Answers to your Hopper Questions
- Thread starter Scott Greczkowski
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Right now have 2 508's, 1 622 and 1 222k with external DVR and am moving to a 1/3 or 2/2 Hopper/Joey setup. Several questions:
1. What are the primary reasons I would need 2 Hoppers? (record more than 3 events at the same time, 6 if you include PTAT (since no OTA at launch)? Any others? Pausing live TV is available at each Joey, as long as all 3 recording tuners aren't being used, correct?
2. In a 1/3 HJ setup, can 4 people pause TV at the same time (3 at Joey's, 1 at hopper)? Assuming yes, how many tuners are available to record under that scenario (still all 3 (or 6 with PTAT))?
3. per the earlier post, will a 2 Joey system be supported (with Duo Node) at launch?
4. assuming no on question 3, do I have to wait on the DIU upgrade if I want a 2 Hopper system?
5. What's the buffer on a joey (how long can you pause live TV before it unpauses due to a buffer running out?)
6. With PTAT, will all shows on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX record between 8-11 EST 7 days/week? Does this work like on demand (select PTA, pick network, pick shows)?
7. If I have a show on PTAT that I want to keep to watch later, can I transfer it to my Hopper storage (when I'm not using all the tuners?) Basically getting around 8 day limit for PTAT shows I'm behind on watching
1. What are the primary reasons I would need 2 Hoppers? (record more than 3 events at the same time, 6 if you include PTAT (since no OTA at launch)? Any others? Pausing live TV is available at each Joey, as long as all 3 recording tuners aren't being used, correct?
2. In a 1/3 HJ setup, can 4 people pause TV at the same time (3 at Joey's, 1 at hopper)? Assuming yes, how many tuners are available to record under that scenario (still all 3 (or 6 with PTAT))?
3. per the earlier post, will a 2 Joey system be supported (with Duo Node) at launch?
4. assuming no on question 3, do I have to wait on the DIU upgrade if I want a 2 Hopper system?
5. What's the buffer on a joey (how long can you pause live TV before it unpauses due to a buffer running out?)
6. With PTAT, will all shows on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX record between 8-11 EST 7 days/week? Does this work like on demand (select PTA, pick network, pick shows)?
7. If I have a show on PTAT that I want to keep to watch later, can I transfer it to my Hopper storage (when I'm not using all the tuners?) Basically getting around 8 day limit for PTAT shows I'm behind on watching
Scherrman, thanks for quick response. Unsure on question 2.
So I thought in a 1H/3J system everyone could watch something different and everyone can pause when they want (since buffers exist at each Joey).
Assume Hopper is in Living Room, Joey 1 is in kitchen, Joey 2 is in basement, Joey 3 is in bedroom. PTAT is on, no other DVR recordings are active. All four are watching during PT, no one is watching the same channel.
Joey Kitchen and Joey Basement decide to pause TV (assume this does nothing to the Hopper). Then Hopper decides to record a non-PTAT show.
Wouldn't the Kitchen and Basement joeys stay paused?
Then Joey Bedroom starts recording a show. Assume this records to tuner 3 (since 1 is being used for PTAT, 2 is being used for Living room recording).
Then Basement tries to record the paused show. Assume that the basement is prompted that they cannot record or is shown a conflict screen like the existing one when trying to record a show when the other tuners are being used for recording.
So I thought in a 1H/3J system everyone could watch something different and everyone can pause when they want (since buffers exist at each Joey).
Assume Hopper is in Living Room, Joey 1 is in kitchen, Joey 2 is in basement, Joey 3 is in bedroom. PTAT is on, no other DVR recordings are active. All four are watching during PT, no one is watching the same channel.
Joey Kitchen and Joey Basement decide to pause TV (assume this does nothing to the Hopper). Then Hopper decides to record a non-PTAT show.
Wouldn't the Kitchen and Basement joeys stay paused?
Then Joey Bedroom starts recording a show. Assume this records to tuner 3 (since 1 is being used for PTAT, 2 is being used for Living room recording).
Then Basement tries to record the paused show. Assume that the basement is prompted that they cannot record or is shown a conflict screen like the existing one when trying to record a show when the other tuners are being used for recording.
jgATL said:
There are only 3 tuners. If 1 tuner is being used to record PTAT then there are only 2 tuners for all of your TVs to choose from. You have 4 rooms so you will never be able to watch live TV in all rooms without a second Hopper.
Also, all the live "buffers" are on the Hopper, and each buffer requires a tuner. The Joeys just access those tuners/buffers. If all tuners are available, then 3 TVs can watch live buffered TV, and the 4th would have to watch a DVR program (or the same as one of the other TVs). If only 2 tuners are available, then 2 TVs can watch live, and 2 TVs could watch DVR, etc. Any tuners being used to record can be "chase played" by a Joey or Hopper (using the recording buffer for that program being recorded).
Wait a minute there.... So if all Joeys are watching the same program on the same tuner, what happens when one presses pause? I assume that the paused Joey sits in one place in the buffer, while the other two continue in real time. It makes sense to me to treat the buffer the same way as a recorded program, and allow each stream independent control of it's pointer to it's own spot in the buffer.
Indeed, it does seem like that's all that's necessary -- each client (Hopper and/or Joey) just has an independent offset into the shared tuner stream buffer. Whether they implemented it that way if another story (and not knowing the internals, there may be reasons it's not even possible).
Yes that makes sense...did I say something my post that implied otherwise, or were you not replying to me? If I did, it was unintended, I was just expanding on the answer Sherrman gave to jgATL about Joeys and live TV.
dare2be said:
I'll have to test out but if all are watching the same tuner and one pressed pause I would think that all would pause. They are all on the same tuner of course. Are you saying that once a Joey presses pause it would switch over to it's own tuner and the others would continue watching?
No, he's saying that the buffer is constantly being written by the tuner while tuned to a live channel, so the buffer becomes a "DVR" program in a sense, which any Joey or Hopper that attaches to the tuner that is creating the buffer, can treat the buffer independently, just as multiple TVs can watch the same DVR program independently.
No. We are saying if J1, J2 and Hopper are all on the same tuner, if J1 hits pause does J1 stay paused within the current 1 hour buffer for that single tuner while J2 and H both continue playing "live" tv off that same tuner? Of course there isn't really any "live" TV as it is all coming from the DVR buffers.
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The buffer has to be on the hopper since it has the disk drive in it. But, it makes sense that 2 different joeys could be within one hour of each other on the same tuner and only occupy one tuner. But, is the software written that way? That is a different problem since it is a lot easier to just require a dedicated tuner for each Hopper/Joey user that wants to watch live TV with the probable exception of the PTAT tuner.
In granting exclusive tuner access you handle the problem of what happens if TV A is watching one channel, TV B joins, TV B pauses a few minutes, then comes back (in the same buffer) then TV A changes the channel.
In granting exclusive tuner access you handle the problem of what happens if TV A is watching one channel, TV B joins, TV B pauses a few minutes, then comes back (in the same buffer) then TV A changes the channel.
Maybe I'm not understanding what everyone is trying to say. When I pause the Hopper or if I am just behind live time and then go to the Joey and switch to the same tuner the Hopper is on, they both are watching the same exact thing at the same point in the show. What ever I do on the one I will see on the other. It works just the same as if two TVs were on TV2 of a receiver. They will watch the exact same thing and you will see the same actions happen on both TVs.
Are you saying you verified this in a real-world test with your Hopper-Joey setup?
I just went in the TV room and tried it. When I rewound the Hopper about 30 seconds and then went to the Joey and switched to the same as the Hopper they were on the same picture that was 30 seconds behind. It makes sense to me.
So then, you have a dueling remotes situation if both TVs are actively being controlled by 2 people. Not good. It made more sense to me that the trick play functions would be independent, since they both are accessing the same live buffer. Can you try watching the same DVR program from 2 TVs and see if they can be independently controlled?
It sounds like you joined the program while in progress and it was the same on the Joey as on the Hopper. What happens once they are showing the same picture, if you pause one, what happens on the other?
While I agree with you, I can see the other side of it. Folks understand "we are all watching the same thing." Explaining "we are all watching the same buffer" isn't as clear.
I hope it doesn't stay this way, or there is a way to break the link we don't know about. It's not anywhere close to deal breaker, just not as I had hoped.
