Dish Network "Hopper" Records Six Shows At Once

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Would a device like this convince you to switch to Dish Network? The company is hoping it will, either that, or maybe they hope you are a big fan of little kangaroos.

Dubbed "Hopper" (which explains the kangaroo), the service features one main DVR that can record up to six shows at the same time, compared to the DirecTV offering of just four. The DVR also has a pretty impressive 2TB storage capacity, so you don't have to worry that saving all four seasons of Breaking Bad will prevent you from recording every Biggest Loser episode (Don't judge. I like that show).
 
I have dish and more than half the time I have 100+ channels of crap I dont wanna watch.......
 
So this is basically just a 6 tuner DVR, vs the dual tuner DVRs that they already have? The dual tuner DVRs annoyed us enough that we got two of them, for 3 TVs. We'd be halfway through a show when something that was scheduled to record in the bedroom would take over the livingroom TV.
 
I would love to see a device that changes the links in the forum thread to the actual link, instead of just the [H]ard news blurb.
 
I have dish and more than half the time I have 100+ channels of crap I dont wanna watch.......

And they're quite expensive to boot. Cheaper than DirecTV, but still too expensive. I'm hoping they wake up and offer something like a pick your own channels thing. Would save both of us money =P
 
My cable company has had a PVR that can record six channel at once since May, granted it only has a 500GB drive but an eSATA drive can fix that.
 
Are there even more than one or two shows scheduled at the same time that are even worth watching?

Anytime I channel surf to find somthing to watch, I usually end up settling for something that I usually end up turning off a few minutes later.

Seasons don't even need to be recorded anymore as they are posted up on the channel web sites.

So the reason for this is to be able to record 6 worthless shows at once that you will never end up watching unless yu are laid up in bed for months at a time?
 
All the while my stupid Comcast DVR has issues recording two shows at once, and has a tiny 80Gb hard drive, yet I just got it in October. COMCAST SUCKS!!!!!!
 
And they're quite expensive to boot. Cheaper than DirecTV, but still too expensive. I'm hoping they wake up and offer something like a pick your own channels thing. Would save both of us money =P

Too expensive relative to what? They're the cheapest company out there if you want a DVR or HD of any kind. Sure, you could get cheaper cable, but only if you are only doing SD and no DVR. I have Comcast, one TV, and a DVR and I'm paying $111/month after tax. It's pathetic.
 
1. I can barely find 1 show I wanna watch at any given point, let alone six.
2. If I missed a show, I can always bit torrent it.
3. Nobody cares about satellite unless they can provide a decent internet connection, which they can't.
 
Directv has the HR34 which is a 5 Tuner receiver, so no, it's not enough to make me switch.
 
If it will also play the content from my server on the "joey" box's then it would be a contender.. Eventually someone will come out with a way of combining a DVR & a network media player that doesn't suck.

Also as for the number of tuners.. last time I had sat It was DTV & we had 2x dual tuner box's (2x hr20's). We were consistently running out of tuners for about 2 hours a day & then the other 22 hours a day there was rarely a tuner in use.
 
Directv has the HR34 which is a 5 Tuner receiver, so no, it's not enough to make me switch.

Im on 2 duals that share. i think its enough since I also have the networks on cable with my cable internet......

but six is pretty nice. my wife watches tons of HGTV FOOD and TLC, I DVR lots of HGTV and DIY plus network shows, and then sports.


yeah I watch too much tv obviously
 
I'm never switching again. Last time we switched, we had to have a tech come out and "professionally install" (Read: Rip out our nice neat cable management setup) it. They lit our house on fire.

Also, their contractors actually know what they are doing, but have to go through the same crap as their customers (if there is a problem, the tech has to call the same 1-800 number and go into the same automated system as a customer).
 
This. Super annoying. The only thing I can thing of is that they do it to get page hits.

Of course it's not about page hits and ad impressions, it's that the link to the original page can break in a year or two and someone who has the hots for old news would be sad at that point.
 
I would love to see a device that changes the links in the forum thread to the actual link, instead of just the [H]ard news blurb.

Oh Snap!

I will help fund the development of such a device.

Well, since they have started actually putting the links to the actual article in there, you don't need such a device.

Just don't click on the big title. The link to the actual article is usually in the blub/description below the big title.
 
Customer service is so horrifyingly bad. It made my mother cry. She is pretty tough but they actually drove her to tears.

Stay the fuck away just for that. Their automated system and constant, nobody can help you let me transfer you, is HELL.
 
I currently have Dish and will be done with it once my contract is up. This will not convince me to stay with them. I plan on building a HTPC and will have to live with no more instant gratification to watch shows. See ya Dish....
 
And they're quite expensive to boot. Cheaper than DirecTV, but still too expensive. I'm hoping they wake up and offer something like a pick your own channels thing. Would save both of us money =P

Unfortunately, the broadcasters keep the providers from offering a service like this. We have broadcasting companies in control of half a dozen or more channels (Fox for example) and they say you will pay us X amount per subscriber for this channel or we won't give you any of the channels we offer.


@Bastage: From what I hear, the joeys are supposed to be able to access media that is connected to the system though not sure if its just an external HDD or a media server running from a PC. Im seriously hoping it can access the media server stuff from a PC.

I've worked for the company for a few years now and this seems to be the number one request by most people. Also, depending on how the 6 tuners are handled (and if they are 6 sat tuners), its possible that you can record 2 shows at once and still watch 4 different channels. I say it depends because right now, our dual tuners are said to be able to record up to 4 shows at once...but they are including the over the air tuner module.
 
I'd love extra tuners, unfortunately my Sky box is plugged into a shitty communal satellite system which only has a single feed to each flat (despite the fact they installed dual feed faceplates). Luckily I can hook the box up to the adsl to get a lot of shows that clash from on demand.

As for this offering, six seems a bit excessive, but perhaps that’s because it’s only me and my fiancé here, I suppose a big family could have different enough tastes.
It also depends on the definition of a 'tuner'. I don't know if there's much variation between satellite TV systems, but on the Sky system in the UK (as I understand it) the dish needs to be set to one of two voltages and one of the two polarities to be able to pick up the band any given channel is on, once you get a quad feed dish, you can receive all 4 bands, and then you can easily split the signal and record as many different channels at once as you like (which is how communal systems work). The box records the raw feed and the decoder is only needed when you play it back.
 
I totaly buy almost anything with a kangaroo on it seriously.

dunkaroos.jpg




0004240090478_500X500.jpg
 
To answer the original question...No. It could record 20 channels at the same time and I still wouldn't switch. Why? Because there aren't ever 6 shows on at the same time I want to watch, usually there aren't even 2.

That and There is just no force in the universe that could make me go back to Dish. They could offer me their service fre for 5 years and I would continue paying $150 a month for cable.
 
To answer the original question...No. It could record 20 channels at the same time and I still wouldn't switch. Why? Because there aren't ever 6 shows on at the same time I want to watch, usually there aren't even 2.

That and There is just no force in the universe that could make me go back to Dish. They could offer me their service fre for 5 years and I would continue paying $150 a month for cable.

I feel the same way.

The only way I'd go to any satellite based service is if I lived in a God forsaken area that didn't offer Cable/Fiber.
 
Are there even more than one or two shows scheduled at the same time that are even worth watching?

This.

I have 70+ channels on my cable, and a dual tuner HTPC, yet over the past 6 months I only remember 1 time that I went to record something, and it showed a conflict because 2 shows where already scheduled.

Even then it wasn't a problem, since one of the shows was just recording re-runs. And this is with my, the wife's and kids shows all on the same box, and the fact that we usually record more than we can watch.
 
Are there even more than one or two shows scheduled at the same time that are even worth watching?

For me, there are 1 or 2 shows a week worth watching. My wife watches stupid shows (Toddlers and Tiaras, American Pickers, Auction Wars, Granny Wars, Pawn Stars, Hot Dog Stand Wars, etc.). I watch Fringe. I used to watch more TV, but since Discovery Channel, TLC, etc. went to reality TV bullshit instead of documentaries, I've given up.
 
For me, there are 1 or 2 shows a week worth watching. My wife watches stupid shows (Toddlers and Tiaras, American Pickers, Auction Wars, Granny Wars, Pawn Stars, Hot Dog Stand Wars, etc.). I watch Fringe. I used to watch more TV, but since Discovery Channel, TLC, etc. went to reality TV bullshit instead of documentaries, I've given up.

Well to be entirely fair, American Pickers and Pawn stars is pretty interesting if you are into seeing interesting old cultural items. I find those shows interesting sometimes just to see the really random old things they find.

Now the rest is garbage, I will grant you that. About the only thing I watch these days with any regularity is Worlds dumbest since watching stupid people hurt themselves never seems to get old.
 
Don't need to switch since I'm already a Dish customer. I have been more pleased with Dish's pricing, tiered channel lineups and service than I ever was with Charter. Time Warner keeps calling but they still don't come close. Add to that the new Blockbuster mailing program (incl. video games) and we're getting a pretty good deal.

-All HD channels
-all locals
-Showtime and Starz
-Blockbuster by mail (replaced our Netflix) incl. blu ray, video games, in-store exchanges, and premium HD channels
-two room HD DVR (1 room HD 1 room SD)
-minimal interruption by weather
Total: $71/month

I sound like I'm shilling for them, but let me be the one person that speaks out positively for the ten negative reviewers. I have been pleasantly surprised by Dish.
 
Zarathustra[H];1038245115 said:
I feel the same way.

The only way I'd go to any satellite based service is if I lived in a God forsaken area that didn't offer Cable/Fiber.

Curious why your so turned off by satellite Tv?
 
Zarathustra[H];1038245115 said:
I feel the same way.

The only way I'd go to any satellite based service is if I lived in a God forsaken area that didn't offer Cable/Fiber.

You can have cable internet and satellite tv... Where I live, Time Warner has the lease shitty internet, and Dish has the cheapest TV packages. So we use Dish for TV and Time Warner for internet.

I know some of you youngsters were brought up with the internet as your main source of entertainment, but wow....
 
If you need to record 6 shows at once, you're watching way too much TV!

I can't even think of 6 current shows that I could sit through without wanting to stab my eyes out with a dull pencil, let alone that I'd want to record.

And what are the chances of the shows being on at the same time???

I have yet to run in to a situation where the two concurrent recordings that FiOS offers me have not been sufficient.
 
Well to be entirely fair, American Pickers and Pawn stars is pretty interesting if you are into seeing interesting old cultural items. I find those shows interesting sometimes just to see the really random old things they find.

Now the rest is garbage, I will grant you that. About the only thing I watch these days with any regularity is Worlds dumbest since watching stupid people hurt themselves never seems to get old.

Ok. Yea, those shows have some interesting things.

Worlds Dumbest is pretty cool, too. Just as long as it isn't on Discovery or The Learning Channel or Science Channel or National Geographic or anything meant to be educational.
 
I know some of you youngsters were brought up with the internet as your main source of entertainment, but wow....

I'm actually flattered at being called a youngster. I've been feeling very old lately. :p

I've been using the Internet as my primary source of entertainment ever since I discovered MUD's in ~1993, and borrowed a 2400 baud modem (we were not a wealthy household) so that I could connect using my 386.

I have found truly good internet to be such an important transformative experience that as it current stands, my Wife and I are talking about moving, and I refuse to look at homes not in an area where Verizon FiOS is offered.
 
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