From DISH on the Hopper Internet Connector (HIC) and DLNA

[MikeD-C05]

I'm going to give Dish the benefit of the doubt. I think, based on all the attention we are seeing from Dish, that the promises WILL be kept.

I really think they are trying to the right thing(s) here with technology, etc.

I seem to remember that DISH said at one time in the recent past , that the 922 was the future for DISH and it was being worked on to make it the most feature filled ,best ,cutting edge, Dvr receiver available in the market. Then a year later it sits off the market and discontinued. DISH makes promises all the time that never come true. Their favorite saying is : We are working on _...Insert problem here..... and the fix for it is coming............... SSSSSOOONNNNNNNN!!!!!

 

[sampson]

Yes.

The HIC will connect to a client port on the Duo node, and then you can use the pass through as well if needed.

I don't think they will give you one.

It has been said a software upgrade will fix this.

Time will tell.

I didn't see anyone mention this yet.. But you can use the pass through on the Joey with a single node also.

 

[DustoMan]

I seem to remember that DISH said at one time in the recent past , that the 922 was the future for DISH and it was being worked on to make it the most feature filled ,best ,cutting edge, Dvr receiver available in the market. Then a year later it sits off the market and discontinued. DISH makes promises all the time that never come true. Their favorite saying is : We are working on _...Insert problem here..... and the fix for it is coming............... SSSSSOOONNNNNNNN!!!!!

The 922 unit isn't the future, but the software that runs on it is. Back in Janurary @ CES, I talked to the lead software engineer and he said that the plan on bringing as many features from the hopper that the 922 can handle as they can and vice versa. There's only so much they can do because the 922 is half as powerful as the hopper according to the engineer. Which you'll remember is also the reason why a full browser wouldn't work on the 922 because they underestimated how much system resources was needed in addition to keeping the rest of the system running. He also told me they were working on getting Blockbuster @Home working on the 922 and were having a hard time doing it. But they ended up being told to stop work on everything else and get the hopper out the door. So anyway, my point is that your harping on the 922 being said as being the future of dish and then implying that it was a broken promise because it was "discontinued" a year later is flat out wrong. You're not looking at the entire picture and ignoring the fact that the hopper started with the 922 because it doesn't fit your narrative. No different than any other tech company phasing out the old when the successor comes along.

 

[hdaddikt]

I just got a HIC shipped to me for free. It arrived today. However since the spec sheets said it was wi-fi compatible I thought that meant I could connect my Hopper to the Internet though the HIC via wi-fi. That doesn't seem possible now that I got the device. I cannot believe the Hopper does not have built in wi-fi. That is beyond shocking to me given the technology these days. I used to use Home Plug but now that doesn't work with the Hopper and the wi-fi USB adapters are garbage, so I'm really struggling to get an Internet connection.

USB 3.0 would have been nice too. I use a D-Link 4 port wireless access point (802.11N) which has worked great with my DVRs. as well as other assorted a/v equipment
Powerline ethernet devices have dropped a lot in price, while improving in performance. The ethernet units made by Netgear or T_LINK should work fine with the Hopper.
There's always work-arounds which help relieve some frustration but not without some cost or inconvenience involved. We may still be left out to dry with DLNA pending new software.

 

[hdaddikt]

Should be TP_Link, not T_Link.

 

[Zaxcom]

I have a 2H/3J system. With Ethernet from my router going to each Hopper DLNA never worked and no DLNA server I tried could see either Hopper. I installed a HIC today and DLNA started to work on both Hoppers. So I don't think DISH has a full grasp on the DLNA issue yet.

 

[hdaddikt]

I would like to believe somebody at Dish does, of course they need a solution that will work for everybody. Possibly there is a scenario they did not factor, but for the life of me can't imagine what it would be.
I only have one Hopper, where exactly did you connect the HIC to work?

 

[Zaxcom]

Dual node goes to a tap. Tap goes to hopper and HIC

 

[navychop]

.....To get DLNA to a Joey
- Need to direct connect the Joey OR use a HIC.....

Hasn't it been reported that the Ethernet connection on the Joey is not fully implemented yet? Then this "fix" is for some future time?

 

[navychop]

There has been some mis information going around about the Hopper Internet Connector.

So to set the record straight, I just got the following information from DISH to pass along...

With a direct connect to Hopper – Hopper can access all apps, BB@Home, and DLNA
- Joey can access all apps (EXCEPT DLNA HOME MEDIA) and BB@Home
To get DLNA to a Joey
- Need to direct connect the Joey OR use a HIC

Also there are reports of App freezing – we have identified an issue that will be fixed shortly
Many reports of DLNA not working – we are looking into it

All this, and all other reports here on this forum, lead me to believe that Dish/Echostar should use the free resource this board so willingly provides. They really should consider releasing new products to SatGuys members a month or two before a general release. We would identify bugs that beta testing clearly isn't, and ask questions not previously considered. Collect for a week or two (look how fast we've identified concerns) and then there's a reasonable time to fix many things before loosing it upon Joe Six Pack.

Of course, I don't know of any legal concerns this might entail.

 

[ShawnDishInstaller]

From what we've been trained, a HIC to a joey will connect the entire install. Even if it is a 2 Hopper system. Internet to one hopper should bring the same result. Since both Hoppers are connected to a duel Node they are not separate networks. My handful of installs have all been 1hopper 2joey, so I have not been able to test , but I have heard reports from other techs that this is accurate.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

All this, and all other reports here on this forum, lead me to believe that Dish/Echostar should use the free resource this board so willingly provides. They really should consider releasing new products to SatGuys members a month or two before a general release. We would identify bugs that beta testing clearly isn't, and ask questions not previously considered. Collect for a week or two (look how fast we've identified concerns) and then there's a reasonable time to fix many things before loosing it upon Joe Six Pack.

Of course, I don't know of any legal concerns this might entail.

Don't you think there are some SatGuys members that are already beta testers?? They're probably encouraged to not let it be known, lest they lose the privilege... :

 

[navychop]

Don't you think there are some SatGuys members that are already beta testers?? They're probably encouraged to not let it be known, lest they lose the privilege... :

Understood, and agreed. But I posit- not enough, and not the right ones. A limited release would do wonders for them, in a "satellite involved" group like us.

 

[sparc]

My handful of installs have all been 1hopper 2joey

The tech who installed my system said most of his installs so far were 1 hopper/2 Joeys.

 

[GaryPen]

Understood, and agreed. But I posit- not enough, and not the right ones. A limited release would do wonders for them, in a "satellite involved" group like us.

Yes. And, we (hypothical "we") could have our own private forum for discussing stuff amongst ourselves and Dish QA, without disclosing anything to the public or non-beta members.

Perhaps they could enlist members with over 10,000 posts, or something, as a way to tell how deeply they are into their satellite service/equipment.

 

[GaryPen]

FYI - I called my installer who did the Hopper upgrade, and asked if he could drop off an HIC. He just dropped it off, and I hooked it up at the Joey, using the pass-thru. (Much easier than dealing with the tap and all those wires at the Hopper in the EC.)

Home Media now works from both the Hopper and Joey. OnDemand is still working fine, so it didn't break that. Weather seems to be unavailable. But, that's been a crap shoot from the get-go.

 

[navychop]

Yes. And, we (hypothical "we") could have our own private forum for discussing stuff amongst ourselves and Dish QA, without disclosing anything to the public or non-beta members.

Perhaps they could enlist members with over 10,000 posts, or something, as a way to tell how deeply they are into their satellite service/equipment.

Nice little additions to the idea.

 

[Zaxcom]

Ok now I have 2 HIC units. Installer put 1 in yesterday and another showed up by UPS today. Don't need 2 of them.

 

[GaryPen]

You now have a spare.

 

[tennisnut]

OK, I'm still confused by all of this. Let's assume I have a 2H/2J system with a duo node, and each hopper is connected to a host port on the node, and each joey is connected to a client port on the node. Now I add a HIC in a pass-thru configuration between one of the node's client ports and its joey. Will that enable me to have DLNA and BB @Home access from both hoppers and both joeys? Yes or no? If no, why not, and what should I have done instead?