New HR34 or wait for Hopper???

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Hopper still = Dish $$$ and Dish programming so no thanks!! Easy math to me and it isn't really all that great; except maybe for Dish folks.
 
That's a good point Satwatcher. I know it doesn't happen often, but even once with no TV for 4...5...6...9 days and I would be pretty upset.

Keep the comments coming - they give me more to think about so I can make an educated decision. I guess I am most concerned with giving up a trouble free TV setup and ending up with something that will give me stress. I have enough stress in my life and TV is a big part of relieving it. I don't want TV to be a stress contributor. But I would like the flexibility of a whole home setup.

I am also concerned with the response times on D* receivers. I have heard many times that they are not as quick as E*. I watched the Hopper demo at CES and the responsiveness was impressive.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I am here to tell you HOGWASH to all that crap plain and simple... Pick your programing preference and go with that provider.
 
MJL Atlanta said:
That's a good point Satwatcher. I know it doesn't happen often, but even once with no TV for 4...5...6...9 days and I would be pretty upset.

Keep the comments coming - they give me more to think about so I can make an educated decision. I guess I am most concerned with giving up a trouble free TV setup and ending up with something that will give me stress. I have enough stress in my life and TV is a big part of relieving it. I don't want TV to be a stress contributor. But I would like the flexibility of a whole home setup.

I am also concerned with the response times on D* receivers. I have heard many times that they are not as quick as E*. I watched the Hopper demo at CES and the responsiveness was impressive.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I agree about the downtime when a receiver breaks. The fact is, it DOES happen and usually seems ti be at the most inopportune time. I had numerous Dish DVRs replaced, losing all recorded shows and loss of recording/viewing on two TVs each time. I lost one Direct DVR but was still able to watch on all but one TV.

I wouldn't be terribly concerned with response times. Sure they are a bit sluggish at times and an irritant for a few moments but for the most part it really doesn't impact the overall viewing experience.
 
My biggest complaint about E* hopper is if you're recording 6 shows (2 + prime time) you can't watch tv in the rest of the house. With D* I can record and I can still watch tv on my other tvs.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys
 
Another issue with all Dish DVR's is if you record back to back shows there is no overlap recorded. Its a hard cut at the end time

so if you record back to back shows of say Pawn Stars or Storage Wars you usually miss the last little bit due to the hard cut at say 9:30:00 when it runs until 9:30:05
Directv at least records the overlap

Another thing that is funny is these same people who gloat that their 722k can record 2 sat & 2 OTA at the same time (with optional adapter) are turning their nose up at the Hopper because there is no OTA tuner option so they're "limited" to only prime time recording of more than one network
 
royrdsjr said:
"prime time anytime" technology is probably copyrighted by Dish/Echostar,let FIOS,U-Verse &/or Comcast try it next & see what happens. Then go from there.

The only thing they could copyright would be the name. FTA revivers can record all or part of the streams on the same transponder, so this is not unique to Dish/Echostar. It would more than likely be technically possible for the HR34 to do this.
 
E* still has not told how much they will charge per month for MRV and hopper/joey. We already know what D* charges per month for MRV and additional receivers.

With prime time anytime, it is available during prime time. And it is only the 4 major networks. That is the only time the hopper is able to record 6 programs at one time. With the hr35, all 5 tuners are available all the time and can record whatever channels you sub to, not just during prime time or the four major networks.
 
I don't think programming would be an issue with either D* or E*. I don't watch anything too off the beaten path and my initial analysis is that either service has the channels I want. In a perfect world, The NFL Ticket would be nice but it would be difficult to find the time to sit all day watching football without hearing it from my wife. The decision really comes down to the equipment, service reliability, and user friendliness (i.e., quick responding menus/guides, user interface, etc.). If the equipment works as it should, I wouldn't have a problem switching to D* right now and getting the HR34 plus additional receivers. That would also save me some money for at least 2 years. I guess HR34 reliability is my biggest concern, although the wife and kids probably wouldn't be thrilled with having to learn all new channel numbers and other D* peculiarities.
 
If the HR-34 has a fee structure similar to having two Hoppers then what would the advantage of the HR-34 be then? You would have one extra tuner with the Hopper right off the bat plus three more recordings during Primetime Anytime (which could take that extra 6th tuner) leaving more available from 8-11. They should have went ahead and made it 8-11:30 to record the local news too.
 
I don't think programming would be an issue with either D* or E*. I don't watch anything too off the beaten path and my initial analysis is that either service has the channels I want. In a perfect world, The NFL Ticket would be nice but it would be difficult to find the time to sit all day watching football without hearing it from my wife. The decision really comes down to the equipment, service reliability, and user friendliness (i.e., quick responding menus/guides, user interface, etc.). If the equipment works as it should, I wouldn't have a problem switching to D* right now and getting the HR34 plus additional receivers. That would also save me some money for at least 2 years. I guess HR34 reliability is my biggest concern, although the wife and kids probably wouldn't be thrilled with having to learn all new channel numbers and other D* peculiarities.

Programming's an issue if you're interested in the provider (D* vs E*) with the most sports feeds in HD. I refer to the overall choices besides ST.

Because of this, I've not considered Dish as an alternative to DirecTV. As for overall Cust Svc, I can't compare Dish as I've never been a customer, but in the 12 years with D*, I've had good experiences with them.

It's mostly about the programming to me. Regarding equipment friendliness, again, I can't compare Dish but my HR22 is fast enough for me after the recent Guide upgrade.
 
I wish DirecTV did the EHD like Dish does it where I would have both the internal hard drive and the EHD for saving shows. That might make my decision a little easier.
 
If the HR-34 has a fee structure similar to having two Hoppers then what would the advantage of the HR-34 be then?
The HR has only a $7 DVR fee
If you have TWO of anything with Dish you know you'll pay through the nose on that 2nd receiver. ;)
 
The HR has only a $7 DVR fee
If you have TWO of anything with Dish you know you'll pay through the nose on that 2nd receiver. ;)

Maybe. :)

If I do a comparison of what I have now and subtract out the MRV fee since Dish doesn't have that right now, and use the same number of DVRs with similar but not exactly, the same features, it is very close.

Direct = $65.99 (Choice Xtra) + $7 DVR + $12 (lease for 2 DVRS) = $84.99

Dish = $59.99 (T200) + $6 DVR + $20 (lease for 2 612s) = $85.99

As of right now, with D* the benefit is MRV which is not offered by E*, and with E* I have the benefit of having 3 OTA tuners that D* doesn't have. And with D*, even if I add an OTA module, it doesn't get me any more recording capabilities.

So 6 of one, half-dozen of the other.

I wonder what the cost breakdown will be with a pair of Hoppers?
 
Is it true that the D* OTA tuner (AM21N) will only scan/receive local channels if D* provides them? According to D* they don't carry my locals, only distant locals, which in my case would probably be New York. I'm currently with E* and have the 622, but I am interested in this whole house system. However, I must be able to get OTA in HD and with a guide that shows programming, which I get with E*.
 
The AM21 works off a database based on zip code. You can enter 2 zips if you are near 2 markets
All markets are loaded into the database so even if your locals arent carried by D* you can still get them OTA

What local market? I've got a spreadsheet that shows which locals are in the database
 
Charlottesville locals in the database

WVAWLD 16_1
WCAVDT 19_1
WCAVDT2 19_2
WCAVDT3 19_3
WAHULD 27_1
WVIRDT 29_1
WVIRDT2 29_2
WVIRDT3 29_3
WHTJDT 41_1
WHTJDT2 41_2
WHTJDT3 41_3

All I see missing is 27-2 (MyTV)

Richmond
WWBTDT 12_1
WWBTDT2 12_2
WCVEDT 23_1
WCVEDT2 23_2
WCVEDT3 23_3
WRLHDT 35_1
WRLHDT2 35_2
WCVWDT 57_1
WTVRDT 6_1
WTVRDT2 6_2
WTVRDT3 6_3
WUPVDT 65_1
WUPVDT2 65_2
WRICDT 8_1
 
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