Issues with OTA after Hopper+ Upgrade

[KMeyer]

Prior to upgrading to Hopper+, all my OTA channels were solid. After the upgrade, which included swapping Hopper & Joey locations, only the primary channels (X.1) are solid, and my subchannels (X.2, .3 etc.) are choppy (periodically pause every few seconds). I confirmed my antenna feed is good by viewing those channels via direct feed to the TV. However, I did not check the subchannels after relocating the Hopper and before the upgrade, so I don't know for certain that the upgrade is the culprit.

Question: has anyone experienced OTA issues with subchannels on Hopper+?

 

[Almighty1]

Well, the only way to know for sure is to have the Hopper with the Hopper+ at the original location where the Hopper was before it was swapped and then see if you still have the problem or not as first steps of troubleshooting as the issue might be the signals are not the same at the new location as remember the OTA does not connect to the Hopper+ but the Hopper directly so there should be no change in the reception if you think about it.

 

[tjboston5676]

Considering it was moved, it's being ran off a different cable that could have splits in it or if there's a power adapter for the antenna it may not be getting power anymore. Also in my experience if the main x.1 channel comes in the x.2,3,4, etc. will also be just fine. So it's weird that just the sub channels would be acting up. You may try unplugging ota adapter, and plugging back in which should prompt a reset. If it doesn't reset receiver and then do a rescan.

 

[KMeyer]

Considering it was moved, it's being ran off a different cable that could have splits in it or if there's a power adapter for the antenna it may not be getting power anymore. Also in my experience if the main x.1 channel comes in the x.2,3,4, etc. will also be just fine. So it's weird that just the sub channels would be acting up. You may try unplugging ota adapter, and plugging back in which should prompt a reset. If it doesn't reset receiver and then do a rescan.

OOPS, I had a brain fart... x.1 is also choppy. I confirmed excellent OTA signal strength and quality on my TV and connected the same cable (sans splitter) to the Dish OTA module and got sharp but stuttering video/audio. I asked my Dish tech to bring a new OTA module to see if that's the problem. If not, I can live with it as is and use the TV/antenna configuration to watch the one weekly program we like on 9.2.

 

[Almighty1]

OOPS, I had a brain fart... x.1 is also choppy. I confirmed excellent OTA signal strength and quality on my TV and connected the same cable (sans splitter) to the Dish OTA module and got sharp but stuttering video/audio. I asked my Dish tech to bring a new OTA module to see if that's the problem. If not, I can live with it as is and use the TV/antenna configuration to watch the one weekly program we like on 9.2.

The other reason might be that you cannot rely on the OTA signal strength and quality on the TV as a valid comparison because the TV may have a better quality OTA tuner that works better on weaker signals than the DISH OTA Module which is not exactly known for signal performance, it's more of something to give OTA access to the DISH Receivers but it might be more picky on the signal strength that is weaker where the TV's OTA Tuner will work with it. And it depends also on which OTA Tuner you have as the there are more than one model of the single OTA and Dual OTA tuners from DISH, even the same model can perform differently depending on if it's only at spec or if it's better than specs.

 

[KMeyer]

The other reason might be that you cannot rely on the OTA signal strength and quality on the TV as a valid comparison because the TV may have a better quality OTA tuner that works better on weaker signals than the DISH OTA Module which is not exactly known for signal performance, it's more of something to give OTA access to the DISH Receivers but it might be more picky on the signal strength that is weaker where the TV's OTA Tuner will work with it. And it depends also on which OTA Tuner you have as the there are more than one model of the single OTA and Dual OTA tuners from DISH, even the same model can perform differently depending on if it's only at spec or if it's better than specs.

Good points. As it turns out, the signal is better at the new location (TV registers 80% strength and 100% quality), and the original Hopper was happy with a lower signal strength. The upgrade to Plus included new S/W, which may have affected the OTA digital signal processor. I am hoping a new OTA module will fix it and will find out Wednesday when the Dish tech is here to install a soundbar. If a new OTA module doesn't fix it, I will either live with it or contact Dish to schedule a service call specifically for that issue. am told restoring the Hopper to its original state is quite a process, but they may want to try that before replacing the Hopper. I will report back if the issue is resolved.

 

[KMeyer]

Prior to upgrading to Hopper+, all my OTA channels were solid. After the upgrade, which included swapping Hopper & Joey locations, only the primary channels (X.1) are solid, and my subchannels (X.2, .3 etc.) are choppy (periodically pause every few seconds). I confirmed my antenna feed is good by viewing those channels via direct feed to the TV. However, I did not check the subchannels after relocating the Hopper and before the upgrade, so I don't know for certain that the upgrade is the culprit.

Question: has anyone experienced OTA issues with subchannels on Hopper+?

Correction/updater: all OTA channels (Primary x.1 and subchannels x.2, 3 etc) are choppy after upgrading Hopper 3 to Hopper Plus but were solid before the upgrade. Also, I confirmed the signal is better where the Hopper is now located, and the Joey's OTA picture is not choppy, so the problem is in the upgraded Hopper. I suspect the new S/W broke the OTA digital signal processing.

New question: does anyone get solid OTA performance on Hopper Plus?

 

[Almighty1]

Correction/updater: all OTA channels (Primary x.1 and subchannels x.2, 3 etc) are choppy after upgrading Hopper 3 to Hopper Plus but were solid before the upgrade. Also, I confirmed the signal is better where the Hopper is now located, and the Joey's OTA picture is not choppy, so the problem is in the upgraded Hopper. I suspect the new S/W broke the OTA digital signal processing.

New question: does anyone get solid OTA performance on Hopper Plus?

Hard to say since remember the Hopper 3 has it's own software which was recently upgraded so there is H358, H362, H363 and H364 which I think would deal with the actual OTA portion as I am sure the Hopper Plus's software is more for the User Interface and not the PQ as it does not even touch the OTA physically. I rarely use the Dual Tuner OTA Adapter other than occasionally scanning the channels list to see what it picks up and haven't done it recently so hard to tell you one way or another. My Hopper Plus is also disconnected since I think 24 hours after it was installed a few months ago as I couldn't stand the replay/skip lag which I don't think is fixed yet.

 

[KMeyer]

Hard to say since remember the Hopper 3 has it's own software which was recently upgraded so there is H358, H362, H363 and H364 which I think would deal with the actual OTA portion as I am sure the Hopper Plus's software is more for the User Interface and not the PQ as it does not even touch the OTA physically. I rarely use the Dual Tuner OTA Adapter other than occasionally scanning the channels list to see what it picks up and haven't done it recently so hard to tell you one way or another. My Hopper Plus is also disconnected since I think 24 hours after it was installed a few months ago as I couldn't stand the replay/skip lag which I don't think is fixed yet.

Yes, hard to say what it was that caused the OTA picture to get choppy. I'll see if Dish cares to work with me on this or just write it off as a minor issue they won't pursue.

 

[KMeyer]

Prior to upgrading to Hopper+, all my OTA channels were solid. After the upgrade, which included swapping Hopper & Joey locations, only the primary channels (X.1) are solid, and my subchannels (X.2, .3 etc.) are choppy (periodically pause every few seconds). I confirmed my antenna feed is good by viewing those channels via direct feed to the TV. However, I did not check the subchannels after relocating the Hopper and before the upgrade, so I don't know for certain that the upgrade is the culprit.

Question: has anyone experienced OTA issues with subchannels on Hopper+?

Resolved: after removing Dish Plus and returning Hopper 3 to it's prior state, all issues observed since the upgrade went away...
1) choppy OTA
2) loss of Caller ID
3) freezing Dish On Demand, and
4) occasional DVR freezing when trying to access recordings with multiple episodes.

 

[Stuart Sweet]

Curious... did anyone ever get Hopper Plus to work satisfactorily together with the OTA adapter?

 

[charlesrshell]

Curious... did anyone ever get Hopper Plus to work satisfactorily together with the OTA adapter?

I have the Dish OTA adapter installed in my Hopper 3 with the Plus. It's working OK for me.

 

[n0qcu]

Curious... did anyone ever get Hopper Plus to work satisfactorily together with the OTA adapter?

No I gave up trying to watch OTA on the Hopper plus.
If I need to view OTA I just switch the AVR input to the Hopper 3 without the plus.

 

[charlesrshell]

No I gave up trying to watch OTA on the Hopper plus.
If I need to view OTA I just switch the AVR input to the Hopper 3 without the plus.

What issues do you have? I use my H+ that has an OTA adapter attached to record our soap channels by OTA channel. They playback normal.

 

[Almighty1]

No I gave up trying to watch OTA on the Hopper plus.
If I need to view OTA I just switch the AVR input to the Hopper 3 without the plus.

So basically the HDMI still works on the Hopper 3 even with the Plus connected? Does it still have the lag like from the Plus though?