February 1st, 2013
DISH Network’s whole-home DVR, the Hopper, is an innovative and customer-oriented set-top box that aims to give customers what they want: more programming and less commercials. With the AutoHop feature, which automatically skips commercials in the pre-recorded PrimeTime Anytime content, they’ve given customers exactly what they wanted! Since its introduction though many networks have come out against DISH and their new technology, and CBS even went so far as to deny the Hopper it’s rightful place as CNET’s Best in Show for CES 2013 – CBS cited ongoing legal action and a “conflict” of interest in their obvious maneuver to deny the Hopper it’s rightful recognition.
On the 28th the Consumer Electronics Association put their weight behind DISH and filed with the courts the argument that the 1984 ruling of the Supreme Court in the Sony Corp. of America v. Universal City Studios, Inc. case, known colloquially as the Betamax case, makes the AutoHop feature completely legal. In the landmark Universal Studios sued Sony, who had just introduced the Betamax VCR, for enabling copyright infringement with their recording devices. The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 that recording complete television shows for the purpose of watching later or skipping commercials is not copyright infringement and allowed under Fair Use laws.
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
January 21st, 2013
PCMag.com has reviewed and rated the DISH Hopper and have given it 4.5/5 stars with an editor rating of “Excellent!” The only cons they delivered for the DISH Hopper were that it doesn’t stream Netflix of Hulu Plus, but with PrimeTime Anytime and Blockbuster @Home streaming available with the Hopper, most customers report they don’t need either of those extra bills anymore! PCMag.com said in it’s bottom line review of the Hopper that it is “the best whole-home DVR and cable/satellite tuner experience we’ve seen yet.”
Editors also lauded the Hopper’s size, which is small considering it houses such impressive performance and massive 2TV hard drive. They also advised that “setting up multiple series recordings was easy”, and said they were able to set up recordings of several shows in minutes. Overall, the excellent design, ease of use, and customer-oriented features (such as the Remote Locate button) were highlighted and commended.
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
January 18th, 2013
With DISH Hopper you can get all of your news, sports, music and social networks right at your finger tips! With great apps like Pandora, The Weather Channel, Facebook, MLB Network, MSNBC, and more, you can keep up with friends and families, your favorite teams, weather in your area, and national events. All from the comfort of your living room right on your television screen!
Categories: Equipment & Remotes
July 13th, 2011
Hard drives hold all of our digital information, from family pictures to vital documents, and unfortunately hard drive failure can be caused by many different things and result in data loss or expensive data recovery costs. I learned the hard way to make sure all of my documents were backed up regularly, and in my efforts to protect my digital data I realized most of us overlook the hard drives in our DVRs. It’s easy to do, considering we don’t really look at our receiver as a computer, but your DVR hard drive is likely one of the most used in your house.
There are many benefits to connecting an external hard drive to a DISH Network receiver, such as backing up and protecting your existing recordings, expanding your available hard drive space and transferring recordings from one receiver on your account to another. You can even turn your 211, 211k, or 411 receiver into a DVR by connecting it to an external hard drive and paying a one-time activation fee of $40.
While most major manufacturers’ external hard drives are compatible with DISH Network DVRs, keep in mind the following guidelines when purchasing an external hard drive:
The following external hard drives meet the above criteria:
Once you’ve picked out your compatible external hard drive, simply plug it into an outlet near your DISH Network receiver and then connect it to the USB port on your receiver. Your receiver will prompt you to format the external hard drive, install the software and then your receiver will reset.
Once you receiver turns back on you’re external hard drive will be available to use. Now you can ensure that you’ll never have to worry about losing your DBR recordings. One less hard drive to worry about in your home!
Categories: DISH & TV news