Scott's Hopper Thoughts

[Scott Greczkowski]

I have been rather quiet on my feelings about the Hopper and Joey since all the news came out last week.

I wanted everyone to have their say before some folks accused me of trying to stear conversations in a pro DISH light. A lot of people think I am a DISH pom pom waver, when I am not... I am just a regular subscriber just like you. But I am a subscriber with a unique vantage point that no too many people have and it is because of this I see things sometimes in a different light then others...

Let me explain...

First I have seen a lot of negative comments and what ifs posts about Hopper and Joey, some of the warranted... while others not so much. What I find funny watching from the driver’s seat is that quite a bit of the negative and posts which seem to be aimed to confuse people about Hopper and Joey are being posted by DISH's competition. While do to our privacy policy I cannot name people or their companies they work for there are quite a few of them trying to stir the pot. Why are they doing this? My only guess is this new technology has got them worried and its release could hurt their bottom line. In fact its the only reason I can think of. Some of these folks doing this are new, but many are longtime members posters and even in some cases Pub Members / Supporters. I wish I had a BS meter for you guys to tune these guys out, but being the open forum we are we are not going to stop people from posting negative things about a product or service unless (and only unless) the post(s) are obvious trolling.

So with that said I invite you to look at Hopper and Joey with an open mind and DECIDE FOR YOUR SELF if it’s a product you want in your house.

Now onto my thoughts on the Joey and Hopper...

First of all as someone who has seen the power of the Hopper and Joey I can say that I want one! I am so happy and excited to get one that I spent my entire weekend redoing all the wiring at my house getting ready for the Hopper! (I could have waited but with the amazing weather we were having I felt it was best to act while I could in the good weather because who knows with the way the weather is going this year we might have a Blizzard on March 15th) For me I want 2 Hoppers and 5 Joeys. That will let me hook DISH up to every TV in my house and all in full HD. Having two Hoppers will also give me piece of mind that if there is an issue with one Hopper at least we can still watch TV.

For me the most exciting part of the Hopper and Joey system is no Prime Time Anytime, but its the abilty to watch me recordings anywhere in the house. So many times I am watching something and my kids come into my room and say wow what's that and they want to watch what I am watching, with Hopper I can allow them to watch my recordings, so no more will I have to watch a show twice so they can see it... now they can watch in their own rooms or in the living room.

I do think that DISH is making a number of mistakes with the launch of Hopper and Joey and if there are watching and reading I hope they will consider my constructive feedback.

First if it was my decission, I would allow people to have and keep one (and only one) piece of ViP equipment active on their account with a Hopper and Joey setup. There are a number of reasons for people to have a ViP receiver left on their account but two of the reasons are people with or who want a DISH Tailgater and those who take their receiver with them when they go in their RV or camping. I could see DISH saying no VIP's on an account if they offered some kind of Pay Per Day service, but to pay for a separate account just so you can use your tailgater once a month is just crazy to me. I myself have been known to take a receiver and a DISH on a tripod out on occasions for camping or in some cases to give product demos. I also would not have a problem if DISH charged more for a Hopper upgrade to those who want to keep on ViP receiver since the hookup is more complex due to the need of a switch. DISH is known as the TV Everywhere company and they proved that again this year when they won an CES innovations award for their Tailgater, and now all they will be doing is making customers angry who own a Tailgater and want a Hopper and Joey and will be killing the sales of the Tailgater because people wont want to pay for a separate account.

Secondly I believe that DISH should be including 1 Joey with the Hopper at no extra charge. I have no problems with additional Joey's being $7 a month. But to give the first Joey at no additional cost would be something that would cause POSSITIVE BUZZ for DISH and would allow for DISH customers to show off the new Hopper Technology to their friends. In seeing how Joey works people would want more Joeys for other TV's in there house and most importantly it would make DISh customers more sticky, as going anywhere else would cost them more. When Joe Clayton was talking about More Movies, More Music, More Magic, this could be the real magic of it all. The positive word of mouth alone would pay for the costs in the long run. Again a Hopper should come with 1 Joey STANDARD at no extra cost for that Joey.

Finally I want to say that for many the Hopper and Joey will be an exciting upgrade but it is not for everyone! Some people here are acting like DISH is forcing them to upgrade and to pay more... this is not the case at all. If you are happy with what you have now, fine keep it. But if you want that all Hopper offers then upgrade! If you decide to upgrade don't whine about paying $100 to be able to do so, the $99 fee is a very fair cost considering that a tech will need to come to your house, will have to rewire your system to work in a MoCA setup, in some cases some might need a DISH upgrade or other parts upgraded to support Hopper and Joey, not to mention that the installers don't work for free nor as you know gas is not free, plus you are getting hardware that is worth way more then $100... just the 2 Terabyte Hard Drive in the Hopper is worth more then $100 alone. Please consider the $100 cost as a bargain as if you think about it... it really is!

And those are my thoughts on the Hopper and Joey and with that... I can't wait to get one!

 

[whitewolf8214]

so true scott

 

[rglore]

Don't need a switch to connect a VIP receiver, just run a coax direct to the 1000.x LNB. (would still need a switch if you have dual Hoppers)

 

[NotMe546]

You tell them Scott. :up

 

[jerryez]

Scott, are you giving up all your VIP receivers or setting up a seperate account. I am happy with what I got. Plus, I do take a receiver camping with me.

 

[CK SatGuy]

My thought with the tailgater issue is that Dish should've made the hopper compatible with the tailgater so those customers don't have to worry about having or not having a 211k in their setup/account.

 

[Scherrman]

Don't need a switch to connect a VIP receiver, just run a coax direct to the 1000.x LNB. (Only works if using a single Hopper)

So if you have a Hopper and Joey you would still need the switch?

 

[Scherrman]

My thought with the tailgater issue is that Dish should've made the hopper compatible with the tailgater so those customers don't have to worry about having or not having a 211k in their setup/account.

Dish doesn't want dvr receivers going along with the tailgater. Opens them up to more hard drive failures.

 

[mikew]

My thought with the tailgater issue is that Dish should've made the hopper compatible with the tailgater so those customers don't have to worry about having or not having a 211k in their setup/account.

If I'm tailgating, my wife is at home. She's fine with me going to the football game, but taking away her ability to watch TV in the process might exceed the WAF.

 

[mikew]

Dish doesn't want dvr receivers going along with the tailgater. Opens them up to more hard drive failures.

Isn't the 211k an external, user provided hard drive? Why would they care?

 

[stimpson]

Very well put Scott. Ive said it once, and I'll say it again. I am sooo ready for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rglore]

So if you have a Hopper and Joey you would still need the switch?

Only need the switch with dual Hoppers. (edited my earlier post)

 

[MikeD-C05]

Scott's thoughts on the hopper are very similar to mine. I think that the first joey included in the hopper setup ,would of gone a long way in getting positive buzz for DISH. After all how can you charge a whole house dvr fee, if you only get a hopper by itself? I never understood why the 922 had an extra $4.00 sling fee included with the dvr fee either. As for the vip thing, yes, I see why you would want to include at least one vip receiver for tailgating . Otherwise the new tailgating antenna they came out with is not going to sell very well. Who wants a separate account for limited viewing on the tailgater? I like the entire idea of the hopper /joey system but to pay more than I pay now monthly in fees, is a non starter for me. Also I need and WANT the ota tuner . It's essential for me to get the sub channels I like to watch in my area. If DISH would make those two changes - I would gladly pay to upgrade as soon as I could get the $100.00 up. If no changes I will stay with what I have.


I presently have a 722k and two 211ks with dvr software. So I have 4 sat tuners and 4 ota tuners between them. I can record all the shows I like on all 4 networks each night and I miss nothing on Cw either. I have ota for my sub channels and local news as well. I also can watch in hd on the second google revue unit in the bedroom my 722k using the sling player and a sling pro hd box I hooked up to my 722k. Other than the channel logos and video art on the movies and shows, I will be missing nothing I didn't already have, when I had the 922 for 10 months in 2010. And that includes the entire range of software bugs & glitches, that will come with any new DISH receiver, I've ever had in my 15 years with them.

 

[Scherrman]

Isn't the 211k an external, user provided hard drive? Why would they care?

They don't care. That's why they want you to use the 211 instead of a dvr receiver. That was my point.

 

[John Kotches]

I'm surprised you all haven't figured out the tailgater solution for the Hopper/Joey setup. You get one of the giant spools of RG-6 and string it out as you drive. Once you arrive you plug in your Joey and go

Okay, more seriously there are going to be some them like it, some that don't. I like it for two very simple reasons. My wife complains that the DVR content can't be seen everywhere and I'm tired of not having a tuner free on Tuesday evenings to watch The Universe.

The pricing could be nominally better, and it's already been discussed how it could be better.

I'm a technology / gadget aficianado so of course I want this

 

[navychop]

One ViP - yep. Even if it has to be a ViP211 series or a ViP922 series.

 

[datwell]

My initial reaction is I may want to replace my 722 & 622 with 2 Hoppers (no Joey); however, my desire is muted by 1) no OTA right now, 2) no single logical unit feature right now - I could wait for these but the biggie for me is 3) I am still not entirely clear regarding initial & monthly costs and how they would impact my bill.

BTW, I have the maintenance plan and RG6 throughout and the way the cables are run today will easily facilitate the necessary changes.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I agree with Scott totally that the $99 upgrade fee is fair and that the first Joey should be included. That would make my decision very easy. Practically doubling the fees I'm currently paying to service the same number of TVs makes the decision not so easy. I expected to pay more per month for this setup, but not that much....

 

[Scherrman]

I absolutely love the concept of the new system and think it's going to be perfect for me. I may have to use my wireless transmitter to mirror a tv so I can keep my cost down a little. If I can put two Hoppers and one Joey in my house I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Chimera]

I'll be a happy camper.

Unlike all of the actual campers, who are not happy at all?