Switched from Dish Hopper to DTV Genie - First Impressions

[juanabove]

Hey Everybody,

2 days ago, I finally took the plunge and now I have Directv's Genie HR44 with 3 clients. I figured I would write up my initial thoughts about the Genie vs the Hopper to help someone that might be thinking of switching and before I forget.

Better Receiver?????
In terms of which receiver is more advanced, IMO the Hopper wins hands down. Hopper has those great icons for the networks, icons for all your recordings, while the Genie just has text for recordings, icons are easier for my grandma, one and three years old to navigate and text feels so OLD. Another option I missed in the Hopper is the remote finder, another important tool you tend to forget until you need it. Again important when you have kids and old folks around. The Dish receiver come with 2TB while the Genie comes with only 1TB. Lastly, while I do not have the Genie go yet, but I already miss the sling adapter, it was nice to be able to watch my recordings anywhere. Genie lets you live stream some channels on the Ipad as well, but you have to be on the same wireless network your receiver is on.

Speed????
In terms of speed, the Genie seems to be quicker to pull up the guides and recordings, the only lag is when the resolution switches from 1080i to 480, it seems like there is a lag because the on screen display has to reconfigure to match the programming resolution, evident if you are channel surfing. There might be a setting change, but I have yet to find it.

Picture Quality??
Picture quality seems to be much better on Directv compared to Dish, maybe it is new connections or maybe it is a new toy so it seems faster and clearer.

Programming???
The main reason I left Dish is their programming, mainly because they do not show Laker games and they don't carry TFC - the Filipino channel. Other than that not too different.

Remote
I actually really liked the Hopper remote once I got the hang of it, as for the Genie remote, I thought I would hate it, but it is really easy to learn it once you play with it. The only thing that bugs me is the constant clicking, some of the buttons click when you push it. After a while it gets annoying. Also, like I mentioned before, I will miss the remote finder tool.

Other than that, everything seems to be very similar to Dish. The install was a breeze, although it took 5 hours to build two dishes and install, but the installer was a cool guy. If anyone out there knows how to improve my experience, feel free to chime in, also if anyone has questions about Dish vs Directv, I'll try and help. Thanks guys....have a great holiday!
JA

 

[dfergie]

Hey Everybody,




Speed????
In terms of speed, the Genie seems to be quicker to pull up the guides and recordings, the only lag is when the resolution switches from 1080i to 480, it seems like there is a lag because the on screen display has to reconfigure to match the programming resolution, evident if you are channel surfing. There might be a setting change, but I have yet to find it.

Remote
I actually really liked the Hopper remote once I got the hang of it, as for the Genie remote, I thought I would hate it, but it is really easy to learn it once you play with it. The only thing that bugs me is the constant clicking, some of the buttons click when you push it. After a while it gets annoying. Also, like I mentioned before, I will miss the remote finder tool.

JA

You can turn off Native in resolutions and might speed it up as well as turning off the clicking when changing channels by going into setup...

 

[dalyew]

Your eyes are not fooling you, the picture quality on Directv is much better than Dish, in my case, significantly. Some people on this forum are still debating this but the improvement I saw on my 50" & 55" sets make me wonder why there's a debate or if I just had a defective Hopper system. I did have a Dish tech come & check the system before I jumped ship back in August & he gave it a clean bill of health but did see the pq was on a slightly lower range of what he usually sees but it was acceptable by Dish's standard. That's when I finally decided to go & haven't regretted it.

I did miss the Hopper & it's Sling feature but got a Belkin @TV & that has substituted just fine. I even hear buying & using a separate Sling Box results in a better user experience than what we used on Dish.

 

[SpencerCat]

Picture Quality

Different strokes for different folks, but I’m counting the days until the end of my 2-year commitment with DTV, and I can return to Dish, where I was a customer for 13 years.

I won’t go into all the reasons why I don’t like DTV, because I don’t want to get into the usual ‘My high school is better than your high school’ and ‘yes, but …’ debates that usually ensue.

My only concern is that two of the posters have stated that, in their opinion, the picture quality of DTV is ‘much better’ than Dish’s. When I left Dish and came to DTV, I didn’t notice any difference in picture quality, but maybe my 70-year-old eyes aren’t good enough to see the difference.

Is there any way to objectively measure picture quality, or is it strictly subjective?

As I said at the beginning, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Welcome to the Directv Family

 

[SpencerCat]

Welcome to the Directv Family

Claude, I don't know if you were addressing your comment to me, but if you were, then thanks, but I've been with DTV for 16 months, plenty of time to do a good compare and contrast evaluation of Dish and DTV.

 

[dfergie]

I have both providers, Directv has the edge in PQ imho, but I like to watch programs in their native resolution...

 

[gadgtfreek]

Ive had both, more than once, and recently left Dish because of a long local dispute and still not having ESPNU HD for the start of Fball.

I agree with most of what the OP said. If I could have a 4 or 5 tuner Hopper with Directv's PQ, itd be great lol.

That being said, my HR44 isnt bad at all, its just that Directv tends to break stuff with SW updates.

 

[zim2dive]

Different strokes for different folks, but I’m counting the days until the end of my 2-year commitment with DTV, and I can return to Dish, where I was a customer for 13 years.

I won’t go into all the reasons why I don’t like DTV, because I don’t want to get into the usual ‘My high school is better than your high school’ and ‘yes, but …’ debates that usually ensue.

My only concern is that two of the posters have stated that, in their opinion, the picture quality of DTV is ‘much better’ than Dish’s. When I left Dish and came to DTV, I didn’t notice any difference in picture quality, but maybe my 70-year-old eyes aren’t good enough to see the difference.

Is there any way to objectively measure picture quality, or is it strictly subjective?

As I said at the beginning, different strokes for different folks.View attachment 93426

I'm in the same boat... probably going back to Dish this Spring... I did not notice any picture difference when I switched from Dish (622) to the DTV HR34. Will I notice anything when I go back.. dunno.. always possible I suppose. I've not seen any technical explanation behind the better PQ claims (I'd be more persuaded to hear service X has a higher bitrate, or better compression, somehow handle motion better, or whatever)... shrug. IMO, both have been more than fine for me (47" 1080p display)... but to each their own. The differences I noted were in the user interface for the DVR, and nothing else. Put the E* UI on my HR34 and I'd never know I wasn't on Dish, and vice versa.

 

[raoul5788]

The difference in pq is simple. Dish uses 1440x1080, Directv uses 1980x1080.

Oops. That should read 1920, not 1980.

 

[gadgtfreek]

The difference in pq is simple. Dish uses 1440x1080, Directv uses 1980x1080.

Well, that and they have overloaded the TP's compared to Directv. There was breaking point, and Dish passed it. I know some folks will say they dont see it, but Ive been on this site a long time and event he die hards have slowly admitted Directv has the edge. When you are like me, watching on a larger screen at a closer distance, its obvious. When Im watching on my 40" lcd in the bedroom from 12 or so feet, both look fine. Its likes digital images, lower resolution is only exposed when it is blown up.

 

[lparsons21]

I've had both and would give a very slight edge to D*, not enough to make it part of the decision to get which service. And that's on a 73" 3D DLP from about 9' or less.

 

[gadgtfreek]

We've had this discussion before, and your definition and mine of slight edge isnt close. And I fully disagree, its one of the reasons I have them over Dish. Sure the Hopper is great, but the channel disputes and the PQ side go to Directv. Less softness, less noise, less banding...

Why pay basically the same for each, with worse PQ? The problem with Dish nowadays is they arent the cheapest, they have worse PQ, they have more disputes where stuff gets pulled, and its always because they are looking out for you... Now go back to the first part of the sentence and note again how they arent this inexpensive service anymore. Sure they skimp, but it isnt to help the customer...

People can sugar coat all they want, the fact is Directv's PQ is better than Dish's, and its not just "barely noticeable", but I also have people tell me they can't tell the difference between a calibrated display and one thats not. If you have the "eye" for this stuff, the difference is there and its real. Kinda like audio quality, Im not good there at detecting differences and Ill be the first to admit it.

It was hilarious around here when a lot of old timers made the switch from Dish to Directv, and then said "the pq is better". Duh, people have been trying to get folks to understand that point around here for awhile, but you have all these folks that play it down.

 

[raoul5788]

As I have said ad naseum, pq is important to me, in fact, the second most important. First is programming. What good is pq if the channels I want to watch aren't there? Being a Yankees fan, I have to have the YES network. Directv has it, Dish doesn't. End of discussion for me.

 

[lparsons21]

We've had this discussion before, and your definition and mine of slight edge isnt close. And I fully disagree, its one of the reasons I have them over Dish. Sure the Hopper is great, but the channel disputes and the PQ side go to Directv. Less softness, less noise, less banding...

Why pay basically the same for each, with worse PQ? The problem with Dish nowadays is they arent the cheapest, they have worse PQ, they have more disputes where stuff gets pulled, and its always because they are looking out for you... Now go back to the first part of the sentence and note again how they arent this inexpensive service anymore. Sure they skimp, but it isnt to help the customer...

People can sugar coat all they want, the fact is Directv's PQ is better than Dish's, and its not just "barely noticeable", but I also have people tell me they can't tell the difference between a calibrated display and one thats not. If you have the "eye" for this stuff, the difference is there and its real. Kinda like audio quality, Im not good there at detecting differences and Ill be the first to admit it.

It was hilarious around here when a lot of old timers made the switch from Dish to Directv, and then said "the pq is better". Duh, people have been trying to get folks to understand that point around here for awhile, but you have all these folks that play it down.

If you're looking for an argument with me, you're barking up the wrong tree!!

To me the perceived PQ is close enough to the same that it doesn't matter at all. But I don't have a problem with those that insist it is a big difference because that is their perception. I only have to worry or consider mine! And since that is my perception, I'm not paying basically the same for worse PQ.

I'm with Dish now, been with DirecTV before. May even switch again though with the needed upfront money to do so, I doubt it. I like both services and have said so many times.

 

[zim2dive]

The difference in pq is simple. Dish uses 1440x1080, Directv uses 1980x1080.

thanks! I didn't know. so that would imply on 1080p (and i?) material they are throwing away 1/4 of the columns?

I have better than 20/20 vision.. honestly I never noticed... but I guess I'd know what to look for now. I'm not a fanboy for anything.. I believe in being honest about the pros and cons of any product/service... and I think every product/service tends to have both. I have a 47" screen at ~15' viewing distance, perhaps that is why I don't notice (pondering an upgrade to ~55" sometime soon)

 

[scoop8]

As I have said ad naseum, pq is important to me, in fact, the second most important. First is programming. What good is pq if the channels I want to watch aren't there? Being a Yankees fan, I have to have the YES network. Directv has it, Dish doesn't. End of discussion for me.

That's how I see it, programming's my first priority, even without the PAC 12 it's still an easy choice for me to have stayed with D* all these years.

There's been a lot of discussion about Receiver response times & equipment. I'll just say that I've had my HR22 for 5 years and it's working ok for me. I'm sure that a Hopper is faster from reading posts but that's not my #1 priority with a provider.

 

[Jillian]

I have had both and DTV has better HD picture quality and Dish has better STD picture quality.
It's not subjective either.

 

[dalyew]

I have had both and DTV has better HD picture quality and Dish has better STD picture quality.
It's not subjective either.

I second that. The major improvement in picture quality I saw when I switched from Dish to Direct made me wonder why there's even a debate. I long suspected it as whenever I was at friends home with D* I admired the pq but figured it was the quality tv they had. But when I got an upper tier 55" tv & sitting just 10' away I begun to notice the deficiency in Dish's signal but lived with it for awhile. When I made the switch I was astounded (and still am) as to the significant increase in pq. It's not bluray quality but on some channels, pretty much near it.

Picture quality is my number 1 priority as I would rather not watch a channel I want if it's not up to the HD clarity I'm looking for. That's why I don't have SD channels listed in my guide but im somewhat of a techie and always seeking the best technology has to offer. I'm even upgrading my tablet so as to get a higher resolution screen.

 

[Anthony670830]

All I know is a sale and install both systems daily and I always push the DirecTV well before I will dish its a night and day difference the hopper has apps that's all it has that the genie does not that's the only thing it has on it but in every important aspect the genie is well above the hopper period so no need for comparison or debate