UGHH, Already MAD and installer not coming till Saturday

[Mustafa]

Little info:
Was a local cable customer, live in rural indiana. Figured I would try the hopper/joey route with Dish.
Signed up last night but not before asking a new customer rep in chat about the configuration.
Cant remember her name, it was Jill or Jenn( chat transcript is at home) but i asked if we could watch
4 different live tv events on the 1H/3J system and she said sure but let me check with a supervisor.
She came back on and said yes as per the supervisor.

Reason why i want that is that we have a a family room and three bedrooms and some nights the kids
what to watch something different and i want to watch sports and momma wants to watch what she wants.

So in reality, we could have 4 different shows going at the same time. And was going to split off of a couple joeys as we
actually have 6 TV's in the house, one being 110 inch projection.

so I read here today that you cant have that, which i thought i had read before so that why i asked dish in chat. Which she assured me that i could watch the 4 live events.

So what are my options?
2H/2 J ?
Do i need to call them now and make sure the tech has the right equipment on the truck.
Will there be a change fee or some other fees now?
I dont mind paying for the 2H, but do the techs install the 2H system.
Am I screwed as I have already paid money out to them or does my contract not go in effect till i sign the dotted line after install.

Thanks for hearing me vent.

 

[rogerpl]

Contact Dish tell them your concerns but 2H and @j seems like the answer.
OH! Welcome!

 

[sparc]

So what are my options?
2H/2 J ?
Do i need to call them now and make sure the tech has the right equipment on the truck.
Will there be a change fee or some other fees now?
I dont mind paying for the 2H, but do the techs install the 2H system.
Am I screwed as I have already paid money out to them or does my contract not go in effect till i sign the dotted line after install.

Thanks for hearing me vent.

yes 2H/2J is the best for 4 tvs. Message a DIRT member and they could probably fix it up. Techs will install everything as it's a standard setup despite the confusing info you received over the phone.

For new customers, the second hopper is usually $200 since the first one is free.

You are fine until the actual install is completed. It's better to correct everything on the work order before the tech shows up.

 

[sparc]

On the bottom of the main forum page, you'll see the usernames in red with @DISH Network at the end. Those are official reps from Dish that are active on the forum right now. Just send them a private message with your account or phone number.


http://www.satelliteguys.us/forum.php (scroll down to the bottom)

 

[osu1991]

Call and get it changed to a 2H/2J now. The installer may not have another hopper on the truck. Call the installer if you have his number, but you don't want to let them install 1H/3J and try to change it later.

You can also go to the main forum page and PM one of the Dirt members (Dish Employees) here on the board. Their names are in RED at the bottom of the forum page

http://www.satelliteguys.us/forum.php

 

[Mustafa]

appreciate it , will contact one of the DIRT members. Thanks again and hope this is the only concern....

 

[garys]

You can and you can't, what the csr told you is true but . . .

The Hopper has three tuners and it also has a feature called Prime Time Any Time (noted as PTAT). During prime time hours, usually stated as from 7 pm till 11 pm, with PTAT activated one of the tuners will have access to the Big Four Networks giving you four live feed for a total of six live channel available for viewing. You have to decide if this is what you want or need, but you should be able to change your setup. You could go for 2 722 which has two tuners on each would give you four (no PTAT). As far as fees go, H/J would be Whole Home fee of $4, dvr fee of $6 and $7 each for the Joeys, total $31. The two 722 would incur $6 dvr and $17 for the second 722, total $23. You can call Dish back or you can try to PM a DIRT member here if you have other questions or to see about changing/cancelling your order.

 

[sparc]

You can and you can't, what the csr told you is true but . . .

The Hopper has three tuners and it also has a feature called Prime Time Any Time (noted as PTAT). During prime time hours, usually stated as from 7 pm till 11 pm, with PTAT activated one of the tuners will have access to the Big Four Networks giving you four live feed for a total of six live channel available for viewing. You have to decide if this is what you want or need, but you should be able to change your setup.

yes, that's something the OP should keep in mind. Those of us who replied earlier are assuming that your conflicts are not just in primetime hours with ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox or at least involve many channels outside the basics so PTAT isn't a real option.

PTAT might work for the average 1 hopper Dish customer, but for most on this forum it won't work due to our more demanding requirements in the home like kids/spouses/etc that watch other channels.

 

[rogerpl]

PTAT would have been an amazing feature years ago. But it seems almost irrelevant in todays viewers habits. I dvr plenty of shows and seldom is two network shows being recorded at the same time. I have three tuners now with ota so three tuners with hopper is okay but not when being shared with a joey or two, for that reason I need two hoppers for three tvs. If the hopper had four tuners it would have made a big difference for me and many others I assume.

 

[garys]

Of course this only applies if you not only have all four nets with PTAT, let alone if you have them active.

 

[navychop]

Never mind PTAT. Let's keep it simple. You absolutely want a 2 Hopper and (at least) 2 Joey configuration. Unless you cannot swing the extra $200 one time up front fee.

 

[rogerpl]

Never mind PTAT. Let's keep it simple. You absolutely want a 2 Hopper and (at least) 2 Joey configuration. Unless you cannot swing the extra $200 one time up front fee.

+1

 

[Mustafa]

And thats what i just went with. Appreciate the help. Hated the charge for the 2nd hopper but oh well.....
Live and learn , i guess

 

[ashutto20]

You won't regret the decsion...if you can 2 hoppers is the way to go

 

[bwexler]

The OP said he has SIX TVs. What will he be doing with the other two.

It sounds to me like he needs two Hopper 4 Joey system with the Duo Node.

If he does not start there he will wind up there some day soon.

 

[sparc]

From the OP, he may be doing some mirroring from the joeys since he only needs 4 of those TVs showing live events at the same time.

I did something similar and mirrored off a hopper to go down from 2H/2J to 2H/1J since we only needed 3 TVs live at any time in our household (out of 4).

 

[Mustafa]

Yes, going to mirror the other two off of the joeys.
But can you mirror off of the hopper?
The other 2 TV's are 1. 110 inch projection in basement man cave that gets used for sporting events and kids xbox games
2. Is out in the garage and its just there to make noise when i am working out in the garage.

 

[satjay]

You won't regret the decsion...if you can 2 hoppers is the way to go

Agree with the suggestions for the Hopper, two is the way to go!

 

[JM42]

Yes, going to mirror the other two off of the joeys.
But can you mirror off of the hopper?
The other 2 TV's are 1. 110 inch projection in basement man cave that gets used for sporting events and kids xbox games
2. Is out in the garage and its just there to make noise when i am working out in the garage.

Mirroring issues are basically the same with either Hopper or Joey. With Hopper you have the "easy" HD option of using the component outputs to drive a second HDTV. Joey doesn't have component out, so if you want HD you will need an HDMI splitter. An HDMI splitter will work with Hopper as well.

I've used this 4 port Amazon.com: HDMI Splitter 1x4 Ports 4 Port 1080P v1.3 HDTV 3D HD Audio: Electronics , and this 2 port Amazon.com: Sewell 2 Port 1x2 Powered Hdmi Splitter V 1.3b (Up to 1080p) 3D Certified: Electronics for going on two years now without issue. I have put the two port unit into several friend/family homes without issues as well.

If you want to feed either through coax like the VIP TV2 outputs you will need a modulator.

 

[sparc]

But can you mirror off of the hopper?

really depends on your local wiring situation for either Joey or a Hopper mirroring. hdmi splitter and long hdmi cable to a second tv would work. If you split off the composite output for SD mirroring, then you need an RF modulator and a second coax line to go back out those extra TVs.

As jm42 mentioned, the one possible advantage of the hopper over the joey is that it has component outputs which would also give you HD. So use component to one TV and a long HDMI cable to a different TV, which would eliminate the need for an HDMI splitter..

do a search on the forum for "mirroring" and you'll find some other info like using wireless hdmi.