Replace Vip612 or upgrade to Hopper/Joey

[jerrycarson]

I have a Vip722 (non-k) in the living room and a Vip612 in the bedroom. Yes, I know I could run both rooms from the 722, but I like having the extra tuners.

The hard drive in the 612 has started to have issues so I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade to a hopper and a joey or just replace the 612. I'm pretty happy with the set-up I have so far, so I'm looking for pros and cons on the hopper/joey solution.

Also, I have an external antenna connected to the 722 in case that affects anything.

Thanks for your input.

 

[boba]

I have a Vip722 (non-k) in the living room and a Vip612 in the bedroom. Yes, I know I could run both rooms from the 722, but I like having the extra tuners.

The hard drive in the 612 has started to have issues so I'm wondering if it's time to upgrade to a hopper and a joey or just replace the 612. I'm pretty happy with the set-up I have so far, so I'm looking for pros and cons on the hopper/joey solution.

Also, I have an external antenna connected to the 722 in case that affects anything.

Thanks for your input.

I had a 612 fail last year and replaced it free with Protection Plan. So it is obvious that my vote is to not upgrade to Hopper. For me it was simply why pay more for a Hopper to get BUGS that the 722/612 no longer has. I have External Hard Drives so extra internal storage of Hopper isn't a benefit, especially with the posts about HD failures on Hopper & HWS.

 

[navychop]

First, let me serve you both this nice sweet refreshing beverage.....

 

[navychop]

WHATEVER you do, DON'T ask TheKrell what he thinks!

 

[navychop]

I moved from two ViP722 DVRs in to a couple of HWS DVRs. Never looked back. MUCH better boxes.

I'd really say there aren't any major bugs. My opinion, of course. There are some features I'd like to see, like padding OTA recording times. And adding in an OTA station manually.

But things are much better with Hopper.

 

[ChadT41]

First, let me serve you both this nice sweet refreshing beverage.....

Lol. Evil, my friend... I like it.

 

[TheKrell]

Too late Navy!

I have 1 owned 722 and 2 leased 612s, all of which served me well for years until recently. I had both leased 612s replaced (tuner problems) for free late last year, and the 722 (authorization problem) for free w/protection plan just last month. I made sure the replacement (still owned) 722 was working reliably and I discontinued the PP before I had it even 1 month.

As you can see, I do not favor the Hopper "solution" either. I have 6 sat tuners and 3 OTA tuners and what would that cost me via Hoppers?

 

[Boloni86]

The biggest issue most people have with upgrade is resigning the 2 year agreement. If you're cool with that the Hopper is the way to go. Keep in mind that if you go 1 Hopper/1 Joey you actually lose a tuner. You'll have 3 shared tuners instead of the two sets of 2 tuners you have now.

There are other configurations though if tuners are an issue. For I believe $3 more per month you can get a Super Joey instead of a regular Joey which equals 5 tuners. Keep in mind that tech will have to run a 3rd cable from dish to connect a Super Joey.

You can also get two Hoppers for a total of 6 tuners but this is very rare because the monthly price increase is not really worth one tuner.

The main benefits of the Hopper for you will be the shared DVR. You can now watch what you recorded on either TV. There's also a major increase in memory. Remote controls have a locate tracker for when you misplace them. The receiver is smaller and sleeker. The interface is a lot more modern. The entire DVR management is a lot more user friendly … for example the Hopper will look for first available rerun of a show to resolve a conflict. The response time when pushing a button on remote is much faster. If you have broadband connectivity the Hopper opens a whole world of features that weren't available on VIP like Netflix ap, Pandora ap etc …

 

[Scherrman]

Too late Navy!

I have 1 owned 722 and 2 leased 612s, all of which served me well for years until recently. I had both leased 612s replaced (tuner problems) for free late last year, and the 722 (authorization problem) for free w/protection plan just last month. I made sure the replacement (still owned) 722 was working reliably and I discontinued the PP before I had it even 1 month.

As you can see, I do not favor the Hopper "solution" either. I have 6 sat tuners and 3 OTA tuners and what would that cost me via Hoppers?

You would have a similar setup to me then, which is two Hoppers, two Joeys and two OTA modules. It's $38 in equipment fees which I believe is $11 more than what you're paying now. For me it's worth the extra money but I want all four of my TVs in HD and want access to my recordings on all of them.

Everyone has different needs.

 

[ChadT41]

Don't forget game finder. Best app ever.

 

[navychop]

Too late Navy!

I have 1 owned 722 and 2 leased 612s, all of which served me well for years until recently. I had both leased 612s replaced (tuner problems) for free late last year, and the 722 (authorization problem) for free w/protection plan just last month. I made sure the replacement (still owned) 722 was working reliably and I discontinued the PP before I had it even 1 month.

As you can see, I do not favor the Hopper "solution" either. I have 6 sat tuners and 3 OTA tuners and what would that cost me via Hoppers?

I'll GET your VIPs! And the little dog too!

 

[dare2be]

As soon as the list view option becomes available, I'll consider the Hopper.

 

[navychop]

I'm afraid your VIPs will be rust before we see list view. That ship has sailed.

OTOH, I was certain we'd never see Netflix on the Hopper.

 

[dwarren2]

If you just have 2 HD tv's, I'd go with a Hopper and a super Joey and the ota dongle. That would give you 5 sat tuners and an ota tuner. With the HWS you could use Dish Anywhere and view your Hopper from a tablet, smart phone or any computer. Very handy if you travel. Any ehd from your 722 will work on the Hopper. So you could transfer all your recordings from the 722 to the ehd and view them on the Hopper.

 

[ChadT41]

If you just have 2 HD tv's, I'd go with a Hopper and a super Joey and the ota dongle. That would give you 5 sat tuners and an ota tuner. With the HWS you could use Dish Anywhere and view your Hopper from a tablet, smart phone or any computer. Very handy if you travel. Any ehd from your 722 will work on the Hopper. So you could transfer all your recordings from the 722 to the ehd and view them on the Hopper.

Don't forget the transfer feature. Handy on planes!!!

 

[Tampa8]

I think the Hopper is the best overall receiver. But I don't and have no plans to go the Hopper route as I am very happy with my 612's.

That said, to me it comes down to do you want the newest and possibly best receiver and system, and are you willing to probably pay more for it. If you do the extra cost may be worth it.
In my case I have no use for seeing the same shows in all rooms, in fact the opposite. But there are features I would indeed want, like being able to transfer programs easily to my mobile devices is one. If one of my receivers fails very likely I will simply replace it for free and continue on.

 

[Bruno]

What is the monthly cost for a 612?

 

[ChadT41]

If the only receiver on the account, it is only the $7 dVR service fee. If it is a secondary receiver, it is $10. The $7 dvr service fee is whether you have 1 or 5 DVRs on the account.

 

[Bruno]

I have 2-622 and a 311 that i want to upgrade to HD. So i would be paying $7 for the 612 receiver and $7 for the DVR service if i understand you right. I might be better to go with a 211K and then i can hook up the External HD. Then just be an extra $7.

If the only receiver on the account, it is only the $7 dVR service fee. If it is a secondary receiver, it is $10. The $7 dvr service fee is whether you have 1 or 5 DVRs on the account.

 

[ChadT41]

You'd be lying $10 for the 612 in that case