Info needed for Hopper3 and 3 wired Joey Installs

[Larry]

Leaving Spectrum TV service, but keeping Spectrum Internet. We had Dish prior to Spectrum (late 2016 or early 2017) and had essentially the same setup...a Hopper3 and three wired Joeys. I don't remember how Dish was connected, but I need to find out if my cabling arrangement will handle the hookup. The feed from the dish runs to a junction box in the bedroom closet which contains 2 - RG6 cables that run to the entertainment center. Also from this junction box RG6 cables run to each of the other rooms in our house (the Joeys were hooked up with these cables). Only one "entertainment center RG6" is in use at this time and it feeds a primary mesh router, a cable modem, a TiVo and its frequency converter. That leaves the other "enterainment center RG6" to feed the Dish signal to the Hopper. Will I have enough available cables to do this? How does the Hopper connect to the Joeys?

Summertime has arrived with a vengeance in SoCal (Riverside County) with extremely high temps. I really want to get this done soon, but don't want to ask an installer to work in extreme attic temps.

 

[ethanlerma]

Will I have enough available cables to do this?

Yes. One RG6 run per tv location to the junction box is adequate.

How does the Hopper connect to the Joeys?

Hopper/Joey's interconnect via MoCA, similarly to how certain TiVo units do as well (their implementations are not interoperable as they operate at different frequencies, but the underlying technology is the same).
In your case, a hub (diplexer placed between the satellite dish and Hopper that inserts Joey's MoCA signal into the Hopper line) would be placed in the junction box, and since the hub only provides two Joey ports you would also need a two way splitter on one of them to allow for 3 Joey's total.

All in all a simple job as long as all of the RG6 runs are in good condition and none need to be replaced. The only suffering I foresee for your installer is the actual dish alignment outside, but I bet they expect that and it beats the attic.

 

[Larry]

Yes. One RG6 run per tv location to the junction box is adequate.


Hopper/Joey's interconnect via MoCA, similarly to how certain TiVo units do as well (their implementations are not interoperable as they operate at different frequencies, but the underlying technology is the same).
In your case, a hub (diplexer placed between the satellite dish and Hopper that inserts Joey's MoCA signal into the Hopper line) would be placed in the junction box, and since the hub only provides two Joey ports you would also need a two way splitter on one of them to allow for 3 Joey's total.

All in all a simple job as long as all of the RG6 runs are in good condition and none need to be replaced. The only suffering I foresee for your installer is the actual dish alignment outside, but I bet they expect that and it beats the attic.

Thanks for the speedy reply...now, on with getting the appointment.

 

[scoob83]

I might suggest a Hopper 3, 2 wireless Joeys, and then use a FireStick and Dish Anywhere for the 4th tv and save the monthly box fee?


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[tjboston5676]

I might suggest a Hopper 3, 2 wireless Joeys, and then use a FireStick and Dish Anywhere for the 4th tv and save the monthly box fee?


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As a tech I would never ever recommend that. If coax is available it's always better than wifi Joeys. Based just off his cabling description it's probably a decent sized house so I'd avoid wireless. And the dish anywhere app is garbage.

 

[Larry]

Thanks for the replies. So far the install is scheduled for this afternoon. Hopefully all will go well.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Thanks for the replies. So far the install is scheduled for this afternoon. Hopefully all will go well.

Remember the first 24 / 48 hours new Hoppers may not act correctly or fast as normal as they are building up their databases and caches.

Hope you get a Hopper 3. There is no better DVR anywhere.

 

[Jim5506]

I would refuse anything less than a Hopper 3.

 

[nelson61]

I would refuse anything less than a Hopper 3.

They pawned off a hopper 2 on my brorherinlaw. When he was showing me his new service i said "no way". Runs like a snail comprared to the 3. He called and had them come back and change to the 3. Loves it and streams his locals to his winter home.

 

[scoob83]

As a tech I would never ever recommend that. If coax is available it's always better than wifi Joeys. Based just off his cabling description it's probably a decent sized house so I'd avoid wireless. And the dish anywhere app is garbage.

Appreciate your perspective. I have a 3000sq ft house with this setup. No issues with the wireless Joeys and no issues at all with Dish Anywhere. It works great for me. The only trouble I sometimes have with Dish Anywhere is the DVR access not working sometimes. Even though my house is wired with Coax in every room, I prefer less cables, especially since the coax outlets aren’t on the correct walls. I had a great Dish tech who did my install a few years ago and listened to what I wanted and found a solution. Hopefully you aren’t shutting down customers who prefer wireless Joeys. And I’m also saving $84/year by using Dish Anywhere rather than paying for a fourth receiver. Everyone has different wants and needs and this worked for me.


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[Jim5506]

My perspective is that it is not necessarily that the Dish Anywhere app is garbage but that the Fire Stick remote is inadequate in almost every way. Of course it is aimed at streaming but when applied to Dish anywhere it is difficult to change channels and impossible to go directly to another channel without 6 or 7 button presses. But then I prefer linear TV to streaming.

 

[tjboston5676]

Appreciate your perspective. I have a 3000sq ft house with this setup. No issues with the wireless Joeys and no issues at all with Dish Anywhere. It works great for me. The only trouble I sometimes have with Dish Anywhere is the DVR access not working sometimes. Even though my house is wired with Coax in every room, I prefer less cables, especially since the coax outlets aren’t on the correct walls. I had a great Dish tech who did my install a few years ago and listened to what I wanted and found a solution. Hopefully you aren’t shutting down customers who prefer wireless Joeys. And I’m also saving $84/year by using Dish Anywhere rather than paying for a fourth receiver. Everyone has different wants and needs and this worked for me.


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Absolutely I take care of my customers. I love the flexibility of wireless. But I will just never recommend a wireless receiver over coax of the coax is already there. If that's what the customer really wants then absolutely I'm going to get it done for them, so long the signal is adequate. The biggest thing on the dish anywhere app is you need good internet preferably with no data cap and that also doesn't really exist in my area, so it's never been a reliable option for a t. That wo be watched on a daily basis. If its something that's just every once in awhile then yes it's a great option. I've been doing this about to be 11 years, so I've seen it all, done it all. I always key the customers know their options as well as the pros and cons of each option and ultimately it's their choice.

I also prefer that techs are the one to discuss it rather than csr or what they read on the internet. Because csr doesn't know what they are doing and every situation and house is different so it's always best practice to leave it to the tech upon arrival to discuss the options and what will and won't work.

 

[HipKat]

Appreciate your perspective. I have a 3000sq ft house with this setup. No issues with the wireless Joeys and no issues at all with Dish Anywhere. It works great for me. The only trouble I sometimes have with Dish Anywhere is the DVR access not working sometimes. Even though my house is wired with Coax in every room, I prefer less cables, especially since the coax outlets aren’t on the correct walls. I had a great Dish tech who did my install a few years ago and listened to what I wanted and found a solution. Hopefully you aren’t shutting down customers who prefer wireless Joeys. And I’m also saving $84/year by using Dish Anywhere rather than paying for a fourth receiver. Everyone has different wants and needs and this worked for me.


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Don't worry, techs will do almost anything to prevent running cable