DISH > Do I need HOPPER ??

[flody1]

Hi, I have a vip 622 now and use hdmi for my hd tv and component for my sharp 12k projector all in the same room no other tv's. An agent at dish told me the hopper was for whole house use. I'm also watching the D new custumer prices and genie. I also use my outside ant ( locals) and they are in the guide and recorable on 622. Not wanting a new 24 month contract is what is holding me w/dish. I'm a nascar fan and have not liked the way speed channel was handled by dish, fox sports 1 in my package ai had speed in before. fox sports 2 SD in at250 package, so by speed leaving fox forces nascar fans to at250 for coverage. xtra page on direct has both fox spots 1 &2. Thats my rant. sorry. ??

 

[Scherrman]

Hi, I have a vip 622 now and use hdmi for my hd tv and component for my sharp 12k projector all in the same room no other tv's. An agent at dish told me the hopper was for whole house use. I'm also watching the D new custumer prices and genie. I also use my outside ant ( locals) and they are in the guide and recorable on 622. 24 month contract is what is holding me w/dish. I'm a nascar fan and have not liked the way speed channel was handled by dish, fox sports 1 in my package ai had speed in before. fox sports 2 SD in at250 package, so by speed leaving fox forces nascar fans to at250 for coverage. xtra page on direct has both fox spots 1 &2. Thats my rant. sorry. ??

Not sure why you're not happy with how Dish handled the SPEED Channel since Dish had nothing to do with it. As for going to the Hopper you can just upgrade to the Hopper without a Joey. The Dish reps will tell you that you can't but they don't know what they are talking about. The Hopper has the option of adding an OTA tuner like you have now but it's not internal. I think the Hopper would work great for you. As for the programming, you have to decide if Dish is providing the programming you want or if another provider can do better.

 

[dwarren2]

It was FOX that dropped NASCAR and renamed Speed.

 

[boba]

Wether you have a 622 or a Hopper the programming content is the same & the Hopper is slightly more expensive monthly. For sports Directv is better so you have to decide which is better for your needs.

 

[navychop]

The Hopper will allow you to continue your practice of using both HDMI and component.

Since you are in a 24 month contract, I'm not sure what Dish will offer you as far as upgrading to a Hopper series box. Or did you mean reluctance to go with DirecTV and their 24 month contract? BTW, if you go the Hopper route, be sure to specify Hopper With Sling, not the old Hopper, aka Hopper 2000. PM DIRT and see what they can offer.

Why do you want to move to the Hopper? Problems/lack of faith as regards your ViP622? Desire for the new interface? Need a larger HDD? Dish Anywhere, including tablet transfers, appeals?

 

[dvrexpander]

It was FOX that dropped NASCAR and renamed Speed.

Yes this, I had to explain this to several people when the switch was made cause of them not understanding or really wanting to understand but blame Dish for the rebranding and change.

 

[flody1]

I was looking at the Hopper for the 6 recordings., not wanting a 24 month contract if possible.622 still fine.

The Hopper will allow you to continue your practice of using both HDMI and component.

Since you are in a 24 month contract, I'm not sure what Dish will offer you as far as upgrading to a Hopper series box. Or did you mean reluctance to go with DirecTV and their 24 month contract? BTW, if you go the Hopper route, be sure to specify Hopper With Sling, not the old Hopper, aka Hopper 2000. PM DIRT and see what they can offer.

Why do you want to move to the Hopper? Problems/lack of faith as regards your ViP622? Desire for the new interface? Need a larger HDD? Dish Anywhere, including tablet transfers, appeals?

 

[nsafreak]

Remember the 6 recordings only applies if you use one of the tuners for Prime Time Anytime to record the Big 4 networks. If you don't watch much network TV then you're looking at recording 3 programs at once or 4 if you add an OTA tuner.

 

[peggy97850]

In my experience, anytime you upgrade equipment you start a new 24 month agreement/contract.

 

[navychop]

Absolutely. There WILL BE a 24 month contract.

You could, if you really wanted it, get a Super Joey this spring and have 5 sat tuners, allowing 8 recordings with PTAT, 9 with an OTA module. But surely that is overkill for you.

You'd probably be happy with a 3 sat tuner HWS and a USB OTA module. Especially if you watch a lot of Prime Time big 4 broadcasters.

 

[SomeDishGuy]

I was looking at the Hopper for the 6 recordings., not wanting a 24 month contract if possible.622 still fine.

Only way around a new 24 month agreement would be if you purchase a Hopper. If you want to lease it from Dish, there is a 24 month agreement. Worth noting, though, the cost to break a lease upgrade agreement is less than for an original contract. It's $10/month for the remaining months in the lease upgrade agreement. That lease upgrade is called "Dish'n It Up" in Dish lingo.

Also, as others have said, Dish had nothing to do with the demise of Speed. Fox owned Speed, Fox killed Speed to make their Fox Sports 1 channel. Nobody, anywhere, has Speed. Gone everywhere. Same thing just happened with SOAPnet, the channel was killed, nobody anywhere has it any more.

 

[fredp]

Absolutely. There WILL BE a 24 month contract....

I was in a similar situation back last May. I have one TV and had a 622. I wanted the features you listed in a previous append. I did not want a new contract(was out of contract for several years) so I bought my Hopper/Sling from Dish Depot. Yeah we can debate until the cows come home about buying vs leasing. Bottom line is if the OP wants to stay with Dish and wants to upgrade to a HWS and the contract is the only thing holding him back, buying is the only option.

 

[flody1]

Thanks for the reply, I do not think Dish had anything to do with Speed Channels demise. But if you are a Nascar fan you should know that Fox sports 1 HD and Fox Sports 2 sd ,try to replace Speed. So I thought it would have been nice if these 2 channel would be in the AT200 package where speed was,

Only way around a new 24 month agreement would be if you purchase a Hopper. If you want to lease it from Dish, there is a 24 month agreement. Worth noting, though, the cost to break a lease upgrade agreement is less than for an original contract. It's $10/month for the remaining months in the lease upgrade agreement. That lease upgrade is called "Dish'n It Up" in Dish lingo.

Also, as others have said, Dish had nothing to do with the demise of Speed. Fox owned Speed, Fox killed Speed to make their Fox Sports 1 channel. Nobody, anywhere, has Speed. Gone everywhere. Same thing just happened with SOAPnet, the channel was killed, nobody anywhere has it any more.

 

[joestein]

My situation

This thread interested me because I have been thinking about upgrading. Here is my current situation.

I have a VIP 622 in my bedroom with an external HD hooked up so I can backup recordings before I run out of space.

I have VIP 222 (i think) in 3 other rooms with an external HD hooked up to each to turn them into DVRs. I do this because the fees are cheaper than 3 DVRs.

I also have a Vulcano Flow attached to the componet output of the 622 so that I can stream and save programs to my pc and then transfer to my tablet for offline viewing. Kinda complex, have to stream and save using Vulcano Player, which is buggy and crashes every dozen times you use it or so. Then have to use Handspring to convert the video to viewable on the tablet.


I know the hopper has the ability to transfer programs to a tablet for offline viewing, how well does it work? Also would I have to get the 3 joeys or could I keep my setup for the other units? Do you need to have a cable to connect the Hopper to the Joey, or does it connect up through the switch by the dish?

I know the monthly fees with by approximately $5 more a month, but does anybody know what the upgrade cost would be for a hopper with sling and 3 joeys?

Any help is appreciated.

Joe

 

[DWS44]

Thanks for the reply, I do not think Dish had anything to do with Speed Channels demise. But if you are a Nascar fan you should know that Fox sports 1 HD and Fox Sports 2 sd ,try to replace Speed. So I thought it would have been nice if these 2 channel would be in the AT200 package where speed was,

I agree with you on having to move up to AT250 to get both of them. That, and come 2015, as they are currently structured, you'll have to have AT250 for NBCSN as well, for the second half of the NASCAR season, once NBC takes over the ESPN portion of the season. I'd like to think that both of those would make a move downward to AT200 at least before the start of the 2015 season, just for the NASCAR coverage, but that may be wishful thinking.

 

[flody1]

Yes, I know. And the Fox Sports 2 picture is not good. I pm'd Dirt just now to see what I can get a HWS for. Waiting on races too!!!!!!!!!

I agree with you on having to move up to AT250 to get both of them. That, and come 2015, as they are currently structured, you'll have to have AT250 for NBCSN as well, for the second half of the NASCAR season, once NBC takes over the ESPN portion of the season. I'd like to think that both of those would make a move downward to AT200 at least before the start of the 2015 season, just for the NASCAR coverage, but that may be wishful thinking.

 

[Scherrman]

This thread interested me because I have been thinking about upgrading. Here is my current situation.

I have a VIP 622 in my bedroom with an external HD hooked up so I can backup recordings before I run out of space.

I have VIP 222 (i think) in 3 other rooms with an external HD hooked up to each to turn them into DVRs. I do this because the fees are cheaper than 3 DVRs.
You must have 211 receivers and not a 222.

I also have a Vulcano Flow attached to the componet output of the 622 so that I can stream and save programs to my pc and then transfer to my tablet for offline viewing. Kinda complex, have to stream and save using Vulcano Player, which is buggy and crashes every dozen times you use it or so. Then have to use Handspring to convert the video to viewable on the tablet.

I know the hopper has the ability to transfer programs to a tablet for offline viewing, how well does it work? Also would I have to get the 3 joeys or could I keep my setup for the other units? Do you need to have a cable to connect the Hopper to the Joey, or does it connect up through the switch by the dish?
The transfer app works great, I love it. If you have a 4 TV setup you are going to need a Hopper and 3 Joeys or even better 2 Hoppers and 2 Joeys. For 1 Hopper you will need 2 cables from the dish to the solo Node. From the Node one cable goes to the Hopper and the other cable would split out to your Joeys. For a 2 Hopper install you need a duo Node with 3 cables from the Dish. A cable goes to each Hopper and to each Joey from that Node.

I know the monthly fees with by approximately $5 more a month, but does anybody know what the upgrade cost would be for a hopper with sling and 3 joeys.
You will have you will have to contact Dish in order to find out what you qualify for. There is a Hopper Upgrade thread on here that you can post to and a DIRT member can help you out.

Any help is appreciated.

Joe

Answers in bold.
.

 

[flody1]

I have 1 VIP622 with one cable from dish, will Hopper alone need more cables??

 

[flody1]

Ray must be busy, I PM'd him 1.5 ago hours still no response ???????????????????

 

[Scherrman]

Ray must be busy, I PM'd him 1.5 ago hours still no response ???????????????????

Ray is not online right now.