Best way to upgrade my system - Hopper or not?

[jrbdmb]

I currently have a 722 in the family room and a 211 w/ EHD upstairs. I plan on adding two more TVs upstairs and would like to keep open the possibility of a TV in the basement someday. After a bit of reading it seems like my options are:

1. Get a Hopper for the family room and two Joeys for upstairs, third joey for the basement when needed. Note that getting the Hopper wired to the upstairs Joeys will be a pain.
2. Get a Hopper just for the family room, two more 211s w/ EHDs upstairs. Add a Joey for the basement when needed.
3. Leave the 722 as-is, use the 722 coax output for the basement as needed. Add a Hopper and Joey for upstairs.
4. Leave the 722 as-is, use the 722 coax output for the basement as needed. Add two more 211s w/EHDs upstairs.

I'm leaning towards Option #2 or #4 as these seem like the simplest upgrades. Any thoughts or other recommendations would be appreciated. And is it worth upgrading from a 722 to a Hopper? I've had no issues with the 722 except it runs hot. Thanks.

 

[Scherrman]

You won't be able to put any 722's or 211's on a Hopper account. It's either Hopper equipment or ViP equipment.

 

[boba]

I currently have a 722 in the family room and a 211 w/ EHD upstairs. I plan on adding two more TVs upstairs and would like to keep open the possibility of a TV in the basement someday. After a bit of reading it seems like my options are:

1. Get a Hopper for the family room and two Joeys for upstairs, third joey for the basement when needed. Note that getting the Hopper wired to the upstairs Joeys will be a pain.
2. Get a Hopper just for the family room, two more 211s w/ EHDs upstairs. Add a Joey for the basement when needed.
3. Leave the 722 as-is, use the 722 coax output for the basement as needed. Add a Hopper and Joey for upstairs.
4. Leave the 722 as-is, use the 722 coax output for the basement as needed. Add two more 211s w/EHDs upstairs.

I'm leaning towards Option #2 or #4 as these seem like the simplest upgrades. Any thoughts or other recommendations would be appreciated. And is it worth upgrading from a 722 to a Hopper? I've had no issues with the 722 except it runs hot. Thanks.

Do a lot more reading you have a poor understanding of the Hopper/Joey operation. As Shermann states other receivers are not allowed in combination with Hoppers. Hopper only has 3 tuners so a combination of 1 Hopper and 2 Joeys maxes out the number of independent connections. Yes 3 joeys can be connected but only 3 tuners are available to the 4 outputs.

 

[Scherrman]

If you are wondering if upgrading to the Hopper system is worth it you should read more of the Hopper forum. You have to determine how many TVs you want in HD, how many people will be watching TV at the same time, how many shows you like to record and how many poeple are recording shows. If you have multiple HDTVs and you record a lot of shows then I would go with the Hopper system, two Hoppers and 1 or 2 Joeys depending on how many TVs.

The Hopper system is more money per month but the features are well worth it if you will use them. If you are happy with what you have with the 722 then stick with it and possibly expand on it.

 

[jrbdmb]

Oops, I did realize you can't mix a Hopper with a 722 but forgot that when I wrote my post; option #3 is a non-starter. But my understanding is you *can* have a 211 on the same account as a Hopper. Or is that old information?

 

[TimberWolf]

you can add a 211k for use in an rv

 

[KAB]

you can add a 211k for use in an rv

And you have to own it.

 

[jrbdmb]

OK. So at this point I'll be adding two 211s. Not worth ditching the receivers I have now for a Hopper solution. Thanks.

 

[patmurphey]

OK. So at this point I'll be adding two 211s. Not worth ditching the receivers I have now for a Hopper solution. Thanks.

Good idea, but you have no idea what you are missing out on, especially with a 2 Hopper system.

 

[KAB]

Good idea, but you have no idea what you are missing out on, especially with a 2 Hopper system.

Amen, to that!

 

[jim090]

Question whats advantage of getting 2 Hoppers vs 1 Hopper 1 joey trying to figure this all out . I have 1 722 now . from what everyone has helped me with sounds like i

will need 3 coax feeds at one Hopper . 1 sat input 1 OTA 1 for output to Home system from modulator .

 

[Jim5506]

For the same # of TVs the Hopper setup is usually $11 more per month than the VIP setup, with no HD locals here - FORGETABOUTIT!!

 

[Scherrman]

Question whats advantage of getting 2 Hoppers vs 1 Hopper 1 joey trying to figure this all out . I have 1 722 now . from what everyone has helped me with sounds like i

will need 3 coax feeds at one Hopper . 1 sat input 1 OTA 1 for output to Home system from modulator .

The advantage is having 2 TVs in HD and being able to use 6 tuners for recording and sharing those recordings between the 2 TVs. You would need 3 coax feeds from the dish to the duo node. The duo node can be placed inside the house or outside the house. From the node you would have 1 coax go to one hopper and the other coax run to the second hopper. If you are going to have OTA on either on you would need a second coax to that hopper. If you were to add OTA modules to the hoppers then you could have up to 8 tuners.

 

[dare2be]

The advantage is having 2 TVs in HD and being able to use 6 tuners for recording and sharing those recordings between the 2 TVs. You would need 3 coax feeds from the dish to the duo node. The duo node can be placed inside the house or outside the house. From the node you would have 1 coax go to one hopper and the other coax run to the second hopper. If you are going to have OTA on either on you would need a second coax to that hopper. If you were to add OTA modules to the hoppers then you could have up to 8 tuners.

You didn't answer his question. He was asking the difference between getting 2H/0J and 1H/1J. The difference is that the upfront costs will be higher, but you'll get twice the tuners and twice the recording space. It will be harder to get 2H/0J as Dish doesn't officially support that configuration, but a local retailer might be able to set it up. You only need 1 coax feed to each box unless you plan to do OTA, then you would need 2. You would need 3GHz RG6 cabling runs to each hopper.

 

[Scherrman]

You didn't answer his question. He was asking the difference between getting 2H/0J and 1H/1J. The difference is that the upfront costs will be higher, but you'll get twice the tuners and twice the recording space. It will be harder to get 2H/0J as Dish doesn't officially support that configuration, but a local retailer might be able to set it up. You only need 1 coax feed to each box unless you plan to do OTA, then you would need 2. You would need 3GHz RG6 cabling runs to each hopper.

You're right. I kind of glanced over the question. I half way answered it though. LOL