Reliability of the Hopper

[mrhermit]

I have been reading on this Hopper forum for about six weeks now. I have been thinking about upgrading my 722K to 1 Hopper with Sling and one Joey.

I have been reading a lot of negatives about the problems that users are having with the Hopper, which seems to be mostly with the software. With the price increase for the Hopper coming next month, I would hate to have to find out the hard way that the Hopper system is still having problems and being stuck with an unreliable product for the next two years. I've never had to make a service call on my more than two-year-old 722K DVR.

I would like to hear from Hopper users that are NOT having these major or minor problems.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I upgraded from a 722 and 211k to a Hopper and two Joeys back in July of 2012. I have had zero reliability issues since day one.

Feature and reliability wise, I do not regret upgrading.

 

[KAB]

Most "problems" are more nuisances than anything else. However, some folks care to shout louder about them than others. Have had my Hopper since Thanksgiving and have "0" regrets. Would never go back to a VIP receiver.

 

[thomasjk]

My Hopper has been very reliable since it was installed last October. Most of the SW issues I have had have also been corrected.

 

[3HaloODST]

The other three responses pretty much summed up my opinion. No regrets with Hopper! It's a great system. 722 is great but Hopper takes it up a notch.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

 

[ross9]

Most "problems" are more nuisances than anything else. However, some folks care to shout louder about them than others. Have had my Hopper since Thanksgiving and have "0" regrets. Would never go back to a VIP receiver.

x2
I am having an issue at this time that is being addressed but I love the system and have absolutely no regrets going to the Hopper & Joey.
My system never had all the issues I see posted on here or at least the issues were not as big a problem to me. Make the change and you will love it.

 

[fuzzfacefrombboard]

Had the Hopper for almost a year now. Very reliable. Occasionally have some very weird, very specific on replicating audio drops involving SD chanels when coming out of a DVR event, but the fix is as simple as chaning to an HD channel. Have not regretted the switch from a 722K and 625 to the Hopper

 

[Bobby]

I've had a Hopper and 2 Joeys since March of last year. Yeah, a few annoyances, but nothing that would make me even think of going back to 722s.... The positives far outweigh the negatives......

 

[jcvaughan]

You'll always see more postings of folks having problems (that's 80% why this site exists in my opinion). I got the Hopper and a Joey the day it came out then upgraded to the Hopper w/sling and have no regrets. Sure there's been a bug here or there and a reboot once in a while but I wouldn't use anything else. Dish's technology is why I've been with them for over 15 years.

 

[Smwoodward]

I haven't been with Dish that long, but so far I have 100% enjoyed my 1H/2J system. Keep in mind that reliability vs bugs are two different things. Reliability wise I haven't heard of many huge problems with the Hopper, and even when a Hopper does die it seems Dish is very good at getting you back up. Bugs are different, and it's been more annoyances. I was never a VIP user, but there is some differences from what I have read. The bugs do seem to get fixed fairly well with the updates they push down.

 

[356B]

The other three responses pretty much summed up my opinion. No regrets with Hopper! It's a great system. 722 is great but Hopper takes it up a notch.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

+1

 

[satjay]

Two Hopper/One Joey set up here, as many have said the first 24 hours system has to get things going other then that it's a great system

 

[fletchmath]

I switched from a 722 to a hopper (one tv). The hopper is better than the 722 in virtually every way, and is more reliable. It's a real accomplishment for Dish, I think, to release a box with software this good.

 

[DishSubLA]

We have 2 Hoppers and 4 Joeys and they are all as reliable as the ViP's. At first, like with all brand new DVR systems--like the Genie hiccups--can be quite buggy. However, Dish has really made the Hopper/Joeys quite reliable. For a while, it seemed the living room Hopper was rock solid while the 2nd room Hopper seemed to reboot a few more times, but now they both seem at the same high reliability.

I enthusiastically recommend the Hopper/Joeys for anyone. We haven't regretted our upgrade in the least. It has all been a vastly enhanced experience. I would say it would be no worse than the current ViP experience. Just be certain to contact Dish if you are not satisfied and let them replace any units until it all works as advertised. As good as the Genie and other DVR solutions may be, the Hopper really is the best out there today.

 

[navychop]

Do you feel comfortable transferring programs recorded on EHDs by ViPs to the Hopper DVR without problems?

 

[KAB]

Do you feel comfortable transferring programs recorded on EHDs by ViPs to the Hopper DVR without problems?

He'd be wise to just keep then on the EHD.

 

[thomasjk]

He'd be wise to just keep then on the EHD.

That has been the general consensus since some early transfers from EHD to the Hopper became corrupt. Really no need to transfer them. just view them from the EHD.

 

[mrhermit]

Do you feel comfortable transferring programs recorded on EHDs by ViPs to the Hopper DVR without problems?

Right now I do not have anything on the EHD so there is no issue at the moment. If I do upgrade I will transfer any recorded program from the 722k to the EHD.

 

[KKlare]

The Hopper 2000 has worked well for me. But...

It will occasionally reboot in the middle of things like starting a new show, usually while transferring something and recording a couple of shows. Then again I'm asking more than the 722 could do.

It fails to return to pages of tiles or lists after doing several operation especially near the bottom of a list leaving a blank page. The best is to select colored button(s) that do nothing but redisplay the list. You will have to find your spot again.

Displaying the episode sort sure helps getting rid of duplicates along with access in the click and edit menu to the show size, without needing an EHD attached and in the EHD directly.

As other said, it is vastly better than the 722. It reduced my costs vs. 722/722/622 but then again my son has not been here much to use the Joey and conflict with me. The savings were from the reduction of tuners and were helped by AEP to HBO/SHO.

-Ken

 

[Scherrman]

I've had the Hopper since it was first released and now have a Hopper with Sling too. By far the best DVR I have ever seen. Absolutely love mine. Almost all complaints you have read on here are minor issues and do not affect the main viewing of programming. If you are considering getting it I would get the Hopper now before the increase.