moving DVR content from VIP722 to Hopper 3

[sunfriek]

Hi,
i mainly lurk around here and dont really post but here i am, anyways with that said,

my household has had a VIP722 for the last 10 years or so and have Lots of DVR stuff saved BOTH on internal storage and external storage.

im getting ready to move to the Hopper 3 system (just bought the equipment outright and have read up on what i need to get it installed and have it sitting here ready, will spend the next week or so getting all my new cabling pulled and hybrid node mounted and new LNB installed on my 1000.2)

can i move my DVR shows to the Hopper 3 and have it play them or am i just out of luck? any info here would be appreciated.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Theoretically you should be able to use an external hard drive with your 722 and transfer your shows to it and then hook it up to the hopper 3 and then you can transfer them back to your hopper 3. But don’t count on it working right. Sometimes when you change classes of receivers it doesn’t always work out right.

 

[boba]

Don't try and transfer right after installation. Give the Hopper about 48 hours to settle in.

 

[navychop]

Transfer all internal recordings to an EHD before activating the H3. You might have more success transferring a few at a time, rather than trying to do them all at once. Odds are, in my experience, you’ll have one or two corrupted recordings that can stop the transfer process.

Then wait 3 days or so after you’ve activated the H3, before trying to watch them, or move them to the H3 internal drive. It takes receivers a few days to “settle in.” We presume they are still loading s/w for the first ew days of use.

Most have little or no trouble with EHDs after that.

 

[Pepper]

What navychop said. The 15 or so EHDs I used with my ViP622 all continued to work just fine after I swapped to a Hopper 3.

 

[sunfriek]

Thank you everybody for the info. most everything is already on External HD's already. ive been on limited time as the current 722 is almost a decade old and ive noticed a few stutters here and there and wanted to keep my shows safe.

 

[boatNsun]

What navychop said. The 15 or so EHDs I used with my ViP622 all continued to work just fine after I swapped to a Hopper 3.

Considering an upgrade but two DISH technical support people have told me the recording formats are different between the VIP 722 and H3, so programs recorded on an EHD from the 722 cannot be transferred to the H3. One told me that when the 722 EHD is plugged in to the H3, the first thing it wants to do it format the EHD, thereby erasing all content. Your insights/advice?

 

[boatNsun]

Theoretically you should be able to use an external hard drive with your 722 and transfer your shows to it and then hook it up to the hopper 3 and then you can transfer them back to your hopper 3. But don’t count on it working right. Sometimes when you change classes of receivers it doesn’t always work out right.

Considering an upgrade but two DISH technical support people have told me the recording formats are different between the VIP 722 and H3, so programs recorded on an EHD from the 722 cannot be transferred to the H3. One told me that when the 722 EHD is plugged in to the H3, the first thing it wants to do it format the EHD, thereby erasing all content. That would seem to confirm your warning about differences between classes of receivers. Thoughts?

 

[boatNsun]

Thank you everybody for the info. most everything is already on External HD's already. ive been on limited time as the current 722 is almost a decade old and ive noticed a few stutters here and there and wanted to keep my shows safe.

Considering an upgrade but two DISH technical support people have told me the recording formats are different between the VIP 722 and H3, so programs recorded on an EHD from the 722 cannot be transferred to the H3. One told me that when the 722 EHD is plugged in to the H3, the first thing it wants to do it format the EHD, thereby erasing all content. How has your transfer worked out? Could you play/move the programs from the VIP722 to the H3?

 

[Jim5506]

Well, the two Dish Technical Support guys are full of it.

I have many old 250GB and smaller EHD's that were recorded on my 722 way back that I have played on the H# with no trouble, many others have also.

The format for EHD's on all Dish DVR receivers has not changed.

Just be sure the drive is recognized as being recorded by a receiver on your account and it works 90% of the time (estimate).

I'd not move the recordings from the EHD to the internal, just play them from the external.

It is advised to wait 72 hours before trying such things with a new H3,.

Let the receiver settle in and update before doing anything exotic.

 

[brice52]

Considering an upgrade but two DISH technical support people have told me the recording formats are different between the VIP 722 and H3, so programs recorded on an EHD from the 722 cannot be transferred to the H3. One told me that when the 722 EHD is plugged in to the H3, the first thing it wants to do it format the EHD, thereby erasing all content. Your insights/advice?

I had two EHD from the 722k and when I upgraded to HWS they started working at once, it was a surprise that I can have three connected at all times.

 

[dweber]

Considering an upgrade but two DISH technical support people have told me the recording formats are different between the VIP 722 and H3, so programs recorded on an EHD from the 722 cannot be transferred to the H3. One told me that when the 722 EHD is plugged in to the H3, the first thing it wants to do it format the EHD, thereby erasing all content. That would seem to confirm your warning about differences between classes of receivers. Thoughts?

Yet another case where the Dish Technical Support has given wrong information. An external hard drive on the VIP series 622 or 722 works fine with the Hopper family of receivers.

 

[boatNsun]

Well, the two Dish Technical Support guys are full of it.

I have many old 250GB and smaller EHD's that were recorded on my 722 way back that I have played on the H# with no trouble, many others have also.

The format for EHD's on all Dish DVR receivers has not changed.

Just be sure the drive is recognized as being recorded by a receiver on your account and it works 90% of the time (estimate).

I'd not move the recordings from the EHD to the internal, just play them from the external.

It is advised to wait 72 hours before trying such things with a new H3,.

Let the receiver settle in and update before doing anything exotic.

 

[boatNsun]

To all who responded, THANK YOU for sharing your first-hand experiences in dealing with this issue; I feel more confident doing the upgrade. It's my spouse that has hours and hours of content to transfer, so this will help smooth the waters in our household! As I am moving in to the brave new DISH world of Hopperdom, I plan to follow this forum. It is a great resource and I appreciate those who have expertise that are willing to share/

 

[joewhite57]

When I upgraded from a 722 to H3 18 months ago my EHD was recognized. The title art was missing and had issues where I had to start playback twice from EHD. Issue disappeared when I had to replace failed EHD. Died of old age.

 

[rvvaquero]

Western Digital is offering decent deal on refurbished external hard drives. Get a 2 tb My Book for $40 today with promotion code WDDEALS.

My Book | Western Digital (WD)

 

[TheForce]

I too had asked this question some time ago and was told the same story. Glad to know some of you tested it out and proves the Dish Tech response was wrong. Glad to know I have updated info in case someone asks. I only ever moved the EHD from a 622 to a 722 in the past.

 

[TomE]

Well, the two Dish Technical Support guys are full of it.

I have many old 250GB and smaller EHD's that were recorded on my 722 way back that I have played on the H# with no trouble, many others have also.

The format for EHD's on all Dish DVR receivers has not changed.

Just be sure the drive is recognized as being recorded by a receiver on your account and it works 90% of the time (estimate).

I'd not move the recordings from the EHD to the internal, just play them from the external.

It is advised to wait 72 hours before trying such things with a new H3,.

Let the receiver settle in and update before doing anything exotic.

"Just be sure the drive is recognized as being recorded by a receiver on your account" My EHD is connected and functioning on my VIP722 but when I log into my account it says External Drive Enabled "No". Will I need to pay them the $40 so I can access the programming on my EHD when upgrading to Hopper?

 

[navychop]

No.

 

[Jim5506]

My account on the Dish website says that also, but I have 2 EHD's connected and working.

I believe that refers to the EHD on a 211/Wally.