Engadget review of Hopper

[Brodieb]

Dish Hopper whole-home DVR review -- Engadget

Pretty positive overall.

"If you have Dish already and can't decide if it's worth the upgrade, don't: it's a no brainer. If you're considering switching to Dish and you're worried about not liking the DVR as much as your current provider's DVR, you also have an invalid concern, as the Hopper is as good as any provider-issued DVR we've ever tried. In fact the only person we'd even hesitate recommending this to is the TiVo evangelist or Windows Media Center fan, and even in those cases, we could make a strong argument that the Hopper has more to offer."
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[DustoMan]

Ya, a few nit picks here and there, but over all nothing to surprising or outrageous. Most complaints are things that others have mentioned here.

Though I do think this swipe at Dish as a service is a little inaccurate:

The biggest gotcha, though, might be the fact that the Hopper only works with Dish's TV service, which is typically missing at least one key channel thanks to ongoing carriage disputes. Additionally, it doesn't carry HD versions of all the broadcast networks, like PBS, and it requires a long-term contract for the privilege of leasing hardware that can never be owned.

PBS in HD varies from area to area and you can actually buy the Hopper and Joey outright if you want to without the need for a contract. Oh and there's no such thing as a provider that is immune to carriage disputes.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think Ben really nailed it.

When they get the Hopper so you can use two Hoppers seemlessly with the Joeys... and offer OTA support this will be the best DVR on the market.

 

[Brodieb]

One of the first comments mentions the six tuners - Dish is really misleading people with the record up to six shows at once part. I responded hoping to clear things up.

 

[DustoMan]

One of the first comments mentions the six tuners - Dish is really misleading people with the record up to six shows at once part. I responded hoping to clear things up.

Oh... comments. I was going to say that Ben's review didn't mention six tuners. He said six shows at once and then went on to explain how that worked. I can't see the comments here at work so I missed that.

 

[Brodieb]

Oh... comments. I was going to say that Ben's review didn't mention six tuners. He said six shows at once and then went on to explain how that worked. I can't see the comments here at work so I missed that.

You're not missing much, they degraded quickly. I now remember why I prefer forums like this versus blogs.

 

[bjdraw]

Yeah, the comments on Engadget can be hard to read, less than 1% of our readers comment, I assume it isn't the brightest 1%.

Thanks for the kind words, I updated the post about PBS being available in some markets and emailed my Dish contact to get the MSRP on the Hopper and the Joey so I can update that.

 

[TheKrell]

PBS in HD varies from area to area...

I'm in one of the areas with no PBS in HD. For those who do have PBS in HD, is it part of PTAT, or not?

 

[JM42]

I'm in one of the areas with no PBS in HD. For those who do have PBS in HD, is it part of PTAT, or not?

No. In Atlanta we have two PBS stations, both HD, neither included in PTAT.

 

[isaacmorseMI]

Correct, PTAT only records the big 4 for now.

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