Potential Hopper Customer

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edfiero

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Dec 22, 2004
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I currently have a VIP 622.

1. Can a Joey be hooked up wirelessly, or does it have to be connected to the Hopper via hard cable?

2. Will my existing antenna work, or do I need a new one? If the dish has to be changed, how do the dimensions compare?

3. What is everyone's opinion / pros and cons of buying the Hopper outright from Amazon or other retailer, vs Leasing it from DISH?

Thanks
 
1. We do have Wireless Joey with the Hopper.

2. You may need a new satellite dish depending on the satellite dish that you have now. There is a separate installation from the Hoppers to the VIP receivers.

3. There is not necessary a pros and cons list for buying the receiver outright. It is really a preference. You do have the option to purchase a receiver through DISH as well. Purchasing a receiver outright would allow you to have ability to disable and activate the receiver whenever you feel. There is a additional receiver fee that you are charged monthly for anytime the receiver is active.
 
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LailaS@DISH said:
... Purchasing a receiver outright would allow you to have ability to disable and activate the receiver whenever you feel which also removes the additional receiver fee that you are charged monthly anytime the receiver is active.
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I'm pretty sure there is still a fee when the receiver is active whether you have bought it or not.
 
edfiero said:
What is everyone's opinion / pros and cons of buying the Hopper outright from Amazon or other retailer, vs Leasing it from DISH?
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Assuming (I would sure hope) that this WILL be a FREE upgrade for you & that this is your primary (only) receiver - other than being tied to a contract, there really is NO advantage to buying it yourself. Also, if you buy it & it breaks after 1 year, YOU are on the hook to fix or repair it; if leased, they replace it for only a $20 exchange fee. (which you can usually get waived, depending on your circumstance)
 
edfiero said:
I currently have a VIP 622.

1. Can a Joey be hooked up wirelessly, or does it have to be connected to the Hopper via hard cable?
Click to expand...

To be clear, there is a "Wireless Joey" that is available (along with the Wireless Joey Access Point that runs it). It is not the same thing as a regular Joey, so if you are ordering/upgrading via Dish, make sure you mention that you want a "Wireless Joey" :)
 
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And from my experience and others on this forum, the Wireless Joey is faster/snappier than the standard wired Joeys, which can be painfully slow, especially as of late. As stated above, be clear to request "Wireless Joey" and Dish will install everything you need for it to work including the Wireless Joey Access Point, etc. Dish provides and installs everything.

Agreed, if you qualify for FREE or even discounted upgrade of only say $50 - $100 or thereabouts, you are better off just going through Dish for the upgrade. Buying any Dish equipment makes no economic sense nor has any economic advantages. The only time it does make sense to purchase your own Dish STB/DVR is if you need/want additional boxes beyond what Dish subsidizes because that is the ONLY way you are gonna get additional boxes for different rooms or use.
 
edfiero said:
I currently have a VIP 622.

1. Can a Joey be hooked up wirelessly, or does it have to be connected to the Hopper via hard cable? I have a wireless Joey and a "hard wire" moca joey. The wireless, surprisingly, is slightly faster and reliable so far (about 25 feet from the hopper through a wall). I wold go with wireless if your joeys are no more than say 1-2 rooms away from the hopper. I can't comment on the performance at longer distances.

2. Will my existing antenna work, or do I need a new one? If the dish has to be changed, how do the dimensions compare? Depends on what antenna you have now. You will probably need new LNB's at minimum. Online says dish is 36 x 6 x 24 inches, sounds about right.

3. What is everyone's opinion / pros and cons of buying the Hopper outright from Amazon or other retailer, vs Leasing it from DISH? I did the math for my situation and there was no financial incentive to buy my own equipment once I amortized the up front costs of buying and potential costs of repair/replacement. Your going to pay a monthly "outlet fee" regardless. Its hard to consider a situation where there is an advantage to declining "free" equipment UNLESS you plan on having the specific device disconnected for a significant portion of a 24 month period or you just cannot be under a contract for whatever reason. The Hopper is fancy technology that will get better quickly - most people interested in Hopper's features and technology are going to itch for the latest, greatest offering two or three years down the road, its cheaper to lease and upgrade.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
That dish size that m_w quoted is the shipping size of the un-assembled 1000.2 dish in a box. The dish face plate is much smaller.
 
As existing customer when I looked into getting H3 upgrade they wanted full price plus install fees. It was cheaper to purchase and has advantages without contract. To be fair I didn't mess around with them trying to talk down because It was ridiculous offer IMO. My credit is stellar so being treated differently because I was existing customer, immediately was a turn off.

For me I'm one that will bounce around and enjoy doing it. If I don't like something I leave. PSVue streaming looks almost as good as Dish PQ so may go back for AHC in HD soon if Dish continues to only offer SD with no streaming rights for AHC-GO which is HD.

Because of my non conventional viewing habits, like I don't watch any programming outside sports on networks, I can't find the perfect provider.
 
AFAIK the cost of the equipment they provide is determined by a number of factors, with the most important factor being credit score, but there are other factors.
 
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JSheridan said:
AFAIK the cost of the equipment they provide is determined by a number of factors, with the most important factor being credit score, but there are other factors.
Click to expand...

I would say credit was the least factor in my case. Unless 824 is considered bad.
 
camo said:
I would say credit was the least factor in my case. Unless 824 is considered bad.
Click to expand...

That's an excellent score. There must be another reason then as we've recently done H3 upgrades for existing customers as low as $50 to $100. Several months back H3 upgrades were free for most customers. :)
 
Maybe the fact I had just added a H2 to account month earlier (purchased) and decided on H3 instead. Possible they were looking at it as a leased receiver. I'm sitting on a 2 hoppers now. The H2 isn't hooked up however.
I love the H3 with 16 tuners, made a mistake going with the H2 first.
 
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