I was thinking the same thing. This is just a hint at what they plan on doing with duo tuner fees down the road. Plus now the hopper system wll be their baby, don't expect a whole lot of improvements on the vip units
DISH Network Retailer Chat Recap - "Hopper Special" - 2/16/2012
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I was thinking the same thing. This is just a hint at what they plan on doing with duo tuner fees down the road. Plus now the hopper system wll be their baby, don't expect a whole lot of improvements on the vip units
If you only want a single TV, the Hopper is not the best choice for you. Just get a ViP receiver, such as the ViP211K (& EHD). No $4 whole house fee. Why is this concept so strange? Why would you want a Hopper for a single TV - just to have "the latest and greatest?"
From what I can tell the hopper is nothing more than a three tuner version of the 922. Same channel logos , menus , tiles with some new apps that work like blockbuster@home. No tv 2 or built in sling, but the same basic concept as the 922. The main difference is Primetime anytime feature on the hopper. I know I used to be one of those that wanted to be first and have cutting edge technology. But I learned from the 922 debacle that it isn't always smart to be the first one to adopt a new receiver and to suffer through the software glitches and waiting for promised features that are coming "Sssooooonnn."
To all those who think the vocal "fee-adverse" group is just a bunch of tight-wad complainers, and especially to any Dish representatives paying attention:
Speaking for myself (and I suspect quite a bit more), I am not against spending more money on my TV service, I can certainly afford it and am willing to. But I want value in return for that outlay. I currently have a 2-TV single intgrated DVR and saw the opportunity with the Hopper/Joey to expand my system to a 3-TV integrated DVR. I certainly could have expanded with the ViP receivers, but the extra $7-17 per month wasn't worth losing the integrated single DVR management. Now with the H/J, I find that expanding to 3 TVs will cost me an extra $18/mo, which once again in my mind is too steep for what I'm getting in return. If that had been $11 a month more, I would be jumping all over it as an early adopter. So I will remain with my 722 and not spend any more money with Dish at this time, and even consider looking at alternative providers down the road.
So, look at it this way: by including the first Joey free, Dish would actually make $11/mo more from me. Even if I stayed with 2 TVs I would still upgrade to a Hopper/Joey increasing my fee outlay by $4. Dish's overall fee revenue could increase in the long run with less churn and higher sub counts by making that one simple change in their fee structure.
Speaking for myself (and I suspect quite a bit more), I am not against spending more money on my TV service, I can certainly afford it and am willing to. But I want value in return for that outlay. I currently have a 2-TV single intgrated DVR and saw the opportunity with the Hopper/Joey to expand my system to a 3-TV integrated DVR. I certainly could have expanded with the ViP receivers, but the extra $7-17 per month wasn't worth losing the integrated single DVR management. Now with the H/J, I find that expanding to 3 TVs will cost me an extra $18/mo, which once again in my mind is too steep for what I'm getting in return. If that had been $11 a month more, I would be jumping all over it as an early adopter. So I will remain with my 722 and not spend any more money with Dish at this time, and even consider looking at alternative providers down the road.
So, look at it this way: by including the first Joey free, Dish would actually make $11/mo more from me. Even if I stayed with 2 TVs I would still upgrade to a Hopper/Joey increasing my fee outlay by $4. Dish's overall fee revenue could increase in the long run with less churn and higher sub counts by making that one simple change in their fee structure.
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Interesting way of looking at it. Of course, the hardware is way different, but I realize you mean functionally. But I can't help but think the new baseline will offer more options and developments in the future. And perhaps at a lower cost than ever fancier ViPs would have been.
I see your point. I wonder how many current customers would view it the same as you, and act in a similar manner. Perhaps more importantly, how will new subs view it?
$7 to add another HDTV feed does not seem bad. But I must admit, that $7 does not buy you any more tuners or storage, unless you're getting a second Joey.
More and more, a single 6 tuner box looks like a good idea. Uncomplicated bragging rights over DirecTV. But then some would complain it only drove one TV without adding, and paying for, a Joey.
Well see if they will do it at a lower cost in the future. IF DISH would rethink the entire fee concept to make it more attractive to existing subs and to attract potential subs to come to DISH , I would agree with you. But as it stands they already got you for $4.00 more just adding the hopper to your account. I don't really see how you can have a whole house dvr when the first joey is a separate $7.00 fee. Now if they would of even just charged $5.00 per joey, it would of been more attractive. Especially since you don't get a tuner in the joey unit . It shouldn't cost as much as a 211k that has both satellite and a built in ota tuner . It is nothing more than a thin client that allows you to see in hd your main hopper unit, in other rooms in your house.
You know, I got to thinking with all these fees that these satellite and cable companies charge, I wouldn't be surprised if some competition eventually comes their way and advertises one flat price, this is what you pay, no hidden fees, no additional fees, just pay the programming for whatever number of tv's you want and it would be an incredible hit. You would get HD and DVR and so forth. I would also see the customer having to pay for the hardware though. Some kind of breakthrough like MagicJack for $20 per year only for television. It would probably be offered via IPTV.
$7 to add an additional HDTV outlet is not bad at all. $4 to convert an existing SD outlet to HD is worth it too. $7 (+$4) to convert an existing SD outlet to HD isn't.
I recently got a magic Jack for around $81.00 with tax included and it includes the first year's service. Cut out my monthly $28.70 to Vonage internet phone. I would love it if someone could do what you suggested. I think the future will be about iptv service ,possibly a hybrid of ota or sat and iptv. If you could get one place to get all your tv shows without having to watch an actual channel , it would definitely be a way to reduce our monthly costs. I think that channels are no longer really needed. Just put out the tv shows on the iptv network and you watch the shows when you want to. They could even do it with dvr functions. Something like Play on or Play later(dvr).
Roku or Boxee or similar type box, with multiple room outputs and simultaneous access to channels and streaming services.
The only problem with the idea, as it exists now, is IP bandwidth and/or caps.
I'm in the same boat. 1 TV that rarely gets used. I'm wondering if I can get the coax to it and just move a Joey to it when I want to watch that TV.
I imagine that they will make a Joey married to the Hopper its connected to during activation to prevent account stacking. If it is a shared system I wonder how they would make that work? Married to either one? Or is it not going to be married at all? I guess they would get "divorced" when they get deactivated.
Joeys have a smart card and must be activated just like a standard sat receiver before they work. No way to account stack with Joeys since they only work with Hoppers.
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I would be going from:
HD/SD (2TV) Receiver 14.00
HD/SD (2TV) Receiver 14.00
HD/SD (2TV) DVR Receiver 17.00
DVR Service 6.00
HD Receiver 7.00
Total: 58.00 / mo. fees...
I will need 2 hoppers and 4 joeys (6 total tvs) and I am on AT250.
So what will it cost to upgrade and what will my monthly fees be?
HD/SD (2TV) Receiver 14.00
HD/SD (2TV) Receiver 14.00
HD/SD (2TV) DVR Receiver 17.00
DVR Service 6.00
HD Receiver 7.00
Total: 58.00 / mo. fees...
I will need 2 hoppers and 4 joeys (6 total tvs) and I am on AT250.
So what will it cost to upgrade and what will my monthly fees be?
Upgrade is $100 with up to 3 Joeys. Additional Joeys are $99, another Hopper is $199. Fees: 1st Hopper is $10, Joeys and second Hopper are $7 each.
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First Hopper doesn't have any fees. Unless you consider the $6 DVR fee and the $4 Whole-Home fee.
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