Which new TV to buy that is NOT HD?

[Vertnut]

Damn, that sounds interesting. I have 5 HD receivers in 5 different rooms. I don't have DVR or anything like that, though.

I don't know your situation, but I don't see an advantage to that anymore. However, this Hopper is only good up to 4 HD sets (main unit and 3 slave-units). Are you leasing all those units per month?

[jluv]

I don't know your situation, but I don't see an advantage to that anymore. However, this Hopper is only good up to 4 HD sets (main unit and 3 slave-units). Are you leasing all those units per month?

I bought them, but I still have to pay a service fee to have them. It's pretty ridiculous.

I had DVR years ago, and never used it. I'm a channel surfer, and don't have any shows I must watch. I can always find something on right now, so there's no desire to watch recorded stuff. But it would be cool to be able to pause or rewind in certain situations, I suppose.

[FastFord19]

We've been with them since '01, too. Called last night, and supposedly they will be here this afternoon. If you like, I can PM you a review. Sounds damn good over the phone: one main "Hopper" and 3 "Joey's" (small units about the size of a dollar bill that's 3 inches thick). Record 4 HD programs and 2 regular programs at the same time. The 4th set is a "slave", though, meaning you can't watch all 4 sets independently. The 4th set will share programming with the master set. We never watch 4 different programs, so it's not an issue for us. This is all hearsay at this point (per Dish rep), but I'll know by the weekend. By the time it's all said and done, I'm not paying anymore a month, but I'm signing a new 24 month contract. Oh, and it's a $75 one-time-charge for the new unit. They also tossed in some free programming for 6 months, like I need more channels.

I'm interested in the Hopper. Let me know how it is.

[Vertnut]

I'm interested in the Hopper. Let me know how it is.

So far, I'm really enjoying the set-up. There are some things I'm trying to figure out, but I think the problem is me. It does so many different functions, I'll probably never use them or even figure them out! I do like the picture quality, new menu's (really cool!), and the "info" function shows the original DVD cover of the movie you're inquiring about. Cool stuff so far! I think Tyrone gets his today, so I'll have some questions for him. LOL!

[Tyrone Biggums]

So far, I'm really enjoying the set-up. There are some things I'm trying to figure out, but I think the problem is me. It does so many different functions, I'll probably never use them or even figure them out! I do like the picture quality, new menu's (really cool!), and the "info" function shows the original DVD cover of the movie you're inquiring about. Cool stuff so far! I think Tyrone gets his today, so I'll have some questions for him. LOL!

They're here now. Looks like I'm getting a new dish as well.

[Vertnut]

They're here now. Looks like I'm getting a new dish as well.

Well...what's the verdict? Did you do the new 24 month deal?

[Tyrone Biggums]

Well...what's the verdict? Did you do the new 24 month deal?

Long day. Took the guy about 3.5 hours and after he left I spent the rest of the day chasing jr and dealing with a crashed home pc. Just now finished mounting my Joey's on the walls behind the tv's and setting all the timers I could. I like the new guide and how fast it is. The search is better as well after getting used to it, though I still think there is room for improvement which we'll probably see with future updates. I haven't turned on prime time yet, not sure if I need to but the idea is very cool.

One thing people need to be clear on is that you can not have all four tv's 100% independent of each other at the same time, only three. The fourth will either have to watch a prerecorded show on the dvr, an on demand movie, or what's being watched in another room, which won't be a big deal for most.

The remote finder will be awesome for those with kids and wives who hide or misplace them. The 2TB dvr is cool as well. More room than you'll ever need.

That's about all i've got for now. I'm sure I'll play around with it some more tomorrow.

[Vertnut]

Long day. Took the guy about 3.5 hours and after he left I spent the rest of the day chasing jr and dealing with a crashed home pc. Just now finished mounting my Joey's on the walls behind the tv's and setting all the timers I could. I like the new guide and how fast it is. The search is better as well after getting used to it, though I still think there is room for improvement which we'll probably see with future updates. I haven't turned on prime time yet, not sure if I need to but the idea is very cool.

One thing people need to be clear on is that you can not have all four tv's 100% independent of each other at the same time, only three. The fourth will either have to watch a prerecorded show on the dvr, an on demand movie, or what's being watched in another room, which won't be a big deal for most.

The remote finder will be awesome for those with kids and wives who hide or misplace them. The 2TB dvr is cool as well. More room than you'll ever need.

That's about all i've got for now. I'm sure I'll play around with it some more tomorrow.

In post #11, I tried to convey that the 4th set would be a "slave". I've turned off the "Prime time" DVR because it can be a nuisance. My pics are great on all the sets now.

[Tyrone Biggums]

In post #11, I tried to convey that the 4th set would be a "slave". I've turned off the "Prime time" DVR because it can be a nuisance. My pics are great on all the sets now.

Yep, you did. Sorry, I was pretty much a zombie last night when I typed that up. Posting from a phone blows. Seeing what the rest of our tv's are capable of in HD is quite nice. The more I think about it, I don't see us using the prime time feature. By the time we get to sit down and watch something, it's a show from the dvr.

Have you tried the on demand yet? We're hooked up to the router but I'm wondering if I have to set it up online in my account to get it to work.

[FastFord19]

If you don't use the prime time feature, does that give you three available tuners?

[Vertnut]

Yep, you did. Sorry, I was pretty much a zombie last night when I typed that up. Posting from a phone blows. Seeing what the rest of our tv's are capable of in HD is quite nice. The more I think about it, I don't see us using the prime time feature. By the time we get to sit down and watch something, it's a show from the dvr.

Have you tried the on demand yet? We're hooked up to the router but I'm wondering if I have to set it up online in my account to get it to work.

I haven't tried the "on demand" yet. I need to deactivate the "prime time" feature, FastFord19. It does cut down on number of TV's to watch at once. I don't watch much "prime time" anyway.

[FastFord19]

I'm interested in the Hopper. Let me know how it is.

Got the hopper/joey system installed today. Took 6 hours. Its a real upgrade from my 722. I'm liking it.