Official - I have a Hopper 3 Thread!

[bluegras]

Installer coming tomorrow, what are most people tipping their technician??

i tipped him $30 and i told him over and over again we appreciate it very much has been working for dish for 10 years

 

[CoreyIllini]

A good tech leaves a huge impression!

 

[bluegras]

he did i helped him out alot since i know my stuff by reading here on this forum

 

[eddie willers]

Installer coming tomorrow, what are most people tipping their technician??

Crap!

I didn't even think of it. Didn't even cross my mind. I wish I had read a similar post earlier as I would surely have slipped him a Twenty.

Oh well....I gave him all 9s when the Dish Robot called me back and made sure I posted directly to the Dish CTO here (whose name I am just too Anglo-Saxon to ever remember) and I praised Ben's visit to high heaven. Told him they needed a whole fleet of "Bens".

 

[h2ouup2]

My 30 thoughts on the Hopper 3.0

Could have gotten it installed on Monday 2/2 but was out of town. Made and appointment for Tuesday 2/3. The installer had a cancellation so called as asked if he could come by 1.50 hours early. Sure! Glad I did it took a while.

I replaced a Hopper2 & Super Joey.

1. They started off and had to change the LNB (the installer was new so his supervisor showed up and assisted).
2. Found a lot of bad connections in the attic, and fixed them (yes they were installed by DISH).
3. Found some bad connections behind the Theater Room TV and fixed that as well.
4. Un-hooked my large OTA antenna in the attic, said it would work with the Hopper 3
5. I said it worked fine on the Hopper 2, but didn't press it.
6. Moved a wireless Joey to where the Super Joey was.
7. Moved the 4K Joey to where a wireless Joey was
8. Replaced the Hopper 3 with the Hopper 3
9. Reconnected all the Wireless Joeys.
10. Found that press Recall back, Recall, back it would reset the WJ, kind of cool
11. Hooked up my rabbit ears to the USB OTA on the back of the Hopper 3
12. Able to get all my OTA channels, but instead of 100% strength they are around 73-75%
13. Noticed there was NO DVD/BD button. Have SAT, TV, AUX, and Input. Where did the BD button go?
14. Got the old 40.0 remote, it worked fine. Really wish I could turn on my BD player with the new remote (maybe there is a hidden function I don't know about yet)
15. Now when I turn my Hopper 3 on/off it turn on the TV on/off. It turn off the Receiver, but won't turn it on, will have to look into that.
16. No matter what you do, you cannot (or at least I can't) get the OTA channels to save into a Favorites list and display on the program guide.
- it shows saved, but they none of the OTA channels show up.
17. OTA do show up if you select ALL channels (dang!)
18. When I check out the tuners it shows X of 17 Tuners available
- Only four (4) tuners show up at any time (may have to have them in use to show up, haven't played with it enough yet).
19. I can see a upgrade in picture quality.
20. Had to adjust the picture on the TV's even though they were set right, the left edge was cut off on the EPG
21. The Format button is missing on the 52.0 remote. You can stretch a SD to fit the screen, but it's a lot of clicks. The 40.0 beats it in this department.

22. REMOTE COMPARISONS

1. The 40.0 is faster on a lot of items, using the colored short cut buttons
2. The 52.0 is missing a DVD/BD button (don't know if I can added another item or not)
3. Learning where the buttons are on the 52.0 doesn't look like it will take too long.
4. If you are left handed be careful, you will hit the buttons on the side of the remote and change things unintentionally.
5. The system is smart enough to know which remote you are using. If you press help the diagram will change indicating which remote you have and show you which key to press (see adjusting the screen for a demo). Pretty cool DISH!
6. Still getting use to the FF and Skip buttons being integrated on the 52.0 Press once to move forward 30 sec, or back 10 sec, hold to FF or REV, hold to toggle between 15X, 60x 300X If your not careful you'll toggle around and be FF or REV at a speed you didn't intend.
7. Things I like better (as of now) about the 40.0:
a. Color short cut buttons
b. Quick access Swap, PIP, Position, Format buttons at the bottom
c. Ability to have one more accessories ran by the remote. (SAT, TV, DVD, AUX) - DVD missing on the 52.0
8.. I'll report back on what I like better about the 52.0 as I use it more. I know there will be some, but I really want to put it through it's paces.

23. Speed - I like the speed of the 3 much better.
24. Guide - I like the guide layout much better ( I like the cast option on the info and being able to find other shows/movies they are in)
25. Transfer speeds - They have improved (at least for me) on the H3 moving things to/from my USB HDD
26. Picture - as stated earlier it's better on the 4K and the H3 (even the WJ look better but it may just be me)
27. Sound - if you edit so that the PCM only is not active I like it better
28. Sound II - Netflix if very low. I have to turn on my surround sound to hear it good.
29. Wireless headphones - I have a set of Bose with BT and I can walk all over the house without losing connection, much better DISH. plus sound is better over the headphones (for me anyway)
30. Cool Factor - Face it, it's just cool

So there you have my 30 thoughs about Hopper 3.0

 

[vipul128]

15. Now when I turn my Hopper 3 on/off it turn on the TV on/off. It turn off the Receiver, but won't turn it on, will have to look into that.

Turn off HDMI CEC in the Hopper settings. This will prevent your TV from being turned on/off with the hopper.

 

[smroycro]

I'm not a fan off the permanently delete. I'd much prefer the "old" way of deleting as my spouse will occasionally delete something after she watches it and I have the option to restore. With permanent delete, I haven't found any restore list, which supports the permanent element of the description.

 

[larrykenney]

I signed up on the Hopper 3 waiting list and was contacted by Dave early Sunday afternoon. I found out that he could not process my request as I didn't have a credit card on file with Dish. I have autopay, but the payments are deducted from my bank account. So I went on line to mydish.com and used the chat feature. I received an immediate response and got my Hopper 3 order put in. No charge except for the additional monthly $3 DVR fee. The first available installation time was today, Tuesday, 2/2, between noon and 5. I had to wait two whole days!

This afternoon at 1:30 the Dish installer arrived and brought my new Hopper 3 into the house. This was his second Hopper 3 installation, and he had another one to do after he left here.

He asked me to show him my Dish antenna. He said he had to make some changes and would do that then come and install the new Hopper. About 20 minutes later the work was done and he came in and installed a new hub and then the Hopper 3 itself. In no time the DVR was turning on. As others have said, there was a long wait while the software downloaded and installed. During this time the installer went out and put his ladder back on the truck and took my old Hopper away. When he returned we had a nice chat. I told him I wanted to transfer my timers to the new Hopper from my old remote. He said "You can do that?" I said "I'm supposed to be able to. When you're done we'll try it."

The entire installation went very smoothly without a single hiccup. He showed me how to use the remote, showed me channel 103 where I can learn about the new Hopper, and tried several tests to make sure everything was okay. Then we tried to transfer my timers. Following the directions given here earlier in this thread, it worked perfectly! Not only did I get all of my timers, but I got my favorites lists too! The installer was quite amazed that I could do that. He took notes on how I did it, and he let me keep my old remote. Both the old and the new remotes now work on the new Hopper. I gave him a $20 tip... which he first said "that's not necessary", but I said he deserved it and he took it.

I really like the new Hopper 3! I've spent quite a bit of time this evening going over all of the various settings, functions, features, etc. I like the new remote. It's easy to use, but I have to get used to it before I'm comfortable with it. I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly. I like the new Guide layout and the entire look of the menus, apps, options, and other features.

I had one problem. When I scanned for OTA channels, it found 89 channels, which is pretty much the same as with my previous Hopper. However, when I hit the "Save" button the screen when black. I waited a while and nothing happened, so I pushed the red reset button. When the receiver recovered everything seemed to be back to normal. I checked the guide and all of my OTA channels were listed! Maybe a reset is required after an OTA scan?? I noticed that the "Add Digital Channels" option is gone. I was sorry to see that. I think that means that "soon" will never come.

I still have more to check out, but so far I'm very happy with my new Hopper 3!!

I got a call from Dish asking me to take a survey on today's installation. 1 was bad, 9 was the best... I gave them all 9's. The entire operation from start to finish went extremely well.

 

[NotTheNoob]

I posted in the upgrade request thread, but was buried behind about 200 other people. I logged in to SatelliteGuys on Saturday morning, and saw the post that said DISH phone and chat CSRs were taking orders. I called in, and was told that they were not yet scheduling installations. So I tried the the chat CSR, and had no problem scheduling an installation for Tuesday. The $50 fee was waived. The technician showed up on time, and finished the job quickly with no issues whatsoever.

I upgraded from the 722. I only have 1 television, so I did not get any Joeys.

There is one function from the 722 that cannot seem to find on the Hopper 3.

When adding extra time at the beginning or ending of a timer recording, I don't want to add time to every episode scheduled to record, just one particular episode. The 722 gives this option. Can the Hopper3 do this as well? I can't seem to figure out how.

 

[khemka]

I'm not a fan off the permanently delete. I'd much prefer the "old" way of deleting as my spouse will occasionally delete something after she watches it and I have the option to restore. With permanent delete, I haven't found any restore list, which supports the permanent element of the description.

What do you mean by permanent delete? You can restore by going to the Trash tab on the dvr. You can jump tabs using the skip forward button?

 

[Lt Disher]

What do you mean by permanent delete? You can restore by going to the Trash tab on the dvr. You can jump tabs using the skip forward button?

It appears that when you delete from the PTAT folder it permanently deletes the program and does not go into the Trash. If you delete from My Recordings it does go to the Trash folder.

 

[Foxbat]

Wow. This Hopper 3 and Joey system is most impressive, especially coming from the ViP receivers. Little things like the VOD for certain channels being listed along with the Live TV programs. I never had on-Demand available in the master bedroom before, and those free DishPERKs would always go unused since my son has basically claimed the family room location where the 722 lived. And PrimeTime Anytime? Freakin' Genius! I need to show my wife the details, but I think she'll like it a lot!

CEC support between the 4K Joey and my Sony Bravia is limited to automatically powering on the TV and switching to the Joey's HDMI input. My wife likes that all she needs to do is press the "SAT" button on the new 40.0 remote and she's watching Dish. However, my Sony's remote can control my Panasonic Blu-Ray AND my AppleTV, but not the 4K Joey. CEC is a two-way street, so I'm not sure who is responsible for supporting the Sony remote buttons on the Joey. Hopefully it is just a future update away (either Sony or Dish).

Since the Dish remote does control the Sony's volume, it isn't a big deal. The installer said he didn't even need to program the remote for the Sony, the Joey identified the TV from the CEC and sent the IR codes to the remote automatically. He thought that was pretty cool.

The Hopper 3 is connected to my 55" Samsung, but since it's a 2nd gen LED-backlit LCD, it doesn't do much CEC and the installed had to configure the remote by picking the TV from the Hopper's hardware DB. I used a similar method on the 4K Joey to program the Blu-Ray on the bedroom's 40.0 remote. Far superior than thumbing through the back of the manual and trying the dozen or so codes to find the one that works best with your equipment.

My Harmony didn't need to be changed to support the Hopper 3, but I'll check my page to see if maybe the Hopper DVR is listed now (my 722 lived with the 622 codes that Logitech showed.)

The one thing I'd like is either Bluetooth keyboard support, or a way to pair my iOS devices to the Hopper/Joey so I can type instead of using the on-screen keyboard, mostly for things like Folder management. That would be nice!

I started a SciFi Folder and a Comedy Central Folder for my recordings. I need to add the timers for Formula One since March isn't that far away now. Plus, I should be receiving my OTA dongle from Amazon (used the link at the Top of the Page!) in the next day or two for those channels like AntennaTV that Dish doesn't carry.

Last observation for this morning: I plugged the Ethernet cable into the back of the 4K Joey but it disabled the connection and is using the MOCA via the coax instead. Who am I to argue? I may disconnect the 4K Joey and rearrange things as the Tech put the power brick in the cabinet instead of behind. I figure that's less heat that needs to be in my cabinet, right? I may disconnect the coax and run on the Gigabit to see if it works...

 

[tarheelbigdog]

Tech was a little late but all in all install went really well. Tech was very knowledgeable. He said I was his 10 install in 2 days. The remote will take a little getting use to but I am beginning to like it. Only complaint I have which has already been mentioned is the search feature. I am just use to the old way of when you start typing the programs will start populating. I rarely know what channel some of the shows I watch are on. Also the initial turn on of going to the menu, but not a big deal. All in all I am happy with the results so far. Cant wait for the new features in the coming months.

 

[smroycro]

After watching a dvr recording, the delete option is "permanently delete". If that is selected, the recording does not show up on the trash tab.

 

[smroycro]

I just saws post above about PTAT and delete, will check this out when I return home. Thanks.

 

[budda]

FYI not sure what is the limit. But I have 3 remotes on 4k joey. I use SD composite out. For garage and sunroom. I believe there is a limit to number of remotes per device. But have not reached that yet. Peace

 

[charlesrshell]

FYI not sure what is the limit. But I have 3 remotes on 4k joey. I use SD composite out. For garage and sunroom. I believe there is a limit to number of remotes per device. But have not reached that yet. Peace

HWS the remote pair limit is eight. Not sure for the H3.

 

[budda]

My 30 thoughts on the Hopper 3.0



So there you have my 30 thoughs about Hopper 3.0[/QUOTE)

Your AVR on/off issue..


On the remote section of the menu. The installer uses AMP for you Home theater control. I am not home but. I think it's Hometheater receiver? Inter code for AUX using those codes. Your on/off will work. Had same issue that worked for me. I have a Denon AVR-X4000. Good luck Peace.

 

[Scherrman]

What an ordeal! Ups finally delivered my h3 and hybrid lnb. Switched the lnb, put in the hub and the receiver. Went through the dance and the software download was speedy. Trouble was at activation, my god! Took 1 hour on the phone and speaking to 4 reps before it could be activated. I have a pay in advance account and I was supposed to pay a$4 prorated dvr fee, 2 of the reps wanted to charge me $27 for some reason. Smh! This is my 3rd receiver i own and never had this much trouble activating.

Should have done the online chat. That' what I prefer to do. It's nice because I can still do other things without the awkward silence on the phone and don't have to worry about a person's accent.

 

[shadlom]

Should have done the online chat. That' what I prefer to do. It's nice because I can still do other things without the awkward silence on the phone and don't have to worry about a person's accent.

Yea it's the chat people who tried to overcharge me $27, so i got fed up and called. The h3 gives the option to activate, but when you put in your info it doesn't do anything. Hopefully one day dish will enable that so i don't have to deal with poor customer service.