State of things with Dish?

[Scherrman]

Who you calling beta?

I'll stick with my 722 and would have gone to the Hopper if the added features hadn't removed so many other features I use now.

If a certain receiver does everything you want and you would lose features you like by switching to a different receiver then I certainly would not recommend doing it. This what I love about Dish's equipment, there's a receiver for just about every situation for customers.

 

[Pepper]

The guide is still bad. Most movies have no cast and crew info so you can't search those. I am not sure if it still has the other problems like skipping timers for new episodes and the like.

 

[dare2be]

If a certain receiver does everything you want and you would lose features you like by switching to a different receiver then I certainly would not recommend doing it. This what I love about Dish's equipment, there's a receiver for just about every situation for customers.

Even for the betas.

 

[KaptainRandom]

Let's see. It is AT&T Fiber (Gigapower), so 6 tuners is a small improvement, not that we have any issues with 5 on the Genie.

I had my original Hopper for 2 years. Since then, I have had a Tivo Roamio OTA, and now the Genie HR54. Like I said originally, the Genie is nothing special. The C61k client is my biggest complaint about D*. It is just this side of unusable.

The features that matter to us are in relative order of importance:

1. Reliable recordings (one of the reasons I left Tivo (Rovi guide data)
2. Ability to download content for out-of-home viewing. (DirecTV's mobile app works, barely. Tivo's was great -- I could download stuff even when I wasn't home)
3. Ability to FF commercials (one of the reasons the streaming services with on-demand are not attractive to me)
4. Relatively speedy functionality. Slow software is bad software IMHO.

Thanks,
Ted

Of the items you listed, everything is very well covered by the Hopper3...
With the possible exception of the guide data.
It had been flakey for a few months...
but mine has not missed a timer in the last few weeks.
I've had the H3 since it came out, one of the first day'ers.
Ours died a couple months ago,
Dish overnited a new one.
One day down time.

 

[Tampa8]

My perspective. I use the Hopper 3 at my daughter's house including using other's experience here to get to know the features. I of course have VIP's. If you did not have the previous UI (Or perhaps a previous Hopper) as neither I or my Daughter ever did, then I think the Hopper is a very good receiver. I can't knock 16 tuners it is fast overall and the wireless joey that does not use your network is way above what I expected, quite fast and works anywhere in her house.

The problem is the VIP receivers were also ahead of their time and I think have a better interface. I have had nearly no problems over many years with the ones I have, replacing one once in the last six years. The Pass, recording by date and time only, etc were intuitive to me from the start and work very well. Recent guide issues aside rarely would a timer not fire.
One other thing because I brought my TV over to her house when the system was installed since she had not moved hers there I was able to see that the Hopper has a little sharper picture at least to my eyes. Overall i just don't need the Hopper nor the apps on it and I can keep my $7 DVR fee.

 

[ncted]

Just to reference the OP, isn't U-verse on life support? A report in April says they dropped another 233,000 subs. That's in addition to the 22.9% of it's subs it lost the previous year. With that track record I wouldn't think they would be a viable consideration. It wouldn't surprise me if they pulled the plug by the end of the year.

They are selling the heck of it around here with the Fiber service, so I don't think so. The brand might go away, but the TV service won't any time soon from what I see.

 

[ncted]

FWIW: DirecTV LOS is a definite maybe and Dish LOS is a yes. The current owner of the house has U-Verse. From a cost perspective, as an AT&T wireless customer and soon-to-be AT&T Fiber customer, DirecTV is the most cost-effective, followed by U-Verse, followed by Dish. It really comes down to what I am willing to pay if DirecTV won't work. If I am going to have to pay more already with U-Verse, is it worth it to pay a little more to get Dish and the better features? Thanks again for all the feedback.

 

[ChadT41]

FWIW: DirecTV LOS is a definite maybe and Dish LOS is a yes. The current owner of the house has U-Verse. From a cost perspective, as an AT&T wireless customer and soon-to-be AT&T Fiber customer, DirecTV is the most cost-effective, followed by U-Verse, followed by Dish. It really comes down to what I am willing to pay if DirecTV won't work. If I am going to have to pay more already with U-Verse, is it worth it to pay a little more to get Dish and the better features? Thanks again for all the feedback.

I have had everything from a 512/522 and up(minus the 922, but played with them a lot in the office, including checking one out for a month at a time), and I can say that I liked the 722 a lot. I liked the H1 and H2 a lot. They do not compare to the H3 at all. The Harddrive is the largest, it is lightning fast, 4K capabilities, more VOD content, YouTube, Netflix, 4 screen pip, 2 tuner OTA capabilities, 16 tuners, voice remote, and the list goes on cannot be beat. When you have a machine that can handle the UI properly(don't run a computer from 2012/13with Windows 10), it runs awesome. It took me some time, but when I tried to go back to the old UI at a friend's, I hated it. The CUI makes a lot more sense. Now, as I get busier, the tv is mostly for the wife and kids, and they use it with ease. My 5 year can't read, but knows how to use the voice remote to get to Blaze and the Monster machines. The pictures help him know what he is picking from the DVR. My brother has a Genie, and being his "repair guy", I actually do not like it. I am assuming my experience with his Genie is equivalent to folks who have the Hopper1 with the new UI. There is honestly no comparison to the H3. I have been reading about the guide issues from folks, but I have yet to experience any. Oh, forgot to mention, with the H3, you can also transfer programming to a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, and watch offline(great for flights and power outages).

 

[Claude Greiner]

Unless you absolutely see the need for a 16 tuner DVR, there is nothing about Dish that would make it worth switching to over another provider.

 

[Tampa8]

A fresh new take by Claude......

 

[ncted]

Unless you absolutely see the need for a 16 tuner DVR, there is nothing about Dish that would make it worth switching to over another provider.

I don't need a 16 tuner DVR, BUT I do need the ability to download content for offline viewing, something that U-Verse does not currently offer. If DirecTV will work, then no problem either way, but if it won't then I think I would prefer Dish over U-Verse, aside from the cost.

 

[pattykay]

So do you mind if I ask, why you downgraded from the Ho???

If Dish hadn't jacked up the DVR fee on the ViP receivers, I probably would have kept paying the $12 per month DVR fee for Hopper 1, knowing that I still had the option of going down to a ViP to save money if I needed to. When Dish announced that the ViP DVR fee would be going up to $15 per month if you didn't have a ViP DVR before a certain date, they forced my hand. So, I went ahead and did the downgrade right before the deadline, in order to get grandfathered at the $10 per month rate and save $2 per month compared to what I was paying before.

Now, I am glad I made the switch. If I had stayed with the Hopper 1, and Dish turned it into a piece of crap with the CUI (as many here seem to be saying) then my options would have been: keep suffering with the Hopper 1 (not an option) at $12 per month, downgrade to a ViP DVR at the new $15 per month rate (ripoff: more money for fewer tuners), or upgrade to Hopper 3 at $15 per month. In that case, I would have insisted that Dish do the upgrade for free, or else I would have closed my account. Mercifully, Dish's prior announcement of the change to their price structure, and my reaction to it, saved me from having to make the above choice. Also, Dish's pricing policy is now costing them the additional $2 per month (or potentially the additional $5 per month) that they otherwise would have been collecting from me. The longer I stay with Dish, the more it costs them.

 

[Bobby]

While I have never had need for 16 channels I have had 9 recordings going at the same time. We are a 2 person household. Let's say you have a family of 4 and you have 5 TVs in the house. It is entirely possible, using my 9 program example, to have a need for as many as 16 tuners..... Take your blinders off Claude, you have no idea what any users needs are...

 

[dare2be]

I went straight from a 625 to an H3 and it was like going to sleep in 2005 and waking up in 2016. I must have
unwittingly skipped over all those features.

You lived with an SD receiver at least until 2016 when the H3 was released?
So, you're saying you're not even a beta, more like a gamma.

 

[glynnp]

You lived with an SD receiver at least until 2016 when the H3 was released?
So, you're saying you're not even a beta, more like a gamma.

Yes,July 2016. It's my one year anniversary married to an H3 !

If a gamma is same as late bloomer then yeah that's me.

 

[jackson85]

Not talking about the company here, just the technology. I am about to relocate, and I am very concerned I will be unable to continue my DirecTV subscription due to no LOS. My other options are U-Verse, Spectrum (which is a non-starter), and Dish. My testing of Sling and DNow tell me they are not ready to deliver the experience I expect at this time, so the streaming services are not an option worth considering for now. U-Verse is available due to AT&T Fiber being available at the new address, but it is somewhat limiting. Only 4 tuners on the DVR and no off-premises viewing of recorded content (yes, I could get a SlingBox I suppose).

My question for the fine people of SatelliteGuys is how are things in Dish-land? How goes the Rovi guide data transition? How goes the Carbon UI transition? How well is DishAnywhere working? As a new customer coming in, albeit with a long history of largely successful dealings with Dish in the past, what should I expect from the technology?

My Genie has been predictably reliable and boring, if limited, compared to the Hopper 2000 I used to have. It gets the job done and nothing else. It is an Accord sedan. What is the Hopper 2 or 3 in comparison today?

I think you folks get my drift. I look forward to the feedback.

Thanks,
Ted

I really have no faults with Dish and the Hopper 3. The 16 Tuners that can DVR up to 16 shows is great. The amount of Hours SD/HD is huge, which if I am think correctly, is 2000 Hours. The Genie, I am thinking does not have this many Tuners, so that would be their downfall. Programming is about the same, Dish may have some channels, that Directv and others may not have and vice versa with Directv. You would qualify as a New Customer with Dish, so that would be another pro and or win. I imagine is just a matter of choice. I have had Dish for many years, with the exception of having Directv for a year in 2004. The reason going back to Dish was Dish began carrying my local channels. It was a no brainer to switch back.

 

[ncted]

I really have no faults with Dish and the Hopper 3. The 16 Tuners that can DVR up to 16 shows is great. The amount of Hours SD/HD is huge, which if I am think correctly, is 2000 Hours. The Genie, I am thinking does not have this many Tuners, so that would be their downfall. Programming is about the same, Dish may have some channels, that Directv and others may not have and vice versa with Directv. You would qualify as a New Customer with Dish, so that would be another pro and or win. I imagine is just a matter of choice. I have had Dish for many years, with the exception of having Directv for a year in 2004. The reason going back to Dish was Dish began carrying my local channels. It was a no brainer to switch back.

Yeah, I'd actually prefer Dish, but it would cost me like $20 more than U-Verse and $40 more than DirecTV per month. That is really hard to justify. 5 tuners has been fine for us. The downloading of shows to a mobile device to watch elsewhere works most of the time. That is the big thing that is giving me pause with respect to U-Verse to be honest. I imagine everything else will work acceptably.

 

[jackson85]

Yeah, I'd actually prefer Dish, but it would cost me like $20 more than U-Verse and $40 more than DirecTV per month. That is really hard to justify. 5 tuners has been fine for us. The downloading of shows to a mobile device to watch elsewhere works most of the time. That is the big thing that is giving me pause with respect to U-Verse to be honest. I imagine everything else will work acceptably.

Then you have to go what is more economically better for you. For example, I would really love to have the new Olympic Channel, but currently, it is only on Directv in the area where I live. When my contract is up with Dish, who knows what I will do if it is still not on Dish!!!! As a new customer with Directv, I would have the first year at a reasonable price, plus the Olympic Channel, if it is not on the Dish Lineup. Decisions, Decisions. I will just have to wait and see and then my mind will be made up. Good luck on your choice.

 

[ncted]

Then you have to go what is more economically better for you. For example, I would really love to have the new Olympic Channel, but currently, it is only on Directv in the area where I live. When my contract is up with Dish, who knows what I will do if it is still not on Dish!!!! As a new customer with Directv, I would have the first year at a reasonable price, plus the Olympic Channel, if it is not on the Dish Lineup. Decisions, Decisions. I will just have to wait and see and then my mind will be made up. Good luck on your choice.

Thanks. I think I have found a way to make it economical enough to switch to Dish, but I have to make sure D* will let me out of my contract due to LOS issues after I move. Time will tell.

 

[ChadT41]

Just remember, the service agreement claims that moving does not void the contract. They are within their rights to charge you if you cancel due to NLOS. It's based off the original address(Dish is the same)