# 3 HD and 2 SD feeds?



## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

So I've been following this new equipment forum for a while, but have been content with my setup (see signature) until recently. Both small sets only get SD.
1st, OTA finally happened, which is a must for us.
2nd, we got a new 40" set to replace the 19 incher, so surprise...SD looks bad on the larger set. So now we have 5 sets, but the 2 small ones look just fine in SD.
Question; is there a hopper/joey combo that will provide 3 HD feeds and 2 SD feeds somehow? Both SD feeds do not need to be independently tuneable as there are only 2 of us in the house. It would be good for the 3 HD feeds to have OTA access, if not all of them.
Or is there another solution I am missing?


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

The Hopper outputs HDMI, component and composite, the Joey only outputs in HDMI and composite. If your small sd sets do not have composite inputs, you can get an RF adaptor to convert the composite to coax (or you can use an old vcr if you have any laying around.)


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks for that info, both have all kinds of inputs, but long runs may call for RF for the small sets.
Composite is one video and R/L audio right?
So a vcr attached to either a hopper or joey could take the place of the 'home distribution' output of either the 722 or 622?
Maybe 1 hopper and 2 joeys or 2 hoppers and 1 joey would do the trick for me?
Or should I stick with what I have and just add another older tech box?


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

I guess I'm trending to just adding a 612 given the ota situation I've been reading about...thoughts?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Sounds good to me.

I like the Hopper/Joey ... but the ViP receivers are still good.


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

I saw a 24" 1080p HDTV on Amazon the other day for $159. Maybe it's time...


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## 3HaloODST (Aug 9, 2010)

OTA works great for me on Hopper  . As James Long said, ViPs are still fantastic receivers.


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

So given only 2 of us in the house, would one hopper with ota suffice?
I'm thinking that ptat solves a bunch of issues since it only uses one tuner.
Maybe one hopper and 2 joeys would be the ticket vs. a 722 and two 612s.
But the hopper does not output Svideo which now feeds my DVD-R, is that a big deal?
Is there anything on the horizon that would favor the hopper/joey over the VIPs?
As you can see, I am waffling between the 2 options.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

722921 said:


> So given only 2 of us in the house, would one hopper with ota suffice?
> I'm thinking that ptat solves a bunch of issues since it only uses one tuner.
> Maybe one hopper and 2 joeys would be the ticket vs. a 722 and two 612s.
> But the hopper does not output Svideo which now feeds my DVD-R, is that a big deal?
> ...


Looks like you are going from 6 sat tuners to only 3 (except PTAT) which may be ok for you, but you may be going from 3 ota to only 1 ota. You may want to consider 2 Hoppers with would give you 6 sat (9 during PTAT) and 2 ota. Calling Dish will not allow this as they won't give you 2 Hoppers unless 2 Joeys go with it, but local retailers or contact to a DIRT member should be able to get this done. Of course you can go the 2 H/2 J route and have installer keep the Joeys or you can call Dish after the install and send them back. Of course both the 2 H or 1 H/1 J will set you up to 2 tv's (have to assume you are using 3 due to the three current receivers). Each H/J can be connect to more than one tv unless you want independent viewing on both. Your monthly bill will go down $9 with only two receivers and down $2 if you decide on three.


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## BubbaD (Jun 11, 2006)

I just had two hoppers and one Joey installed Saturday. They will tell you that two joeys are needed but just go along with it and cancel one when the installer shows up. 

This system rocks.


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## 3HaloODST (Aug 9, 2010)

BubbaD said:


> I just had two hoppers and one Joey installed Saturday. They will tell you that two joeys are needed but just go along with it and cancel one when the installer shows up.
> 
> This system rocks.


Glad you're enjoying it! Great advice as well.


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

garys said:


> Looks like you are going from 6 sat tuners to only 3 (except PTAT) which may be ok for you, but you may be going from 3 ota to only 1 ota. You may want to consider 2 Hoppers with would give you 6 sat (9 during PTAT) and 2 ota. Calling Dish will not allow this as they won't give you 2 Hoppers unless 2 Joeys go with it, but local retailers or contact to a DIRT member should be able to get this done. Of course you can go the 2 H/2 J route and have installer keep the Joeys or you can call Dish after the install and send them back. Of course both the 2 H or 1 H/1 J will set you up to 2 tv's (have to assume you are using 3 due to the three current receivers). Each H/J can be connect to more than one tv unless you want independent viewing on both. Your monthly bill will go down $9 with only two receivers and down $2 if you decide on three.


I current have a 722 with 2 sat and 1 ota, and a 622 with 2 sat and 0 ota (the feed died recently). Having 6 sat/2 ota may be overkill with 2 hoppers and 3 sat/1 ota may be marginal with one hopper but it may work since pta only uses 1 sat. A 722/622/612 will yield 6 sat/1-3 ota with much more storage...


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

722921 said:


> I current have a 722 with 2 sat and 1 ota, and a 622 with 2 sat and 0 ota (the feed died recently). Having 6 sat/2 ota may be overkill with 2 hoppers and 3 sat/1 ota may be marginal with one hopper but it may work since pta only uses 1 sat. A 722/622/612 will yield 6 sat/1-3 ota with much more storage...


Is this true about the storage?
The hopper has 2GB, but only so much is usable?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

722921 said:


> Is this true about the storage?
> The hopper has 2GB, but only so much is usable?


ALL DISH DVRs have some portion of the hard drive reserved for DISH's use ... for VOD (channel 1 and channel 501) and other content.
The Hopper leaves the most space for customer use: 1231 GB.
All customer recordings use that space ... if PTAT is turned on it uses that space.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

722921 said:


> Is this true about the storage?
> The hopper has 2GB, but only so much is usable?


The Hopper has 2Tb, about 2,000 hrs recording time. More than enough to be shared with VOD. If you need more, you can add an EHD.


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

Oops, TB...not GB.
Good to know, I guess an early review said only 500GB was usable, but 1231GB is much better.
Thanks.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

722921 said:


> Oops, TB...not GB.
> Good to know, I guess an early review said only 500GB was usable, but 1231GB is much better.
> Thanks.


Partition amounts were changed after the Hopper's initial release.


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## 722921 (Jan 3, 2008)

Waiting for an ota adapter before I place an order, but I have another question.
Can 1 or more joeys/hopper view an ota channel at the same time?


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