# Is the JUMP to the Hopper worth it?



## rosterha (Apr 22, 2012)

I'm contemplating the Hopper over the 722 but is it worth it and are the fees more?


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## tcatdbs (Jul 10, 2008)

I'm contemplating the same move... 722 and 211. Would need Hopper and 2 Joeys for the same 3 TV's. Would add HD on the 3rd set, add a bunch of internal drive space, add ability to record and view anywhere, add ability to record 6 shows )not that I'd ever need that)... would add $11/mo., probably worth it.


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## domingos35 (Jan 12, 2006)

rosterha said:


> I'm contemplating the Hopper over the 722 but is it worth it and are the fees more?


i think its worth it
is the 722 your primary receiver
the 722 is $17 monthly
the Hopper is $7+$4(whole home DVR)= $11 so you will save $6 monthly


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

It has certainly been worth dumping DirecTV and their HR series. Can't help you on the lateral move.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

Coming from a 722 myself, I think it's well worth it to get 1TB of recording space, an additional tuner, triple live buffers that actually work, PTAT (none of which takes up any of my 1TB of space), better interface, more speed, a great weather app, DLNA, and better remote management. It's an additional $4/month for whole home DVR service. But you save $1 in energy for a net of $3. The only thing I miss is OTA, but not very much.


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## 356B (Oct 11, 2008)

Is it worth it? sure. The Hopper/Joey system is way better then the vip922 was and more interesting then the 722k, I've had both. The 922 was buggy for months, Sling did not work, at all, for several weeks. I hooked up a Sling adapter to Hopper and bingo, perfect!
There are issues with Hopper but no deal breakers. The EHD situation will be fixed soon as will the connectivity between Hoppers. PTAT is interesting, I think the jury is still out for me, I see it as a great option since I don't have to think about recording the networks anymore....that said, it's messy in my opinion. Reports of the S2.08 software update claim it's been cleaned up, but since I have not received the update I can't comment.
The obvious things are the big hard-drive, the menus are snappy and clean, the guide is 922ish, which I always liked. 
I like how Joey moves HD around the house with coax, plus it's little and can be hidden easily if you want. Go for it, it makes the 722 look vintage, which is cool for cars but not for satellite TV receivers.


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## patmurphey (Dec 21, 2006)

rosterha said:


> I'm contemplating the Hopper over the 722 but is it worth it and are the fees more?


No one can answer the fee question without knowing how many TVs you are feeding and whether you need HD on them. For any given number of HD TVs, the Hopper/Joey combinations fees are similar to or less than VIP DVR receivers.


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## sacflies (Apr 10, 2012)

Marlin Guy said:


> It has certainly been worth dumping DirecTV and their HR series. Can't help you on the lateral move.


I hear you on that. Just about ready to make the hop over. My HR23 is anger inducingly sluggish.


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## domingos35 (Jan 12, 2006)

i was playing around with the guide ,u know pressing buttons and it was amazing how fast the hopper is .u press a button and the thing responds in like 1/2 second .AMAZINGLY FAST


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## Bill L (May 5, 2008)

I moved from a 922 and 722 VIP with2 TVs. It has really been worth the jump. Recording all primetime (Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC) for 8 days is neat. You can save any specific program if you want to. In addition you can record any two other shows at the same time.

It will take some getting used to because it is different.


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## jgcecg (Apr 18, 2011)

Marlin Guy said:


> It has certainly been worth dumping DirecTV and their HR series. Can't help you on the lateral move.


I am considering leaving direct tv and getting the hopper. 
Is there anything that Direct tv does bettter?


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Nope. BR disks perhaps ...


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## jdmart (Jan 9, 2004)

We went from two 722s to Hopper system and so glad we did! Go for it!


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## AZDude (Apr 22, 2012)

Had a 1 Hopper/3Joey system installed on Saturday. Best move I ever made in regards to TV. 

Go for it!!!


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## sregener (Apr 17, 2012)

jgcecg said:


> I am considering leaving direct tv and getting the hopper.
> Is there anything that Direct tv does bettter?


I just left DirecTV last week for the Hopper. You can read some of my thoughts here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=3004902#post3004902

You should also check the thread on not being able to resume playback on a currently recording event - you can, it turns out, but it's tricky.

Short answer: DirecTV has slightly better HD picture quality, and carries more HD sports than Dish (RSNs on Dish are not HD full-time, and sometimes they lack the capacity to carry a local pro sports team in HD on a RSN.) With the exception of the HR34, DirecTV DVRs support OTA tuners, but the Hopper currently does not.

I am most definitely not experiencing buyer's remorse.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

jgcecg said:


> I am considering leaving direct tv and getting the hopper.
> Is there anything that Direct tv does bettter?


Here are some features I'd like to see carried over to the Hopper. They're not deal breakers, but they would make it just about perfect in my mind.

1. Always recording - When I turn on the Hopper from standby, there is no buffer. Mine also doesn't keep recording the tuned station when I switch over to watching something already recorded. It would be great to have that buffer running all the time in the background.
It's probably by design to save on components and energy, but I do miss it sometimes.

2. List View With Groupings - I can only see my recorded programming as icons, with each episode of the same program having its own icon. A list view similar to DirecTV's would be fantastic.

3. Extended Guide - DirecTV's Guide went about two weeks farther out.

4. One Button Apps - With DirecTV's DVRs, one button would give you quick access to Apps or to the Quicktune menu. Dish has better apps and more Quicktune channels, but the path is a bit more lengthy to get to them.

5. Skip to Tick - If it's there I don't see it.

These are just what I miss. There are lots of things that I'm glad I'll never see again, like a ridiculously slow remote response and glaring blue lights in a dark room. There are equally features and aspects of the Hopper that kill DirecTV on performance. Playback in slow motion is perfect, and FFWD is a dream.... maybe even a moist dream. :love1:


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## bigdog9586 (Jan 17, 2008)

Only you can answer is it worth it. Recording 6 shows means 4 of them are the prime time shows from the 4 major networks leaving 2 open channels to record. If you don't turn on the majors to record you can only record 3 shows. Whatever you record can then be seen on any Joey hooked to the hopper. What one me over instead of going to direct was that it uses my home cable that was installed when house was built. My hopper only needs one cable to it where direct needs two plus my basement is finished so no way to get to where the hopper is. With direct you also need Ethernet cable between each receiver so 3 cables to each receiver where as the hopper/Joey only needs the one.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

Marlin Guy,

Welcome to the dark side. I miss those things you mentioned, plus bookmarks. But some aren't issues. Given a little more time to download you'll get a 10 day guide vs. D*'s 14 day, so it's close. And episodes are indeed automatically grouped under a single icon, although i agree a list view would be nice. You will only see two icons while a new episode is being recorded. When it's done, it goes in the group. You can also make your own folders. 

Quickest way to apps is menu, left, down, ok (easy macro). 

Unfortunately quick tune via the green button supposedly went away in 209. But recall works pretty well. 

The colored buttons in live tv are shortcuts to tuners, settings and tests. Some menus have number shortcuts or multi-press shortcuts. For example, Remote manager is yellow 6. Point dish is yellow yellow. System info is menu menu. PTAT is list list. And Dish has actual PIP and Swap buttons.


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