DISH Hopper coming at CES ?

[Scherrman]

According to Dish viewers can watch up to four different recorded or on-demand shows in four rooms of the house, simultaneously. As for live TV, you can watch something different in three different rooms unless one of the tuners is being used to record Primetime. It is said that the feature can be turned off so you can always have access to the three tuners. Hope that clears things up some.

 

[Scherrman]

I thought the HBO content was just going to be stored on the receiver or available like VOD.

 

[digitalblue]

We now know you can add OTA. Now the question is will they let you lease TWO Hoppers together so you can have 6 Tuners.

In the past, Dish for the first year would not let you have Two, but You had to out right buy the 2nd box, say for $600

Anyone with 3 people living in the house (Two Parents and One Kids) will need more than 3 tuners IF You want to use the My Primetime feature.

Example: My Prime Time is recording. Mom wants to watch Life Time, Dada wants to watch ESPN AND use PIP, Kid wants to Watch Disney. You CANT DO IT because the 3rd Turner is busy recording My Time Time.

In this example using Picture and Picture you would need a total of 5 Tuners!!!

With a 2nd Hopper box you would have 6 tuners, you now can do PIP and Watch anything, AND have my Primetime so you can watch recorded shows later.

For quite a while now a new customer can pay a one-time lease upgrade fee and get a second 722 or 612.

As for a needing a second Hopper, I've been thinking about that and it just depends on your household. We rarely watch live TV anymore unless it's a sporting event. I have over 30 weekly timers setup on my 922 (no OTA) and rarely have conflicts, so a third would be a bonus. Since most non-network programming is heavily repeated (even on the same day - especially TNT and AMC) we've had very few issues. So the big question is how much live programming do you actually watch compared to how much is recorded.

 

[jerryez]

Your HDTV has an OTA tuner. The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner. You can watch a OTA network on your HDTV tuner.

 

[TheKrell]

The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner.

Because there are a whole lot more channels available OTA than just the Big Four, plus there are subchannels on each (including the Big Four), and some not carried by Dish in HD, or not carried at all. Even for HD sat channels, many of us think the PQ is better OTA.

 

[navychop]

Your HDTV has an OTA tuner. The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner. You can watch a OTA network on your HDTV tuner.

Plus time shifting. You can record the OTA signal to your DVR and watch it later. You actually watch stuff live?

 

[sethwell]

Your HDTV has an OTA tuner. The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner. You can watch a OTA network on your HDTV tuner.

I have an HDTV that has no tuner at all. hence i would need a tuner on the receiver to view my OTA channels. lol, or maybe just upgrade my tv, it is getting pretty old, but still looks great!

 

[Charise]

If, and I hope so, OTA is available and via USB add-on, will we be able to use a USB hub to have OTA capability + EHD + sling adaptor at the same time?

Thanks!

 

[dwarren2]

Your HDTV has an OTA tuner. The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner. You can watch a OTA network on your HDTV tuner.

Because there are a lot of shows that I record off the subchannels of the 2 PBS stations I can receive OTA. Plus there are times I record OTA signals from the 2nd DMA that I receive.

 

[primetimeguy]

Your HDTV has an OTA tuner. The Hopper records all four networks. Why does it need an OTA tuner. You can watch a OTA network on your HDTV tuner.

Because OTa quality is better than what Dish gives me.

 

[navychop]

I have an HDTV that has no tuner at all. ....

Then you have an HD monitor, not TV. Early on into the digital conversion a lot of these were sold. Saved the cost of an ATSC tuner. But still a good reason for Dish to continue support for OTA.

 

[ToddG]

My ota's are still not in hd. The tuner is a must for me.

 

[Neutron]

I really hope DISH is listening to its customers this time. OTA is a must for a lot of us. The majority of our programming we watch is locals, and for me that means OTA on the channels I can get.

 

[Laddyboy]

I really hope DISH is listening to its customers this time. OTA is a must for a lot of us. The majority of our programming we watch is locals, and for me that means OTA on the channels I can get.

Scott already reported that OTA would be available via a USB tuner.

 

[Bobby]

Until we see it, it doesn't exist!

 

[theoak]

Here are a couple of "USB" PC based tuners:

Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick TV Tuner - Compare Prices and Reviews on Pinnacle 230100090 Video Capture Devices at PriceGrabber

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 USB2 Hybrid Video Recorder - Compare Prices and Reviews on Hauppauge 1139 Video Capture Devices at PriceGrabber

Perhaps the Hopper will use one of these?

 

[sparc]

actual physical receiver count would be going down in my case since i'd only need one hopper. It all comes down to how they set up the costs for the Joey. If you could buy it outright for like $50 a piece, i'd be with dish for a lot more years.

First time i've been excited about Dish hardware enough to consider upgrading, but much higher fees than what i'm paying now would scare me away.

 

[dwarren2]

Here are a couple of "USB" PC based tuners:

Perhaps the Hopper will use one of these?

Your first line says it all. PC based. I have an older version hooked up to my puter right now. It needs the computer to operate. We need one that can be controlled by a remote and will integrate with the receiver. It musr be able to be programed and record to the internal hard drive like my 722 & 211.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

They are currently testing a number of USB tuners with Hopper, and are trying to decide if they are going to put a list of tuners that work with Hopper or have an exclusive Hopper USB OTA tuner which is better customized for the Hopper experience.

 

[dwarren2]

They are currently testing a number of USB tuners with Hopper, and are trying to decide if they are going to put a list of tuners that work with Hopper or have an exclusive Hopper USB OTA tuner which is better customized for the Hopper experience.

Will any of these tuners allow you to record to internal HD? Unless I can record to the internal HD, as good as it sounds, this set up is a no go here.