DISH Hopper coming at CES ?

After watching Scott's Hopper Demo video, I'm totally sold on getting a Hopper and a Joey to replace my 722 and DVR'd 211. I already have a Sling Adapter and EHD for the 722, so being able to just plug them into the Hopper is great. And having a built-in DLNA client so I can stream stuff off the Netgear NAS upstairs makes it just about the perfect box. The only issue I can think of is that the NAS has video in a variety of formats, and I'll have to see if the Hopper can read all of them (.avi, .mkv, .mp4, etc.). If the thing eventually gets an App Store that offers Netflix and Amazon Prime Video (a boy can dream), that would cover all of my needs. I really like the look and responsiveness of the UI; being a Mac and iOS guy, the UI of the 722 just kills me with its lack of polish and sluggish speed. If the DISH Remote App for the iPad gets updated to allow search with the iPad as a keyboard, that would be awesome. There's just no reason to spell out show names with a 10-key keypad anymore.
 
Disappointed as far as I'm concerned

So to start with I will say thanks to Scott for the demo.
Now to the title of reply. I'm disappointed in what I'm seeing.
1. If they are recording the whole tp then there is no reason to not have CW & MyTV & PBS all recorded right along with it and in their own little folder if available to your location.
2. No OTA support at the present time and that will take up a tuner so they should have thought in advance there should be 4 tuners like 722K & 922.
3. Have to run 2 lines in from the sat to the point of the input box. Techs have loved that about the VIPS.
4. No backward compatibility with existing VIP's already in the location. Especially for those that own their on equipment.
Now for other things I see that I won't put points to. The reason that it will only be given to new customers for months is they are going to be the Beta field testers. The size of the Hopper is too small. As I see it cramming a mobo & 2 Tb HDD into a box that size says to me HEAT issues. It's either going to have a high failure rate or they have multiple fans in this thing. Which is going to make some people hate it. I have a niece that is really irritated by noise like that and my bro has gone thru 3 Blu-Ray player because of it. Now for all those that have called me an E* Fan boy this one post right here proves you are just plain wrong. This is going to be really a top notch piece of equipment or one of the worse mistakes they have ever made.
 
So to start with I will say thanks to Scott for the demo.
Now to the title of reply. I'm disappointed in what I'm seeing.
1. If they are recording the whole tp then there is no reason to not have CW & MyTV & PBS all recorded right along with it and in their own little folder if available to your location.
2. No OTA support at the present time and that will take up a tuner so they should have thought in advance there should be 4 tuners like 722K & 922.
3. Have to run 2 lines in from the sat to the point of the input box. Techs have loved that about the VIPS.
4. No backward compatibility with existing VIP's already in the location. Especially for those that own their on equipment.
Now for other things I see that I won't put points to. The reason that it will only be given to new customers for months is they are going to be the Beta field testers. The size of the Hopper is too small. As I see it cramming a mobo & 2 Tb HDD into a box that size says to me HEAT issues. It's either going to have a high failure rate or they have multiple fans in this thing. Which is going to make some people hate it. I have a niece that is really irritated by noise like that and my bro has gone thru 3 Blu-Ray player because of it. Now for all those that have called me an E* Fan boy this one post right here proves you are just plain wrong. This is going to be really a top notch piece of equipment or one of the worse mistakes they have ever made.

I missed that part of it needing 2 lines. That is not good & will complicate many installations.

*After reviewing the wiring configurations it is only 1 wire to hopper/s, there is 2 and possibly 3 coming from the dish to switch. That's not so bad.
 
Last edited:
I missed that part of it needing 2 lines. That is not good & will complicate many installations.

*After reviewing the wiring configurations it is only 1 wire to hopper/s, there is 2 and possibly 3 coming from the dish to switch. That's not so bad.

I'm assuming that the node is meant to be located outside, thus only needing one wire to enter the house. This will, however, annoy people who have their existing wiring to other rooms inside their house rather than outside. Dish must be assuming that most customers don't have their house prewired for cable, otherwise they would've had a MOCA port on the Hopper like the ViPs have their home distribution port, rather than putting the signal on the cable coming in from the node and splitting it out there.
 
From previous posts it appears to only need rg6 home runs for the hopper units. Technically the joeys can be fed from an inside wiring location just using a regular catv type splitter.
 
Nothing more. Nothing new.

I'm no longer a PUB member. When finances get better, I will probably join again. My question though, is if there is nothing more there and nothing new, why are people (at least a couple of posts) recommending folks to go the PUB to get more info?
 
I'm no longer a PUB member. When finances get better, I will probably join again. My question though, is if there is nothing more there and nothing new, why are people (at least a couple of posts) recommending folks to go the PUB to get more info?

One post. No good reason. Relax. Nothing going on behind your back. Just same 'ole, same 'ole.
 
I have read like 100 posts from people telling people what dish network will do for you and what they wont. I do not take this with a grain of salt. It does truly matter how long and how far and how much you want some thing. Some one on a board (not this one) along time ago said I couldn't have two 722's for free no matter what when they first came out, 16 hours later on the phone with like 8 different members of the dish network executive resolution team I had two 722's for free so it really is a matter of how far are you willing to take the matter. Dish works on the same business plan everyone else does, how much does this person spend with me and how do I get them them to shut up. For what it is worth I called Dish network and they said they didn't see why I could not keep all of my old equipment and add a brand new hopper as well and that that came from a tier two doctor dish tech support guy but they still have not received all the training on these yet. So don't get your hopes all down nobody knows what dish will do until dish is ready to start shipping these out. Have a wonderful day!
 
So if you paid the $40 fee to connect your EHD to your 211 for DVR service then you are out your money for that and have to pay the DVR fee? Dish has figured out a way to get more fees.

Do they plan on making any XIP units that are not DVR's or are they going to force DVR's on everybody making everyone pay the fees? Or can they just shut the DVR functionality off for those that do not want to pay for it if they have only the 813 receiver for the future? Wow, do they really plan on swapping everybody's receivers everytime someone wants one of these new units or if they decide they do not want to pay for a DVR anymore have to switch it all back to the VIP series? Sounds like a disaster to me unless they have something else up their sleeve.
 
There is generally a lot of overreacting on forums. My favorite are the ones who threaten to leave Dish if the Hopper isn't exactly what they want it to be. The best is "It's a deal breaker if it doesn't have _____." Is it really necessary to tell everyone else that you don't want it?
 
So if you paid the $40 fee to connect your EHD to your 211 for DVR service then you are out your money for that and have to pay the DVR fee? Dish has figured out a way to get more fees.

Do they plan on making any XIP units that are not DVR's or are they going to force DVR's on everybody making everyone pay the fees? Or can they just shut the DVR functionality off for those that do not want to pay for it if they have only the 813 receiver for the future? Wow, do they really plan on swapping everybody's receivers everytime someone wants one of these new units or if they decide they do not want to pay for a DVR anymore have to switch it all back to the VIP series? Sounds like a disaster to me unless they have something else up their sleeve.


I wouldn't get too carried away here. I haven't heard anything about replacing all receiver out there with the Hopper. Obviously Dish wants this to be their flagship model but no one said anything about swapping out all old receivers and making all new customers get the Hopper.
 
Do they plan on making any XIP units that are not DVR's or are they going to force DVR's on everybody making everyone pay the fees?

If someone does not want a DVR, then they will not opt to get a Hopper. Dish is not forcing this down anybody's throat.
 
So if you paid the $40 fee to connect your EHD to your 211 for DVR service then you are out your money for that and have to pay the DVR fee? Dish has figured out a way to get more fees.

Do they plan on making any XIP units that are not DVR's or are they going to force DVR's on everybody making everyone pay the fees? Or can they just shut the DVR functionality off for those that do not want to pay for it if they have only the 813 receiver for the future? Wow, do they really plan on swapping everybody's receivers everytime someone wants one of these new units or if they decide they do not want to pay for a DVR anymore have to switch it all back to the VIP series? Sounds like a disaster to me unless they have something else up their sleeve.

You don't have to upgrade to new tech. This is primarily for folks who want a whole home DVR system. Hence, the Hopper DVR. The ViP receivers should be serviceable for some time to come.
 
If someone does not want a DVR, then they will not opt to get a Hopper. Dish is not forcing this down anybody's throat.
Like broadband internet, once you DVR, you can't live without it. :)
 
I've been rockin a pair of 322's for 7 years so I doubt the VIP receivers are going away anytime soon.

I would say you are spot on. Even the 922s that are out there should be supported for a while but I'm guessing the ones that have them will upgrade to the Hopper like myself.
 

Any word on NY RSN's from CES?

Sling adapter is only playing live TV

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Total: 0, Members: 0, Guests: 0)

Who Read This Thread (Total Members: 1)

Latest posts