuner is needed to record or watch, at any time 24/7 any or all of the big 4 simultaneously. Each sat tuner is limited to being able to tune to ONE satellite transponder at a time, but since the big 4 are all on that one transponder, one sat tuner is all that is needed to receive the big 4. I hope understanding how it works makes it easier to have your questions answered.