# Autohop by network - what's the schedule?



## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

According to Dish's website (_*emphasis*_ added):



> If you've been wondering how to watch TV without commercials, then the AutoHop is for you. AutoHop gives you the power to skip commercials in select recorded primetime programs on the major networks. Never waste time againcatching up on your favorite primetime programming from ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC.
> 
> Commercial skip feature is _*available at varying times*_, starting the day after airing, for select primetime shows on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC recorded with PrimeTime Anytime.


I know I should have paid more attention, but I can't find a comprehensive definition of "varying times" in one place. What's the schedule after air date by network for being able to use autohop. I think I have to wait until the 4th day to watch ABC shows and the 8th day to watch CBS shows. I don't know about Fox or NBC.

In this age of streaming, it really doesn't matter if I have to wait, but I'd like to find in one easily located place the answer to my question so I can plan my viewing schedule.

EDIT: the answer per response from *thomasjk*:



thomasjk said:


> > Yes, but how long do I have to wait to use Autohop on programs recorded using the PTAT tuner. Is this list correct:
> >
> > ABC - 4th day after airdate *Only applies to ABC O&O stations*
> > CBS - 8th day after airdate *Correct*
> ...


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

I believe those timelines are between 8pm and 11 pm. ☺


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Yes, but how long do I have to wait to use Autohop on programs recorded using the PTAT tuner. Is this list correct:

ABC - 4th day after airdate
CBS - 8th day after airdate
Fox - next day after airdate
NBC - next day after airdate


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## thomasjk (Jan 10, 2006)

phrelin said:


> Yes, but how long do I have to wait to use Autohop on programs recorded using the PTAT tuner. Is this list correct:
> 
> ABC - 4th day after airdate *Only applies to ABC O&O stations*
> CBS - 8th day after airdate *Correct*
> ...


See my corrections in Red above


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

phrelin said:


> Yes, but how long do I have to wait to use Autohop on programs recorded using the PTAT tuner. Is this list correct:
> 
> ABC - 4th day after airdate
> CBS - 8th day after airdate
> ...


Such a long delay. Mine is right after the recording ends.

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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

thomasjk said:


> See my corrections in Red above


Thanks. My ABC station is an O&O.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

phrelin said:


> Thanks. My ABC station is an O&O.


My local station is digital. Is O&O a new update to digital?

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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

O&O = Owned & Operated.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

ABC negotiated the delay of auto-hop on the stations they owned ... CBS negotiated the delay of auto-hop on all CBS owned stations and affiliates.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

That is why I do not like abbreviations. I do not know what they mean.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

phrelin said:


> CBS - 8th day after airdate


When you read the PTA description over at the DISH website:

_"You're a busy person; we understand. Sitting through commercials isn't on the top of your to-do list. With AutoHop, you're able to skip through commercials the day after select shows air on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC."_
When you consider that you only have 8 days after the original CBS air date, that's cutting it close for PTA.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Blowgun said:


> When you read the PTA description over at the DISH website:
> 
> _"You're a busy person; we understand. Sitting through commercials isn't on the top of your to-do list. With AutoHop, you're able to skip through commercials the day after select shows air on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC."_
> 
> When you consider that you only have 8 days after the original CBS air date, that's cutting it close for PTA.


You can save the episode even to another folder. It's simply the long wait time before Autohop is available.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

I thought the AutoHop feature was only available through the PTA folder? If an episode can be saved from the PTA folder into the My Recordings folder and retain the AutoHop feature, why is it then when the same shows are individually recorded with PTA disabled but from the same 3rd tuner during primetime, are they not eligible for AutoHop?

It sucks that such restrictions were able to be placed on the AutoHop feature by ABC and CBS, especially CBS. And, because CBS was able to heavily restrict AutoHop it's only a matter of time before Fox and NBC strike a new carriage deal with DISH to completely neuter AutoHop and point to CBS for their example.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Auto-hop is available until the recording is deleted. The ability to set a timer for "PTAT" programming and have it appear in "My Recordings" as well as the default PTAT folder is a good feature. Even though the timer shows as "skipped" the show is saved. I normally set timers for PTAT shows to make them easier to find (the PTAT folder has all prime time network programming that was recorded). With CBS shows it comes in handy as I may not get to them until after the 8th day ... when Auto-Hop is available.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> Auto-hop is available until the recording is deleted. The ability to set a timer for "PTAT" programming and have it appear in "My Recordings" as well as the default PTAT folder is a good feature. Even though the timer shows as "skipped" the show is saved. I normally set timers for PTAT shows to make them easier to find (the PTAT folder has all prime time network programming that was recorded). With CBS shows it comes in handy as I may not get to them until after the 8th day ... when Auto-Hop is available.


Yes. As I remember this from last spring, with the PTAT set "on" for a given day, if I set a timer for a program to be placed in one of "My Folders" it remains in that folder until I get around to watching it and the Autohop feature works. Another alternative, if I remember correctly, is to "save" the series or episode if you have one episode in the PTA folder.

What I intend to do for the upcoming Fall season which starts on Monday is on Saturday turn the PTAT feature "on", but not effective for Saturday and Sunday. I will also set recording timers for the shows I know I want to keep until we watch them. (Later in the week I will turn Sunday "on" and set timers for Sunday shows). The timers will direct the shows into one of My Folders for safe keeping.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

IIRC: Auto-Hop also works when PTAT is disabled ... the instructions are tied to the show, not the method of recording.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

phrelin said:


> You can save the episode even to another folder. It's simply the long wait time before Autohop is available.


Maybe the thing is you have a newer software version than I do.

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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

SeaBeagle said:


> Maybe the thing is you have a newer software version than I do.


What version do you have?


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> IIRC: Auto-Hop also works when PTAT is disabled ... the instructions are tied to the show, not the method of recording.


I believe that is correct. The problem is I can't find any comprehensive set of instructions from Dish.

I have questions like if I move the recording to an EHD, do I lose the Autohop feature? Or maybe it would work if I moved the recording back to the Hopper?

Sometimes I think that tech folks created the Autohop recording feature and Charlie left us to sort through that swamp known as the Primetime Anytime folder to figure out how to watch something. If someone in charge had been required to create an instruction manual for Autohop only, then maybe I'd think that marketing wasn't the only division of Dish that knows the feature exists.

And I really don't get that 5-folder limit on "My Folders". It's almost "why bother?"


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

James Long said:


> IIRC: Auto-Hop also works when PTAT is disabled ... the instructions are tied to the show, not the method of recording.


That's what I suspected. Despite the various shows I record during primetime and their age, I have yet to see a AutoHop popup asking me if I want to enable the feature. Plus, when I go into the disabled PTA folder in My Recordings I get the usual screen showing me where the PTA feature can be enabled. For giggles I enable the feature and then go into the PTA prefs and there is no AutoHop option. I cancel out, leaving PTA disabled. Then go into settings and look for the PTA option there. But, that takes me to the same screen as before and the same dead end. Because of this, I concluded that AutoHop doesn't work unless PTA is enabled.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

phrelin said:


> And I really don't get that 5-folder limit on "My Folders". It's almost "why bother?"


Indeed, and that's why I no longer use "My Folders". Instead, I sort by "Folders by Title" and "DVR Date". That creates folder like organization for any show that you have multiple episodes recorded. Selecting the "folder" I then sort by "Episode #" which for the most part works. I say most part, because it does favor dates more than it looks at the episode number. It's another one of those not fully planned or developed Hopper features that needs fixing.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

James Long said:


> What version do you have?


I will have to figure out where to fine the software version.

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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Press the MENU button twice.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

That helped. My version is S523installed on July 1, 2015. My hopper has the sling adapter internally. If that makes any difference.


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## WynsWrld98 (Aug 17, 2006)

My ABC channel (KOMO Seattle) is owned and operated by Sinclair Group. So since it isn't O&O by ABC what does that mean for AutoHop delay?


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## thomasjk (Jan 10, 2006)

WynsWrld98 said:


> My ABC channel (KOMO Seattle) is owned and operated by Sinclair Group. So since it isn't O&O by ABC what does that mean for AutoHop delay?


It means Autohop is available the next day as is mine. (WSOC Charlotte)


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## jerry downing (Mar 7, 2004)

I believe it is necessary to have PTAT enabled to use Autohop but only mimimally. I have PTAT enabled for NBC only on Saturday evening. It is not enabled for any other day. I use Autohop on all four networks for primetime shows recorded on any day of the week.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

jerry downing said:


> I believe it is necessary to have PTAT enabled to use Autohop but only mimimally.


PTAT is not required for Autohop.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Are you sure? I do not use PTA and have never seen anything appear that indicates Autohop.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Do you record prime time shows and wait until the next day (three days for O&O ABC, seven days for any CBS)?


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Over the course of a week I record prime time shows on CBS, FOX and NBC, no ABC. For example, tonight I have FOX timers for _Family Guy_ and _The Simpsons_, both of which, if it matters, are NEW episodes. In the past I have recorded the aforementioned shows and haven't been able to watch them for several days. When I finally watched them I didn't see any mention of AutoHop. Yesterday I did a mini-marathon of _Survivor_ which included 5 episodes, the oldest dating back to 2015-11-11. Again I didn't see anything AutoHop related. Shows recorded in November should be more than old enough to please the silly requirements of panicked CBS suits.

I currently have 5 episodes of _The Amazing Race_ dating back to 2015-11-13 that I have yet to watch. Since the Hopper's owners manual is completely useless in this regard and I have never seen anything AutoHop, if I was to play the oldest _The Amazing Race_ episode -- how would AutoHop manifest itself?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

If it is there you should get a popup when you start playing the program giving you the option of using autohop or not.

I assume you are recording your HD locals?


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

By "popup" do you mean one that is similar to the black and white rectangle box that appears in the lower right corner after selecting a program with the PLAY icon in the EPG or similar to the one that appears when a timer is about to fire and the Hopper is asking permission to switch away from the channel you are watching?

Regardless, I can safely say with 100 percent certainty that I have never seen an AutoHop announcement of either type appear when playing an older prime time network recording. I am recording the HD locals from the satellite and not from OTA.

Unless there is an option that is merged with some other option that doesn't make a clear distinction, I've looked and cannot find any setting to change.


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

You absolutely must have PTA on for autohop to be enabled. 



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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

PTAT has to be enabled in order to use Autohop. However, PTAT only has to be enabled for a minimum of one day and one network to be able to use Autohop on ANY prime time recordings that are Autohop enabled.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Thanks for the correction and clarification.


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

I can confirm that AutoHop is now working with PTA enabled. What I did was enabled PTA for a day I don't care about on a channel I don't care about, then went into My Recordings. The first thing I noticed in My Recordings was a red mini-marsupial icon in the upper-right corner of any single tile.

Next I went into _The Amazing Race_ grouping and noticed that 3 of the 5 episodes have red mini-marsupial icons next to their titles. The missing icon from the 2015-12-11 episode is easily explained by not enough time having passed. But, I would have expected to see an icon for the 2015-11-27 episode. November is certainly old enough and there are icons for the previous and next episode. Not sure what the inconsistency means. Any ideas?

To answer my own question and for anyone who might be wondering, the type of "popup" James was referencing in his reply is the latter description I gave. The "popup" appears as soon as the recording is started or resumed. The "popup" gives you the choice to allow or decline AutoHop. Or, press CANCEL to dismiss the "popup" and cancel playback.

I have to say that it is a little aggravating having to enable PTA for AutoHop to be available. Clearly the recordings have been AutoHop tagged all along. This reminds me of the silly rule DISH has implemented that doesn't allow you the flexibility to use the LOCK features without having to also use a password.

Thanks guys.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Blowgun said:


> But, I would have expected to see an icon for the 2015-11-27 episode. November is certainly old enough and there are icons for the previous and next episode. Not sure what the inconsistency means. Any ideas?


There may have been something odd about that night's programming where the information was not available.


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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

Blowgun said:


> I can confirm that AutoHop is now working with PTA enabled. What I did was enabled PTA for a day I don't care about on a channel I don't care about, then went into My Recordings. The first thing I noticed in My Recordings was a red mini-marsupial icon in the upper-right corner of any single tile.
> 
> Next I went into _The Amazing Race_ grouping and noticed that 3 of the 5 episodes have red mini-marsupial icons next to their titles. The missing icon from the 2015-12-11 episode is easily explained by not enough time having passed. But, I would have expected to see an icon for the 2015-11-27 episode. November is certainly old enough and there are icons for the previous and next episode. Not sure what the inconsistency means. Any ideas?


Often sports or other interruptions to a programs start and end time will result in no Auto Hop for that event. Sometimes (rarely) there is no Auto Hop for an event with no apparent reason or explanation. Having to wait 7 days for CBS is also frustrating. We find that we will have 2 consecutive CBS shows in the folder before the Auto Hop is enabled on the previous week's show. Let's hope that DISH doesn't do this with Fox when they negotiate their deal with them that is already expired. At least ABC is only 3 days and only O&O. CBS delay is ridiculous IMHO.


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