Has Scott or anyone else actually confirmed this as a FACT yet, from the horse's mouth...or is this just all conjecture at this point???
So what DID you do then???
Replacing VIP211 with same or Hopper
- Thread starter Mark A Sparks
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Has Scott or anyone else actually confirmed this as a FACT yet, from the horse's mouth...or is this just all conjecture at this point???
So what DID you do then???
I heard it from the 'horse's mouth' with the 'horse' being a big shot at DISH who has said it at least twice on retailer chats.
Other than that, the 4-screen PIP, & faster speed, is there actually anything else that's good about it? You guys that keep blowing your wads over this box, I don't seem to ever read other good things about it, like:
- Logically laid out menus (they're NOT)
- The EPG screen layout that takes advantage of all the screen real estate that's available (oh hell NO it doesn't...NOT by a longshot & nowhere NEAR like it did on the old UI!)
- Search functions that actually find ALL instances of a show (it does NOT...NOT by a long shot!)
- Apps that actually function as you would expect (which I couldn't give a $#*t less about...I'm paying for satellite TV service first & foremost - NOT a streaming service!)
- Frustrating to FF/REW to a specific place, now that 4X is now history (total boneheaded move)
- Recorded shows broken up into multiple pieces
I know there's still other issues out there in the list, but these are the ones that affect me the most.
Yea sure, 16 tuners is nice & all...but if the software running them is a POS, then at the end of the day, what DOES it matter? At it is now, you could tell me it has 50 tuners & it still wouldn't matter...you only need SO many tuners anyway.
(Oh & do NOT sit there & tell me the B.S. that if I ONLY upgraded to an H3, ALL these problems would vanish - you KNOW that's a lie & there's plenty of postings here & other sites that prove this out)
Really sad that in this day & age, this "thing" is considered a "home run"...seriously, the software on these things, in it's current state, is maybe, at best, a couple steps above those first Dishplayers w/the Microsoft keyboard. (& longtime E* subs here know ALL about them!
)Why yes, you're missing out on all the "great things" I just described above
To the OP: Since nobody has mentioned this to you, the bottom line is that since you are used to the VIP UI, you WILL most likely find several missing functions on an H3, that you may very well take for granted on your current receiver. You might avail yourself of all the numerous postings on this site re: the issues that ARE still on the H3's, so you at least are going in fully knowing what you're getting yourself into now.
Also, since you are accustomed to your VIP remote, if you do go thru with an H3, I would STRONGLY suggest forgoing the latest remotes (50 or 52) & go with a trusty 40.0 Ho remote instead. It has the same familiar layout of the VIP remotes, plus continues to give you 1-button access to functions, that you now have to wade thru screens to get to on the new remotes. They still will work on the same Zigbee RF remote protocol as the newer ones, too.
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I'm happily using it. $19.99 plus taxes for Welcome Pack.
I would argue almost all those points. First and fore pay, my H3 is a rockstar. Has not failed yet.
With that being said, its speed is quite nice. Definitely enjoy that.
The layout, once learned, is more intuitive than the VIP software, imho. My apps work every time, and if I need the 4x fast forward rather than 15x, then I would just rather slow motion it or skip 30 seconds.
I do disagree with youe position, especially since from the nature of your post, you don't even have an H3 and it is hard to take advice about the H3 from someone thst doesnt even use it.
With that being said, its speed is quite nice. Definitely enjoy that.
The layout, once learned, is more intuitive than the VIP software, imho. My apps work every time, and if I need the 4x fast forward rather than 15x, then I would just rather slow motion it or skip 30 seconds.
I do disagree with youe position, especially since from the nature of your post, you don't even have an H3 and it is hard to take advice about the H3 from someone thst doesnt even use it.
You argue ANYTHING that anyone says against E*...both here & on E*'s forum. So continue with your kool-aid & I'll continue with my opinions accordingly...
Other than that, the 4-screen PIP, & faster speed, is there actually anything else that's good about it? You guys that keep blowing your wads over this box, I don't seem to ever read other good things about it, like:
- Logically laid out menus (they're NOT)
- The EPG screen layout that takes advantage of all the screen real estate that's available (oh hell NO it doesn't...NOT by a longshot & nowhere NEAR like it did on the old UI!)
- Search functions that actually find ALL instances of a show (it does NOT...NOT by a long shot!)
- Apps that actually function as you would expect (which I couldn't give a $#*t less about...I'm paying for satellite TV service first & foremost - NOT a streaming service!)
- Frustrating to FF/REW to a specific place, now that 4X is now history (total boneheaded move)
- Recorded shows broken up into multiple pieces
I know there's still other issues out there in the list, but these are the ones that affect me the most.
Yea sure, 16 tuners is nice & all...but if the software running them is a POS, then at the end of the day, what DOES it matter? At it is now, you could tell me it has 50 tuners & it still wouldn't matter...you only need SO many tuners anyway.
(Oh & do NOT sit there & tell me the B.S. that if I ONLY upgraded to an H3, ALL these problems would vanish - you KNOW that's a lie & there's plenty of postings here & other sites that prove this out)
Really sad that in this day & age, this "thing" is considered a "home run"...seriously, the software on these things, in it's current state, is maybe, at best, a couple steps above those first Dishplayers w/the Microsoft keyboard. (& longtime E* subs here know ALL about them!
Why yes, you're missing out on all the "great things" I just described above
To the OP: Since nobody has mentioned this to you, the bottom line is that since you are used to the VIP UI, you WILL most likely find several missing functions on an H3, that you may very well take for granted on your current receiver. You might avail yourself of all the numerous postings on this site re: the issues that ARE still on the H3's, so you at least are going in fully knowing what you're getting yourself into now.
Also, since you are accustomed to your VIP remote, if you do go thru with an H3, I would STRONGLY suggest forgoing the latest remotes (50 or 52) & go with a trusty 40.0 Ho remote instead. It has the same familiar layout of the VIP remotes, plus continues to give you 1-button access to functions, that you now have to wade thru screens to get to on the new remotes. They still will work on the same Zigbee RF remote protocol as the newer ones, too.
Has an instance of any, any technology ever come out and worked perfectly out of the box?? Thank GOD, most people don;t throw the baby out with the bathwater over early releases of any new software or we'd still be wondering if the moon really WAS made of green cheese. I mean, you cannot please everyone by giving every person every thing they want, but some of the things you complain about have work arounds. Fast Forwarding through commercials is replace by the skip button. I can hit that button 8 times forward and 1 time back MUCH faster than your revered 4x Fast Forward, for example.
Other than signal loss, and I record everything I watch, I've never had broken up or fragmented recordings. Never had a problem with searches, although I don't use it very often. and what part of the EPG are you not happy with? The thumbnail image? The sidebar information? And those menu buttons make perfect sense to me, as does the Options Button, with it's many functions per screen, the search that gives me Dish, On Demand and Netflix results and the info that lets me watch a trailer for any movie, gives me never before seen parental info on every program and a chance to see the cast AND Rotten Tomato reviews for all movies and all the available episodes for all shows.
Bottom line is, people come here looking or information and maybe your experience hasn't been stellar. Maybe you haven't given it chance or maybe you just haven't taken the time to discover ALL the differences in the newer software. I know there are glitches but I find it counter productive (and personally insulting) to come on here throwing a tantrum and making it look like it's some random piece of garbage when in fact, many find the Hooper 3 to be far and above almost anything else in the industry
Oh christ, where DO I start...
Uh, this software for the H3 has been out for well over a year to the general public! (I would assume it also had a minimal of beta testing prior...but knowing E*'s history of letting their customers be beta testers, I'm actually not sure about that) If you are telling me that a year+, is NOT long enough to get (at least) some of these bugs out, then you're standards are pretty darn low!
As far as E* then just "shoving it into" the other Ho's, that IS & WAS probably the biggest, boneheaded decision - both from an (under-powered) hardware perspective, as well as NOT getting the bugs out of it on the H3's FIRST. Again, why the hell should I have to pay E*, to have DVR's replaced that worked just fine UNTIL they shoved the CUI on them? (& yes, telling me I have to re-up a 2-year contract to replace it for no up-front cost, IS still in fact, paying for it!)
That's nice for you...many others would disagree & have. Again, it was something that E* has had on ALL their DVR's since the 501's; who the hell that has a lick of common sense, removes something like THIS???
Again, bully for you...others have & continue to...
Well if you're not using it very often, how would you know you have a problem to begin with?
ALL the wasted blank spaces on it...if you worked with the previous EPG, you would understand
But since you just said you don't use it very often, why would ALL that crap matter to you???
I'm telling you though, that I can actually see given shows that are currently in the EPG, go in & try to do a search on that same show for other times/channels, & it comes up with NOTHING!!! That's absolutely f$%@'d up! Just happened again to me last night...had to go to zap2it to find the programming instead.
And you think someone that's paying $15/month for the "most advanced DVR made", should have to do this - really???
And so have others, that I assume you overlook...
Well I find it personally insulting when other frustrated users come to boards like these, either ask questions &/or bring up their concerns about their issues & are told things like: (paraphrasing)
- There's work-arounds, deal with it
- It's working fine for me, so you must be crazy
- It's technically not a supported feature, so deal with it
- Nobody like myself uses it, so you don't need it
I also find it insulting when users come here to ask about whether one should switch, & people like myself try to warn them about potential pitfalls - among all the E* pom-pom wavers - & we get bashed because we KNOW that at least some of these features ARE important &/or there ARE still issues with this software...which should have already been fixed LONG by now.
Spoken just like an E* commercial or their CSR call center script...
Uh, this software for the H3 has been out for well over a year to the general public! (I would assume it also had a minimal of beta testing prior...but knowing E*'s history of letting their customers be beta testers, I'm actually not sure about that) If you are telling me that a year+, is NOT long enough to get (at least) some of these bugs out, then you're standards are pretty darn low!
As far as E* then just "shoving it into" the other Ho's, that IS & WAS probably the biggest, boneheaded decision - both from an (under-powered) hardware perspective, as well as NOT getting the bugs out of it on the H3's FIRST. Again, why the hell should I have to pay E*, to have DVR's replaced that worked just fine UNTIL they shoved the CUI on them? (& yes, telling me I have to re-up a 2-year contract to replace it for no up-front cost, IS still in fact, paying for it!)
That's nice for you...many others would disagree & have. Again, it was something that E* has had on ALL their DVR's since the 501's; who the hell that has a lick of common sense, removes something like THIS???
Again, bully for you...others have & continue to...
Well if you're not using it very often, how would you know you have a problem to begin with?
ALL the wasted blank spaces on it...if you worked with the previous EPG, you would understand
But since you just said you don't use it very often, why would ALL that crap matter to you???
I'm telling you though, that I can actually see given shows that are currently in the EPG, go in & try to do a search on that same show for other times/channels, & it comes up with NOTHING!!! That's absolutely f$%@'d up! Just happened again to me last night...had to go to zap2it to find the programming instead.
And you think someone that's paying $15/month for the "most advanced DVR made", should have to do this - really???
And so have others, that I assume you overlook...
Well I find it personally insulting when other frustrated users come to boards like these, either ask questions &/or bring up their concerns about their issues & are told things like: (paraphrasing)
- There's work-arounds, deal with it
- It's working fine for me, so you must be crazy
- It's technically not a supported feature, so deal with it
- Nobody like myself uses it, so you don't need it
I also find it insulting when users come here to ask about whether one should switch, & people like myself try to warn them about potential pitfalls - among all the E* pom-pom wavers - & we get bashed because we KNOW that at least some of these features ARE important &/or there ARE still issues with this software...which should have already been fixed LONG by now.
Spoken just like an E* commercial or their CSR call center script...
In the time I've been on here, the complaints have been with the 4X FF, the fact that and I agree with, that the CUI should not have been forced on the H2K or HWS - especially on the H2K; epic disaster, the problems with the newest updates on OTA Antennas, and few others. YOU make it sound like it's an epic failure when there are a lot of threads/posts claiming how good it is.
The search. I didn't say I never use it, I said I don't use it that often. Which means sometimes I use it.
The EPG - I use it to see what's on and what's coming on. I don't need the entire 55" of screen space just to see what's on. Maybe my new glasses are doing their job, but I can see what I'm looking for just fine.
Also, I've been installing as far back as the 301 right through the Hop3 so I know exactly what other EPG's have looked like. Again, sorry you're not satisfied. I guess that means no one should be.
the finger print scanner on my phone stopped working but my buddy has the same phone and his didn't. But since MINE quit, I guess that means every phone like mine is junk, right? You must be another one of those people lamenting the death of Windows XP, too, and every other OS has been a POS... smh
Just curious, have you had anyone come out and look at your system to see if maybe there's a problem with it? Typically, fragmented recordings come from signal loss
The search. I didn't say I never use it, I said I don't use it that often. Which means sometimes I use it.
The EPG - I use it to see what's on and what's coming on. I don't need the entire 55" of screen space just to see what's on. Maybe my new glasses are doing their job, but I can see what I'm looking for just fine.
Also, I've been installing as far back as the 301 right through the Hop3 so I know exactly what other EPG's have looked like. Again, sorry you're not satisfied. I guess that means no one should be.
the finger print scanner on my phone stopped working but my buddy has the same phone and his didn't. But since MINE quit, I guess that means every phone like mine is junk, right? You must be another one of those people lamenting the death of Windows XP, too, and every other OS has been a POS... smh
Just curious, have you had anyone come out and look at your system to see if maybe there's a problem with it? Typically, fragmented recordings come from signal loss
All I can gather from DishRich is "wah wah wah". Atleast when Claude comes here, he is respected.
Mods, go ahead and delete this one. I know it was wrong, but it stood to be said.
Mods, go ahead and delete this one. I know it was wrong, but it stood to be said.
Yeah, I get that. I had other receivers too. I know how it works. I get sucked into arguments too easily and I'm backing out of this one before it erupts. I just don't appreciate, on a site where people come to get unbiased answers to their questions, posts that use personal opinion to try and make something look like it's garbage when in fact there may be issues that can be fixed, or that particular user is trying to deflect his/her dissatisfaction on everyone else
I may have to follow that suit, voluntarily or involuntarily, depending on how gracious the mods feel today.
Don't fall prey to a knee-jerk from one totally subjective rant. I would never go back to a VIP after being a part of the Hopperhood!
I'm adding this 4X thing to my wish list.
I want to watch TV faster so I can get to sleep quicker.
Since the OP was considering simply getting a replacement ViP211, I am surprised that nobody recommended a Wally. The Wally would still use an external hard drive to provide DVR service for no monthly fee, just like the ViP211. The Wally would also cost $50 to purchase from Dish, just like the replacement ViP211k that was mentioned earlier. The Carbon User Interface is native to the Wally. (In other words, the CUI was not a forced upgrade from an old interface on the Wally. The Wally was designed to work with the CUI, just like the Hopper 3 was, so a Wally may not have all of the problems with the CUI that others with older Hopper models have been reporting.)
