Switched from Dish Hopper to DTV Genie - First Impressions

[JimP]

I'd like to thank everyone for posting.
I've been debating about going to the DirectTV Genie from my Dish 722, mainly for the ability to consolidate my Tivo and Sat receiver due to the many tuners available on the Genie. The additional picture quality is icing on the cake as I'm pretty OCD about picture quality.

 

[RandallA]

So, heres wondering if the issue all along was the Clients and not the actual HR34, even though they are linked together, you Can run the HR34 without clients.
I wonder how it would respond if you had a HR24 instead of the clients in the system...

I have 2 HR24s and the HR34, the HR34 was laggy and horrible even in this setup. The CE software has made the HR34 functional again. I don't have any clients connected to the HR34 but it was still horrible.

 

[hockeyinsd]

Long time lurker, occasional poster that switched from Dish to Directv almost a year ago. Here is my experience ... hope it helps someone that is trying to decide whether to switch or not.

I switched for two reasons, the number of HD tuners for TV's that I needed and the quantity of NHL Center Ice games in HD. We had an older Dish 722 HD receiver that I got when we first upgraded to HD in the living room back in 2007 (late to the HD game, I know). Then came the HD in the master bed, then one kid's bedroom, then the guest bedroom, then the garage. I had put off getting HD in any of the bedrooms since two of them had apple tv's which I used for game center live HD hockey (and could start games over while in progress), movies, etc.

Eventually it came time to upgrade and it was going to cost an arm and a leg to get enough tuners (at least 4-5) and HD receivers (5) so each TV was HD. I debated going with two hoppers (as 3 tuners wasn't going to cut it and we don't watch much primetime network tv), but as I researched and found out that directv's Genie and other HD DVR's could network together and create a unified playlist versus the Hoppers being independent (I know a Joey can connect to any Hopper, but not both at the same time). I also saw directv had the RSN's in HD full time which meant the NHL Center Ice Games would be in HD all the time. I don't know if Dish has since upgraded to RSN's in HD full time (instead of just the games and not all the games). Plus the fact that Directv unlocked the actual RSN channel for Center Ice was a plus as I hated that Dish would cut-off the game the second it was over and you couldn't watch the post-game show on the RSN as it was blacked out.

And like many, many people have said over and over again, if you like sports Directv is the place ... and it is!

Over all, the cost (at the time, and I'm talking full cost w/o the discounts) was a few dollars more per month for directv, but it is worth it to me. The cost for equipment was $300 less then what dish quoted me (a genie, plus 3 mini's plus another HD recv'r for the garage, which acts as a client for the genie when I want to play something recorded).

My experience so far has been very good. I notice a slight PQ edge to directv, but my main tv's are a 2007 50" Samsung 720p plasma and a 2008 42" Samsung Plasma (and all the others are smaller LED's). My sister and brother-in-law just switched to directv from dish and it looks much better on their newer 60" Samsung 1080p LED.

The obvious NHL Center Ice advantage is clear. All the games in HD (including games from Canada on CBC, TSN, Rogers, etc.) and I can watch them on the RSN channel so the post-game shows are blacked out. Even when they're only on the Center Ice channels they'll let them run through the post-game show and then some. I even get parts of the Roger's SportsNet post-game shows! So hands down this is enough for me to be sole reason I'd stick with directv.

The Genie System seems great and has lots of features the Vip722 didn't have. I have no idea how it compares to the hopper for features, but the unified playlist across all receivers is well worth it! I will say that I absolutely hate the Genie remote, to the point that after a couple of weeks I bought a couple of the old large white back-lit remotes (RX66B, i think) off Amazon for the living room and bedroom. With multiple devices I despised how few options the included remote had. The large remote is great and can even control my apple tv (as the apple tv can map any remote's output to its functions) and love the back-light. Wish the Genie and client's could take advantage of the RF feature of them ... but not the end of the world.
The clients do occasionally require being reset (average of once every 1-2 months) but it takes less than 3 minutes to reconnect. It seems to depend on how much you use them. I have two of them that have never been reset. The genie unit (HR44) has worked very well. It does occasionally hang for a couple of seconds and as long as my dad isn't over watching TV and controlling the remote everything is fine. It appears that when it does hang if you keep pushing buttons on the remote it ques the commands which further hangs the unit. Then "grandpa" keeps hitting buttons and the next thing you know it has to be reset (and takes approx 3-5 min to reset from an unplugging the power cord hard reset).
One other system note, I love the single wire system. So uncluttered and easy if you have to disconnect and move things. With Dish (has a 522 to go along with the 722) we had cables galore at each DVR!

The big surprise compared with Dish was the on-demand features (and this may no longer be true since I had a VIP722 with Dish). I subscribe to the everything package (or whatever it is called) and I love that just about every movie is available on-demand. I also like the newly added start over feature for some channels. I can't wait till they roll it out on more channels. I can almost cancel my netflix account (though not quite, there are still some much older movies/shows that netflix has that i love). I should note that I have Uverse internet that averages 20 mbps down so I have no issue with bandwidth.

The search and record features of dish was better, but I'm pretty much used to the directv way and it wasn't a deal breaker for me. Plus at the time Directv had Disney Jr (and the associated Disney HD channels) and I was tired of waiting for Dish to resolve their spat w/Disney.

So as most have said it comes down to what's important to them. For me the fact that directv has a unified playlist for all clients/rcvr's, superior HD RSN offerings (and the associated NHL CI package) and great on-demand offerings will keep me with directv for a long time. The only complaint is that they don't have GSN in HD. My mom watches my son and she loves to watch GSN and occasionally complains that dish has it in HD but directv doesn't. But she loves everything else about what i have and says it is easier to use than her dish 622 recvr.

If you've read this far thanks for reading and hopefully this helps those that are considering switching. I loved dish many years ago, but it seemed that a year ago Directv had left them in the dust (for what I'm looking for in tv providers).

 

[teamw]

I have both, and I just switched back and forth on fox, espn, and network channels. No difference in pic from nose to screen to 10 feet. I have a high end 55" lcd tv - maybe it's up scaling both pics to same resolution. What is different is the Hopper changes channels almost instantly while the HR34 changes channels when it feels like it. That's the reason I rarely use DTV. Maybe a new update will change that, but it was slow from the gitgo. The other reason is Hopper's full service PIP - really handy for fall.

 

[dalyew]

I had Dish a year ago & unless they have done some major improvement in pq, it's like night & day to me. I too am sitting 10 feet from a 55" high end plasma TV and the picture I am getting from my Hr44 is almost bluray quality on those same channels. Dish's pq always seems like there was this slight haze over the picture. I'm really fussy about pq so maybe I have noticed a difference where some won't, but it's all over these boards that the opinion is that Direct's picture is better than Dish's.

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[dishfan82]

So here's what I like about the Genie:
• it has 5 tuners
• Super fast guide scrolling if you have the HR-44.
• Smart Search
• ability to rewind if you tune in late

Here's what I don't like:

• no channel logos in the guide except the banner part when you change channels

• prefer the tile format to show shows vs just a list with plain text.

• you can't undelete a show.

Hopefully some things such as adding channel logos and ability to undelete a show can be fixed in a software update. Other than that it's a good DVR.


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[lparsons21]

I've got both services right now. A single HR44 from D* and a Hopper w/Sling+Super Joey from Dish.

I'm close to the end of the 1st year discounts with both and will end up keeping one or the other and paying the ETF. No surprises about that, I figured it in going in to having both. After nearly a year with both services here is some opinions.

Programming -

Sports are a wash with me. The sports I'm primarily interested in are on both services in HD with no differences I care about.

Premiums - Direct has more of these in HD which is a big plus for me. Of course Dish has Epix but that isn't as big a benefit as I originally had thought. Epix repeats over months at a time with few new movies added.

Other channels - literally a wash for me. The HD lineups on both fill all my HD channel needs.

HDPQ - D* has a slight edge on my 73" DLP in fast action movies and sports. With E* I occasionally get some motion artifacting at a level that I don't consciously see, but I notice it on some level.

Cost - In my experience, D* is more conducive to ongoing discounts if you call that are better than what E* will do. E* often does some discounts that are not account specific that are very good if you can catch them in time. Coming here helps with that.. But overall, the cost of both services at retail pricing is very close, almost a complete wash.

Equipment - Solely IMO, the Hopper/SuperJoey is so much better than anything from D* from an equipment and operational standpoint. More modern in appearance and quicker in operation. An EHD that is for archival use is great and the fact that it is tied to the account and not to the box is just icing on the cake.

With the combination of the HWS+SJ, I have 5 full time tuners and with the use of PTAT ensures I never have to worry about conflicts. A plus is that with PTAT all the broadcast in primetime is recorded regardless of actual program. IOW, as programs change with the seasons on broadcast, I don't have to do a thing with timers. Just one less thing to worry about.


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[JimP]

lparsons,
Please go into a little more detail about HD picture quality.
Does one appear to be at a higher resolution with more distinct detail?
How does the color depth compare? I have heard that Dish reduces the resolution while Direct reduces the bit rate. A lower bit rate would probably cause colors to not look as detailed if this is true.
Appreciate your help on this as I'm on Dish thinking about jumping ship and moving to Direct.

 

[lparsons21]

This is all opinion as I don't claim any expertise.

Switching back and forth a bit....

Dish's overall picture seems a bit brighter on the darker shows/scenes. It is noticeable and I actually like that. On brighter stuff it isn't as noticeable.

Colors seem a bit more saturated on Direct though not by enough that it makes a difference to me.

Motion - fast action motion on Dish sometimes causes some littering enough to notice it on some level. A caveat, because of a different thread, I changed a setting that had to do with film mode and haven't noticed the littering since then. That may be something that the Hopper and TV couldn't talk right(?)

Overall HD PQ between the two is close enough that it isn't part of the decision tree IMO.


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[dishfan82]

I would love to see an undelete folder similar to the hopper where you can restore shows. Wife wanted to watch the Gotham pilot but I deleted it so now she's upset because when we had Dish she could just go to that folder and restore shows. She also misses prime time any time. I get reminded of that often


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[lparsons21]

I would love to see an undelete folder similar to the hopper where you can restore shows. Wife wanted to watch the Gotham pilot but I deleted it so now she's upset because when we had Dish she could just go to that folder and restore shows. She also misses prime time any time. I get reminded of that often


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I can understand missing those things. Undelete is one of those things you don't need often, but is just so handy. And PTAT coupled with auto-hop is another of those things that are missed when away from the Hopper, or at least it is by me. And the EHD as an archive device coupled to the account and not receiver is just wonderful.

D* has the start from beginning on some channels and that is one of those not often needed but oh so nice things when you do. And D* seems to have a better VOD overall.

I really notice the huge difference in look and feel of the GUI's. The Hopper is hands down a much better experience in managing and using the DVR while the HR44 is very crude in comparison, reminds me of some of the early attempts in the computer world to mix text and graphics. I do have to give D* credit though, while the GUI is crude, it is very useful.

As I get closer to the point of dropping one, the decision gets harder. There is so much to love and hate about both of them!!

 

[dishfan82]

I have to eventually get an HR-24. The client In our bedroom is painfully delayed. I like to scroll through the guide and can't even do that good on the mini. I don't remember the Joey being that slow when we had Dish. Even the installer recommended it.


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[acostapimps]

I once signed up to Dish with 2 Hoppers(1 regular+1 HWS) to start and was set for install date, but I kept having doubts about some sports RSN's I wanted to watch and some locals weren't listed as HD while on Directv it was,

And just on the install date I canceled at the last minute, Plus it was 2 winter seasons ago and had a big snowstorm,

They've probably would of reschedule anyways but that wasn't the reason why I canceled, I just wasn't sure as the Dish CSR's kept telling me lies about having full time HD RSN's and price would stay the same after 1st year,

I know it was just a sales pitch to get me to switch, but it didn't bold too well with how they are misrepresenting with false sales tactics, but Directv reps aren't no angels either, but I know they wouldn't lie just so you can switch, I'm not against Dish or anybody else as i'm pretty sure Directv reps or Comcast probably did the same thing in the past.

 

[dishfan82]

I once signed up to Dish with 2 Hoppers(1 regular+1 HWS) to start and was set for install date, but I kept having doubts about some sports RSN's I wanted to watch and some locals weren't listed as HD while on Directv it was,

And just on the install date I canceled at the last minute, Plus it was 2 winter seasons ago and had a big snowstorm,

They've probably would of reschedule anyways but that wasn't the reason why I canceled, I just wasn't sure as the Dish CSR's kept telling me lies about having full time HD RSN's and price would stay the same after 1st year,

I know it was just a sales pitch to get me to switch, but it didn't bold too well with how they are misrepresenting with false sales tactics, but Directv reps aren't no angels either, but I know they wouldn't lie just so you can switch, I'm not against Dish or anybody else as i'm pretty sure Directv reps or Comcast probably did the same thing in the past.

That's why I switched is because I was tired of not having Full time RSN's. It would cut out after the game.


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