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Dish "Hopper"

56K views 231 replies 48 participants last post by  Rick_R 
#1 ·
Isn't it funny that Dish has now adoped a rental unit that seemingly records only commercial broadcast off their sky system for replay into a household and promotes it as HD! Of course, I am referring to the Hopper with the Joeys as substations. At least they have better control over the time and tv guide data.
 
#31 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by dustinw82 /forum/post/21806634


Technically it is 2 TB. But like I said 1 TB is reserved for all of the on demand stuff and another 500 GB is reserved for Prime Time Anytime. This leaves 500 GB for yourself.

The good news is I just connected a 7 port USB hub to the Hopper and was able to mount 2 more drives (2TB and 1TB) with success. They show up in both the DVR menu and Transfer menus. However, when I mount 2 more, all 4 show up in the transfer menu and can move data as expected, but only 2 show up in the DVR menu. Still not too bad and it appears to be an easy way to add lots of storage to the Hopper.


As a side note, I had to format each drive seperately with the others removed from the system. Once all were configured and ready, I added them one at a time and the system recognized them as External Device 1,2,3,4.


This is a great feature.
 
#32 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by isfcalman /forum/post/21832435


The good news is I just connected a 7 port USB hub to the Hopper and was able to mount 2 more drives (2TB and 1TB) with success. They show up in both the DVR menu and Transfer menus. However, when I mount 2 more, all 4 show up in the transfer menu and can move data as expected, but only 2 show up in the DVR menu. Still not too bad and it appears to be an easy way to add lots of storage to the Hopper.


As a side note, I had to format each drive seperately with the others removed from the system. Once all were configured and ready, I added them one at a time and the system recognized them as External Device 1,2,3,4.


This is a great feature.

Nice. Too bad you can't play those recordings on computers and other places without Hopper.
 
#34 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MNMikeAV /forum/post/0


Has anyone tried to move over an external HD from a 722? Does it keep your recordings? Or do you have to start over?


Also, how do the remote TV's respond? Is it pretty snappy?


Thanks!

Mike

You can move your recordings by using an external hard drive. The remote tvs work great. It's almost like having a hopper in every room. Minus PiP.
 
#35 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by MNMikeAV /forum/post/21844311


Has anyone tried to move over an external HD from a 722? Does it keep your recordings? Or do you have to start over?


Also, how do the remote TV's respond? Is it pretty snappy?


Thanks!

Mike

I had to start over when I went from my 922 to the Hopper. It did not recognize my previously stored files. I forgot to check my 722/622.
 
#37 ·
I am getting 2 hopper's and 3 joey's installed on Thursday. With this setup is it best to install the 2 hopper's at secondary TV's since the joey's can access content on either hopper? Seems like I would want my primary displays - HT pj and Great Room tv to have the most flexibility. The problem is this is where my two previous 722's were located and thus where the cabling is already installed.


This problem would be solved when they enable the hoppers to share content but I wonder how long that will be? That is only a slight inconvenience for now as the new setup will be much more flexible.


JD
 
#38 ·
Well it may have taken DBSTalk some time to get this First Look out for the new DISH Hopper and Joey DVR system, but it's finally here. The delay was not only in receiving the new hardware (DISH wanted to be sure we had correct firmware based on issues that went out with a few boxes), but also we wanted to be sure it was done with the same care that is given to all our First Look articles.


Your Just a Click Away ---> DBSTalk's DISH Hopper High Definition DVR First Look


They also have opened up a very active forum section for the new Hopper system that is being monitored by DISH staff. The forum section can be found here ---> XiP813/110 (Hopper/Joey) Receiver Support Forum


Take care all.
 
#39 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by jdskycaster /forum/post/21863860


I am getting 2 hopper's and 3 joey's installed on Thursday. With this setup is it best to install the 2 hopper's at secondary TV's since the joey's can access content on either hopper? Seems like I would want my primary displays - HT pj and Great Room tv to have the most flexibility. The problem is this is where my two previous 722's were located and thus where the cabling is already installed.


This problem would be solved when they enable the hoppers to share content but I wonder how long that will be? That is only a slight inconvenience for now as the new setup will be much more flexible.


JD

The biggest thing to think about is if you use PIP. The Hoppers are capable, the Joeys don't have it.
 
#40 ·
Another question. If this system is RF only how do you control the Hopper or Joey using a unified remote? I am using an URC MX-880 in the HT.
 
#42 ·
From PCMag.com

Quote:
Dish Network Hopper


By Will Greenwald, Analyst, Consumer Electronics


Editor Rating - 4 1/2 out of 5 stars


Pros - Inexpensive. Well-designed interface. Three tuners. Tons of storage.

Cons - Lacks Netflix, Hulu Plus, or YouTube streaming.

Bottom Line - Dish Network's Hopper (along with the accompanying Joey) is the best whole-home DVR and cable/satellite tuner experience we've seen yet.


Whole-home DVR is a great idea. Instead of having a full-blown digital video recorder installed with every HDTV in the house, use a single storage device that can hold all the recordings, and use terminal devices to access them on different TVs. The Dish Network Hopper is the best implementation of this idea we've seen yet. It's a three-tuner HD satellite receiver that can support up to three Joeys (4.5 stars), which are smaller devices that can access the Hopper's tuners and DVR storage from other rooms via a coaxial connection. Reasonable pricing, copious features including 2TB of storage space, and a well-designed interface put the Hopper head and shoulders above the TiVo Premiere Elite ($399.99, 2.5 stars), and make it our Editors' Choice for DVRs.


About pricing: The Hopper is available at no cost as part of Dish Network's mid-tier programming packages, and subscribers who want a lower-end programming package can get the Hopper installed for $99. Each installation can include up to three free Joeys for a multi-room setup. Dish charges $10 per month for whole-home DVR with the Hopper, and an additional $7 per month for each Joey connected to a TV.


Design and Interface

Considering it packs three tuners and 2TB of storage space, the Hopper looks downright tiny. At 2.3 by 15.9 by 11.4 inches (HWD), it's barely larger than your average Blu-ray player and half the size of the Dish Network ViP722 (4.5 stars) while offering twice the storage and a much lower price. The front is a glossy black, with a flip-down door on the left side that houses controls including a navigation pad and a very handy Locate Remote button that makes the remote beep so you can find it easily. There's a USB port and the Blockbuster logo, denoting the availability of Blockbuster's video on demand service, on the right side of the front panel. The back of the Hopper holds the cable input, an HDMI output, two additional USB ports for storage, and an eSATA port for external hard drives.


The remote is large, slightly round, and heavy on the buttons. While most navigation can be achieved with the direction pad up top, individual buttons for searching for shows, loading the guide, accessing the DVR, recording shows, and navigating up and down pages can be found on the remote. You'll have to endure a learning curve to remember which of the same-feeling buttons do what.


The menu system is well-designed and clearly labeled. The main menu offers access to Blockbuster Video on Demand, Dish Network video on demand, PrimeTime Anytime (a service that makes three hours of prime time ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC programming available on demand for eight days), and other features like Facebook, CNBC, MSNBC, Pandora, Twitter, the Weather Channel. Since it's primarily a satellite receiver, you'll spend most of your time in the familiar channel guide and DVR menus, but the many options are useful. Unfortunately, those options don't include services like Netflix or Hulu Plus, or even YouTube. Blockbuster's video on demand service, PrimeTime Anytime, and the various apps on the Hopper require a separate network hookup via Ethernet, but Dish's own library and channel guide work through the satellite connection.


Testing and Conclusions

Admittedly, with three tuners and 2TB of storage, you can record about 500 hours of high-definition programming or 1,000 hours of standard definition programming on the 1TB user partition (the other half of the drive is used to store PrimeTime Anytime recordings, video-on-demand content, and Dish Unplugged content), so you probably won't miss Netflix and Hulu Plus that much. After a week of recording, you'd have nearly a month of shows and movies to catch up on. In testing, setting up multiple series recordings was easy, and I set the Hopper to capture every episode of Fringe, Adventure Time, and several other shows in minutes. The dedicated Search and Record buttons made finding my favorite programs a snap, since I didn't have to navigate the hundreds of channels and days of time slots in the channel guide to find what I wanted to record.


I have to note that only two tuners were functional in our test Hopper because of the location of our lab in New York City. A building blocked the dish's line to a third satellite, preventing the tuner from working. The two tuners functioned as described, and this is a problem that will only likely pop up in heavily developed and dense urban areas.


Juggling three tuners (or, in this case, two) can be tricky when you're recording multiple shows. The red button on the remote brings up a list of tuners and the devices using them, so you can quickly switch between active tuners without interrupting DVR recordings. The interface is still a little awkward when you want to see exactly what's using each tuner (especially since, if you have three Joeys, at least one Joey must be tuned to an active tuner used by another device to watch live TV), but the pop-up list is helpful.


The Hopper can work with the Dish Network Sling Adapter to place-shift live TV and DVR recordings to any networked computer or tablet. The adapter is just $30, so it's an affordable add-on to watch your TV anywhere. This technology is different from the connection between the Hopper and Joeys, because it uses an Internet connection instead of the cable hookup to the satellite dish to stream content.


TiVo's DVRs like the Premiere ($299.99, 3.5 stars) and Premiere Elite, offer some advantages the Dish Network Hopper lacks, but also have their share of flaws. The TiVo Premiere and Premiere Elite support Netflix and Hulu Plus, offers up suggestions based on your TV-watching habits, and can be remotely controlled by the TiVo app for Android and iOS. On the other hand, you need to pay for each TiVo box along with a monthly TiVo subscription, and you need an active digital cable account with a CableCARD for each box. Also, with TiVo, multi-room DVR requires a wired network connection or a $90 Wi-Fi dongle for each additional box. All things considered, the Dish Network Hopper offers a much less expensive and much more convenient experience. Dish's own ViP722 doesn't fare much better, because it offers a quarter of the storage of the Hopper or Premiere Elite, and it only supports two rooms (and only standard-definition video for the second room).


Overall, the Hopper is one of the best DVRs we've ever seen. It only has three tuners to the TiVo Elite's four and it doesn't suggest and automatically populate your DVR schedule based on your watching habits, but its price, clean design, and easy support for multi-room DVR make it a must-have for Dish Network subscribers.
 
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