Specific Hopper/other receiver questions for the DIRT folks (or anyone else who knows :) )

[mnassour]

Hey folks...it looks like I'm coming back to dish after at 15(!) year absence this summer. Isn't it amazing what college football programming can do? Anyway, I've got some questions about how the Hopper and other receivers work, and was hoping someone could help me out.....

I want only one receiver now, but want a Joey later on. Can I get the Hopper DVR now by itself and the Joey later on? If so, will there be an additional cost?


Can that same DVR (be it a Joey or a 722 series) output both component and HDMI video in HD at the same time?


I need to be able to record my local channels off-air. Can the Hopper receiver do this? Along the same lines, I need to be able to record their sub-channels as well. I understand that in the past the Dish DVRs could receive these channels, but had no program guide information for them. Is this still the case? If it matters, I am in the Austin, Texas market, ZIP code 78748.


I would like to be able to hook up and external hard drive to my receiver to archive recorded programming. Can both the Hopper an the 722 series do this?


Given today's technology, is Dish still using two wires for single receiver hookup or has it gone to one as has DirecTV?


Thanks for any help you can provide!

Mike Nassour

 

[satnewb]

Yes
Yes
Yes, but you need to purchase the OTA adapter
Yes
No. Only 1 cable per receiver, although 2 are needed from the dish to the central groundblock/node in the system.

 

[JM42]

Can that same DVR (be it a Joey or a 722 series) output both component and HDMI video in HD at the same time?

To clarify above answer a little. Joeys don't have component outputs, only HDMI and composite. Hopper has all three. All outputs are live on either.

 

[satnewb]

Oops. I missed the Joey part in parentheses.

 

[KAB]

Sub-channel program info is station dependent. Most are in line with the requirements, but some are not.

 

[dare2be]

Regarding the External Hard Drive question, yes, but only self-powered EHDs are supported, meaning the ones that have their own power supply, not ones that are USB powered. Many have had good experiences with Western Digital drives (My Book, Elements).

 

[darrengs]

As has been answered, the Hopper will fit your needs perfectly, and you can add the Joey later if needed.

 

[dare2be]

FYI, if you can swing getting a 722k (not sure if they even allow new customers to them anymore), then your monthly DVR fee would be $5 cheaper.

 

[mnassour]

All great stuff, THANKS for the quick replies! One more question though, regarding the sub-channels.

Neither the Hopper nor the 722 has a tuner built in, got that. IIRC, that's a $50 option? No biggie there. But it appears that the program information is dependent on the station sending it, NOT...as we have with DirecTV...it coming from a central server. As I recall from my broadcast days, this is the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) that displays program info on screens when the signal is received live, right?

The way my house is set up the two sets are 1) NEVER used at the same time and 2) within 30 feet of each other. So I was thinking I'd get the Hopper and if we decided later on that two separate simultaneous programs needed to be watched regularly, I'd pick up a Joey.

 

[JM42]

But it appears that the program information is dependent on the station sending it, NOT...as we have with DirecTV...it coming from a central server. As I recall from my broadcast days, this is the Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) that displays program info on screens when the signal is received live, right?

No, OTA subchannel data comes from Dish, using the same provider for the sat channel guide(Tribune). Evidently some locals don't supply that sub-channel guide data to Tribune and/or Dish isn't mapping it correctly, or a combination depending on market/station, but those issues are the exception, not the norm. Most stations are fine. Dish doesn't use PSIP data at all.

 

[mnassour]

Oh, great then! If I'm getting the same guide data for the subchannels that I do with DirecTV, then we're 100% good to go. I do a LOT of searching through the local PBS subchannels in this market and giving that up would have been a headache. I'm glad PSIP is not used, as it's intermittent in this market, at best. And...as I remember...the Dish receivers actually scan for channels, that they're not restricted to a certain set as are most DirecTV boxes?

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

Nobody has mentioned this yet,but you can get a Super Joey,which adds 2 tuners to the 3 tuners that the Hopper has for a total of 5 tuners. This does not make the Super Joey an independent receiver,it is still a slave/client to the Hopper like a regular Joey. (Someone either correct me if I'm wrong,or expound on what I'm saying) the Super Joey will cost $10.00 per month versus the $7.00 per month for a regular Joey,but 5 tuners versus just 3(excluding the extra tuners from the OTA device for the Hopper) sounds pretty good to me.

 

[mnassour]

Great, that's good to know as well. Between my two DirecTV DVRs I currently have four tuners and honestly can't remember when all four were up and running. But let me ask this, the five tuners with the Super Joey (Jeez, where DOES Dish come up with these names? ) if I'm in prime time can ALL of them be recording something other than the networks? I seem to remember somewhere that some Dish tuners are locked to the networks in prime time.

 

[peggy97850]

No one mentioned if you add the Joey or Super Joey later you will probably have to pay to add it, neighbor was told $99 (cheaper to buy it). Tuners are not locked to any networks, you don't need to use Primetime Anytime if you don't want to either.

 

[mnassour]

That's helpful, as my primetime network viewing is about .025% of all TV watched in house. So it sounds like I should go ahead and get the Hopper w/Super Joey and if I don't need it, just shut the thing down. Would that trigger any other charges? It seems to me that would be just like shutting one TV off, and I would be maintaining all programming. Other than that, I think my Hopper questions are about taken care of, unless someone sees a flaw in my fiendish plan! :dev

 

[peggy97850]

Having a Joey or SJ means having to pay a fee every month it's connected if you "lease" it from Dish. If you turn it off they want it shipped back, so it's either pay the monthly fee or buy your own SJ which you could then disconnect as needed. There's always Dish Anywhere on a tablet, laptop or pc for the "once in a while" tv rather than a Joey, too.

 

[mnassour]

That makes sense....they don't want their equipment sitting around in a closet and that's fair. Many thanks to all, I'm certainly bookmarking these two threads and archiving the content to make sure I have it when I pull the trigger this summer.

 

[Bodo Fenrirsson]

It's best to get the Super Joey when you get the Hopper because of the wiring requirements. The Hopper set up requires 2 cables from the LNB to the solo node,all well & good. The regular Joey requires no changes to your wiring set up(from your LNB to node) if you add it later. The Super Joey however..........requires a third line from the LNB to run to a splitter looking device called the integrator. What this all means is once you get your Hopper all set up & broken in,with all wires neatly put away(buried if your dish is set up in your yard),the installer will have to disrupt/tear up (parts of) your yard(if that is where your dish is) & rebury the third line after hooking it all up if you go with installing the Super Joey later. Best to get the Hopper & Super Joey TOGETHER.

 

[mnassour]

Point well taken, since I am indeed looking at a pole install. The last thing we need is an installer accidentally cutting the original cables while trenching for a Super Joey. Thanks!

 

[dwarren2]

Another thing about OTA and the guide. I live between my local DMA and another city, Rochester NY and Syracuse. My ota tuner tunes into all the channels from both cities and has guide info on most of them. A few on the small sub channels lack info.