Switching to Dish for the Hopper - do I wait until 3/15 or can I pre-order now?

You may be able to pre-order with a retailer, but it will not show up in normal Dish customer service screens until 3/15.

gtal98 said:

You may be able to pre-order with a retailer, but it will not show up in normal Dish customer service screens until 3/15.

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Thanks for the reply! When you say retailer, do you mean local installer? How would I find one near me?

No. Retailers are independent companies that sell, install and repair their own installations of Dish equipment. This could be a blessing or a curse. I would suggest checking the reputation of a dealer before dealing with one.

http://www.dish.com/support/tools-apps/locate-retailer/

don't hold your breath for the h2k - today they spooled two beta what replaced last production FW S2.02 what been send quickly as replacement for S2.01 same day when it came ... mess

Have you used it? How can you say it's a mess if you have not used it?

Maybe the rapid updates are just some final polishing to get it ready for release.

I think it's kind of silly for you to call it a mess when you have no idea what you are talking about.

I have pretty much good grip on FW development and can professionally deduct what is going on when see the MESS with FW before CES and now - right before begin scheduled time for deployment.

I don't know your background, so your personal remark must be discarded.

P Smith said:

don't hold your breath for the h2k - today they spooled two beta what replaced last production FW S2.02 what been send quickly as replacement for S2.01 same day when it came ... mess

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Is that uncommon? I would not find it surprising to see separate beta feeds testing different adjustments to the same issue or testing completely different adjustments. Is S2.02 still in the stream? Are both betas there?

Yes, it's uncommon and against SW Dept business rules - before releases a product to public it's time to freeze production version what tested and working for customers; If it happening (ask any SW developer) it's a sign of major problem in SW.

Now is spooling only last beta what replaced the S2.02 on all h2k...

Check EKB how often they did push out betas right before CES, it happening now.

Personally, I don't care about all the hype with h/j - just when someone trumping horns to sell you a car and same time silently changing engine of it while cover it by cloud of buzz ...
At least it not responsible behavior.

There are still a few days left to institute a freeze.

It's not that easy - you should know the logistics;
for sure it's not a few days - usually if it come to bring devices from overseas - we are talking about a month at least.
Cross fingers, if the rush with FW versions is not attempt to mask HW problem ...

The devices are here in warehouses awaiting installation orders ... and if they are anything like previous receivers they are factory loaded with a firmware that is only smart enough to do very basic dish aiming and download new firmware.

I see no reason for fear, uncertainty and doubt. If there isn't a production FW in the stream on Thursday or Friday for the first installed units to use I'd worry. Until then, to quote Alfred E. Neuman, "What, Me worry?"

If you don't want to be paying Dish for the privilege of being a beta tester, just watch the threads here until things seem to settle down.

I'm sure it will roll out as promised to the customers who want to be among the first paying unofficial beta testers for about six months or so. We know these things are going to have glitches plus installer and operator confusion just like every new system roll out. That's just life.

I'll be curious to see if they sell them to customers new to DBS before they've got them working well.

Will see ... memento ViP922 ...

If they're giving me a Hopper in exchange for my 922 at no cost, plus lowering my bill by $7 because I'll get rid of the 211k, I'll beta test a dishrack if I have to.