722 vs 922 vs Hopper & Joey

[OhioDon]

I am using two TVs with one VIP222. The box is at the main TV using HDMI and then I use a modulator? to send the SD signal back through the cable to another TV. I'd like to move to the 21st century and add a DVR and I would like to watch programming online. I have a slingbox adapter and a Powerline Broadband Connector from a friend for which I would pay him about $30 for the slingbox and $20 for the PBC. I'm considering a 722(k?) or a 922. I was told the 722 would cost an extra $6 per month and the 922 would be $10 per month. Questions:
1. Is there any advantage to the 922 over the 722 other than the slingbox being built-in? (At $4 per month, I'd pay for the slingbox in 8 months)
2. Is the Powerline Broadband Adapter fast enough or should I use the WiFi Broadband Connector? (I could possibly run an Ethernet cable if needed.)
3. One Hopper and one Joey would be $99 upfront and $17 per month. Does the H & J do anything for me other than give me HD to the second TV? (And I would need to run a new cable from the Hopper to the Joey.)

 

[Tampa8]

1. 922 has a newer look to the system (guide etc..) but, No. Get the 722.

2. If Ethernet is possible go with that. Wifi next. Powerline does work, but is third choice. Some homes electrical systems have problems with it but generally they do work.

3. If HD at the second TV is not a priority then get the 722 and save money. Even at that, if you want HD at the second TV but don't need it to be independent from the first TV, you can have HD at both and put the slingbox on the SD output, thereby being totally independent of what someone else is watching.

 

[JM42]

1: Only other advantage of the 922 is that the interface is prettier. It depends on what you like, but I would go with the 722.
2: The powerline adapter is probably fine for anything you will need for the 722/922. Throughput actually depends on your home's wiring and can vary widely though.
3: In addition to HD on TV2, Hopper gives you an extra tuner, PTA, 2-3 times the storage capacity, and a prettier interface. If you watch much Big 4 programming at all, then PTA will eliminate primetime timer conflicts. Coming from a non-DVR receiver, the extra tuner and PTA may not seem all that important, but your viewing habits will change substantially with a DVR and there will be times you wish you had another tuner. Is it worth another $11/month over a 722 if you don't need additional HD units? Probably not.

 

[patmurphey]

The Joey cable comes from the node, not the Hopper. There are many other features of the Hopper/Joey combo besides just HD at the second TV. Full access to all DVR functions and recordings from both TVs, Prime Time Anytime, Ad hopping on PTAT, more storage, updated interface... It's really worth the extra money if you can afford it.

 

[OhioDon]

3. If HD at the second TV is not a priority then get the 722 and save money. Even at that, if you want HD at the second TV but don't need it to be independent from the first TV, you can have HD at both and put the slingbox on the SD output, thereby being totally independent of what someone else is watching.

How do I get HD to the second TV from a 722?

 

[TechWriter]

How do I get HD to the second TV from a 722?

Use coax to connect your TV to the Home Distribution connector on the back of your 722. Remember, you'll only get SD.

 

[OhioDon]

Use coax to connect your TV to the Home Distribution connector on the back of your 722. Remember, you'll only get SD.

Tampa8 said I could get HD to the second TV. Right or wrong?

 

[JM42]

How do I get HD to the second TV from a 722?

1: Run cables from the component output of the 722 to TV2 location.
2: Use an HDMI splitter and run cables to the TV2 location.
3: Use an HDMI splitter and use a wireless HDMI receiver/transmitter.

All of these solutions would be sharing TV1 output with TV2. TV2 would not have independent HD viewing, but you could still have the TV2 SD coax feed connected to TV2 as well for the times when you needed independent (but in SD) viewing.

If TV2 is HD, and you are considering any of the above solutions, then at that point I would start leaning toward Hopper/Joey. I think you would be happier for longer if the extra monthly is not a hardship.
.

 

[Aidan8et]

Tampa8 said I could get HD to the second TV. Right or wrong?

As a pure tv2, you don't. All the Dish dual tuner recievers only put out SD to tv2. It will have access to HD & they will look a lil sharper, but not full HD.

Sent from my HTC EVO using SatelliteGuys

 

[TheKrell]

1: Run cables from the component output of the 722 to TV2 location.
2: Use and HDMI splitter and run cables to the TV2 location.
3: Use and HDMI splitter and use a wireless HDMI receiver/transmitter.

All of these solutions would be sharing TV1 output with TV2. TV2 would not have independent HD viewing, but you could still have the TV2 SD coax feed connected to TV2 as well for the times when you needed independent (but in SD) viewing.

If TV2 is HD, and you are considering any of the above solutions, then at that point I would start leaning toward Hopper/Joey. I think you would be happier for longer if the extra monthly is not a hardship.

For completeness, there is the Sling Adapter which does use the TV2 output and has an HD output option. The issue there is the sink for the Sling stream, the now-cancelled Sling Extender. So, to use this option for TV2, you would have to put something like a HTPC at your TV2 location.

 

[Jhon69]

I am using two TVs with one VIP222. The box is at the main TV using HDMI and then I use a modulator? to send the SD signal back through the cable to another TV. I'd like to move to the 21st century and add a DVR and I would like to watch programming online. I have a slingbox adapter and a Powerline Broadband Connector from a friend for which I would pay him about $30 for the slingbox and $20 for the PBC. I'm considering a 722(k?) or a 922. I was told the 722 would cost an extra $6 per month and the 922 would be $10 per month. Questions:
1. Is there any advantage to the 922 over the 722 other than the slingbox being built-in? (At $4 per month, I'd pay for the slingbox in 8 months)
2. Is the Powerline Broadband Adapter fast enough or should I use the WiFi Broadband Connector? (I could possibly run an Ethernet cable if needed.)
3. One Hopper and one Joey would be $99 upfront and $17 per month. Does the H & J do anything for me other than give me HD to the second TV? (And I would need to run a new cable from the Hopper to the Joey.)

1. Yes the 922 has the new guide format(channel logos in the guide) and Menu Tiles.The guide is the same in the Hopper except the 922's is dark blue and the Hopper's is sliver.

2.I have found the best in my area with AT&T DSL(6MB/764k) to hard wire(direct connect) is the best,Powerline Broadband(Sling Turbo Homeplug Adaptor) is second,Wireless Adaptor is third respectively.

3.You should check into a 2 Hopper setup the upfront fee is more,but the monthly mirror fee is the same as the Joey($7.) but it will give you access to 6 tuners 24/7.

4. If you don't care about recording or viewing your recordings from another room(like I am) you go with the 211ks which has it's own satellite and over the air tuner for the same price as the Joey($7.)the 211k can become a DVR with an EHD and a $40. one time access fee.

5.I run the VIP922/wMT2 with 3-211ks in the bedrooms.

 

[OhioDon]

1. Yes the 922 has the new guide format(channel logos in the guide) and Menu Tiles.The guide is the same in the Hopper except the 922's is dark blue and the Hopper's is sliver.

2.I have found the best in my area with AT&T DSL(6MB/764k) to hard wire(direct connect) is the best,Powerline Broadband(Sling Turbo Homeplug Adaptor) is second,Wireless Adaptor is third respectively.

3.You should check into a 2 Hopper setup the upfront fee is more,but the monthly mirror fee is the same as the Joey($7.) but it will give you access to 6 tuners 24/7.

4. If you don't care about recording or viewing your recordings from another room(like I am) you go with the 211ks which has it's own satellite and over the air tuner for the same price as the Joey($7.)the 211k can become a DVR with an EHD and a $40. one time access fee.

5.I run the VIP922/wMT2 with 3-211ks in the bedrooms.

1. Is the 722 or 922 more like the 222? My wife really likes the guide on the 222.

2. I think I'll try to run Ethernet from my router to the receiver box (722, 922 or Hopper).

4. We definitely want to be able to view recordings from another room.

 

[Tampa8]

As a pure tv2, you don't. All the Dish dual tuner recievers only put out SD to tv2. It will have access to HD & they will look a lil sharper, but not full HD.

Sent from my HTC EVO using SatelliteGuys

I was thinking my reply was pretty clear, maybe not when I said if you don't need the second TV to be independent from the first, then yes, you can have HD at two TV's. ALOT of people do that.

 

[navychop]

722 will be more like the 222, guide wise.

 

[JM42]

2. I think I'll try to run Ethernet from my router to the receiver box (722, 922 or Hopper).

If it is any trouble to run the cat5 cable, I'd wait and see how well the powerline adapter works if your friend will let you try before you buy. If it works well it will suffice for anything you need from the receiver.

Odds are pretty good they will send a tech out, and if they do you can probably get either the powerline adapter or wireless adapter from the tech at no charge.

 

[Jhon69]

1. Is the 722 or 922 more like the 222? My wife really likes the guide on the 222.

2. I think I'll try to run Ethernet from my router to the receiver box (722, 922 or Hopper).

4. We definitely want to be able to view recordings from another room.

Then my suggestion would be to go with the Hopper&Joey,you will need the Sling Adaptor also.

 

[king3pj]

Then my suggestion would be to go with the Hopper&Joey,you will need the Sling Adaptor also.

I agree that a hopper and Joey is the better system with more recording options but it also costs more money.

You can watch recordings just fine from the other room with a 722 or 922 as long as you don't mind them being in SD. Also, If you are recording something TV2 won't be able to watch live TV.

 

[wetz73]

I upgraded from a 722 to a Hopper/Joey and I can say it is well worth $11 a month. On the 722, TV2 is the default DVR tuner, meaning any time something is recording, TV2 can only watch what is being recorded or something on the DVR. This was a HUGE issue in our household! The Hopper/Joey will flip to a free tuner, thus solving this issue (as long as all 3 tuners are not in use). Also, the SD to TV2 really stinks if you have a nice TV in that location. If you have an older tube TV, it is fine, but if not, you will not be happy Plus, the 722's hard drive fills up very fast, and before long you will be shelling out $100 for an EHD. And auto-hop is just really awesome! For me, the Hopper is easily the way to go.

BTW, I was told by Dish that they are not doing new 922 installs now, so that might be an issue for you as well.

 

[KAB]

On the 722, TV2 is the default DVR tuner, meaning any time something is recording, TV2 can only watch what is being recorded or something on the DVR. This was a HUGE issue in our household!

Were you aware that you could have changed the default to tuner 1?

 

[ZachS@DISH]

BTW, I was told by Dish that they are not doing new 922 installs now, so that might be an issue for you as well.

922's became available again on May 3rd.