# New Hopper problems



## gilroykilroy (Oct 3, 2008)

So I just upgraded from my trusty, but old, 722k to a Hopper with Sling. Alas it seems to have some problems 

When I try out any of the apps they don't work. For example "Help" just takes me to a blue screen, "Your Account" just returns to TV, Pandora is stuck at "Loading", etc. The broadband connection says it is all OK and I can use search, Dish On Demand, as well as see the Hopper on my iPad so it must have connectivity (aside: Wireless only shows OK on DHCP and Not Connected on Server/Internet.) All other devices on that hub in my entertainment center have no issues.

I tried switching ethernet ports, putting it into the DMZ on my router (D-Link DIR-655) and port forwarding of 80, 443 and 5678 (separate attempts) and neither of those worked. Tech support is sending me a new Hopper but I find it hard to believe it is a hardware issue. Is it a problem with S311? That is what it downloaded when installed as well as leaving it to update overnight (as my first call to tech support suggested.)

Other issues:

1) Once you create a Dish Pass ("Search and Record") you can't edit it. That seems to be a known issue/fix promised since June of last year!

2) When playing back from a EHD the "Pause" doesn't work right (it will pause but not un-pause, you have to restart it back from the DVR screen.) Stop and Play seem to work as a work-around.

3) I have two EHD's (which were not supported at the same time with the 722k but do seem to work with Hopper.) Alas the Transfer functionality can only go to/from the Hopper and not between the disks.

4) The dates on the recordings on the EHD's are totally messed up (like 6/6/2106.)

5) The user interface, while it looks great, can be more confusing than the 722k. For example to play a EHD recording you don't do it from the "External Disks" menu item but from one the DVR items. Also took me a while to figure out how to delete folders (even after searching the internet.)

Signed,

A Frustrated Long Time Dish Customer


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

3) No Dish system was ever designed to do that.

4) That date is the default if the data is missing on the recording, not uncommon for shows archived from the 722.

5) What in the world is wrong with playing all recordings from the DVR menu? As you get used to it you will see that the Hopper menu system and interface is worlds ahead of the 722.

You know the answer to 1), seek and record should be a last resort for setting timers. Once a returning show comes up in the guide, you are much better off deleting the seek and record and setting a regular timer. The bug you have with pause in the EHD is one that I have never seen - mine works perfectly playing from the EHD.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

if you are computer geek (I see something is close to that as you did describe DMZ and port's opening  ), you could use Linux and transfer shows between EHD (search for "DishArc" keyword )


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## gilroykilroy (Oct 3, 2008)

> 3) No Dish system was ever designed to do that.


I was kind of hoping that since it gave you all choices to transfer from it would also give you all choices to transfer to. I guess if it becomes an issue I can try what P Smith suggested above (I am a computer geek but I use a Mac  ).



> 4) That date is the default if the data is missing on the recording, not uncommon for shows archived from the 722.


If the field is not a good value the software should really display something like "?" or "<unknown>", IMHO (I do write software for a living.)



> 5) What in the world is wrong with playing all recordings from the DVR menu?


Not much (if it remembered where you left off, see #8 below) but on the 722 both functions (transfer and watch) were accessed from the same place.



> You know the answer to 1), seek and record should be a last resort for setting timers.


My wife uses Dish Pass both the record shows that are not currently on (which would get replaced by a "real" timer) as well as record shows on a given subject (which would never get replaced by a _real_ timer.) Editing is just something that worked on the 722 and took a step backwards with the Hopper (and if Dish's new target market are upgrader's they will have a lot more complaints about this [see also below.])



> The bug you have with pause in the EHD is one that I have never seen - mine works perfectly playing from the EHD.


When I hit Pause the time bar and pause icon briefly flashes and is replaced with a red dot icon with a slash through it. The only way out once here is to use one of the Skip buttons. I tried both shows from the original 722 as well as newly copied shows from the Hopper with the same results.



> As you get used to it you will see that the Hopper menu system and interface is worlds ahead of the 722.


Other annoyances/missing features:

6) Folders aren't really supported on the EHD. You can attempt to put a 722 show into a folder but it doesn't "take". A Hopper show will show a recording as being in a folder (via Edit) but you do not see the folder itself like you do under Hopper shows (e.g. "My Folders" does not show up in the green menu.) This wouldn't be so bad (since the 722 didn't support EHD folders either) if it weren't for #7. There also is a bug in the Edit Select Folder drop down; the second folder gets displayed on the first line and the second line is blank. If you select the first line you do get the first folder and the second line does give you the second folder. This bug doesn't seem to appear for Hopper recordings.

7) You cannot rename any recording. This is a *severely* missing feature from the 722. My wife and I renamed recordings all the time to indicate stuff like what we are currently watching, episode date/numbers, etc. I guess a workaround now would be to transfer recordings into a "watching" folder but see #6.

8) EHD recordings don't remember where you left off (there is only the "Start Over" option in the menu.) This is a pain. Again doesn't matter whether it was a 722 recording or a Hopper recording (but 722 transfers that were in the middle of being watched when I switched devices _will_ give you a "Resume" selection but again will not update where you leave off either.)

9) It really would be nice if the DVR screen remembered where you last left it. Each time we want to watch a EHD recording we have to select the proper EHD (which actually changes when the device reboots), scroll down to the show we were watching provided we remember its name (#7), open that folder, start it playing, and get it to where we think we left off (#8.)

10) The "PrimeTime Anytime" icon should not appear if you do not have this feature enabled. My wife keeps accidentally selecting it and is getting frustrated. While we do record a _few_ prime time shows it is not enough to enable this feature and we will watch them many weeks later sometimes, not within 8 days, thus this feature is not useful to us.

Right now I feel the Hopper is three steps forward and 2 1/2 steps back.


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

Then go back to the 722. The Hopper is a far better machine with better features, being different doesn't mean bad. Get used to how it works and you won't want to go back.

Renaming became obsolete with icons.

Try grouping by name and sorting by DVR date, then sorting by episode number in the name group, to keep track of recordings (works on the EHD, too).

If you really need full featured playback, move the recordings back to the Hopper. The EHD is an archive, playback with many, but not all, features active is a side benefit.

The PTAT and Rental icon locations are a business decision. Accidental selection a serious issue??

PTAT needs to be active in a minimal way (I use Saturday) to take advantage of the ability to record 4 network shows at a time 24/7 from one tuner - a feature that still might come in handy for you when the new network shows appear in the fall.

I'm willing to suggest that in a little while, after you get used to the Hopper and many features you haven't discovered yet, you will never want to see a 722 again.


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## gilroykilroy (Oct 3, 2008)

My app problem disappeared on Monday. Either Dish did some stealth upgrade or backend configuration change since nothing changed on my end.

I had to stop my wife from either smashing the Hopper and/or canceling Dish altogether. Seems not only can you not rename recordings but you are limited to just 5 user folders (again the 722 had no such limitation and we used it heavily.) We did check out DirectTV but it seems they don't have rename recordings or folders that I can see or we would have switched (we have been Dish customers since 1996-ish.)

We would probably go back to the 722 if it weren't for the 2-year contract I signed.

On the plus side, since we use "seek" timers heavily we would get strange shows recording we couldn't see why. At least the Hopper will show you the timer that is causing the recording by selecting Edit Timer from the to-be-recorded schedule [e.g. We had some show with the name "Francis" in the title when we had a seek timer for next season's NCIS. Exact Match fixed that one.] Also nice is the fact the Hopper caches the EHD directory (the 722 would "hang" for several minutes if you accidentally selected "My Media", which was easy to do.)

Like the 772, the Hopper really can't handle a large number of timers. We have around 70 and tried to change their priorities. Sometimes they would move (i.e. select Move To Top would work) but a lot of times nothing happened. We also seemed to "crash" the Hopper (it exited back to the TV) quite a few times. Seems to be typical quality software from Dish alas.

As an ex-722 user I am just giving the Hopper an honest evaluation based on my own personal usage. Current 722 users who are thinking of possibly switching should be warned: If you use rename or lots of folders than I suggest you don't upgrade at this time.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Yeah, I've found the occasional frustration with the Hopper/Joey setup I have. But the increase in functionality that I got over my previous pair of ViP 612s was a big net increase. I'm running about 45 timers between the two boxes but a lot of those are cable shows with limited-length seasons - like stuff from HBO or Falling Skies, etc.


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

gilroykilroy said:


> Like the 772, the Hopper really can't handle a large number of timers. We have around 70 and tried to change their priorities. Sometimes they would move (i.e. select Move To Top would work) but a lot of times nothing happened. We also seemed to "crash" the Hopper (it exited back to the TV) quite a few times. Seems to be typical quality software from Dish alas.


There is no difference in the number of timers and events between the Hopper and the 722. Seek and record timers, and timers for cable shows that repeat constantly will push you to the event limit before you reach the 96 timer limit. Many of your timers for cable shows that repeat a lot, but where new episodes are weekly, can be edited to weekly timers, freeing up events.

As time goes by and you have regular timers for the series that you like, seek and record timers will become unnecessary, except for the occasional movie.

Get used to not renaming - it's not really compatible with icons. Also try grouping by title and sorting by episode number in the title groups. It's different than folders but a elegant way to keep track of recordings, and the list of episodes show what you have watched if not deleted. Also try moving things that you are just saving over to an EHD - much easier to play from than with a 722.


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## JimD (Apr 8, 2005)

patmurphey said:


> Renaming became obsolete with icons.


?!?!?!

There are many times I've recorded a short stub of a program to keep on my archive, or several short stubs of a program, and I'd like to be able to name them whatever I want rather than the title of the program.

Also, NASA's guide almost always shows long (multiple-hour) blocks of "Education Hour". So when I recorded shuttle launches I would rename them to "STS-XXX launch" and the engineering replays to "STS-XXX eng". Without this, they would all say "Education Hour". Lovely.

Renaming is NOT obsolete!


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## gilroykilroy (Oct 3, 2008)

JimD said:


> Renaming is NOT obsolete!


Yes, renaming has very good use cases to have. Not being able to rename is a big loss for us and I do hope it is high on Dish's upcoming feature list.


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## Revrick (Sep 5, 2013)

having wireless problems with Hopper staying online with router... went with hardwire connect and problems disappeared


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