Hopper And Joey Overview
In mid-March, DISH Network made the lives of their subscribers a whole lot easier and is attracting new customers with its “whole home” DVR solution, Hopper.
The reviews across the board are excellent and point to technology and a modern approach that is conscientious and practical, and meets the demands of the ever-challenging premium home television marketplace.
In case you aren’t aware of the new Hopper DVR from DISH Network, or have been in search of a “whole home” solution that has all the “bells and whistles”, here’s an overview of what current subscribers are enjoying and what new subscribers can have with no more effort than making a phone call.
The “Whole Home” Approach
With traditional cable or satellite television, you’re required to have a full-feature receiver on every television in your home. The same is true for Digital Video Recorders (DVR). This is a senseless overkill of technology, and not only serves to increase your monthly bill, but also increases the cost of delivery from your service provider. After all, it’s expensive equipment to manufacture.
DISH Network rolled out the new Hopper DVR as a means of reducing the amount of high-end hardware throughout your house while expanding the options and functionality of your home theater system. With the new Hopper DVR attached to a single television, viewers throughout the house can setup their own recordings and can view and delete previously recorded content, all from their own television.
Not only does this save time, but it gives each person in the home a greater level of control over their own television viewing experience, which is the goal of the Hopper DVR.
Better Technology
DVRs are a great advancement in technology and infinitely better than the VCRs they replaced. If there’s one consistent shortcoming, however, it’s their overall lack of storage space. With today’s High-def broadcasts, it doesn’t take too many feature-length movies to gobble up all the available space.
The Hopper DVR comes standard with a 2TB drive spaces. That’s 2,000 gigabytes of storage, or the equivalent of about 2,000 hours of standard-definition and approximately 1,000 hours of your favorite HD programming. With storage space like this, you may never again find yourself in the position of deciding what to delete so you can record a new show.
Primetime Anytime
The word “primetime” is used to accurately describe the three hours in the evening heading into your late local news. Networks air their “prime” shows during this stretch of time and it’s very competitive among broadcast networks, but also inside many homes. This is the time when everyone’s favorite shows are on and no one wants to miss theirs.
Fortunately, with Primetime Anytime from DISH Network, no one has to miss anything. You can record up to six shows in HD during primetime on ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC and they’ll be available to you for viewing for eight days. Best of all these programs are stored as On Demand videos which preserves all that storage space on the Hopper.
Each program is available on any other television in your house, where each person has full video control including fast-forward, rewind, pause, stop, and delete.
Joey Satellite Receivers
For each additional television in your home—up to three—DISH Network created the Joey satellite receivers. No longer will you need a full-blown digital HD-DVR receiver on each television to enjoy the fullest benefits of your premium home entertainment system.
Each Joey communicates directly with the Hopper, giving each television complete access and control over recorded content. Viewers can also setup their own recordings from their Joey, and can choose between standard- and high-definition broadcasts.
Additional Features and Benefits
What home entertainment system would be complete if it didn’t provide access to some of today’s hottest social media outlets? The Hopper DVR gives viewers’ access to Facebook, Twitter, MSNBC news feeds, CNBC financial news, the Weather Channel, and Blockbuster @ Home streaming video content.
No longer will you sit at your television with your laptop computer within arm’s length just to check your Facebook status. With just a couple of clicks on the remote control, you’ll be surfing your favorite social media and networking sites.
Viewers also have access to Blockbuster’s massive library of online movies, television shows, concerts, documentaries, and thousands of other special features. In no time at all you can find something for the whole family to watch.
The Hopper DVR “whole home” solution from DISH Network is taking the industry by storm. Isn’t it time to see what all the hype is about?
Andy Johnson is a content creator for local satellite company in Salt Lake City. His work has been featured in newspapers and on several websites.