Social Feed
J
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Layer 3 is offers a no obligation 21 day free trial of their streaming internet-connected DVR. They offer over 250 HD only channels, a full time 4K channel (NASA TV), and promise to deliver "white glove customer service". I took them up on their offer. I ran their DVR in parallel with my Hopper 3. This is what I learned.
Layer 3's new subscriber incentive pricing would result in a savings of about $450 during the first year of service compared with my current Dish subscription. Service for year 2 and beyond, assuming neither Dish nor Layer 3 change their advertised price schedule, Layer 3 would be a few dollars a month cheaper than Dish. The Layer 3 service contract does not require a long term commitment. The user can terminate service at any time.
At my normal viewing position of 12 feet from a 65 inch LG OLED TV, I can not see any difference in 1080p picture quality between the Layer 3 DVR and the Hopper 3. Layer 3's 4K picture quality is exceptional.
I do not know what minimum bandwidth Layer 3 requires for HD and UHD streaming support. I have a 25 Mbps internet line which provided uninterrupted, high quality streaming.
After two weeks using the Layer 3 DVR, both my wife and I agree that the current Layer 3 software is too feature poor and buggy to be acceptable. Regardless of the savings it offers, the Layer 3 DVR cannot compete with the Dish Hopper 3's functionality and reliability.
What follows are some of the issues I found that need to be addressed before I would consider the Layer 3 DVR as a possible replacement for the Dish Hopper 3.
There is neither a user manual in print nor on line. There is no on-screen help. No channel is dedicated to showing Layer 3 DVR tutorials or user tips. Some people may enjoy the challenge of working out the system's operation through trial and error, but I am an not one of them.
My main interest in looking at Layer 3 was support for 4K streaming. Layer 3 has a full time 4K channel. It seemed a good bet that Layer 3 will be in the forefront of satellite and cable providers when they start adding 4K content to their programming. I was very disappointed when NBC's recent 4K coverage of the English Premier League was not available on Layer 3. I was told that Layer 3 has not yet worked out all the details with providers to enable 4K streaming. I was asked to be patient - - - 4K is coming, but they did not give me a definitive delivery date.
During the first week of use I found a serious bug that locked the system up and also corrupted several recorded programs. Layer 3 customer service told me that their tech reps were booked for that day but a tech rep could be at my home first thing the next day. The tech rep arrived on time at 8:30 am. He replaced the faulty DVR with a new unit. In doing so, he found an intermittent fault in my router and guided me through a red button (not a simple power off/on cycle) router reset. This was an impressive demonstration of high quality customer service. A week later the new DVR locked up when I was fast forwarding a recorded program. The recording was corrupted and unwatchable.
I am convinced that the Layer 3 user interface was designed for channel surfers who mostly watch live TV. There is no evidence that much consideration was given to users who are not interested in watching live TV and only watch recorded programs. This shows in Layer 3's clumsy implementation of its program search and record procedures and lack of external hard drive support.
There are two ways to find a future program to record --- use either the Program Guide or the Search function. Both methods are frustratingly tedious. The Program Guide is a window showing a 1 and a half hour time span and is sized to show 10 entries. There is no forward or backward skip by a day. Even though the Layer 3 DVR provides 6 program categories named ALL, FOR ME, NEWS, SPORTS, KIDS, MOVIES, and LIFESTYLE to limit the number of channels displayed in the Program Guide window, the channel you want is not easy to find when it is hidden among the dozens of other channels that happen to fall into the same category. If the Layer 3 developers had looked at the Dish Hopper 3 they would have realized how powerful and necessary the Hopper 3's Favorite Channels feature is to allow users to quickly search the channels they are interested in.
Using the Search method with its tiny alpha/numeric key pad is equally frustrating. Keying in search text is hampered by slow response from the time of the click to when the character appears in the search text string. Moving the cursor around in the key pad is not very responsive. There are occasional long pauses when the system appears to go to sleep, but eventually wakes up. The system can sometimes lock up when the key pad is clicked too quickly. The lock up is cleared by pressing the remote's Home key. The user can then reenter the Schedule mode. Mercifully, the previously keyed in text is retained during this soft reset.
When the Layer 3 DVR deletes a recording, it is gone forever. There is no Trash from which you can retrieve a program that was deleted by accident.
There are no skip forward/backward buttons on the (non-illuminated) remote. Fast Forward and Rewind must be used to move through a recording. I always over- or under-shoot while skipping a commercial and then have to go through several iterations of FF and REW nudges to continue watching beyond the commercial. This is maddening when one is used to the Dish Hopper 3's 10 second back and 30 second forward remote buttons.
The Layer 3 DVR does not provide a start early time for a program recording. A recording's end time can be extended for a maximum of 10 minutes. The Layer 3 DVR's method for determining a program's end time contains a fatal error. Insufficient time was scheduled to accommodate possible overtime for the recently aired Community Shield Cup soccer match. The recording ended before the winner was determined. Fortunately, I also recorded this match on the Dish Hopper 3. The Hopper 3 got it right and the entire game including its overtime was recorded.
Layer 3 does not offer the BeIn sports channel. As a fan of European football I find this unacceptable. The Smithsonian channel is also missing.
There is a curious thing about the Layer 3's 4K NASA channel. The material displayed on screen is not what the Program Guide describes. The programming material appears to be on a loop that repeats itself every few hours. I suspect that the NASA TV programming is not being streamed from NASA TV's normal feed but from a 4K blue ray disk supplied by NASA. This may explain why Layer 3's 4K picture quality is exceptional.
I discussed all of the above issues at length with several Layer 3 tech support people. They all agreed that my points were valid and they would inform the developers to make fixes or add functions. I was told that a new system update was coming soon that would address some of these issues. They could not tell me what issues were being addressed nor when the update will be released.
Layer 3's new subscriber incentive pricing would result in a savings of about $450 during the first year of service compared with my current Dish subscription. Service for year 2 and beyond, assuming neither Dish nor Layer 3 change their advertised price schedule, Layer 3 would be a few dollars a month cheaper than Dish. The Layer 3 service contract does not require a long term commitment. The user can terminate service at any time.
At my normal viewing position of 12 feet from a 65 inch LG OLED TV, I can not see any difference in 1080p picture quality between the Layer 3 DVR and the Hopper 3. Layer 3's 4K picture quality is exceptional.
I do not know what minimum bandwidth Layer 3 requires for HD and UHD streaming support. I have a 25 Mbps internet line which provided uninterrupted, high quality streaming.
After two weeks using the Layer 3 DVR, both my wife and I agree that the current Layer 3 software is too feature poor and buggy to be acceptable. Regardless of the savings it offers, the Layer 3 DVR cannot compete with the Dish Hopper 3's functionality and reliability.
What follows are some of the issues I found that need to be addressed before I would consider the Layer 3 DVR as a possible replacement for the Dish Hopper 3.
There is neither a user manual in print nor on line. There is no on-screen help. No channel is dedicated to showing Layer 3 DVR tutorials or user tips. Some people may enjoy the challenge of working out the system's operation through trial and error, but I am an not one of them.
My main interest in looking at Layer 3 was support for 4K streaming. Layer 3 has a full time 4K channel. It seemed a good bet that Layer 3 will be in the forefront of satellite and cable providers when they start adding 4K content to their programming. I was very disappointed when NBC's recent 4K coverage of the English Premier League was not available on Layer 3. I was told that Layer 3 has not yet worked out all the details with providers to enable 4K streaming. I was asked to be patient - - - 4K is coming, but they did not give me a definitive delivery date.
During the first week of use I found a serious bug that locked the system up and also corrupted several recorded programs. Layer 3 customer service told me that their tech reps were booked for that day but a tech rep could be at my home first thing the next day. The tech rep arrived on time at 8:30 am. He replaced the faulty DVR with a new unit. In doing so, he found an intermittent fault in my router and guided me through a red button (not a simple power off/on cycle) router reset. This was an impressive demonstration of high quality customer service. A week later the new DVR locked up when I was fast forwarding a recorded program. The recording was corrupted and unwatchable.
I am convinced that the Layer 3 user interface was designed for channel surfers who mostly watch live TV. There is no evidence that much consideration was given to users who are not interested in watching live TV and only watch recorded programs. This shows in Layer 3's clumsy implementation of its program search and record procedures and lack of external hard drive support.
There are two ways to find a future program to record --- use either the Program Guide or the Search function. Both methods are frustratingly tedious. The Program Guide is a window showing a 1 and a half hour time span and is sized to show 10 entries. There is no forward or backward skip by a day. Even though the Layer 3 DVR provides 6 program categories named ALL, FOR ME, NEWS, SPORTS, KIDS, MOVIES, and LIFESTYLE to limit the number of channels displayed in the Program Guide window, the channel you want is not easy to find when it is hidden among the dozens of other channels that happen to fall into the same category. If the Layer 3 developers had looked at the Dish Hopper 3 they would have realized how powerful and necessary the Hopper 3's Favorite Channels feature is to allow users to quickly search the channels they are interested in.
Using the Search method with its tiny alpha/numeric key pad is equally frustrating. Keying in search text is hampered by slow response from the time of the click to when the character appears in the search text string. Moving the cursor around in the key pad is not very responsive. There are occasional long pauses when the system appears to go to sleep, but eventually wakes up. The system can sometimes lock up when the key pad is clicked too quickly. The lock up is cleared by pressing the remote's Home key. The user can then reenter the Schedule mode. Mercifully, the previously keyed in text is retained during this soft reset.
When the Layer 3 DVR deletes a recording, it is gone forever. There is no Trash from which you can retrieve a program that was deleted by accident.
There are no skip forward/backward buttons on the (non-illuminated) remote. Fast Forward and Rewind must be used to move through a recording. I always over- or under-shoot while skipping a commercial and then have to go through several iterations of FF and REW nudges to continue watching beyond the commercial. This is maddening when one is used to the Dish Hopper 3's 10 second back and 30 second forward remote buttons.
The Layer 3 DVR does not provide a start early time for a program recording. A recording's end time can be extended for a maximum of 10 minutes. The Layer 3 DVR's method for determining a program's end time contains a fatal error. Insufficient time was scheduled to accommodate possible overtime for the recently aired Community Shield Cup soccer match. The recording ended before the winner was determined. Fortunately, I also recorded this match on the Dish Hopper 3. The Hopper 3 got it right and the entire game including its overtime was recorded.
Layer 3 does not offer the BeIn sports channel. As a fan of European football I find this unacceptable. The Smithsonian channel is also missing.
There is a curious thing about the Layer 3's 4K NASA channel. The material displayed on screen is not what the Program Guide describes. The programming material appears to be on a loop that repeats itself every few hours. I suspect that the NASA TV programming is not being streamed from NASA TV's normal feed but from a 4K blue ray disk supplied by NASA. This may explain why Layer 3's 4K picture quality is exceptional.
I discussed all of the above issues at length with several Layer 3 tech support people. They all agreed that my points were valid and they would inform the developers to make fixes or add functions. I was told that a new system update was coming soon that would address some of these issues. They could not tell me what issues were being addressed nor when the update will be released.
26 Replies
·
3605 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs
My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.
Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.
After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.
I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
31 Replies
·
432 views
Such a scam. Healthcare.gov shows me cheaper individual plans available for 2027 from ambetter that ambetter doesn't show on their website. Looked it up. I've spent $68,000 in premiums the last 5 years and got nothing out of it except a few doctors visits and labs.
I'm on Medicare but the rest of the family is on ACA. ACA is ridiculus. The ACA premium has been about about $1900/month with a $9K deductible for the past 10 years - no eye or dental. A lot of money and yet we get so little in return. I haven't signed up for 2027 yet but I expect the cost to be higher.
Pissed off at the crappy healthcare costs
My health Insurance renewal for 2027 just came in. Going from $827 a month to $1,187 a month. Deductible going up a $1k to $9,350. Max out of pocket also going up $1k to $11,000. Doctor co-pay of $40. Urgent Care co-pay $50. ER 50% coinsurance after deductible. That's all in network. Out of network is double, should it be needed.
Have to think about this. I'm really tempted to just go without now. I only go to the doctor once or twice a year. I pay out of pocket for Tirzepitide and can do without the Rosuvastatin (crestor) now. Really tired of spending over $10k a year and getting nothing out of it.
After years with Blue Cross I switched last year to Ambetter as my Blue Cross premium was going from $1200 to $1800 for a Silver plan and the Bronze plan was still going to be $1300 at BCBS. Ambetter was $827 for the same coverage with a Bronze plan. Didn't think it would jump this much so soon.
I'm guessing a Silver plan is probably over $2,000 a month for 2027.
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68698 Replies
·
2682316 views
I have Dish with Hopper3. I choose to get local channels OTA and had a "guide list" established at my previous home. Having moved a few miles away, I wanted to update the list by appending a couple new stations via a rescan. As many would know, some stations come in with the UHF/VHF antenna aimed in one direction, while others come in better with a different direction.
Unfortunately, when a scan is done (bringing in 25-30 stations for that particular antenna aim), the dialog screen does not present the established guide list; it presents an empty field to the right that the scanned stations may be selected one by one and added to the empty guide. But because of antenna aim, some stations originally saved are missing, and would have to be retrieved with a different antenna aim. But as I explain, if a 2nd scan is done with a different antenna aim, the stations saved from the first scan are lost.
It troubles me that Dish didn't develop software that would allow a user to simply append only 1 or 2 channels to the established list.
Any thought on this? Has anyone experienced this or heard of this from others?
Unfortunately, when a scan is done (bringing in 25-30 stations for that particular antenna aim), the dialog screen does not present the established guide list; it presents an empty field to the right that the scanned stations may be selected one by one and added to the empty guide. But because of antenna aim, some stations originally saved are missing, and would have to be retrieved with a different antenna aim. But as I explain, if a 2nd scan is done with a different antenna aim, the stations saved from the first scan are lost.
It troubles me that Dish didn't develop software that would allow a user to simply append only 1 or 2 channels to the established list.
Any thought on this? Has anyone experienced this or heard of this from others?
1 Replies
·
34 views
After having continuing trouble with my eight+ year old Dell Inspiron laptop I am looking to hopefully catch a good deal on new one. My options to buy is Costco and Sam's Club. It seems like a lot of new laptops are 2 in 1 which I do not need. I use the laptop to mainly surf the web and keep up with my finances, money and bills. I would like to have at least a 15" screen and having a touchscreen is a plus. The keyboard would need to lighted also. I don't game any. It would have to be Windows instead of and not Mac. The brands I see the most are Asus, Dell and HP. My two last laptops has been Dell's. Of these brands are there any standouts over the other brands. My budget (hopefully) is $600+-. Also while researching I noticed that do not have ethernet ports.
8 Replies
·
130 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Dang female lions don't mess around when it comes to their kiddos....aka whelps.
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vvefv5xW77s?feature=share
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Vvefv5xW77s?feature=share
0 Replies
·
20 views
Supporting Founder
Pub Member / Supporter
Apple Fall Hardware Event takes place today, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET. It marks the debut of new CEO John Ternus and the expected reveal of Apple's first foldable phone.
139 Replies
·
2038 views
S
when was the last time they innovated something
I'd probably say when they came up with their M-series of processors with integrated memory. That allowed Apple to get away from the inefficient Intel CPUs that were limiting their notebook computers.when was the last time they innovated something
Supporting Founder
Really excited for this season with Kentucky having a new coach and some really exciting recruits. Probably won't last long, but here's hoping this season is great.
180 Replies
·
3060 views
..I hate playing in Ames.
I hate playing in LA ...
Buckeyes had 2 weeks off and came out and looked absolutely terrible ... broke in a new Freshman Qb, but that wasn't the worst part ... undiscipline play, at last count they had 10 penalties.
Freshman in the end of the game trying to play catch up, had a lot of Over throws ... Bucks lose ...
#1 Miami struggled but pulled away in the end beating North Carolina by 3 ...
Tuesday the CFP brings out thier Playoff Top 12 again ... Buckeyes should drop from #2 to about #22 (they won't) had they had thier Starting QB, it would have been a different game ...
They could lose the rest of thier games at this point.
My in-Laws came from Iowa, she was a graduate of ISU. Unranked Iowa teams beat the #24 and #25 teams on Halloween.
And I heard that your QB made a poor choice after scoring the tying touchdown, leading to a fifteen yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. The Cyclones were then able to take advantage of the resulting field position to get close enough to score the winning field goal.
In a NCAA Football season of bizarre endings, this has to rank right up there.
I had an old Wireless Joey replaced by a Wireless Joey 4 (Android TV) - still have a Hopper 3 without the Hopper Plus. What do I have to do to get the EPG to show channel logos instead of "Dish"? This is annoying as hell and it's been this way for over a month…
1 Replies
·
28 views
Lifetime Supporter
Looks like dish is Bankrupt. Filling tomorrow Tuesday June 30th
432 Replies
·
14603 views
S
www.aboutamazon.com
Amazon to acquire Globalstar and expand Amazon Leo satellite network
Globalstar satellites, radio frequency spectrum, and operational expertise will enable Amazon Leo to add Direct-to-Device (D2D) services to future generations of its low Earth orbit satellite network.
www.aboutamazon.com
S
www.foxnews.com
SpaceX reportedly seeks 80,000 cell sites to become a wireless carrier | Fox News
SpaceX is reportedly pursuing 80,000 cell sites to turn Starlink into a wireless carrier that could compete with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile for cell coverage.
www.foxnews.com
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
This should hit a lot of folks with a dose of reality. I can only imagine how much more common this will get as AI progresses.
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
www.cnbc.com
I read several stories on this and most are clear as mud. They say a lot of the stolen bitcoin has been "locked out" and that everyone will be made financially whole. I guess time will tell if either of these statements are actually true.
Hackers steal $6.3 billion from Binance in biggest-ever cryptocurrency theft
The company later added it began recovering assets impacted by the breach after pledging to cover losses using its Secure Asset Fund for Users.
www.cnbc.com
17 Replies
·
272 views
