Hopper 4(Is One Coming)??

[pattykay]

They were still not sure at Summit. But most everyone was pushing for free. Remember this is a tool to keep people with Dish so they better not charge a lot.

Now if they would add Dolby Vision support.

So hypothetically, if you own your Hopper 3, and get the Hopper+ as a free upgrade, would you then be allowed to keep the Hopper+ if you deactivate your Hopper 3, or is this the kind of thing that would need to be returned to Dish?

I imagine some kind of commitment (two year?) would also be required for this.

 

[Poorsha]

From Team Summit they said its coming in Mid to the End of July.

Thank you Scott.

 

[smokey982]

From Team Summit they said its coming in Mid to the End of July.

Is that the same time frame for the new Joey? I have an original Joey that’s in desperate need of an upgrade. It’s slooowww!

 

[navychop]

No, no. Sorry, but the timeframe for that is Dish “Soon.”

 

[MikeD-C05]

IF they add a Hopper Plus fee it might be included in the actual dvr fee. Instead of $15.00 you pay $20.00 a month instead. But this would actually piss off anyone that potentially wants it ,but it does sound like what DISH has done in the past.

 

[pattykay]

Is that the same time frame for the new Joey? I have an original Joey that’s in desperate need of an upgrade. It’s slooowww!

No, no. Sorry, but the timeframe for that is Dish “Soon.”

Or, just head down to Atlanta, as they are reportedly already available there now.

 

[pattykay]

IF they add a Hopper Plus fee it might be included in the actual dvr fee. Instead of $15.00 you pay $20.00 a month instead. But this would actually piss off anyone that potentially wants it ,but it does sound like what DISH has done in the past.

That seems unworkable. Any customer who didn't want the higher $20 fee could simply disconnect the Hopper+ and tell Dish to put them back on the $15 fee instead. This puts too much control over the DVR fee in the hands of the customer, without requiring them to swap out their entire DVR in order to do it. Not to mention the constant flip-flopping back and forth between the two different interfaces any month the customer is unwilling to pay (or unable to afford) the higher DVR fee, vs. the months when they are able / willing to pay. That may get confusing for both the customer and any Dish tech support agent who may need to help them.

 

[Jim5506]

That seems unworkable. Any customer who didn't want the higher $20 fee could simply disconnect the Hopper+ and tell Dish to put them back on the $15 fee instead. This puts too much control over the DVR fee in the hands of the customer, without requiring them to swap out their entire DVR in order to do it. Not to mention the constant flip-flopping back and forth between the two different interfaces any month the customer is unwilling to pay (or unable to afford) the higher DVR fee, vs. the months when they are able / willing to pay. That may get confusing for both the customer and any Dish tech support agent who may need to help them.

So, what if you plug it in for a couple of hours once or twice a week. Is there a time limit to how long it is connected to accrue a charge? Wouldn't that drive the bean counters crazy!

 

[MikeD-C05]

If you ask me it would of made more sense to come out with a new Hopper that included all the features of the Hopper plus and then they would of not lead to customer confusion. How many customers outside of us on this site, are going to know anything about this new Hopper Plus ? We have advanced knowledge because of Scott being connected to the source. But this device will be confusing the average customer and if they do add a fee you can expect more cancellations. The fee structure is one of the things that piss off the average customer and forces them to leave for streaming instead. DISH has complete control over the fees and have already made the decision to let those who own their own receivers to pay $5.00 additional receiver fee instead of the usual $7.00 a month for those who rent. So they know this is an issue with customers.

But maybe they will consider this a one time purchase deal, so you can just add it to any hopper so you can get access to the internet and also have 4k access for everything. The Hopper with Sling could then have 4k access. So it would be like when you buy an antenna or usb ota tuner for your hopper from the DISH store. But what would they charge for that is the question?

They will have to advertise the new hopper plus extension unit ,so subs and potential subs will know about it of course. I can also see advantages for older customers who want to stay with the familiar DISH satellite interface and still access the other apps they can't get now with DISH. Then they can keep the Hopper as their central media unit for access to everything extra you can't get now. But again at what price?

 

[NashGuy]

That’s what THEY -want- you to believe!

Actually , an H4 would make sense. Updated chipset, built in Hopper Plus, DTV reception ability, red recording in progress light (be still, my beating heart!), an additional bell and two whistles. As in HopperFOUR, due out in 2024. Maybe. Dish SOON

Sure, makes sense. I'd say that Hopper Plus was designed as an add-on to the H3 in order to not have to scrap all those H3s. It's cheaper to keep those boxes in place and just add on the relatively low-cost Hopper Plus for those customers who can benefit from it (e.g. customers with home broadband, who want access to more apps than the H3 itself supports).

But going forward, yeah, it might be more economical to produce an H4 that essentially just incorporates the capabilities of the Plus right into the main box. New sign-ups with broadband would get the H4, those without it would get the H3. I certainly expect that the few apps that the H3 currently offers -- Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video -- will stop being updated by their developers in the next few years and will eventually cease to work. Google's Android TV is now becoming the official app platform for DISH.

When I said an H4 isn't "on the way," I meant "there are no credible reports of such a device in development and, even if it's in the works, it's not getting released in the next few months." But in 2024? Seems plausible.

One other little bit of wild speculation: couldn't the Hopper Plus be used as a standalone box if DISH chose to offer purely streaming-based service (with cloud DVR), no satellite dish needed? I see no reason why not. It's really no different than DirecTV Stream's little custom Android TV box (nicknamed Osprey), except that the Hopper Plus is newer and has better specs.

 

[pattykay]

So, what if you plug it in for a couple of hours once or twice a week. Is there a time limit to how long it is connected to accrue a charge? Wouldn't that drive the bean counters crazy!

Ha! I used to do exactly that with my purchased Hopper 3. I would only activate it for a day or two each week. Keeping it active for less than 24 hours (within the same calendar day, as of my local time zone, since that is how prorated billing is calculated) meant that my receiver fee and DVR fee were zero. My main active receiver at the time was a ViP222k, and now I use a Wally.

 

[pattykay]

...I certainly expect that the few apps that the H3 currently offers -- Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video -- will stop being updated by their developers in the next few years and will eventually cease to work. ...

Development on the Pandora app already apparently ended last year, and problems have already cropped up, as I reported here:

Hopper Pandora app automatically skipping most of each song

This issue has been happening on both my Hopper 3 and my Wally for at least the past few months. Any time the Pandora app tries to play a song that is more than five minutes long (and some songs that are slightly less than five minutes) it will play the very beginning of the song, then skip to...

www.satelliteguys.us

When I said an H4 isn't "on the way," I meant "there are no credible reports of such a device in development and, even if it's in the works, it's not getting released in the next few months." But in 2024? Seems plausible.

Yes, perfect timing for an April Fools Day joke, which is why I suggested the 4/1/2024 date above. It is far enough away that it cannot be immediately debunked at this point, yet not so far away that it will be completely forgotten by the time that date actually rolls around. The same thing happened with an April Fools Day joke that was posted last year, about the US Mint announcing that they will stop producing pennies on 4/1/2023. People to this day still believe that to be the case. It is only when the 2024 pennies start going into circulation that people might actually notice, and realize that they were fooled.

 

[dweber]

So, what if you plug it in for a couple of hours once or twice a week. Is there a time limit to how long it is connected to accrue a charge? Wouldn't that drive the bean counters crazy!

According to Scott the Hopper+ uses different software than the Hopper3. If that is the case I suspect that you would not be able to just unplug the Hopper+, switch the HDMI cable from the Hopper+ to the Hopper3 and continue watching Dish content. Perhaps Scott can comment more on this.

 

[pattykay]

According to Scott the Hopper+ uses different software than the Hopper3. If that is the case I suspect that you would not be able to just unplug the Hopper+, switch the HDMI cable from the Hopper+ to the Hopper3 and continue watching Dish content. Perhaps Scott can comment more on this.

Scott mentioned before that when he unhooked the Hopper+ he got a pop-up on screen asking him to reconnect the Hopper+. I don't recall if he ever followed up about rebooting the Hopper 3 to get that pop-up to go away, and resume normal operation. I suspect that the Hopper+ specific software is stored on the Hopper+, while the Hopper 3 would continue to be able to operate with the base Hopper 3 software. Otherwise, Dish would need two different Hopper 3 software versions for every release, and which version you get would depend on whether Dish has you listed as having the Hopper+ or not. While that is certainly possible, it does not seem likely to me. There would be too much chance of an error, with some people accidentally getting the wrong software by mistake, if that were the case.

 

[Peter Parker]

So hypothetically, if you own your Hopper 3, and get the Hopper+ as a free upgrade, would you then be allowed to keep the Hopper+ if you deactivate your Hopper 3, or is this the kind of thing that would need to be returned to Dish?

I imagine some kind of commitment (two year?) would also be required for this.

Actually I would be more tempted to think I could keep it if I did pay for it rather than if I received it for free because I have a compatible receiver.

 

[pattykay]

Actually I would be more tempted to think I could keep it if I did pay for it rather than if I received it for free because I have a compatible receiver.

Well, that gets back to dweber's question...

According to Scott the Hopper+ uses different software than the Hopper3. If that is the case I suspect that you would not be able to just unplug the Hopper+, switch the HDMI cable from the Hopper+ to the Hopper3 and continue watching Dish content. Perhaps Scott can comment more on this.

...Can the Hopper 3 go back to working as a non-Hopper+ receiver after a Hopper+ is installed?

I can think of a couple of reasons why someone would want to do that. First, suppose you have two Hopper 3's, and add a Hopper+ to each of them. Then, you decide that you want to sell a purchased Hopper 3, but keep its Hopper+ as a spare in case the Hopper+ for your first Hopper 3 dies. Would the new owner of your old Hopper 3 be unable to use it without also adding a Hopper+, just because you previously had a Hopper+ attached to it?

That brings me to the second (much more likely) scenario, what if your Hopper+ dies, and you don't have a spare? Hopefully, you could still use the Hopper 3 as a regular (non-Hopper+) receiver while you are waiting for your replacement Hopper+ to arrive. Otherwise, there are going to be a lot of pissed Dish customers if they lose all Hopper functionality just because an optional accessory dies.

Getting back to my earlier point about having a pay-as-you-go account, it would be very inconvenient if I had to return the Hopper+ to Dish every time I deactivate service, only to have to wait for Dish to send me another Hopper+ every time I want to reactivate my Hopper 3. So, I sincerely hope that would not be the case.

 

[bookworm370]

I'm still a little confused. Other than being able to play streaming apps on your remote Joey's (and I believe you'd need to upgrade them as well), what does the Hopper + bring that a Roku/Apple TV switched through an AVR system to the party? If I have a Roku and Apple TV, why would I even want a Hopper +.

Not complaining just still curious.

 

[pattykay]

I'm still a little confused. Other than being able to play streaming apps on your remote Joey's (and I believe you'd need to upgrade them as well), what does the Hopper + bring that a Roku/Apple TV switched through an AVR system to the party? If I have a Roku and Apple TV, why would I even want a Hopper +.

Not complaining just still curious.

Not all Rokus have a web browser. This is one thing that the Hopper+ should be able to provide. For those who are used to relying on the built-in apps on their Hopper, the Hopper+ will give them the ability to keep those apps (or rather, the Google Play equivalent of those apps) updated and functional. It has been suggested that the app developers for the existing Hopper apps will likely end support for those.

The question then becomes: what is Dish going to do for Hopper 1, Hopper Duo, and Wally users when the existing built-in apps stop functioning? So far, there has been no confirmation of Hopper+ compatibility with those models, nor of any new equivalent receiver models to replace them. So, do existing Wally users simply get to see less and less functionality with no way to get it back other than to upgrade to a Hopper 3, or switch to a different streaming device instead?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

If its in the Google Play store then it can be installed on the Hopper +, this includes browsers.

From what I understand they can not bring this technology to the other receivers as it depends on some of the Sling technology that is only in the Hopper 2 and 3.

 

[n0qcu]

I'm still a little confused. Other than being able to play streaming apps on your remote Joey's (and I believe you'd need to upgrade them as well), what does the Hopper + bring that a Roku/Apple TV switched through an AVR system to the party? If I have a Roku and Apple TV, why would I even want a Hopper +.

Not complaining just still curious.

What it does is it allows you to use a single remote to do all your tv watching/streaming. In this case it will be the DISH remote.