Hello Carbon Interface, Bye Bye Reliable DVR Experience

darrengs

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 13, 2012
657
199
NJ
Dish took my Hopper2, Hopper1, Joey 1 setup that was working flawlessly, and made them slow and unreliable. I had never had a show not record properly unless the there was signal loss, now it happens. My Joey constantly disconnects from the Hopper2 and connects to the Hopper1, this never happened before unless I manually did it. If there was a scheduling conflict it would set up to record on the other Hopper, nope that is gone. The interface is noticeably slower and at times sluggish. Sometimes reboots are needed just so we can pause live TV again, I never had to reboot before the "upgrade"
 
Dish took my Hopper2, Hopper1, Joey 1 setup that was working flawlessly, and made them slow and unreliable. I had never had a show not record properly unless the there was signal loss, now it happens. My Joey constantly disconnects from the Hopper2 and connects to the Hopper1, this never happened before unless I manually did it. If there was a scheduling conflict it would set up to record on the other Hopper, nope that is gone. The interface is noticeably slower and at times sluggish. Sometimes reboots are needed just so we can pause live TV again, I never had to reboot before the "upgrade"
Slowness of Hopper 1 with the new software has been reported many times here. Hopper 2 is a little slower than before but most report response is tolerable.

I know there are reasons some customers want two receivers but an upgrade to a single Hopper 3 and two Joeys might work for you and would certainly be more responsive and much more reliable. Dish will upgrade your existing Joey 1 to a Joey 2 in the process. Check with DIRT (red users on the main forum page here) for upgrade costs, but make sure you mention how the recent upgrade made your working system unusable. That may help reduce your costs. Many customers have been offered free Hopper 2 upgrades for their Hoper 1s also.
 
Slowness of Hopper 1 with the new software has been reported many times here. Hopper 2 is a little slower than before but most report response is tolerable.

I know there are reasons some customers want two receivers but an upgrade to a single Hopper 3 and two Joeys might work for you and would certainly be more responsive and much more reliable. Dish will upgrade your existing Joey 1 to a Joey 2 in the process. Check with DIRT (red users on the main forum page here) for upgrade costs, but make sure you mention how the recent upgrade made your working system unusable. That may help reduce your costs. Many customers have been offered free Hopper 2 upgrades for their Hoper 1s also.

I know an upgrade to a Hopper 3 with two Joey 2 would work, but frankly I am not interested in a new 2 year commitment and if I am going to lose my recordings I figure I may as well start fresh. I am just waiting for football season to start and then I will trial some of the streaming services (like HULU TV and Playstation Vue). If all works well then a little cord trimming is in order.
 
I know an upgrade to a Hopper 3 with two Joey 2 would work, but frankly I am not interested in a new 2 year commitment and if I am going to lose my recordings I figure I may as well start fresh. I am just waiting for football season to start and then I will trial some of the streaming services (like HULU TV and Playstation Vue). If all works well then a little cord trimming is in order.
No need to looks recordings on your H1 and H2 receivers. Simply transfer them to an external drive and play them from there on the H3 (or transfer them to the H3's internal drive).

Check with DIRT and see if you can be upgrade at least your H1 to an H2 for free without additional commitments since their new software essentially breaks that model.

You can also buy receivers to avoid contracts: $250 for an H3, $90 for a J2 from Dish Depot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: seanmh72
No need to looks recordings on your H1 and H2 receivers. Simply transfer them to an external drive and play them from there on the H3 (or transfer them to the H3's internal drive).

Check with DIRT and see if you can be upgrade at least your H1 to an H2 for free without additional commitments since their new software essentially breaks that model.

You can also buy receivers to avoid contracts: $250 for an H3, $90 for a J2 from Dish Depot.

Yeah, I am going over all options, streaming service with a few fire tv's, no commitment, no monthly hardware costs. Or upgrade my Dish equipment with a new commitment, or large out of pocket expense. I will see how it goes.
 
I bet you'd be very happy with upgrading to the H3. If they didn't make you current equipment what are the odds you'd be with Dish for two more years?
 
  • Like
Reactions: KAB
I bet you'd be very happy with upgrading to the H3. If they didn't make you current equipment what are the odds you'd be with Dish for two more years?

I am sure you are right, I would most likely like the H3. However, I feel I am able to get some decent discounts because I am out of contract, and without discounts I am not sure how long I would stick around.
 
I am sure you are right, I would most likely like the H3. However, I feel I am able to get some decent discounts because I am out of contract, and without discounts I am not sure how long I would stick around.
Your other options you mentioned not only incur expenses but an STEEP incline in the learning curve of handling multiple devices, their interfaces, cloud recording, if any, etc. I would bet that in two years, you will be happy with your decision, if you chose an H3..
 
I know an upgrade to a Hopper 3 with two Joey 2 would work, but frankly I am not interested in a new 2 year commitment and if I am going to lose my recordings I figure I may as well start fresh. I am just waiting for football season to start and then I will trial some of the streaming services (like HULU TV and Playstation Vue). If all works well then a little cord trimming is in order.

The OTT streaming services work well enough for some, but I just find them a pale shadow of what you get with a traditional linear TV service. Try them before you make a major decision is my advice. If they work for you, great, but you'd definitely lose your existing recording by going down that road. I think they will continue to improve with time, but I am not sure they will ever be everything I am going to want.
 
Agreed, carbon on the Hopper with Sling is a bear too. Joey's almost unusable. I'd love to upgrade from my two HWS to an H3, but the 200 timer limit is holding me back.
 
Many timers are set for the big 4 networks in prime time. If that is the case a single timer will suffice for all 4 for the entire week during that same prime time.