Mouse and Hopper

bkushner

SatelliteGuys Pro
Apr 2, 2005
681
2
Audubon, NJ
I've read and seen videos that show a mouse working with the Hopper. I tried my wireless mouse to no avail. Is this feature still working?
 
I don't think a mouse has ever been supported in a national release of the Hopper firmware.

This is what the OP is talking about (posted by a satelliteguys member coinmaster32):



I'm not sure the feature is still there or whether the HWS supported it.
 
A few months ago I saw this video and I tried this as well as keyboards (one can dream, can't they?) and nothing ever worked. Bluetooth, wired, USB wireless. Nothing. I seem to recall from someone that a mouse worked at one time but Dish took that functionality away. Kinda like that ultra-cool remote prototype and interface enhancement they showed as CES, then poop-canned (almost) all of it.

I've always commented that a mouse and keyboard interface have to be two of the most common and easiest peripherals to implement into equipment. So those more advanced customers have this option, and the rest who would not use it simply don't realize it's there. Never understood why Dish and Echostar never just invested a few days, implemented this ability and moved on years ago... :imconfused
 
Never understood why Dish and Echostar never just invested a few days, implemented this ability and moved on years ago... :imconfused
My guess is that they thought about what the typical customer might use it for and decided that they couldn't think of a compelling use. Once the touchpad remote was off the table, pointer-level support for a system without a standard pointing device is useless.

Every little thing counts in an embedded system.
 
Once the touchpad remote was off the table, pointer-level support for a system without a standard pointing device is useless.

Not sure what you mean by "off the table?" That means that something is no longer a reality or possibility. The remote is a future option (when, only Dish can tell us):
http://about.dish.com/press-release...-voice-remote-new-user-interface-streamline-c

My point is also voiced a bit into the past. Meaning, Dish has an interface with icons/tiles for years now. They could have implemented this in literally a few days and had as another option for customers. Especially the keyboard option. No one can convince me that a move move, click, move move move, click, move.... type of interface (button or touchpad) is efficient when compared to a keyboard (or maybe someday reliable voice recognition) for entering characters on screen.

Apps on smart devices are nice, but not everyone has a tablet or smartphone <gasp>! Also, phone mfg's are not all on a set standard where they have IR in their phone (why I love my Samsung phone which has that capability). So if a home network is down you can't use a smart device if it only communicates with their equipment via a wireless connection.
 
So many people have smart phones these days that its almost easier to just to have an app created for this purpose than to design a remote just for this. Now if it would not increase the cost of the remote much on future production models then they could make it standard on future remotes and if the people are not happy with them still offer the older remote. They might be afraid of rejection of the new technology that people are not familiar with.
 
Not sure what you mean by "off the table?" That means that something is no longer a reality or possibility.
I mean as in not likely to happen.

DISH raised the touchpad flag twice and the response was "huh?". I expect that the end result of both those experiments is the Ray (although being farsighted, the DISH remote makes more sense for me).

Remember the less sexy touch pad remote for the ViP922?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Dish-Ne...-Remote-Control-HDTV-BluRay-DVD-/271893567529
 
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They should be able to make an embedded system as complex as they want.
Complex still equals (more) expensive than standard systems. Dish will still factor in what value a feature provides vs the add'l cost of it in determining whether or not to include it.
 
With modern programming techniques, NOVRAM isn't any less precious. Software will always expand to scarf down all available resources.

Correct. But looking at it from a dedicated device perspective, like a DVR (as opposed to a typical PC), it's a much different environment. You don't have to worry about developing interfaces or drivers for literally thousands of devices, do not have third party software grabbing up all the memory and processing power. It's very much a closed environment that Dish controls. If a DVR is slow or sluggish due to resource issues then there is no one to blame but yourself if you are Dish. Aside from the processing of the video for playback and storage, I cannot believe that a somewhat limited capability device like a DVR would need massive amounts of processing power or memory just for the basic user interface.
 
DISH raised the touchpad flag twice and the response was "huh?".
Remember the less sexy touch pad remote for the ViP922?

Who knows. Maybe the third time is a charm. ;-) I never owned a 922 myself so was not familiar with that remote.

We'll just have to sit tight and see what Dish presents in a couple of weeks at the CES...and hoping what they show "stays on the table" this time and not just fancy prototypes!
 
Aside from the processing of the video for playback and storage, I cannot believe that a somewhat limited capability device like a DVR would need massive amounts of processing power or memory just for the basic user interface.
You clearly don't comprehend the breadth of what is going on in a modern DVR. From 10+ day guide juggling to worrying about what happens when a client fires up or the phone rings, there's a considerable amount of activity that is taking place. Every model was a solid performer when introduced (save the early "cost reduced" DIRECTV HR2x models) and most have been hobbled at some level by creeping featuritis.

Whether it is DLNA capability or adding stuff like Netflix and Pandora, it all takes resources. We discount the impact because we see the features on various small streamers and sticks, but these other devices aren't expected to do a whole lot more than authentication and the UI -- the rest is all hardware. The streamers that do more advanced functions are pretty powerful in their own right.
 
All this talk about a smartphone app with a remote... But DA already has a remote in it for all smartphones compatible.
 
You clearly don't comprehend the breadth of what is going on in a modern DVR.

Actually, I do. My comment was geared toward the initial topic of the thread of a mouse or even keyboard interface. That, being part of the basic UI I was referencing, in no way is resource intensive. I totally agree on your points about the DVR inner workings and additional features. But moving about the UI, selecting things, managing interrupts from mouse/keyboard/remotes, searching, is not heavy lifting programatically.

Sorry if I was not clear on my frame of reference.
 
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