Upgrade to HWS or add Sling Adapter to Hopper?

[gregc87]

Please excuse me if this has been posted elsewhere; I did a search but could not find the answer.

I'm considering upgrading my existing Dish setup to add sling, and I'd like to know my options. I think I basically have two options - upgrade my hopper to a hopper with sling, or purchase a sling adapter to use with my existing hopper. Do both options give me the same capabilities (dish anywhere, view shows in ipad, etc.)? What are the pros and cons of each option?

My current setup is a 2 hopper, 2 joey system. Upgraded to this setup about 8 months ago, so I'm still in the contract period.

Thanks for your help.

Greg C.

 

[lucky86]

They are basically the same and the online viewing portion is the same. The Hopper w/Sling is a bit faster than the Hopper and you can transfer events to your ipad which you can't do with the Sling Adapter.

 

[king3pj]

I have actually used both setups. My parents have 2 original hoppers with sling adapters plugged in and I have the HWS at my house. I can't really tell any functional difference between the two when using sling on my iPad. The iPad transfers for offline viewing are only available on the HWS if that is important to you though. I have never actually used that functionality on my HWS and iPad. Instead of setting up the transfer I always just sling what I want to watch over the network. If being able to save recordings for offline viewing on the iPad is important enough for you to pay for an upgrade go for it but I would be just as happy using my parents old Hopper with a sling adapter.

 

[navychop]

And welcome to SatGuys!

 

[gadgtfreek]

I take HWS simply because it has built in wifi, and is much faster when moving around the menu's. When I have to use a Hopper 2000 or a Joey, they feel like a dog because Im spoiled.

 

[Scherrman]

I have and haven't really seen too much noticeably different in functionality. I actually watch the regular Hopper more.

 

[theoak]

HWS has built in WiFi as already mentioned. This will save you a USB port later as you will NOT need to hook up a WiFi USB adapter.

HWS has built in Sling Adapter (duh!). This will also save you a USB port later as you will NOT need to hook up a Sling Adapter.

HWS is faster.

HWS has iPad transfer. My wife uses this all the time for our little ones. Does not use cell data plan this way.

HWS is currently free ... with a new commitment of course ... may vary as to if you are a "good" customer ... how long you have been on contract ... bla bla bla.


Sling adapter may cost you???

USB WiFi adapter may cost you???



Oh ... almost forgot ... HWS has a new logo

 

[king3pj]

Ah I forgot about the WiFi because I connected both my HWS and my parents original Hopper with ethernet. As for speed, I don't notice any difference between mine and my parents. I will pay more attention next time I'm at their house but obviously theirs isn't slow enough that I have noticed it.

 

[dwarren2]

I find the HWS connects more consistently with Dish Anywhere than the original Hopper. To me, that is a big thing.

 

[gregc87]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Sounds like it mostly comes down to the difference of a couple of features, and how much it would cost to upgrade. Appreciate the input.

 

[mfoster711]

Is there a difference in the monthly fees between a Hopper and HWS?

 

[3HaloODST]

Is there a difference in the monthly fees between a Hopper and HWS?

No.

HWS is a good bit more responsive to remote commands and has the aforementioned built-in WiFi and Sling.

As far as Sling reliability, I find that both of my HWSs and both of my Hoppers with Sling Adapters connect reliably.

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