That makes sense. What also makes sense is being able to utilize PSIP data. That's not delivered over satellite, so no worry about transmitting too much data.
OTA channel guide problem
- Thread starter Jeffrey A
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In your case, they won't help you, but we are talking about OTA channels and OTA guide information. In that case they are cheaper ,because as long as you have an ota antenna and Air tv device that can record them, the price is Zero. It cost Nothing for ota channels and as I 've been saying they provide Complete guide information for all channels and sub channels. My Air Tv Anywhere ota dvr has 4 ota tuners that you can record at the same time.
Even if you don't actually sub to the Sling Tv programming ,you can still activate an account with them and use it to record and watch your ota channels for ZERO. You also will get FREE programming Sling tv channels that you can watch.
I am paying about $56.00 a month/ $ 60.62 with tax to get all the programming I got with DISH plus a few channels I couldn't get with Flex pack, for half the price . I sub to Sling Blue for $35.00 + total tv deal for $21.00. The total tv deal also includes programming packs like :
Sports extra,
Kids extra,
Comedy extra,
Lifestyle extra,
Heartland extra,
Hollywood extra
It includes the extended cloud dvr & is included in that $21.00 price. I get 200 hours of cloud dvr and with my Air tv Anywhere device I get up to 350 hours for ota recordings on it's internal hard drive.
I also pay NOTHING for extra receivers and can watch in any room with wifi and away from home on my phone or other peoples tvs if I sign in there.
One wonders why the code is not portable to the Hoppers...
Okay, so it looks like a choice between continuing to use my purchased Hopper 3 and AirTV dual-tuner OTA adapter (which would truly cost me zero) or spending money to buy an AirTV device to use instead. It looks like the AirTV Anywhere device would be $199.99 plus tax:
Maybe someone here who already has an AirTV Anywhere would be willing to make a trade for a gently-used Hopper 3...
The issue was people were not using them, why spend money on something most people are not using.
I use mine all the time, and watch more OTA TV then I do of actual DISH network service. But I am not the norm.
All DISH would have to do is add the Sling tv app to its apps and people could do the rest like I already posted. I know if they get a hopper plus with a browser to add what you want , you could add the app there and this would accomplish what I am saying. Might be the only way to since the idea doesn't seem interesting to DISH . In the past I have suggested to them ideas like this and no response.
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The problem is that around the same time that Dish stopped including OTA tuners in new receivers, Dish also started having more and more frequent contract disputes with local channels, to the point where it got absurdly annoying. Most markets were affected by at least one of those disputes (to make a vast understatement). More importantly, every major market was affected by at least one of these major local disputes, meaning that most people were affected. So, just when Dish customers needed the OTA tuners the most, and Dish was actively pushing those customers toward using OTA, that is when Dish made it less convenient to get OTA integrated into the receiver.
If the OTA tuner had been built-in, then there would have been nothing that Dish needed to ship to the customer. Dish could have still offered the free mudflap antennas as a courtesy. However, Dish also could have just as easily told these customers to go to the nearest big box store to buy a cheap one.
Instead of spending the money on having the OTA tuner built-in (so customers could be more easily prepared in advance of a dispute) Dish chose to spend money on shipping out OTA adapters and even rolling trucks for installers to add them in many cases. In some of these cases, the dispute was so short that by the time the customer received the OTA adapter, the dispute was already over. So, the customer really saw no benefit from the OTA adapter at all, so why keep it hooked up and actually use it? Remember, at that time customers did not yet have the option of dropping the satellite locals from their basic package to save money.
Unless of course you are using a Wally, or a Hopper 1, or a Hopper Duo, or a ViP receiver...
Well I did say that it should be for the Hopper class of receivers. The better receiver should have more than the cheaper receivers. This would encourage those who want better guide information to upgrade to a Hopper.
"A rising tide lifts all boats, except the one that is taking on water." As new and better features get added to the upper-class Hopper line, some more features should trickle down to the lower models. Otherwise, Dish should just sink those lower models, and replace them with newer versions with more features. As in, more features than they had before, but still less than the higher-numbered Hoppers. As it is, Hopper 3 keeps gaining more and more, but what does Wally gain?
Wallys are great for those who take them with them in their RVs or who tail gate in parking lots. They are cheap and they do give you the option to turn it into dvr and add the ota usb dongle so you an see ota stations and record 4 things at the same time: 2 sat/2ota. A lot of older people like Wallys for this purpose. Hoppers are for the those who want everything they can get from the service with all the bells and whistles.
I have two counter-arguments to that:
First, Dish seems to be assuming that nobody who uses an RV has a 4K TV. If you have enough space for a TV with a fairly decent screen size (40" or more, which would also be a great size to watch while tailgating) there are more and more 4K TV options available at a relatively low price. (Such as the 43" ONN 4K TV I got at Walmart.) In fact, I would say it is getting harder and harder to find any new model TV's of that size that are not 4K. So, if pretty much any new TV you get is going to be 4K, why not use a receiver that is capable of sending that picture quality to your TV? Dish pretty much pushes the Wally on RV customers, yet does not offer a 4K Wally.
Second, most of the content that Dish does offer on their 4K channels is live sporting events. (The type of content that most people prefer to watch live.) So, why is a receiver model with DVR service (and the accompanying monthly DVR fee) necessary in order to view this content? Again, this 4K content (that people might want to watch while tailgating) should also be made available on a non-DVR receiver model.
All of my local translators as well as the Class A KPWT (Weigel) all have good OTA guides according to what they tell me, but none of my tuners go out more than a few hours, other than the Recast, and they get the guide info elsewhere. If the stations have the 10 day to 2 week guide, then why don't we see it on most TVs.? One TV only gives the current program and the next. The TV manufacturer much not have a memory chip that will store days of the guide.
I have had nothing but trouble trying to get a good accurate guide from anywhere other than Titan online. Either the box goes with some 3rd company that does not cover everything, or the unit doesn't have the memory to use the complete OTA guide the TV station puts out. It is very frustrating. In contacting Tablo, that evewn charges for the guide, they don't carry all of the channels either. TV Guide is terrible compared to Titan. They offer little here. According to what the Portland stations tell, their guide works. But how in the World can I get it?
I have had nothing but trouble trying to get a good accurate guide from anywhere other than Titan online. Either the box goes with some 3rd company that does not cover everything, or the unit doesn't have the memory to use the complete OTA guide the TV station puts out. It is very frustrating. In contacting Tablo, that evewn charges for the guide, they don't carry all of the channels either. TV Guide is terrible compared to Titan. They offer little here. According to what the Portland stations tell, their guide works. But how in the World can I get it?
Well you don't have to make your Wally a dvr either. So you can watch it all live if you want, so if you are a tail gater that would work for you ,as long as you get Satellite locals. A lot of sports are still on local broadcast tv stations. If you want 4k- DISH is telling you that you need a Hopper 3 upgrade. It's the way they do their business model. You want more ,you get the newer better receiver with the Higher DVR fee.
What is KPWT's definition of "good" in regards to the guide? I can see 2-3 days being "good" with 10-14 days being "exceptional".
Don't get me started on that. Even if the 4K event Dish is covering is also being broadcast on a local channel, Dish doesn't include the 4K version in the Locals Only package (nor in any other cheap package that either includes locals or can get the Locals add-on pack). You need to subscribe to an America's Top package to get the 4K feed. I can maybe see Dish requiring either a DVR fee or a higher package to be allowed access to 4K sporting events (that are already being broadcast in HD in the package you are already paying for) but requiring both? That seems like double-dipping to me. It is a price gouge and a cash grab.Well you don't have to make your Wally a dvr either. So you can watch it all live if you want, so if you are a tail gater that would work for you ,as long as you get Satellite locals. A lot of sports are still on local broadcast tv stations. If you want 4k- DISH is telling you that you need a Hopper 3 upgrade. It's the way they do their business model. You want more ,you get the newer better receiver with the Higher DVR fee.
Today on my phone I saw a DISH add for the Hopper plus and you can add up to 10,000 + apps to it and watch it all through one input on your tv. So it's out for new subs who get the hopper 3 I guess. Says you just call on the microphone on your remote what you want to watch and it will take you there. No picture of the hopper plus though.
