Some thoughts on leaving Dish

[JM42]

People do care about the user experience.

Never said they didn't. I just said the UI is probably not a driving factor in churn.

If Dish could make a business case the UI revamp would prevent enough churn to pay for it, then its a pretty black and white decision. Maybe they have made the case and are too focused on Hopper at the moment. Maybe they are quietly working on it. Maybe the they haven't made the case, but the wrong person evaluated it.

Any change has it's consequences. Changing the UI is likely to piss as many people off at one end of the spectrum as it would make happy at the other. Who knows if it would be a net gain or loss in the end. The vast majority in the middle just want things to work.

I have D* also, and spent about three months with Uverse. Other than not being as "pretty," I prefer Dish(722) hands down for just sitting down and watching TV. There are a few features from both I wish Dish had (and vice versa), but for day in, day out out viewing I like the 722. That a 100% subjective thing, other's opinions will differ, that's fine and why we have choices.

 

[dwarren2]

No, four. Three sat tuners, one USB OTA tuner. And effectively SEVEN if the PTAT is being used...... 2 sat, 1 USB OTA, 4 networks. 2+1+4=7

Wrong. Watching the extended demo on you tube, it was pointed out that it's either PTA or ota, not both. I posted in another thread the question that if you had 2 Hoppers, could you then enable both PTA and the ota. One on each Hopper.

 

[dare2be]

Wrong. Watching the extended demo on you tube, it was pointed out that it's either PTA or ota, not both. I posted in another thread the question that if you had 2 Hoppers, could you then enable both PTA and the ota. One on each Hopper.

Well, that just makes no sense. Given the choice between PTA and my OTA subchannels, PTA will lose out every time.

 

[FitzAusTex]

You're right - no problems here - Dish is awesome! 622s and 722Ks are so cool in 2012! Woo!!

Totally respect the intention of your thread, and your reasons for leaving E*. I'd like a whole-home solution with load balancing, and more tuners. too. The thing that stopped me from getting a 922 (and potentially Hoppers/Joeys) is the tile-based UI that these products are now using. Some of us have brains that prefer graphic-free lists. I'd really miss vertical lists of my 622 compared to the horizontal tiles/icons on the 922/H&J. Horizontal scanning (for me) is very inefficient. Sure how they give us a setting to do tiles OR list views.

 

[bobvick]

I don't see why Dish can't give us a 922 type interface on older boxes. Is it a hardware limitation on older boxes?

I personally believe they could do a update to the ViP boxes and add a lot of features like DirecTV has did to the HR20, 21, 22, 23, and current 24 series. I believe that Dish intentionally makes customers buy and or upgrade to new equipment to get new features that they could do with firmware upgrades and planning. I believe that they do this to stimulate sales of equipment from Echostar Technologies to Dish Network Corporation. Since they have an arms length relationship and Dish is its former parent's number one customer. If it were not for Dish, Echostar would produce very little if any equipment

 

[JM42]

Wrong. Watching the extended demo on you tube, it was pointed out that it's either PTA or ota, not both.

If your talking about the interview with Vivek Khemka at 7:12 in the 9:44 length video, I think his point was PTA did not record from the OTA tuner, it only records from the sat transponder and all PTA content will be sat based even if you have OTA connected.

With fingers crossed, I don't think adding OTA will automatically disable PTA. I know it didn't quite sound like that in the interview, but I think the jury is still out.

 

[navychop]

Can't imagine why OTA would block PTAT.

 

[dwarren2]

Can't imagine why OTA would block PTAT.

This was in the 13 minute you tube video that Scott posted
DISH Hopper Demo - YouTube

 

[Jhon69]

I personally believe they could do a update to the ViP boxes and add a lot of features like DirecTV has did to the HR20, 21, 22, 23, and current 24 series. I believe that Dish intentionally makes customers buy and or upgrade to new equipment to get new features that they could do with firmware upgrades and planning. I believe that they do this to stimulate sales of equipment from Echostar Technologies to Dish Network Corporation. Since they have an arms length relationship and Dish is its former parent's number one customer. If it were not for Dish, Echostar would produce very little if any equipment

Tell me all about it.

EchoStar Europe - Home

 

[dare2be]

I think that trying to put the snappy new 922/hopper UI on the older ViP boxes would be like trying to load Win7 on a Celeron computer. It may work, but it would be WAY too slow.

 

[navychop]

This was in the 13 minute you tube video that Scott posted
DISH Hopper Demo - YouTube

I'm with JM42 and will lean toward them having misspoke.

 

[dwarren2]

I doubt it. It was their expert who said it. Did you watch the video?

 

[JM42]

This was in the 13 minute you tube video that Scott posted
DISH Hopper Demo - YouTube

I just listened to this one again, I don't think OTA was mentioned at all. Are you sure you don't mean SatelliteGuys @ CES - YouTube ?

 

[Lt Disher]

I just listened to this one again, I don't think OTA was mentioned at all. Are you sure you don't mean SatelliteGuys @ CES - YouTube ?

I think this is the video in question and not the 13 minute one. At the risk of being presumptuous, I think the speaker is simply trying to say that the PTA uses the satellite tuner to do its recording and not the OTA module. The whole point of PTA is that it records the whole transponder on one tuner. You would need 4 tuners and 4 OTA modules to record the same thing if you were using OTA. I see how the words could be misinterpreted, but I don't think that PTA would exclude the use of OTA, just that PTA cannot work using OTA.

 

[JM42]

I think this is the video in question and not the 13 minute one. At the risk of being presumptuous, I think the speaker is simply trying to say that the PTA uses the satellite tuner to do its recording and not the OTA module. The whole point of PTA is that it records the whole transponder on one tuner. You would need 4 tuners and 4 OTA modules to record the same thing if you were using OTA. I see how the words could be misinterpreted, but I don't think that PTA would exclude the use of OTA, just that PTA cannot work using OTA.

Yeah I just looked at it again and more than anything else I think he (Khemka) was trying to put out some positive spin and didn't want to end on "I don't have a date on it right now."

 

[dwarren2]

I just listened to this one again, I don't think OTA was mentioned at all. Are you sure you don't mean SatelliteGuys @ CES - YouTube ?

You are correct. About 7:15 in to the video, Scott asks about the OTA module. The response seems to say that if you are using the ota you can't take advantage of PTA.

 

[R0ss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFzlt7Iy7IQ&feature=player_embedded

watch the video linked above towards the end with Vivek... Dish and Scott have stated OTA will be available via a USB tuner, but not at launch.

Scott has confirmed it's already in testing by dish. They just have to finish that and select the final devices they plan to make compatible.

I think the OPs point is the OTA solution should already be...think about the intro of the 922 it wasn't fully functional at release and if u want BBMP its not now.

Ross

Sent from my rooted DROIDX (Liberty Gingerbread) using SatelliteGuys

 

[dwarren2]

Since it was an interview with Scott, I PM'd him and asked if he could clear it up.

 

[bobvick]

Tell me all about it.

EchoStar Europe - Home

Not sure what you mean. If you are trying to discount the importance and for all intents and purposes the survival of Echostar on Dish Network , you need to read the latest available annual report. According to it Echostar depended on Dish for 82.8% of their set top sales in 2010. Bell ExpressVu was 9.8% of business in 2010. That means 7.4% came from other sources, including Echostar Europe. So it seems a valid point to me that Dish and Echostar would not incorporate new features into existing hardware, simply to sell more hardware.

 

[R0ss]

2. Are you sure? That product isn't even out yet and you're positive it won't work. Are you interested in an Engineering position? We can get a copy of the shoe-string budget ready for you.

3. Sports is a waste of bandwidth. The bare minimum is carried to placate the minority of cheeseheads; movie channels are where it's at.

4. "Pretty" costs money. Why change what works? You'll get a new interface when a new software mass release is pushed or you get a new receiver.


Regards,

DISH Cost Control.

I really don't think the OP said the Hopper wont work, his point, at least in my reading, is it may/will be released without OTA functionality and when the USB OTA is functional u will probably have to shell out more cash.

Sports is very important. One of the biggest complaints on this forum is lack of full time HD RSN feeds, HD broadcasts JIP, and lack of HD alternates for RSNs and no alternate for MLBN. Of course folks can switch and some do others just deal.

I do agree with u on the interface. I like simple and functional if it can be pretty too that's fine.

Personally as cool as the Hopper/Joey sounds I will wait and see. I really want to know what it will cost to upgrade and then per month. I wonder why Dish is so quiet about that part...could it be because it is going to be significantly more than than what the 922 cost at introduction?

Ross

Sent from my rooted DROIDX (Liberty Gingerbread) using SatelliteGuys