Coming to DISH. Hopper questions.

syphix

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jun 24, 2004
541
246
Minnesota, USA
Just signed up for DISH (switching from DirecTV), and as with any "big purchase/change", I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse. I have a few questions about the Hopper/Joey system.

1. What is the maximum distance between the Hopper and Joey?

2. Can a Joey view shows via ethernet, or must it use COAX?

3. Can a Joey work on an SD TV? If so, how does it look with the HD GUI?

4. The advertisements say "2000 hours of recording". That's obviously SD. What's the user accessible HD capacity and how does that compare to the PTAT/Blockbuster partition?

5. On a new install such as mine (getting the AT250 package), what type of dish can I expect to have installed?

6. And lastly (and least important & probably toughest to answer), how long will this AMC/DISH dispute last?? I noticed on the brochure I got at a local store that AMC isn't even listed anymore!!

Thanks again for any answers!


Nathan
 
1. What is the maximum distance between the Hopper and Joey?
2. Can a Joey view shows via ethernet, or must it use COAX?
  • It must use coax for guaranteed support and reliability
  • However, it does technically work on ethernet at this time. Ethernet is officially unsupported so have a backup plan in case it doesn't work at some point.
3. Can a Joey work on an SD TV? If so, how does it look with the HD GUI?
4. The advertisements say "2000 hours of recording". That's obviously SD. What's the user accessible HD capacity and how does that compare to the PTAT/Blockbuster partition?
  • I believe we have 500 hours of HD per hopper now since they expanded it to 1 TB user accessible space.
  • PTAT is a separate partition and is not user accessible. Capacity for our purposes is essentially 3 hours per night/8 days/4 channels. Figure around 96 hours. Probably about 100 when you add padding. It automatically deletes shows in this space after 8 days unless you save it (or set a timer) to your user accessible space.
5. On a new install such as mine (getting the AT250 package), what type of dish can I expect to have installed?
  • Leaving that for someone else.... (if nobody answers, private message someone at DIRT for the best info)
6. And lastly, how long will this AMC/DISH dispute last??
  • usually they settle at the very last second, but this could always be the exception. My guess is that it gets pulled for at least a short time since they are both really battling it out publicly.
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Another question: when watching on demand programming, does the receiver download the program like the HR-xx boxes on DirecTV do, or do they strictly and only stream the program? If it only streams, does the program actively adjust the bitrate to match that available (i.e., like Netflix streaming does)?
 
The type of dish depends on which arc you locals are on first, then on your line of sight (even if it means not getting your locals). This question can be better answered should you supply your dma.

On demand programing is downloaded to your receiver, Dish is not set up for any type of pass thru.
 
It downloads. you have the option to watch now or later. you can select watch now only after a certain amount has been downloaded. If you have a slow internet like mine, it will catch up and buffers for a while, then resumes.
 
I just got the Hopper and 2 Joeys last week and it's sweet. I love how I can hide the Joey behind my bedroom's wallmount TV and it's just like having a DVR.

I verified Ethernet works, had it working on a wireless bridge for a night for kicks.

I have one Joey on a small 20" SDTV. It's alright but could be better. I'm upgrading to a 32" LCD soon, so it won't matter.

PrimTime Anywhere is nifty, find some good stuff that I would never watch/record otherwise. I wish they allow you to do this 24/7.

Did you get the Sling Adapter? This is my favorite part of DISH. I can watch live TV or stuff on my DVR from my Android phone or any computer. I've used it a lot, especially for the kids to keep them entertained.
 
Yes...it is a regular tuner just like the other two ...only during primetime it is dedicated to record the 4 major networks
 
eddwall said:
Yes...it is a regular tuner just like the other two ...only during primetime it is dedicated to record the 4 major networks
Excellent! Then the Hopper should work fine for our family. 90% of our watching is network or recordings. Cable channels show their stuff over and over again, so we can record "conflicts" later at night, perhaps.

Next Thursday's my install!
 
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Another good feature is.....during primetime the 3rd tuner with PTAT enabled is sliced into 4 areas Which you can see by pushing the red button. You will see tuner 1 & 2 and 3 w/ ABC, CBS, NBC, & FOX.....you can have 1 tv connect to tuner 3 CBS....you can connect another tv to tuner 3 ABC and you still have tuners 1 & 2 for watching or recording...hopefully I explained it ok!!

In other words tuner 3 has 4 live feeds during primetime that is being recorded and stored on the PTAT folder...and can be watched LIVE by all TV's off that Hopper...it saves tuners. I am hoping that when integration improves and all Joeys & Hoppers can watch any tuners on any Hopper....if you want to watch a primary network show during primetime ...you connect to the Hopper with PTAT enabled and connect to tuner 3 (four live feeds) and again save tuners. I have heard that maybe PTAT will be expanded to more channels some day, the technology is already there to do that...
 
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