Used Dish Hopper to access prerecorded movies

Forest Dweller

Member
Original poster
Jun 13, 2018
7
1
Hillsdale, NY
I currently have a Dish Hopper with sling That has 6TB of movies on auxiliary hard-drives. If I cancel my Dish TV account, those movies would be inaccessible, due to encryption. If I purchase a used Hopper that I do not intend to connect to a dish, is there anything that would stop me from connecting the auxiliary drives to the used hopper to view the movies? Thank you.
 
I currently have a Dish Hopper with sling That has 6TB of movies on auxiliary hard-drives. If I cancel my Dish TV account, those movies would be inaccessible, due to encryption. If I purchase a used Hopper that I do not intend to connect to a dish, is there anything that would stop me from connecting the auxiliary drives to the used hopper to view the movies? Thank you.

Do you own your HWS? Or is it leased?
 
The external drive is encrypted with a key that is tied to your account.

If the purchased used Hopper is not on your account it cannot see the recordings on the external drive, it probably will not even acknowledge the drive has been plugged in.
 
The external drive is encrypted with a key that is tied to your account.

If the purchased used Hopper is not on your account it cannot see the recordings on the external drive, it probably will not even acknowledge the drive has been plugged in.

Not if you unhook the coax and network cable from the receiver before deactivating the account. Assuming the OP owns his old receiver, that is.
 
That would necessitate the user buying the used Hopper BEFORE deactivating his account, that could work for a while, but it would necessitate the used Hopper at least temporarily be connected to the dish AND activated.
 
That would necessitate the user buying the used Hopper BEFORE deactivating his account, that could work for a while, but it would necessitate the used Hopper at least temporarily be connected to the dish AND activated.

I understand; that’s why I was asking the OP if he owned his receiver, because if he does, he wouldn’t need to buy a used receiver; he could just keep using the one he has indefinitely. If his receiver is leased, then yes. What you suggest would be the way to go.
 
I currently have a Dish Hopper with sling That has 6TB of movies on auxiliary hard-drives. If I cancel my Dish TV account, those movies would be inaccessible, due to encryption. If I purchase a used Hopper that I do not intend to connect to a dish, is there anything that would stop me from connecting the auxiliary drives to the used hopper to view the movies? Thank you.

Don’t cancel your account. Drop to the cheapest plan (Welcome Pack?) and connect the used Hopper to your account, or keep your current STB (probably cheaper). Then watch like mad or Hauppage it.

Best of luck to you!
 
Don’t cancel your account. Drop to the cheapest plan (Welcome Pack?) and connect the used Hopper to your account, or keep your current STB (probably cheaper). Then watch like mad or Hauppage it.

Best of luck to you!

I wrestled with the same dilemma a couple years ago. I dropped to the welcome pack as you suggested. And I have been watching like mad ever since.
No longer planning on going anywhere any time soon.
I am watching for a deal I can't refuse on a larger 4K TV.
 
As an update, Dish would not allow me to purchase my several-years-old Hopper. If I chose to purchase a new Hopper for $350, I would have to send mine back, and they would replace it with a new one. I could also put a used Hopper in service, as long as it has a "clean" serial, and a "clean" Smart-card number. By the way, there is no monthly payment discount for owning your Hopper.
 
By the way, there is no monthly payment discount for owning your Hopper.

You wouldn't be subject to the sales tax (if any) that you currently pay monthly on your bill if you own your equipment

If you're going to buy a used Hopper, get it from Ebay or Craigslist. Verify the RID and SID numbers with Dish before you purchase. $350 sounds like the price of a new H3. You can get an original Hopper or an HWS for MUCH LESS than $350.
 
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