Got my Hopper 3 yesterday - my experience so far

[Frank Furter]

Howdy folks - first post, I have gotten a lot of good info on here in the past so thought I'd contribute back with what I could.

I have a Hopper 2 (2000?), I'm a recent 15-year TiVo convert.(!). Got tired of lack of innovation from TiVo and the monthly subscription/guide fees.

Tech was prompt, same guy who installed my Hopper 2. My install was his second Hopper 3. I also have a couple wireless Joey's. Tech was a nice kid, but not as technical as I would hope. WiFi seemed like a mystery to him, and it was apparent he had simply been trained at his shop and knew how to connect A to B....

I had spent the last couple of days transferring my recordings from the H2 to my EHD via USB 2.0. Slow, had a few issues. In the end, everything came over *except* a couple of Master Chef recordings. I tried numerous times, and it would error out every time. Tsk.

The tech didn't seem to know for sure how the UI would work on the Joeys, which remotes I got, etc. The H3 has the new 52 remote, of course, but the wireless Joey's keep their original remote. He also (incorrectly) told me the Joey's would get the new UI "later". I'm relatively certain he meant days/weeks.

Anyway, he swapped out LNB and the other box outside, but the dish and cabling stays the same. He then swapped out the H2 with the H3 and did the config on that. It takes 30-60 minutes of downloading and updates to sync up. I helped him find the status menu that he has to use to send in the config/confirmation to the home office. Once that was all going, I noticed the Joeys were showing they wanted to connect to the new unit, but they had the old UI. I was bummed. But then the tech did some config on them which forces an update/refresh, which brings in the new UI. This also takes about 20-30 minutes.

So, Joeys now have the new UI as well, and they seem as zippy as the head unit. I confirmed with Dish on Twitter while the tech was still there that the old Joeys keep the previous gen remotes, and I don't get the new 52 remote for them. Which sucks, as that remote is horrible. The tech suggested I wait a few months and then call Dish to see if they can send out new remotes for the Joeys. Not sure if that's even technically possible, but I might see if I can pair my new remote with the older Joey. This is important to me as the head unit is on a TV that we don't use that often, but was forced there due to cabling/logistic issues.

Overall, I'm pleased with the new UI. It's faster, much faster, and looks great compared to the old one. My biggest annoyances right now are creating Timers from search (they get classified as 'seek' timers, meaning they're not tied to a specific channel, and therefore you can't edit them.) Timers you create from selecting a show from the guide are classified as 'dvr' timers, and can be edited like you're used to. I understand the difference, but rarely do I want a 'seek' timer. I want a specific channel.

Biggest annoyance - the DVR recordings screen. We've got this slick new interface, but they left the giant 4" square show icons. I hate this. Why they didn't include an option to have a simple list is baffling. I guess if you have less than 16-20 timers, great, but doubt that's the majority of us. Also, there's no way to get rid of that stupid Prime Time Anywhere thing, nor the Rentals box. They occupy the 1st and 2nd position of the screen.

There's some silly stuff that might confuse the average user. For instance, when you search for shows (greatly improved, btw), it returns the results on the right side of the screen. It tells you to select the number by the result you want. Usually, though, it returns ONE line of results, and that number is "0". So it would appear you have NO results, but in reality, you need to press the ZERO button to get the results. Dumb.

Also, if you have custom guide listings, they don't transfer over to the new Hopper. Obviously, I suppose, but the older Joeys (with the new UI) *do* have your existing favorites still available. Seems like there should be an easy way for the tech to transfer them via USB or something.

I've had a Joey reboot on me once when I was really hammering it, but other than that, it's been stable and non-glitchy for the past 18 hours. I also see no way of transferring my EHD recordings *back* to the Hopper 3. This sucks, but I guess it's better than not having your old recordings at all.

Sorry to ramble, all for now. I'm going to post another thread about transferring the recordings from the EHD back to the H3. Great upgrade, DISH, I hope they keep the updates coming regularly.

 

[Scherrman]

I was a little confused with your comment on the Joey remote. You're saying you don't like the remote you already have with that Joey?

 

[kwindrem]

So, Joeys now have the new UI as well, and they seem as zippy as the head unit. I confirmed with Dish on Twitter while the tech was still there that the old Joeys keep the previous gen remotes, and I don't get the new 52 remote for them. Which sucks, as that remote is horrible.

The 52 remote can be purchased from the Dish store for $20. Other sources don't appear to offer them YET. Or watch for people that don't like the new one and swap your 40 remote with them.

Biggest annoyance - the DVR recordings screen. We've got this slick new interface, but they left the giant 4" square show icons. I hate this. Why they didn't include an option to have a simple list is baffling. I guess if you have less than 16-20 timers, great, but doubt that's the majority of us. Also, there's no way to get rid of that stupid Prime Time Anywhere thing, nor the Rentals box. They occupy the 1st and 2nd position of the screen.

Many of us have been begging for a list view and it's sad to find the new U/I doesn't have that option still.

In general, the new DVR menu is better than the old but I agree that if you have no PTAT programs it's icon should not appear. Same for Rentals. Same for Deleted.

It's disappointing that the icon lists show so little. More rows please.

There's some silly stuff that might confuse the average user. For instance, when you search for shows (greatly improved, btw), it returns the results on the right side of the screen. It tells you to select the number by the result you want. Usually, though, it returns ONE line of results, and that number is "0". So it would appear you have NO results, but in reality, you need to press the ZERO button to get the results. Dumb.

Agreed. But you can also cursor over to the result and press SELECT.

Also, if you have custom guide listings, they don't transfer over to the new Hopper. Obviously, I suppose, but the older Joeys (with the new UI) *do* have your existing favorites still available. Seems like there should be an easy way for the tech to transfer them via USB or something.

My custom lists, timers and other configurations transferred from my H2 without issue.

 

[SHSPVR]

So, Joeys now have the new UI as well, and they seem as zippy as the head unit. I confirmed with Dish on Twitter while the tech was still there that the old Joeys keep the previous gen remotes, and I don't get the new 52 remote for them. Which sucks, as that remote is horrible. The tech suggested I wait a few months and then call Dish to see if they can send out new remotes for the Joeys. Not sure if that's even technically possible, but I might see if I can pair my new remote with the older Joey. This is important to me as the head unit is on a TV that we don't use that often, but was forced there due to cabling/logistic issues.

No it not as zippy as Hopper 3 I found it to be a bit under power
I like the New Remote

Overall, I'm pleased with the new UI. It's faster, much faster, and looks great compared to the old one. My biggest annoyances right now are creating Timers from search (they get classified as 'seek' timers, meaning they're not tied to a specific channel, and therefore you can't edit them.) Timers you create from selecting a show from the guide are classified as 'dvr' timers, and can be edited like you're used to. I understand the difference, but rarely do I want a 'seek' timer. I want a specific channel.

This is a bad idea to specific channel as if the TV show move to new channel it will never get record and I would perf option seek or auto any day over fix channel

Biggest annoyance - the DVR recordings screen. We've got this slick new interface, but they left the giant 4" square show icons. I hate this. Why they didn't include an option to have a simple list is baffling. I guess if you have less than 16-20 timers, great, but doubt that's the majority of us. Also, there's no way to get rid of that stupid Prime Time Anywhere thing, nor the Rentals box. They occupy the 1st and 2nd position of the screen..

So Ture

Also, if you have custom guide listings, they don't transfer over to the new Hopper. Obviously, I suppose, but the older Joeys (with the new UI) *do* have your existing favorites still available. Seems like there should be an easy way for the tech to transfer them via USB or something.

Or clould acct save would been nice too

 

[Scherrman]

No it not as zippy as Hopper 3 I found it to be a bit under power
I like the New Remote


This is a bad idea to specific channel as if the TV show move to new channel it will never get record and I would perf option seek or auto any day over fix channel


So Ture


Or clould acct save would been nice too

The new Joeys are plenty fast. Much better than the original Joeys. It's possible they are not as fast as the Hopper 3 but still pretty quick.

 

[Troch77]

The new Joeys are plenty fast. Much better than the original Joeys. It's possible they are not as fast as the Hopper 3 but still pretty quick.

I thought the new Joeys were the same as the current "CR" 2.0 S487 version?
Is that not correct?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[Scherrman]

I thought the new Joeys were the same as the current "CR" 2.0 S487 version?
Is that not correct?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

The JoeyCR and Joey 2 are suppose to be the same thing. I was talking about the original Joey 1.

 

[Troch77]

The JoeyCR and Joey 2 are suppose to be the same thing. I was talking about the original Joey 1.

Yes they suck.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[bmetelsky]

Yes they suck.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Which?

 

[Scherrman]

The Joey 1.

 

[Troch77]

Which?

The original Joey 1.0 with S395 software.
I have one of each, and 1.0 is Terrible compared to the 2.0

Dish is sending me another Hopper with sling, and then I'm going to buy a 4K joey to replace it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

[kwindrem]

Overall, I'm pleased with the new UI. It's faster, much faster, and looks great compared to the old one. My biggest annoyances right now are creating Timers from search (they get classified as 'seek' timers, meaning they're not tied to a specific channel, and therefore you can't edit them.) Timers you create from selecting a show from the guide are classified as 'dvr' timers, and can be edited like you're used to. I understand the difference, but rarely do I want a 'seek' timer. I want a specific channel.

If the search finds a result in the guide it will create a DVR (or auto tune) timer. If does not find a match in the guide, your choice is to "Record When Available". This creates a Seek timer.

It is not possible to create a timer for which search does not turn up any hits (or a hit for the desired program). For example, I wanted to create a timer for Outlander for when it starts up in April. I have some episodes recorded and these showed up in the search results along with an unrelated movie, so what I wanted to do is not possible.

Manually creating a seek timer is no longer available. Create Timer can only create DVR or auto tune timers. If they allowed a "any channel" selection instead of "None" then you could create a timer for a show that doesn't appear in the guide or search results.

 

[Frank Furter]

I was a little confused with your comment on the Joey remote. You're saying you don't like the remote you already have with that Joey?

Yeah, I have the 40.0 remotes on each Joey and my old H2. I got the new 52.0 remote with the H3, but didn't get new 52's for the Joeys. Not the end of the world, but just seems cheap to me to not upgrade them for customers as well. That being said, the 40.0 remote works fine with the new UI, but overall it's a poor remote. 10,000 buttons on it, and after 3 months I'm still not completely using it without thought. The one positive about TiVo - the peanut remote was superb. The 52.0 is an improvement, but still not super intuitive.

 

[khemka]

Howdy folks - first post, I have gotten a lot of good info on here in the past so thought I'd contribute back with what I could.

I

There's some silly stuff that might confuse the average user. For instance, when you search for shows (greatly improved, btw), it returns the results on the right side of the screen. It tells you to select the number by the result you want. Usually, though, it returns ONE line of results, and that number is "0". So it would appear you have NO results, but in reality, you need to press the ZERO button to get the results. Dumb.
.

Looks like your search database has not populated fully - give it a day or two. You will see results 0-9...

 

[bluegras]

Looks like your search database has not populated fully - give it a day or two. You will see results 0-9...

vivek i need help on something i need to transfer my recordings from my hard drive to the hopper 3 i see my hard drive on my hopper 3 and thats where i am stuck at.

 

[Frank Furter]

vivek i need help on something i need to transfer my recordings from my hard drive to the hopper 3 i see my hard drive on my hopper 3 and thats where i am stuck at.

I'm working on this on another thread. It looks like you have to go to your DVR recordings, change your source to the external drive, then go to options and manage the recordings. THEN, you'll see a menu pop up that has the option to transfer to the hopper, but you need to select a recording first. Not too intuitive, but it's there

 

[Scherrman]

Yeah, I have the 40.0 remotes on each Joey and my old H2. I got the new 52.0 remote with the H3, but didn't get new 52's for the Joeys. Not the end of the world, but just seems cheap to me to not upgrade them for customers as well. That being said, the 40.0 remote works fine with the new UI, but overall it's a poor remote. 10,000 buttons on it, and after 3 months I'm still not completely using it without thought. The one positive about TiVo - the peanut remote was superb. The 52.0 is an improvement, but still not super intuitive.

Hmmm... Remotes are generally personal preference but I'm pretty sure the Dish remotes have been considered some of the best in the industry. The 40.0 remote design has been a similar design for quite a few years and many people prefer it.

I know the average customer prefers fewer buttons to avoid confusion but the majority of the members here seem to prefer the current amount.

I wouldn't just expect Dish to replace remotes for free but it wouldn't hurt to give Dish a call and tell them how you feel. They may send some your way.

 

[Todd Nicholson]

vivek i need help on something i need to transfer my recordings from my hard drive to the hopper 3 i see my hard drive on my hopper 3 and thats where i am stuck at.

Select your external drive in DVR Sources, then choose Options and Manage Recordings. You can then choose what to transfer over.

 

[Frank Furter]

Hmmm... Remotes are generally personal preference but I'm pretty sure the Dish remotes have been considered some of the best in the industry. The 40.0 remote design has been a similar design for quite a few years and many people prefer it.

I know the average customer prefers fewer buttons to avoid confusion but the majority of the members here seem to prefer the current amount.

I wouldn't just expect Dish to replace remotes for free but it wouldn't hurt to give Dish a call and tell them how you feel. They may send some your way.

Agreed. I have seen worse remotes, but the TiVo remote is in a class by itself. I thought my remote before that was awesome.....

Side note, it was a no-brainer to pair the 52.0 to my older Joey, so I'm fine for now. I use the Joey location about 98% of the time, so it was important to me that I have the 52.0 down there. I paired the 40 to my Hopper 3, all is right in the world for now. But good suggestion, I may call and discuss with DISH.

 

[xfoneguy]

Hmmm... Remotes are generally personal preference but I'm pretty sure the Dish remotes have been considered some of the best in the industry. The 40.0 remote design has been a similar design for quite a few years and many people prefer it.

I know the average customer prefers fewer buttons to avoid confusion but the majority of the members here seem to prefer the current amount.

I wouldn't just expect Dish to replace remotes for free but it wouldn't hurt to give Dish a call and tell them how you feel. They may send some your way.

I think I would give the 40.0 a 100%/5-star rating if only the buttons were lighted. I watch a lot at night when my better half is trying to sleep. I have several of the better Logitechs and yes, they do a lot but somehow they just don't "feel" right. I don't understand why Dish has never done anything with lighted buttons. I seem to remember having an excellent lighted one with DTV.