After 14 years of DirecTV I switched to Dish because my HDR was running very slow and DTV wouldn't replace it. So after 2 months of the Dish Network Hopper/Joey and a $385 Early Termination Fee... I'M BAAAAAAAACCCCCK!!! :lol:
The nail in the coffin was Dish dropping AMC. There's no way I'm missing Breaking Bad, Madmen and Walking Dead. So, for those who are considering or pining after a Hopper, let me give you a DirecTV user's perspective.
First, the hardware is super slick. The Hopper is very slim and looks nice, and the Joey is about the size of a couple of decks of cards and also looks nice. The two devices are networked with just one cat5 cable.
The software interface on the other hand SUCKS. Whoever designed the interface must have been recruited from the Windows 98 team of designers. Let's start with the most used item on ANY dvr: the LIST view. What's easier? Scanning down a list of typed words or trying to decipher tiny icons with even tinier titles in a grid formation? What's even worst is when you highlight said icon, it GRAYS OUT the whole thing so you can't read it. Is that insane? You have to move off the show you selected to see if it's what you want. STUPID. You'd think by hitting the SELECT button it would just play, but instead brings up a pop up of options. So you finally find the show you want and it starts playing. Hmm, wonder where I am in the show? I'll hit PLAY to see the scrub bar. NOPE. Doesn't work. How about skipping commercials? NOPE, won't show. You have to pause to see the bar.
The "human" element. With DirecTVs DVR, it was intuitive. I never scratched my head going, "what is this? or where is that?" For instance, on DTV, to go back a page or window, you click the LEFT arrow; makes sense. On the Dish if you do that you get a confusing as all hell, filter window with dozens of boxes to check. Things just don't make sense. The interface is also very inconsistant. There's an area to check your account. Very cool right? Not really. It brings up a new window that looks completely different than anything else, right out of DOS.
Searching for shows also leaves you scratching your head. When you hit search it automatically puts the show you're watching in the search field. Huh? Why? So you have to start by deleting it. Then you get tiny icons of the shows with no idea of when it first aired. It's a mess.
Everything just looked better on the DTV. Windows were better organized, colors were nicer, fonts were bigger and easier to read, there was less "dead space" on the screen. Why have tiny text when 70% of the screen is empty on info windows?
While the Hopper/Joey system is slick, but several times shows were cancelled because my kids would either leave on the Hopper or switch channels canceling our show. The system is kind of glitchy. Sometimes I had to select a show 2 or 3 times before it would start playing. Other times it would just be a black screen. Lots of screen glitches.
There are some good things: the commercial skip is sweet, the system is pretty fast (except for when a show ends; inexplicably it just hangs for about 20 seconds deciding what to do).
The final nail in the coffin was Dish dropping AMC. What balls. So now I am waiting for DTV to install my HD34 and receiver. Will be curious to see how it compares to the Dish system. I'd call the Dish experiment a $400 failed experiment for me.
The nail in the coffin was Dish dropping AMC. There's no way I'm missing Breaking Bad, Madmen and Walking Dead. So, for those who are considering or pining after a Hopper, let me give you a DirecTV user's perspective.
First, the hardware is super slick. The Hopper is very slim and looks nice, and the Joey is about the size of a couple of decks of cards and also looks nice. The two devices are networked with just one cat5 cable.
The software interface on the other hand SUCKS. Whoever designed the interface must have been recruited from the Windows 98 team of designers. Let's start with the most used item on ANY dvr: the LIST view. What's easier? Scanning down a list of typed words or trying to decipher tiny icons with even tinier titles in a grid formation? What's even worst is when you highlight said icon, it GRAYS OUT the whole thing so you can't read it. Is that insane? You have to move off the show you selected to see if it's what you want. STUPID. You'd think by hitting the SELECT button it would just play, but instead brings up a pop up of options. So you finally find the show you want and it starts playing. Hmm, wonder where I am in the show? I'll hit PLAY to see the scrub bar. NOPE. Doesn't work. How about skipping commercials? NOPE, won't show. You have to pause to see the bar.
The "human" element. With DirecTVs DVR, it was intuitive. I never scratched my head going, "what is this? or where is that?" For instance, on DTV, to go back a page or window, you click the LEFT arrow; makes sense. On the Dish if you do that you get a confusing as all hell, filter window with dozens of boxes to check. Things just don't make sense. The interface is also very inconsistant. There's an area to check your account. Very cool right? Not really. It brings up a new window that looks completely different than anything else, right out of DOS.
Searching for shows also leaves you scratching your head. When you hit search it automatically puts the show you're watching in the search field. Huh? Why? So you have to start by deleting it. Then you get tiny icons of the shows with no idea of when it first aired. It's a mess.
Everything just looked better on the DTV. Windows were better organized, colors were nicer, fonts were bigger and easier to read, there was less "dead space" on the screen. Why have tiny text when 70% of the screen is empty on info windows?
While the Hopper/Joey system is slick, but several times shows were cancelled because my kids would either leave on the Hopper or switch channels canceling our show. The system is kind of glitchy. Sometimes I had to select a show 2 or 3 times before it would start playing. Other times it would just be a black screen. Lots of screen glitches.
There are some good things: the commercial skip is sweet, the system is pretty fast (except for when a show ends; inexplicably it just hangs for about 20 seconds deciding what to do).
The final nail in the coffin was Dish dropping AMC. What balls. So now I am waiting for DTV to install my HD34 and receiver. Will be curious to see how it compares to the Dish system. I'd call the Dish experiment a $400 failed experiment for me.