Question... Now that you have had your Hopper

[Scott Greczkowski]

Hey guys...

Since it has been about a year since the Hopper has been out, I was wondering your thoughts on it and would like to get the feedback from our members on how its been and also see what you might like to see in the future.

So if you would be so kind would you please answer the following questions honestly... (And please I wish for people only to answer the questions, I dont want it to turn into a big discussion... I just want your honest thoughts...

1. What are your favorite features on the Hopper/Joey?
2. What has been your biggest issues with the Hopper/Joey? (If you had install issues you can note them here as well.)
3. Besides upgrading to a new Hopper with Sling, have you had your Hopper/Joey replaced or had a service call placed? If you have what was the issue and how was it fixed?
4. If you could change or add just ONE feature on the Hopper what would it be and why?

Thanks for your feedback! Please remember this thread is for people with Hoppers/Joey setup to answer the above questions... this is NOT a discussion thread.

 

[lakebum431]

I have had the Hopper system since day one. I have two Hoppers and 4 Joeys.
1) HD ability in every room in the house is by far the best part of the system to me.
2) No major issues.
3) None
4) I need more than the three tuners (which is why I have 2 Hoppers), but even though I have two Hoppers they act as separate systems. I would like to see ways to add tuners to the base 3 tuner system but have them act as one integrated system without any manual manipulation from me.

 

[sparc]

1) Overall speed of the DVR is impressive. Another positive is the large number of tuners we have in our household with two hoppers. Plus HD in every room in that we want.
2) Biggest Issues: Management of recordings on the DVR and overall navigation of the menus is fairly crude. Needs an overhaul for simplicity.
3) Had one hopper replaced very early on in April 2012 for software issues, but nothing ever since.
4) The way the DVR recordings are managed is my biggest annoyance when dealing with hundreds of recordings. (link).

 

[Ilya]

1. My most favorite feature, and the main reason for going with Hopper/Joey in the first place, is the whole-house DVR with HD capability in every room. Besides that, the bigger hard drive was a welcome upgrade; the Prime-Time-Any-Time feature has really changed the way I watch networks; the Auto-Hop feature is nice too, but it is somewhat overrated.

2. My big initial issue was the lack of the OTA tuner. This was later corrected with a USB OTA tuner add-on.

3. No complaints so far.

4. The feature I would add: the capability to record the entire transponder at once (like PTAT) for channels other than the local networks.

Sent from my iPad 3 using SatelliteGuys

 

[ashutto20]

I have had the Hopper since day one...started out with 1 Hopper 2 Joeys and then upgraded in June to 2 Hoppers 2 Joeys

1) I love being able to view recordings on both Hoppers. The HD in every room is great too. The Hard Drive space is a bonus too.

2) No major issues...there is a bug or two here or there but nothing to really upset me or regret getting the Hopper/Joey

3) No replacement (fingers crossed) and no service call

4) When creating folders you create the folder, but after that they dont have the picture art with it...plus i would like the option to pick channels on a transponder like PTAT works...and record a slate of channels...I have noticed that the speed has been slowed down some since Day 1 of the Hopper...would like the speed to be up a little more like it was in the beginning...it was very fast

Overall I love the Hopper and don't regret switching...Can't wait to see what else they have in store for the Hopper

 

[Ronnie-]

Have had the hoppers since we swapped to Dish early last year, and am VERY pleased.

1) Favorite feature is probably PTAT. Coupled with auto hop, it is fantastic, but even as a stand alone feature it gets more use than any other on the DVR at our house. Many other features that I am fond of, but this is the main one that is new coming from D*, and we enjoy it.

2) Only issue I can think of was it took a while for the initial software to download when it was installed. Other than that, I really dont or have not had any.

3) No replacements. I added an additional hopper, but both it and the original are running strong.

4) Some will say tuners, but personally, if you need more, I would say go the 2 hopper route. You get an easy way to add more tuners, and it adds a level of redundancy. I just would not like all of my tv to be tied to a single box should it fail. That said, I would like to see a little more integration between the two hoppers. It works fine as is, I can watch from either in any room, ect, but if you could set a timer for either box FROM either box, that would be perfect.

Edit to 4) Being able to play all the recordings in the folder for a particular show would be nice. For instance, if I want to put on Dora for my daughter, it would be convenient for it to go directly to the one after without us having to do it. That is one thing I miss from D*

Overall, again, I am pleased and do not regret the swap. Does not mean I wont give D* a look when my contract is up, but if I do go back, I know that I will miss the Hopper in comparison to the HR based D* boxes.

 

[Ganthet]

I got my Hopper/2 Joey 1 week after availability last year. I am overall extremely happy with the system. To answer Scott's questions:
1. Favorite feature is a tie between HD in every room and unified recording storage
2. Only issue is the sometimes flaky behavior of the FFD/RWD features as others have reported. Otherwise the system has been nearly problem-free
3. No replacements or service calls needed
4. I would like to see the personal folders work the way they did on the ViP series.

 

[gms49ers]

1. PTAT - This was the feature that caused me to upgrade. It makes recording shows so much easier by removing nearly all timer conflicts.
2a. The pixelization that occurs at the top and bottom of the hour. It's especially frustrating because it wasn't always there, but was introduced during a software upgrade.
2b. Recorded content being randomly deleted. Major headaches on this one!
3. No
4. Tighter Hopper Integration - full administration of all hoppers from any other.

 

[jbleser]

1 - HD to every TV and PTAT
2 - No major issues so far
3 - NONE
4 - Integration between all Hoppers. Of course more Tuners would be great!

 

[oryan_dunn]

1) HD and DVR in each room.
2a) Bug that needs to be fixed, I need to be able to set the time the check for updates occurs. Not everyone is an old fart that goes to bed at 10pm.
2b) Fix the damn pixelization at the top and bottom of the hour.
2c) I've got some recordings on an EHD from ESPN classic that won't play because I don't currently get ESPN Classic. I should still be able to play those
3) No replacements or hardware issues
4) Pipedream... but add a Netflix app.

 

[agentc13]

1. What are your favorite features on the Hopper/Joey? The DVR integration to every room (as well as HD at every location).
2. What has been your biggest issues with the Hopper/Joey? (If you had install issues you can note them here as well.) My biggest issue was that my Frontier router did not want to cooperate with my system for On Demand/Apps/etc. It wasn't totally a DNS issue, but it worked at first and broke during a software update. I had to get a replacement router to make things work correctly.
3. Besides upgrading to a new Hopper with Sling, have you had your Hopper/Joey replaced or had a service call placed? If you have what was the issue and how was it fixed? No issues besides the aforementioned router/Hopper issue. (I'm a DNS tech, so I did various troubleshooting on it myself only to find replacing the router was the only fix).
4. If you could change or add just ONE feature on the Hopper what would it be and why? Adding PTAT like feature (including auto-hop) for other groups of channels. I don't use PTAT as I don't watch much network television, but it would be awesome if it worked for the things I record.

 

[KAB]

1. Multi-room access to recordings
2. Unable to change daily update time
3. No uncorrectable issues
4. Give option to manage recordings via list view

 

[lparsons21]

As a new customer with 2 Hoppers here's my take on it:
1. I love the overall look and feel of the UI with some exceptions and the speed is really appreciated.
2. Managing recordings is a bit of a PITA that only gets worse as you add recordings. Caused by overuse of icons where they are not the best way.
3. No service at all needed, but my installation is only abut 2 weeks old.
4. Make lists in recordings at least optional

 

[stimpson]

2 Hoppers/2 Joeys since day one of launch

1. DVR and HD in every room
2. FF and RW on the Joeys still very flakey. Recently having to reboot downstairs Hopper when it's first turned on in the morning about 2-3 times a week.
3. No replacements yet.....may be soon though due the the above issue.
4a Be able to create a play list that would allow multiple recordings to play one after the other.
4b Amazon Instant Video App
4c Full system integration.

Over all, we love our Hopper/Joey system!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ross9]

When to 2 Hoppers & 1 Joey from 1 922 back in Aug.
1. HD to 3 TVs. PTA and auto hop are great. Large capacity hard drive and 6 tuners (really 8 with 2 OTA).
2. None to speak of other than waiting for OTA.
3. Same units that were installed.
4. Ability to set the time for updates and ability to pause a program on 1 Hopper and restart on the other( although I can get around that by starting a recording on 1 Hopper and then going to that recording from the other Hopper).

 

[fuzzfacefrombboard]

1. PTAT/General Interface
2. Hopper/Joey becoming unlinked. Hasn't happened in a LONG time now though
3. No
4. Increase the max number of timers/events

 

[Rizon216]

1. The 2TB HD, and consolidating hiding SD channels with a corresponding HD channel (I switched from IPTV that had a 160GB HD and showed both SD and HD channels).
2. The :29 and :59 pixelation, and to a lesser extent the automatic shutdown for the update at 1AM.
3. Not had my Hopper replaced, but I got it in December 2012 so I've had it for a little more than a month so far.
4. The keyboard remote and/or bluetooth keyboard support.

 

[satjay]

1. Prime Time Anytime the UI and multiroom being able to share recordings between Hoppers and the VOD/BB@Home
2.At install, the tech had put up two dishes to get service with the help of dirt and members that was corrected, plus I was one of the early hopper installs
3 no
4. Maybe having full intergration between both hoppers, bit it's pretty darn close

 

[coinmaster32]

1. What are your favorite features on the Hopper/Joey?

That the recorded events can be displayed with pictures, instead of just a boring list. 2TB hard drive is nice. The ability to watch recorded events from another hopper is nice as well.

2. What has been your biggest issues with the Hopper/Joey? (If you had install issues you can note them here as well.)

Don't really have any.

3. Besides upgrading to a new Hopper with Sling, have you had your Hopper/Joey replaced or had a service call placed? If you have what was the issue and how was it fixed?

I had one hopper replaced. It kept freezing up. I also had to have a service call because the installer insisted the dish was peaked, but he was 10 points under after a visit from a manager.

4. If you could change or add just ONE feature on the Hopper what would it be and why?

The ability to transfer recordings from hopper to hopper.

 

[Rangers484]

1. What are your favorite features on the Hopper/Joey? Love Autohop and PTAT, HD on every TV.
2. What has been your biggest issues with the Hopper/Joey? (If you had install issues you can note them here as well.)During install could not get 1 Hopper to finish setup, had to replace it the next day.
3, Besides upgrading to a new Hopper with Sling, have you had your Hopper/Joey replaced or had a service call placed? If you have what was the issue and how was it fixed? None
4. If you could change or add just ONE feature on the Hopper what would it be and why? OTA module included or available during install, some feature where you could view OTA from one Hopper to the other, more apps (especially NetFlix, Amazon Prime), full seamless integration between Hoppers.