Hopper with Sling - Purchase

[llokey]

My contract is up the first part of January. I have a 722K that I was going to investigate upgrading to a Hopper with Sling. With the announcement about reduced prices for owned equipment, I am now investigating purchasing the equipment. Is there a recommended place for purchasing the Hopper? I have seen "remanufactured" units from $100 - $125 as well as used units for less. I'm looking for options before I call the loyalty department to talk about extending my contract.

Thanks for relevant information.

 

[Bobby]

I would not purchase a Hopper with Sling, I would go for the Hopper 3. It is just so much more and worth it.

 

[llokey]

Thanks for the reply. If I understand it correctly I can replace my 722K with a Hopper with Sling. However to go with a Hopper 3, I have to replace a lot more. Is that correct?

Also what makes the Hopper 3 so much better? All I see is 16 channels vs 3.

Thanks

 

[eddie willers]

"With the announcement about reduced prices for owned equipment"

?

 

[pattykay]

Thanks for the reply. If I understand it correctly I can replace my 722K with a Hopper with Sling. However to go with a Hopper 3, I have to replace a lot more. Is that correct?

Also what makes the Hopper 3 so much better? All I see is 16 channels vs 3.

Thanks

You can easily replace the 722K with a Hopper Duo by yourself. Just unhook the cable that comes in from the dish to your separator (or triplexer) on the back of the 722K, and hook that cable directly to the Hopper Duo. If you have two cables coming in from the LNB or switch directly to your 722K (rather than going through a separator or triplexer) then you only need to connect one of those cables to the Hopper Duo.

For a Hopper With Sling, you would need two cables from the LNB or switch, to connect to a Solo Node that enables the three-tuner functionality. Then you would run a single cable from the Solo Node to the Hopper With Sling. Joeys would also be connected through the Solo Node.

For a Hopper 3, at a minimum you would need to either change the LNB on the dish to a Hybrid LNB, or add a DPH42 switch to your existing LNB. Then, if you want to add any Joeys, you would also need a Hybrid Hub. (Hopper Duo also requires a Hybrid Hub to add a Joey, but no other Hybrid equipment would be needed.) Unless you can get Dish to agree to install equipment that you did not purchase directly from them, you would likely have to install all of this yourself, or find someone else to install it for you.

With a Hopper Duo, you really don't lose much functionality compared to a Hopper With Sling, as long as you don't care about the actual Sling part. (Which you currently don't have with your 722K anyway.) Yes, there are only two tuners in the Hopper Duo. (Exactly like the 722K.) However, that second tuner in the Hopper Duo can record the four major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) all at the same time if you subscribe to the satellite-delivered locals. There is no automatic recording of prime time shows, nor is there AutoHop, on the Hopper Duo. However, you don't have those features on your 722K, either. Hopper With Sling has the YouTube apps, while Hopper Duo does not have those apps.

If you are interested in purchasing a Hopper Duo, check the Classifieds section on this site. You may find a much better deal on a used Hopper Duo there than you would find elsewhere.

 

[pattykay]

"With the announcement about reduced prices for owned equipment"

?

2021 Dish Prices

Dish has posted their updated prices for 2021 - $5 per package. The locals core package goes up $3. https://my.dish.com/infocenter They are also reducing equipment fees. "In addition to the core package changes, we also will be removing receiver fees on equipment you've purchased and own, if...

www.satelliteguys.us

 

[eddie willers]

2021 Dish Prices

Dish has posted their updated prices for 2021 - $5 per package. The locals core package goes up $3. https://my.dish.com/infocenter They are also reducing equipment fees. "In addition to the core package changes, we also will be removing receiver fees on equipment you've purchased and own, if...

www.satelliteguys.us

This is harder to understand than Chinese arithmetic.

My Hopper 3 is now 5 years old and crashing more often than usual, so I suspect it is giving up the ghost.

Would it make sense to buy one when it does?

Does the math say you save $120 per year on fees?

 

[pattykay]

Does the math say you save $120 per year on fees?

Yes.

Would it make sense to buy one when it does?

You would have to keep it for two years or more, before the savings in fees would offset the purchase cost, at least based on Solid Signal's pricing: DISH Hopper 3 DVR System with 16 Tuners (ESHOPPER3)
(Also in that link, their picture of the Hopper 3 is upside-down, which looks really funny.)

 

[Bobby]

Yes.

You would have to keep it for two years or more, before the savings in fees would offset the purchase cost, at least based on Solid Signal's pricing: DISH Hopper 3 DVR System with 16 Tuners (ESHOPPER3)
(Also in that link, their picture of the Hopper 3 is upside-down, which looks really funny.)

When I look at that Hopper 3 in the link the red stripe is on the bottom just like the one I have. The link looks fine to me.

 

[pattykay]

When I look at that Hopper 3 in the link the red stripe is on the bottom just like the one I have. The link looks fine to me.

This is in Firefox. Which browser did you use?

 

[HipKat]

For a Hopper 3, at a minimum you would need to either change the LNB on the dish to a Hybrid LNB, or add a DPH42 switch to your existing LNB

And even then, only if there are all the needed cables coming from the LNBF

 

[llokey]

With a Hopper Duo, you really don't lose much functionality compared to a Hopper With Sling, as long as you don't care about the actual Sling part. (Which you currently don't have with your 722K anyway.)

The sling ability is the main reason that I'm considering an upgrade. The sling adapter was discontinued while I was in my current contract. I didn't upgrade because the deal I'm offered will determine whether I cut the cord or not. I was happy with the 722k until the sling adapter problem.

For a Hopper With Sling, you would need two cables from the LNB or switch, to connect to a Solo Node that enables the three-tuner functionality. Then you would run a single cable from the Solo Node to the Hopper With Sling. Joeys would also be connected through the Solo Node.

I only have a single cable from the LNBF to the 722k. A second cable wouldn't be a problem but it appears that I would also have to buy a Solo Node. What happens if I don't use the Solo Node? Do I just get two channels? Also does the Solo Node have to be located at the DVR or could it be located remotely? The 722k only gets two channels from Dish and two from OTA.

It appears that AutoHop would be a non-issue since I am probably going to drop my locals.

I guess I need to summarize my situation much better. I have a 722k and a 211k. I want the ability to sling which as you stated the 722k cannot do. I want to keep the 211k- therefore Joeys are not needed. So replacement of the 722k is the only issue. I am probably going to drop locals since I can receive all the locals OTA (Nexstar has already dropped CBS for me and I am in a Sinclair market). I know that I am going to need an OTA adapter. Until I lost the ability to sling I was happy with the 722k. I have a fire stick, a roku stick, and chromecast (and a $75 internet bill) so the additional streaming features aren't important to me. Basically I want to replace the 722k functionality that I had before the adapter was dropped.

Thanks for responding.

 

[sktrus]

Which browser did you use?

Upside down for me,too. Asus Chromebook (of course Chrome browser)

 

[sktrus]

I would not purchase a Hopper with Sling, I would go for the Hopper 3.

I just checked my Hopper. It says "Hopper 3 with Sling". Had it replaced with Hopper 2 few years ago for 16 tuners and autohop.

 

[pattykay]

I only have a single cable from the LNBF to the 722k. A second cable wouldn't be a problem but it appears that I would also have to buy a Solo Node. What happens if I don't use the Solo Node? Do I just get two channels? Also does the Solo Node have to be located at the DVR or could it be located remotely? The 722k only gets two channels from Dish and two from OTA.

It appears that AutoHop would be a non-issue since I am probably going to drop my locals.

No problem. I also happen to have a Solo Node for sale. If you are interested, make me an offer in a private conversation.

Without the Solo Node, the Hopper With Sling would only have two functioning tuners. However, some other members here have tried that, and reported getting occasional error messages, with trouble acquiring signal and/or needing to reboot the Hopper With Sling to get past that. So, it is better to just use the Node as it is intended to be hooked up, and get full functionality. I have tried hooking it up both ways: with the Node located near the switch, and with the Node directly behind the Hopper. It makes no difference as far as the functionality.

You can drop the locals, but still keep the AutoHop functionality for OTA recordings of any shows that would have had AutoHop if they were recorded from the satellite version. AutoHop does not care which channel the show was recorded from. The only thing that would be missing if you drop the locals would be the automatic recording of the four major networks with Prime Time Anytime.

 

[TheKrell]

It appears that AutoHop would be a non-issue since I am probably going to drop my locals.

I would like to clarify what crodrules has already clarified. You can drop your sat-delivered locals and still enjoy autohop using your OTA tuners. (Which by the way is not the same hardware as your 722k add-in module. So that is another one-time $30 cost.) I think crodrules also mentioned above that the Duo doees not autohop at all, period. I use autohop on my H3. I am currrently recording season 1 of ST-Discovery off CBS and have to wait a week. But after that, autohop works quite nicely on OTA-recorded channels even without sat locals. I have previously enjoyed autohop on Fox programs such as that time travel series whose name escapes me at the moment.

I just checked my Hopper. It says "Hopper 3 with Sling". Had it replaced with Hopper 2 few years ago for 16 tuners and autohop.

Three cheers for autohop!

 

[Bobby]

View attachment 149348
This is in Firefox. Which browser did you use?

This is interesting. I just tried it on my iMac in both Chrome and Safari and it was upside down. When I access the link on my iPad, both Chrome and Safari, it is right side up....

 

[Voyager6]

Thanks for the reply. If I understand it correctly I can replace my 722K with a Hopper with Sling. However to go with a Hopper 3, I have to replace a lot more. Is that correct?

Also what makes the Hopper 3 so much better? All I see is 16 channels vs 3.

Thanks

You would need to switch your LNB to a hybrid LNB and install a hybrid hub or add a DPH42 switch. The Hopper 2 (HWS) would only require the solo node be installed. If you want 4K, then you want the H3. The H3 is also much faster than the HWS.

 

[llokey]

Thanks for all the information. My last bill of my contract comes out this week so I will see what I can work out with Dish. Been a customer for 20 years even though I'm not sure that matters. If I stay with Dish and if I understand everything correctly, I would need the HWS, a Solo Node and an OTA adapter. Best situation it would take over a year to break even but less than two years. Cutting the cord is still an option even though I would like to stay with Dish.

 

[llokey]

The H3 is also much faster than the HWS.

Well I am used to a 722k. Any idea how the HWS compares with the 722k for speed?