Hopper Wins In Court AGAIN!

[Scherrman]

Thanks, I figure if I'm gonna form a full opinion about something I need to use it. It'll pain me to release the death grip on OTA programming, but I reckon I can do it

I imagine id get in the PTAT folder once a day, and move the previous nights stuff over to my actual folders, and get rid of the rest. We stay more than 8 days behind usually so I cant rely on leaving it in the PTAT folder.

You can still have your timers set up to save those shows on to your hard drive automatically so you don't have to manually save them before the 8 days are up.

 

[king3pj]

Gadgetfreek I love that you are arguing against something you seem to have no clue about, but here we like to educate people, so your good.

First off, no commercials are wiped.

When you watch a PTAT recorded show you get a big screen that pops up and asks you if you want to skip the commercials, the default is for NO. But if you select yes then when watching a show you will see a few seconds of a commercial then the AutoHop kicks in where it basically hits the 30 second skip for you to get you through the commercials.

If you grabbed the remote and rewound the should you would see the ads. They are still there, they were not wiped.

I agree with your point but I think it's actually even faster than the 30 second skip because it's instant. Sure you could replicate the same thing by hitting the 30 second skip button 7 or 8 times. Auto Hop would actually be faster than that though because in the time you took to hit skip forward once it already skipped forward all 7 times.

My point, for those who haven't used auto hop, is that you don't see any fast forward process. It just flashes a kangaroo and skip icon on the screen when a commercial break starts and you are instantly on the other side of the commercial break.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I dont know about that, I have seen a few times games were shut off because the games were still being played just in extra innings. (I hate when that happens!)

Did you check the HD channel?? I've tuned to a late Red Sox game and if it's after the time the game was supposed to end, say 10:00 and I punch in the NESN channel number I'm directed to the SD channel. I have to manually advance to the HD channel.

I've seen examples of the HD channel shutting down varying from 30-60 seconds after the end of game, to being able to watch the whole post game show. This tells me the HD RSN process is a manual one...

 

[Scherrman]

Well, my argument has been that it will make the Big 4 more po'd, not about how it works . I don't need to understand that to make that argument. But like I said, Im going to turn the goofy thing on and try it to see what all this mess is about. Who knows, maybe next week Ill be outside the Supreme Court building holding up Pro-AutoHop signs.

You're another example of a customer that has the Hopper and doesn't use the Autohop feature. Just another example of why the Networks don't need to get this worked up.

 

[jbrelish]

Well, sticking your head in the sand doesnt help either.

Look, I get it, Dish is proving their point that the big broadcasters wont stop the autohop tech. Whoooopeeeee... Folks here and every where else can pat themselves on the back over it, but at the end of the day the broadcasters own the content. You want to think that when CBS/Fox/etc... finish getting their butt's handed to them over autohop they arent going to lay it to dish at contract time, then I have to some swamp land to sell you.

I love my Hopper, and dont use autohop, so I think all of this is silly and problematic.

To me PTAT is groundbreaking, you dont need autohop.

Sad part is its not just Dish against the networks. From what I read CBS wants a 600% rate increase(yes not a typo,six hundred percent) from TWC. NBC just signed an over 4 billion dollar contract with Nascar. And that is just 2 news articles within the last week. So the autohop in my opinion is a minor concern in coming contracts. Yes it will be used as leverage. We the viewers will be used as the "useful idiots" by the networks again.

 

[Scherrman]

Sad part is its not just Dish against the networks. From what I read CBS wants a 600% rate increase(yes not a typo,six hundred percent) from TWC. NBC just signed an over 4 billion dollar contract with Nascar. And that is just 2 news articles within the last week. So the autohop in my opinion is a minor concern in coming contracts. Yes it will be used as leverage. We the viewers will be used as the "useful idiots" by the networks again.

600% isn't as crazy as it sounds when you're dealing with pennies. I know it's still quite a bit of money for CBS in the long haul. If they were getting 5 cents per subscriber a 600% increase would be 30 cents I believe.

 

[Brussam]

And a 10 million subscriber base would mean $30 million a year. Depends on how you look at it.

 

[Scherrman]

And a 10 million subscriber base would mean $30 million a year. Depends on how you look at it.

Oh yeah. It adds up for them but it's not an enormous increase to the customer though.

 

[Teehar]

Here's the thing with me.I'll always support Dish when it comes to fighting these broadcasters.It's not enough that they get paid,quite well I might add,to be re-transmitted.Plus they get all the ad revenue.Then they always force some bundle channel deal,for way too long they have had their cake and eaten it too.Charlie imo is trying to make a stand.I don't blame him one bit in this instance.I'm sure Dish would have no issue killing autohop if the networks allowed them to be carried for free,or at a very minimal rate.As it is now,you see like in posts above,CBS wants a 600% increase,plus they want autohop killed.Seems like nothing more than pure greed to me.

 

[jbrelish]

600% isn't as crazy as it sounds when you're dealing with pennies. I know it's still quite a bit of money for CBS in the long haul. If they were getting 5 cents per subscriber a 600% increase would be 30 cents I believe.

The article said at present TWC wasn't going for it and they were facing CBS removal. And is CBS worth 30 cents?

 

[Teehar]

600% isn't as crazy as it sounds when you're dealing with pennies. I know it's still quite a bit of money for CBS in the long haul. If they were getting 5 cents per subscriber a 600% increase would be 30 cents I believe

It sure is when you consider how many times per year these contracts come up.First CBS,then the other 3,chances are if Dish pays a 600% increase to CBS the others will ask for more.

 

[gadgtfreek]

You can still have your timers set up to save those shows on to your hard drive automatically so you don't have to manually save them before the 8 days are up.

So, I set up PTAT, and cut it loose. I then go in and setup a normal timer for say CBS (not OTA of course). When PTAT records that show, instead of leaving it in the PTAT folder, it will move it to where my timer says to? It also wont record 2 of the same?

Thanks.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

So, I set up PTAT, and cut it loose. I then go in and setup a normal timer for say CBS (not OTA of course). When PTAT records that show, instead of leaving it in the PTAT folder, it will move it to where my timer says to? It also wont record 2 of the same?

Thanks.

It will be in both places, but only one copy. Think of it as a shortcut in MS Windows terms...

 

[gadgtfreek]

Gotcha, so I wont lose it at 8 days this way, but itll still have autohop?

 

[mike123abc]

People have always speculated two scenarios, 1) Some poor chaps have to sit and watch all the shows on the Big 4 (further speculation that it was even done in India!) or 2) it was done by software using closed-caption markers.

Now, just because Dish said in court how they do it doesn't mean it's true (though they do swear to "tell the truth"). How they do it isn't in question nor is it the issue at hand. They also don't want to give away the secret. Of course, if as claimed that D* also does it by using CC markers, Dish has this technique patented ! Uh-oh !!

I doubt that they watch them in real time, with the proper video editing equipment, an hour of TV could probably be done in less than 5 minutes. They just fast forward to the commercial break, back and forth a bit to find the right spot and mark. Then fast forward to the end of the commercial break and mark the end spot. Then repeat. Probably just a couple people to do it all.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Gotcha, so I wont lose it at 8 days this way, but itll still have autohop?

correct

 

[gadgtfreek]

correct

OK. This may allow me to easily use one Hopper for viewing and one for backup (duplicate timers). Interesting.

 

[Scherrman]

OK. This may allow me to easily use one Hopper for viewing and one for backup (duplicate timers). Interesting.

I use one hopper for PTAT and the other I have it turned off so I have more tuners available. PTAT and Autohop may be the features Dish pushes the most because that gets customer's attention but once you actually have the Hopper system you find there are so many other features that are better and make it the best DVR available.

 

[dare2be]

It's not enough that they get paid,quite well I might add,to be re-transmitted.Plus they get all the ad revenue.Then they always force some bundle channel deal,for way too long they have had their cake and eaten it too.

I have been saying this forever. In a truly competitive market, channel owners would be low-ball bidding transmission fees for the privilege of being put in a lower tier to get their channel in more homes and more potential ad revenue.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Interestingly enough, when I enabled PTAT and fixed my timers, my stuff that was already recorded off locals OTA have a Kangaroo beside them. That doesnt seem right.