Why did you leave the Genie? I have a Dish 622 and am looking at all options and DirecTV is putting some enticing incentives to jump and 5 independent tuners is very appealing. Dish on the other hand after 11 years wants to change me $50 for a Hopper and jack up my rates.
Hopper any good?
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Why did you leave the Genie? I have a Dish 622 and am looking at all options and DirecTV is putting some enticing incentives to jump and 5 independent tuners is very appealing. Dish on the other hand after 11 years wants to change me $50 for a Hopper and jack up my rates.
kluken said:
Wanted to try the hopper out since I never had a 922. Also was very curious of PTAT. With the over the air module, I have 4 tuners right now and the software is better than directvs, just a learning curve for me. Things like the recycle bins and folders are just plain cool, especially when I can make a show land in a specified folder after it is recorded.
I did give up some sports HD which will hurt a little, but not the end of the world.
I know you have been doing a lot of research, but ask away if you have any questions, there are quite a few of us who made the switch from Direct and enjoying Dish/Hopper system
I just upgraded from a single TV and the VIP612 to four TV's with the Hopper and three Joeys. I AM THRILLED. 
Forget about the whole-home-DVR experience. That's great, but the Hopper alone is magnificent. I highly recommend the Hopper even if you're a one-TV household and don't need any Joeys. (Does Dish offer this?) The older Dish DVR's are going to be gathering dust somewhere because the Hopper puts them to shame. PTAT with the Auto-Hop is a huge bonus, too.
Also worth noting, everyone in our house agrees that the picture is MUCH improved by the Hopper. I finally feel that our TV is hi-def. Beautiful!
I can get Time Warner cable in my area, but Dish is so much better for their equipment alone. The Time Warner DVR is a child's toy.
Forget about the whole-home-DVR experience. That's great, but the Hopper alone is magnificent. I highly recommend the Hopper even if you're a one-TV household and don't need any Joeys. (Does Dish offer this?) The older Dish DVR's are going to be gathering dust somewhere because the Hopper puts them to shame. PTAT with the Auto-Hop is a huge bonus, too.
Also worth noting, everyone in our house agrees that the picture is MUCH improved by the Hopper. I finally feel that our TV is hi-def. Beautiful!
I can get Time Warner cable in my area, but Dish is so much better for their equipment alone. The Time Warner DVR is a child's toy.
A very silly statement when you know that, if you need more tuners, you simply add a 2nd Hopper. 6 tuners, 8 with OTA plus the added recording of PTAT. Some have even added a 3rd Hopper. (Plus you have the meager hard drive of the HR34.)
I could see where a Hopper (as someone who just left an HR34) without OTA is lacking, and I agree. If you add the OTA tuner, its real close, but not everyone wants to or can.
So yeah, 3 vs 5, kinda sucks. Now, if a big portion of your recording is the Big 4, then PTAT solves a problem but requires a little more management. Back in the day of 2 tuner DVR's, I set all my Big 4 timers with priority, and then caught the satellite channel programs (Walking Dead for example) when it reaired later because of the conflicts.
Now, what I do like is the GUI and speed of the Hopper, which is better than the HR34 any day. Also get a hair more storage with the Hopper, and a better EHD solution. Both are great, and I miss Native on the HR34.
So yeah, 3 vs 5, kinda sucks. Now, if a big portion of your recording is the Big 4, then PTAT solves a problem but requires a little more management. Back in the day of 2 tuner DVR's, I set all my Big 4 timers with priority, and then caught the satellite channel programs (Walking Dead for example) when it reaired later because of the conflicts.
Now, what I do like is the GUI and speed of the Hopper, which is better than the HR34 any day. Also get a hair more storage with the Hopper, and a better EHD solution. Both are great, and I miss Native on the HR34.
3HaloODST said:
Not necessarily.....I have 1 Hopper and 3 TVs and it is more than enough for me. But then again 99% of what I watch is recorded programming. And most of the time only 1 TV is on at a time.
