As far as hooking it to my TV, where I also have OTA, I can't RECORD it from my TV. Thumbs DOWN.
So whos NOT getting a Hopper due to lack of OTA?
- Thread starter Scott Greczkowski
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No H/J for me until OTA tuner. If i'm willing to give up my secondary DMA PBS and the ability to DVR the subchannels then I could drop DISH and go to the cable multiroom DVR and save money. OTA and 1st Joey free and I'm in.
Add me too, I really desire the OTA. Also a question that really doesn't matter, but is interesting. I get HD locals from both San antonio and Austin through dish, all networks etc. Which one will Prime time use, because occasionally there is a local sporting event, especially the Spurs that messes up San Antonio's, so I have to use Austin's stations.
The idea of waiting till summer doesn't bother me as this will give time to work out all the bugs and who knows, maybe they'll have an upgrade special. It does happen. I do understand though that we are the exception and that most don't know care about OTA. The original dish tech who came out to install(this was right after voom went bye bye) didn't even know about it, I had to connect and show him.
After reading post #55 and the Attached Hopper Training Guide and customer pricing sheet inside, I am now even more concerned about OTA.
It mentions that Hoppers will be able to communicate (see each other), soon. "up coming feature"
No where does it say OTA is coming soon. It is not listed on Page 15 as a customer expectation check list item. It is not in the fine print either that you will not get all your local channels.
I would be much happier if Dish at least disclosed the missing option for all Locals to the customer when they sign the contract or when they call to order (using the Customer Estimate sheet). All I am saying is Dish should disclose this info on release date, that way customers can make an informed choice to "Two Year Contract Now" or wait.
P.S. thank you Scott G for putting this thread up, it give us all a place to talk just about OTA concerns. Good idea.
It mentions that Hoppers will be able to communicate (see each other), soon. "up coming feature"
No where does it say OTA is coming soon. It is not listed on Page 15 as a customer expectation check list item. It is not in the fine print either that you will not get all your local channels.
I would be much happier if Dish at least disclosed the missing option for all Locals to the customer when they sign the contract or when they call to order (using the Customer Estimate sheet). All I am saying is Dish should disclose this info on release date, that way customers can make an informed choice to "Two Year Contract Now" or wait.
P.S. thank you Scott G for putting this thread up, it give us all a place to talk just about OTA concerns. Good idea.
After all the severe weather in the area from yesterday I can not affort not to have OTA intergrated into my receivers. Once the hail starting falling yesterday that was the end of the dish signal, OTA was the most reliable way to keep track of the storms as they moved through the area. I'm already looking closely at UVERSE. I have UVERSE internet max and just got UVERSE phone service LOVE them both and good pricing. UVERSE TV will be the next move. The only thing holding me back in the quality of the service and picture. Don't want to make that switch until I know I will be completely satisfied. Price is better (bundle services) U300 - $87.00 per month, more HD movie services than with dish.
I've been a dishnetwork customer since 1995, I hate to leave. I subscribed to dish during the time it was a newcommer and the leader in SAT TV services. Dish was't like cable or even like direct TV. Dish set a higher quality standard, everone else followed. Today with new receivers on the horizon dish is starting to look more like UVERSE and even cable, just another high priced TV service provider.
I don't believe I'll stick around for the Hopper upgrade.
I've been a dishnetwork customer since 1995, I hate to leave. I subscribed to dish during the time it was a newcommer and the leader in SAT TV services. Dish was't like cable or even like direct TV. Dish set a higher quality standard, everone else followed. Today with new receivers on the horizon dish is starting to look more like UVERSE and even cable, just another high priced TV service provider.
I don't believe I'll stick around for the Hopper upgrade.
Just look at all the areas that had tornadoes yesterday. If they lost their sat service , and many did due to heavy over cast stormy skies, they would at least be able to tune to ota tuner on their sat receivers. I had similar experience during a hurricane. Taking the ota feature that works out of the hopper limits the ability of subs to use it in times of emergency. Primetime Anytime sounds great ,but if your satelite service is out due to weather conditions, it won't matter in the long run. Being able to tune to ota is a MUST for dangerous weather conditions, especially if you have satellite. I mean just how many people are going to be using the Blue tooth feature that they are promoting on the hopper? Can't possibly outnumber the number of subs who do use their ota tuners.
I would say that in an emergency you would be best just tuning the TV to the OTA broadcast.
Most people do not get the optional module for OTA, so would have to do this anyways.
Most people do not get the optional module for OTA, so would have to do this anyways.
Am I mistaken, or didn't DierecTV go for years without any OTA support at all? With no vitriol? Now they support it, but not always, IIRC.
In my case I had the ota module and easily switched to the ota channel and instantly knew what was happening in terms of the hurricane and where it was . It was actually on top of my home town. I didn't have to switch inputs on the tv or the a/v receiver ,it was instant change to the channel. Sometimes time is of the essence and in emergencies it is always necessary.
Not everyone has a TV that has a digital tuner. If one is a cable or satellite subscriber, there's NO NEED to have a newer TV with such a tuner either. Our TV in the living room is from 2005/2006 (57" Toshiba HDTV) with no digital tuner.
1)
For the DirecTV and OTA question- Since the first HD DVR the HR20-xx they had Dual OTA tuners built in. Now they sell a USB Dual Tuner add on for about $60 for all there DVRs.
They also had OTA built in for the HD Tivo.
2)
Good point on the OTA for Tornadoes, offering an OTA add on should be a FCC or Home Land Security requirement or something
Not very many know they can use there TV tuner or would know to switch inputs to it.
For the DirecTV and OTA question- Since the first HD DVR the HR20-xx they had Dual OTA tuners built in. Now they sell a USB Dual Tuner add on for about $60 for all there DVRs.
They also had OTA built in for the HD Tivo.
2)
Good point on the OTA for Tornadoes, offering an OTA add on should be a FCC or Home Land Security requirement or something
Not very many know they can use there TV tuner or would know to switch inputs to it.
I think it at least bears noting that even if you have cable, if that goes out in a storm or inclement weather, their equipment (to the best of my knowledge and experience) won't pick up the local channels either. You'd have to resort to OTA through the TV as has been mentioned as a workaround for this situation.
Granted I have OTA now on my 722 and would like it implemented on the Hopper also. Just saying people have awfully high expectations considering the cable companies aren't offering that OTA cability in their equipment either. I have no experience with D* so can't comment on that.
Granted I have OTA now on my 722 and would like it implemented on the Hopper also. Just saying people have awfully high expectations considering the cable companies aren't offering that OTA cability in their equipment either. I have no experience with D* so can't comment on that.
So before the HT20 D* did not have OTA support?
For me, I have OTA wired thru my AV receiver so it's just a button push away- no switching inputs. I realize this can't be the case for many others.
For me, I have OTA wired thru my AV receiver so it's just a button push away- no switching inputs. I realize this can't be the case for many others.
I think the inclement weather example is a red herring. 
An OTA antenna can be connected directly to the TV in case of emergency. That's if you don't lose power in the first place.
I'll stick to my stated reason of no locals in HD from DISH and my family ineptness in switching inputs if my OTA is not integrated into the DISH receiver.
An OTA antenna can be connected directly to the TV in case of emergency. That's if you don't lose power in the first place.
I'll stick to my stated reason of no locals in HD from DISH and my family ineptness in switching inputs if my OTA is not integrated into the DISH receiver.
HdRick- my parents have a U-verse bundle and the tv quality is nothing like it is with dish. The box went out Super Bowl Sunday and my dad had to get the other box in the bedroom. They are paying 170 and only have U-200. I could understand if they had the highest package but they don't. I keep telling my dad to jump to dish as he would pay less with dish than with u-verse. Phone and Internet should be no more that 50 bucks plus tax. I gave AT&T 3 chances to keep my business and each time they screwed it up. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
I don't mind if OTA isn't there at launch because of PTAT. While I do like the increased quality of OTA (for the cost of extra HDD space), I use it to be able to record 4 things at the same time. PTAT takes care of that for me. I'd missing having the subchannels, but it's something I can live with. Oh and 2 OTA tuners are better than just one.
This EXACTLY describes our household. We rarely use OTA, and with PTAT we wouldn't really miss it. The subchannels are nice at times, but not critical.
But if I DID have OTA tuners, 2 would be good
For us the holdup is more the Hopper sharing than anything, and even that we COULD live without.
PTAT will do me no good .We don't have locals in HD. Once they have OTA support and hopper integration, I will go for a 2 hopper ,2 Joey system. One OTA tuner per hopper would duplicte what I have now. 2 OTA tuners per hopper would be great.
Lack of OTA at launch is not a deal-breaker for me. PTAT will mostly eliminate the need for it. We DO watch OTA channels that aren't on satellite, but we almost never record them, so watching directly on the TV's tuner is fine for those. Personally, I'll probably wait for H/J until the integration between multiple Hoppers is worked out, AND until most of the many bugs that (presumably) will exist at launch are fixed. At that time, if OTA support is there, I'll definitely buy the adapter.
I don't plan to upgrade at launch period. Seen too many folks burned by new tech from dish (i.e. 922) that doesn't perform. And if OTA doesn't come out in the first 9 months, I'll probably never upgrade or at least not until what I have dies and getting dish to replace it becomes a pain.
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