Hopper Input From Everyone

[Poke]

Ok guys I used to be with Dish went to Direct been happy so far but the new Dish Hopper looks like it fits my needs more. I like the 2TB drive and the 6 show recording plus with Blockbuster is a plus. So far what is everyone thoughts??? I can't switch back over until the end of June looking at getting a Hopper and 1 Joey is all I need at this time.. I plan on getting the America's Top 250,Blockbuster and Multi-Sports Pac as well..

How does Blockbuster work?? Can you stream new releases that come out ever Tuesday of the month? Can you pull in BlockBuster to your Joey's?

Muli-Sports how do those look everyone pleased with them??

TV-Apps how well do those work for everyone??

Last thing I thought I saw a Internet Box from Dish kind of like the Deca for Direct that you can plug into your wireless router back to coax so it passes your net connection back to your other Joey's.


Just like to hear input from the Hopper users and their thoughts and thanks for the feedback.

 

[sparc]

I like the 2TB drive and the 6 show recording plus with Blockbuster is a plus. So far what is everyone thoughts???

It's really 500GB of DVR space or 250 hours of HD. The rest is not necessarily space we can use directly. It's reserved for Dish and PTAT.

And the 6 show recording is when PTAT is enabled for primetime hours for those specific channels (or you get two hoppers for 6 real tuners)

there's a few feedback threads...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/hopper-zone/280219-question-what-do-you-like-about.html
http://www.satelliteguys.us/hopper-zone/280227-post-your-dish-hopper-install-experience.html

someone mentioned their experience with the apps here...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/hopper-zone/281266-apps.html

 

[Poke]

That stinks on the PTAT I thought you could Disable that where it would not record any of those so you don't have to use that feature..

 

[patmurphey]

Hoppers play an external drive, up to 2T, as transparently as if it was a second internal drive. That's an additional 1000 hours. If full, you can just switch to another one, and they are tied to your account not the box.

You can disable PTAT, but remember it uses a different part of the drive, except when you save a show to the user side.

 

[Poke]

Well if this is the case then I might end up staying with Direct and get on the Media Center Receiver due to I don't watch much on the locals.. Thats really stupid on Dish part to do things that way..

 

[mdonnelly]

The only reason I use the PTAT is that if I forget to watch something (like Big Bang Theory), it's automatically on the Hopper for a week. I don't see the downside of having PTAT enabled. It's not like you can use that disk space for something else.

 

[sparc]

I don't see the downside of having PTAT enabled. It's not like you can use that disk space for something else.

that you have a tuner locked up during primetime hours for a service you won't use?

it's exactly why we had to go 2 hoppers (we're not a PTAT household)

 

[Hall]

I don't see the downside of having PTAT enabled.

If you want to record multiple shows on other channels between 8pm and 11pm you'll have an add'l tuner available with PTAT disabled.

 

[Poke]

Yeah but you really can't record more than 2 things at once that come on 2 different channels at the same time.. So really you can't record 6 things at once so the reality is only on certain networks.. I want to be able to record one thing on A&E at 7pm and lets say another show on Syfy at 7pm and be able to watch something else. Also you don't have a true 2TB since they have it dedicated for other things.. Direct Media Center is a true 1TB and you can record 5 things at once with out it having to be certain channels..

 

[mdonnelly]

If you want to record multiple shows on other channels between 8pm and 11pm you'll have an add'l tuner available with PTAT disabled.

So far that hasn't become an issue with me. Maybe someday it will.

 

[sparc]

Yeah but you really can't record more than 2 things at once that come on 2 different channels at the same time.. So really you can't record 6 things at once just reality on local stations.. I want toe be able to record one thing on A&E at 7pm and lets say another show on Syfy at 7pm and be able to watch something else. Also you don't have a true 2TB since they have it dedicated for other things.. Direct Media Center a true 1TB and you can record 5 things at once with out it have to be certain channels..

not sure what you mean... let's say you had PTAT disabled

The hopper has three tuners. So you'll be able to record and/or watch three different channels.

If you need six non broadcast network recordings at the same time, then you'll definitely have to go with two hoppers.

 

[Poke]

not sure what you mean... let's say you had PTAT disabled

The hopper has three tuners. So you'll be able to record and/or watch three different channels.

If you need six non broadcast network recordings at the same time, then you'll definitely have to go with two hoppers.

Ok maybe I'm not getting. I would have no need for the PTAT so lets say I have a show that comes on A&E at 7pm on Fridays and another show that comes on at 7pm on Fridays on SyFy. So I would have 1 Hopper and 1 Joey can I still watch a different show on the main TV with the Hopper hooked up without it being one of the 2 that is recording at 7??

 

[Hall]

Yeah but you really can't record more than 2 things at once that come on 2 different channels at the same time.. So really you can't record 6 things at once so the reality is only on certain networks.. I want to be able to record one thing on A&E at 7pm and lets say another show on Syfy at 7pm and be able to watch something else.

It may benefit you to read some of the other threads about the Hopper...

Also you don't have a true 2TB since they have it dedicated for other things..

That is, IMO, a mistake for Dish to even mention the HDD size. They should stick to "available room for 250 hours of your own recordings plus room for PTAT and VOD...". An even better option would be to allow disabling PTAT and/or VOD and allow the user to have that space !!

 

[mdavej]

How does Blockbuster work?? Can you stream new releases that come out ever Tuesday of the month? Can you pull in BlockBuster to your Joey's?

Blockbuster is essentially DirecTV's HD Extra Pack plus discs by mail. The streaming portion is simply on demand versions of the HD Extra Pack plus a few movie channels, with very few new releases or any worthwhile content for that matter. However, discs by mail with in-store exchanges works well for me (2-day turnaround) and is a great value at $10/month since that buys your the Extra Pack channels plus all the latest releases on blu-ray, which is cheaper than Netflix. But like Netflix and other rentals, they still have the same rules about new releases being pushed out a month or two.

TV-Apps how well do those work for everyone??

Like DirecTV's apps, they are worthless. I do like the weather channel app though.

Last thing I thought I saw a Internet Box from Dish kind of like the Deca for Direct that you can plug into your wireless router back to coax so it passes your net connection back to your other Joey's.

That is correct.

Despite the negative stuff above and a few bugs, I love the Hopper/Joey system and my Dish package. They have a lot more basic HD than DirecTV, and you can augment your recording storage with an external hard drive, so you get 1TB of PTAT plus 500GB user recording space plus whatever else you plug in. With DirecTV, the external drive simply replaces the internal one. And the DVRs are blazing fast compared to DirecTV. As an ex-DirecTV sub myself, I'm much happier at Dish.

 

[sparc]

Ok maybe I'm not getting. I would have no need for the PTAT so lets say I have a show that comes on A&E at 7pm on Fridays and another show that comes on at 7pm on Fridays on SyFy. So I would have 1 Hopper and 1 Joey can I still watch a different show on the main TV with the Hopper hooked up without it being one of the 2 that is recording at 7??

so let's say you set a recording for A&E and Syfy at 7PM (two shows at the same time), then you'd still have a third tuner free to either record or watch between that hopper and joey.

(as long as you have PTAT disabled on the hopper box)

 

[Poke]

Blockbuster is essentially DirecTV's HD Extra Pack plus discs by mail. The streaming portion is simply on demand versions of the HD Extra Pack plus a few movie channels, with very few new releases or any worthwhile content for that matter. However, discs by mail with in-store exchanges works well for me (2-day turnaround) and is a great value at $10/month since that buys your the Extra Pack channels plus all the latest releases on blu-ray, which is cheaper than Netflix. But like Netflix and other rentals, they still have the same rules about new releases being pushed out a month or two.

Like DirecTV's apps, they are worthless. I do like the weather channel app though.

That is correct.

Despite the negative stuff above and a few bugs, I love the Hopper/Joey system and my Dish package. They have a lot more basic HD than DirecTV, and you can augment your recording storage with an external hard drive, so you get 1TB of PTAT plus 500GB user recording space plus whatever else you plug in. With DirecTV, the external drive simply replaces the internal one. And the DVRs are blazing fast compared to DirecTV. As an ex-DirecTV sub myself, I'm much happier at Dish.

Hmm some good points! Thanks for the input yeah has anyone tried hooking up any of the new FreeAgent® GoFlex™ Ultra–portable Drives to their Hoppers?? I really like them their small and you can get them up to 1.5TB.

 

[mdavej]

Ok maybe I'm not getting. I would have no need for the PTAT so lets say I have a show that comes on A&E at 7pm on Fridays and another show that comes on at 7pm on Fridays on SyFy. So I would have 1 Hopper and 1 Joey can I still watch a different show on the main TV with the Hopper hooked up without it being one of the 2 that is recording at 7??

Turning off PTAT frees up tuner 3. So in the above scenario, tuner 1 and 2 are recording, tuner 3 is free for live tv. If you watch tuner 3 on the hopper, then joey won't have a live tuner available and will need to join one of them or watch a recording.

You have a couple of options. Since many cable shows re-run in the wee hours of the morning, I don't record the first runs and I do most of my recording then, leaving more tuners free during prime time. Your other option is to get a second hopper instead of a joey, then you'll have 6 tuners, and the monthly cost is the same. The caveat is multiple hoppers can't see each other on the network yet, but are supposed to in an upcoming software release.

 

[satjay]

I am someone who switched from directv. I am enjoying the system as well as the programming. I have a two Hopper/one Joey set up. I have the the Joey attached to the Hopper that is not used a lot in our basement. The system has great speed and the on demand downloading is almost instant even for HD which is a first for me.

In regard to Primetime Anytime some nights I enable and some nights I don't.

 

[Poke]

Turning off PTAT frees up tuner 3. So in the above scenario, tuner 1 and 2 are recording, tuner 3 is free for live tv. If you watch tuner 3 on the hopper, then joey won't have a live tuner available and will need to join one of them or watch a recording.

You have a couple of options. Since many cable shows re-run in the wee hours of the morning, I don't record the first runs and I do most of my recording then, leaving more tuners free during prime time. Your other option is to get a second hopper instead of a joey, then you'll have 6 tuners, and the monthly cost is the same. The caveat is multiple hoppers can't see each other on the network yet, but are supposed to in an upcoming software release.

Ok cool! That makes sense I will just have to see when it gets closer to time overall I think the Media Center with 5 recordings might be the way to go due to you don't have to record certain networks and it's hard drive is not dedicated to certain things.. Again thanks for everyone input..

 

[Poke]

Does anyone know if they will let you get 2 Hoppers without getting a Joey? Or do they make you get a Joey no matter what?