When I first got my DVR back in 2007 it took about 6 presses of the button (give or take one) to get me through a typical commercial break. These days It seems like there are more commercials than ever and much of the time it takes me about 8 presses of the button to get through a commercial break. Yeah, I know that extra effort isn’t going to land me in the E.R. with any serious repetitive stress injuries, but it is a good measure of how much commercial time has eaten away at programming through the years.

A new feature of DISH Network’s Hopper DVR is making commercial-free TV a whole lot easier from now on. The new “Auto Hop” feature will automatically eliminate most commercials from most HD broadcasts that are recorded via the Hopper’s “Primetime Anytime” feature which allows users to record all of the primetime programming on all of the four major broadcast networks automatically.

For obvious reasons, this “Auto Hop” does not work when you are watching “live” TV. Users wishing to take advantage of this new feature (and who wouldn’t?) have to wait until at least 1:00 a.m. the following day in order to enjoy the advantages of “Auto Hop” for the previous day’s primetime recordings.

It appears that the “Auto Hop” feature is limited to use on recordings of “Primetime Anytime” programming. That’s a little disappointing for me personally since I watch almost no network shows at all. I’ll still have to rely on my “auto skip” button and since about 90% of what I watch is recorded, it serves me very well by eliminating those ever-lengthy commercial breaks that seem to show the same commercials over and over again until I’m almost ready to start throwing things at my TV!

According to a press release from DISH, the new “Auto Hop” feature is being activated on Hopper DVR systems today. As the press release reveals, this new feature will allow Hopper enables users to “skip all commercials for most recorded primetime HD programs shown on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC when viewed the day after airing.”

I’m sure users of the DISH Hopper system will get a lot of use out of this new feature. If I can find any new network TV shows that interest me after “House” goes off the air, I’m sure I’ll make use of “Auto Hop” every time I watch!

DISH Enables Commercial-Free TV with The Hopper

DISH Network DVRs have earned high scores from PC Magazine reviewers in the past and the new Hopper system is no exception. It was rated “Very Good,” earning 4.5 out of a potential 5 stars. The review also concluded that the Hopper was “one of the best DVRs we’ve ever seen.”

Although I am still using a ViP622 DVR in my home, I do plan to upgrade to the Hopper in the future. I’m one of those people that tends to let the stampede die down a bit before I jump on the bandwagon, so I’m definitely not an “early adopter.”

Once the demand for Hopper systems dies down a bit, I’ll probably order up a Hopper and at least one Joey (which PC Magazine also awarded 4.5 stars) so that my wife and I can finally share the DVR.

Although the notion of the whole-home DVR is nothing new, it appears that DISH has outpaced the competition with their new whole-home DVR solution.

PC Magazine, rated the Hopper system ahead of the TiVo Premier Elite despite the Hopper’s inability to access Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube. Citing the Hopper’s impressive 2 terabyte hard drive which can store up to 500 hours of HD programming or 1000 hours of SD programming, PC Magazine’s review concluded that users probably won’t miss Netflix, Hulu Plus and YouTube all that much.

Overall, comparing the pros and cons of the Hopper alongside the TiVo Premier Elite, the reviewer concluded that the Hopper is “head and shoulders” above the TiVo system.

PC Magazine reviewers were also impressed with DISH’s Joey units, which are the devices that allow viewers in other rooms to access programming on the Hopper DVR. “If you want satellite TV in your bedroom, garage, or other rooms in your house, the Dish Network Joey is a no-brainer,” according to the Joey review.

I admit that these reviews have me a bit anxious to get my own Hopper system up and running in my home, but I’m pretty serious about my “early adopter” principle and will hold out a bit longer before I look into upgrading my system. For now, I’ll just have to continue sharing the 622 with my wife and make the best of it.

Things could be worse, as in no DVR at all, which I do not even want to think about! I’m thoroughly spoiled by four or so years of DVR use which enable me to watch TV on my schedule and just makes my life a lot simpler. It’s the best thing that’s happened to TV since the invention of the VCR.

DISH Hopper Scores 4.5 Stars From PC Magazine

This is a DISH product that is definitely on my wish list. I tend to shy away from being an early adopter of any new technology, so I’ll wait a while before I decide to get my hands on a Hopper and its companion unit, The Joey. I’m that way about a lot of things including movies. I’m quite happy to wait a few months for a movie to come out on DVD or become available on PPV before I watch it.

I guess that’s one of the few benefits of getting older – I’ve got a lot more patience regarding things I want.

It’s hard to say how long it will take subscribers to get their hands on a Hopper at this point in time since demand is probably going to be pretty high for a while. I’m sure some folks will be able to get theirs delivered fairly soon but the laws of supply-and-demand will dictate how that goes.

It will be interesting to see the thoughts and comments from the early adopters as the new units hit the market. I ‘m guessing there may be a few folks at DISH that are a little anxious about the first reactions that start trickling in.

DISH Announced Availability of Hopper Whole-home DVR

I’m a pretty hardcore DVR user so I would not hesitate to estimate that around 90 percent of what I watch is recorded. I do watch some ‘live’ TV but often get frustrated with the number of commercials that one has to endure when watching TV in real time. I guess it’s easy to get spoiled by the ability to “zap” through 90 seconds or so of commercials by pressing a button a few times.

There’s also the time shift factor. Having my DVR set up to record my favorite programs gives me the convenience of watching them when I want to watch them. Another benefit is that I hardly ever miss my favorite programs due to something unexpected that comes up such as a phone call or someone stopping by for a visit.

Since my wife and I don’t have a whole lot in common when it comes to television entertainment, the DVR also solves problems when there are conflicts regarding which program will be watched. Since our DISH Network ViP 622 DVR allows us to watch one program while recording another one at the same time, we both get to see the programs we want.

I suppose I’ve reached the point where I have a hard time thinking about watching TV without the benefit of a DVR. As I’ve said before, if you’re thinking of signing up for DISH Network I highly recommend getting a DVR if your budget allows. It will change the way you watch TV for the better.

DVR Users Watch Fewer ‘Live’ Television Shows

DISH subscribers with select broadband-connected HD DVRs who have HBO or Cinemax included as part of their programming package will soon have the ability to access a new and improved version of HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand. This will enable them to choose from HBO’s impressive selection of on-demand programming.

Nearly every episode of HBO favorites such as Boardwalk Empire, Deadwood, Game of Thrones, True Blood and The Sopranos will be available to watch at a time of the subscriber’s choosing. Hit movies, sporting events, documentaries and comedy specials will also be available.

Due to the technology used to transmit television programming to satellite subscribers, on-demand programming has presented a challenge for satellite providers. With the ability to connect DISH Network systems to the internet, DISH was able to significantly improve their on-demand offerings. However, subscribers lacking broadband internet service were not able to take advantage of the new on-demand content.

The announcement of “DISH Unplugged” changes that by making hundreds of HBO TV shows and movies available to subscribers who have the forthcoming Hopper whole-home DVR system and do not have the system connected to the internet. Available on-demand programming will be delivered direct from the satellite without buffering. Programming available via “DISH Unplugged” will be updated on a daily basis, giving subscribers access to the most up-to-date HBO programming content.

The Hopper is set for release sometime during the first quarter (January – March) of 2012.

DISH Network is clearly making moves to close the on-demand gap that has existed between cable and satellite providers for a long time. As a dedicated (some might say addicted!) DVR user myself, the increased availability of on-demand programming available from DISH is certainly a welcome development.

DISH Announces HBO and Cinemax on Demand

The “Hopper” is the main brain of the new system and will drive units called “Joeys” that can be placed in other rooms of a home to allow access to DISH Network programming. The Hopper will support three Joeys, giving customers a total of four separate locations in the home to access DISH Network programming and recorded content in HD.

This new whole-home DVR system – unlike most competitors – allows full-function DVR capability on each remote Joey unit. This means all viewers can take advantage of features such as the ability to pause, play and rewind live TV as well as recorded programs.

The Hopper features a 2-terabyte internal hard drive which allows the storage of up to 250 hours of recorded HD programming or 1,000 hours of standard-definition programming, which, according to DISH Network CEO Joe Clayton, offers twice the storage capacity of competing units from other pay-TV providers.

A very impressive-sounding feature of The Hopper is its ability to record six HD programs at the same time. This feature does mandate a disclaimer however. Six programs can be recorded simultaneously only during prime time (from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm Eastern) because four of the six recorded programs are what “the big four” networks are offering during that time period. Branded as “Primetime Anytime,” this feature will record all of the primetime programming on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC every night and retain the recorded programming for up to eight days. The other two programs that can be recorded during this time are selectable by the user.

Even while recording six programs at once, the system still allows all four units to play back any recorded or on-demand content that’s available.

The Hopper boasts some other unique features such as Bluetooth connectivity for connecting Bluetooth-enabled devices such as wireless headphones. The new remote control technology introduced with this system may help make lost remotes a thing of the past thanks to its remote locator feature which allows the user to make the remote control emit a “beep” that should more easily lead to the discovery of a lost remote control.

Currently, much of DISH Network’s on-demand programming is dependent on access to a broadband internet connection. The Hopper, with its “DISH Unplugged” capability provides access to hundreds of the most popular movies and TV shows by delivering them to the hard drive via satellite. DISH Unplugged provides a high quality picture with no buffering problems and provides access to many of the same streaming movie choices offered by Blockbuster @Home, including premium movie access.

This new whole-home system also doubles as a whole-home music distribution system which features access to 73 SiriusXM channels and includes album art and a collapsible list of music channels at the top of the channel guide, making it faster and easier for music fans to find their favorite tunes.

Users are likely to appreciate the system’s easy and fast tile-based user user interface that also includes predictive search capability.

Having recently heard a report that labeled set-top boxes as some of the most energy inefficient devices in the typical home, it’s welcome news to discover that a four-room installation of this new system is 50 percent more energy efficient than previous models.

In keeping with the spirit of “interconnected everything,” The Hopper also features apps that allow users to access Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, photo sharing sites, games, news and more.

We’re likely to be hearing more about this new whole-home DVR system in the near future. DISH Network expects The Hopper to be released during the first quarter (January – March) of 2012. Stay tuned.

‘Hopper’ and ‘Joey’ Bring Whole-Home DVR Tech to DISH

With a DVR there is no need to bother with those cumbersome timers we had to deal with when recording programs with a VCR. DVRs feature a built-in programming guide – a kind of on-screen TV Guide – that allows users to look at all the programming that is scheduled to air in the near future. If I’m not mistaken, my DVR a DISH Network ViP 622 stores something like nine days of programming information.

I can browse or search the program guide for programs that interest me and then set the DVR to record them. I have the option of recording a program once (good for movies and other one-time broadcasts), every time the program airs or just new episodes (good for TV series). Once I have set up the program(s) I want to record, I just forget about it and let the DVR do all the work.

Having a DVR solves a lot of TV-related problems in my house. My wife and I are not usually interested in the same TV shows, so much of the time she is watching television during the time that one of my favorite programs is being aired. Since the DVR allows users to watch one program while recording another at the same time, we both get to see the programs we want to watch. I usually watch my programs later on in the evening when my wife is finished watching TV.

This is just one of the advantages the DVR has over the standard receiver that only allows users to watch what is currently being aired. I’m not always free to watch TV when my favorite programs are on, so the ability to “time shift” is another great benefit of having a DVR. I watch TV when I want and do not have to adjust my schedule in order to watch my favorite shows.

If you are considering signing up for DISH Network, or any other pay-TV service for that matter, I highly recommend getting a DVR if your budget will allow. Until I got a DVR in early 2007, I had no idea how it would improve my television-viewing experience. I was a little behind the curve waiting that long to finally get one, but I’m sure glad we decided to give it a try. Without it, I’d probably miss out on about 75 percent of the programs I enjoy watching.

Using The DISH Network DVR

Although some DISH Network DVRs already have some capability to share its programming with another room in the house, the functionality is a bit limited and does not allow for full HD viewing in the other room. This new whole-house system which features a “main brain” unit that’s currently called a XiP 813 will allow users to enjoy HD programming in multiple rooms.

The XiP 813’s functionality is expandable due to the remote units that can be installed in other rooms of the house and allow access to programming that’s available on the 813’s three tuners as well as the programs recorded on its hard drive. The XiP 110 is the smaller client unit that users can connect to other televisions in their home for access to the XiP 813’s programming.

As with the current DVRs, viewing live programming on multiple televisions is limited by the number of tuners the unit has. The three tuners in the XiP 813 suggests that three different programs will be viewable in full HD in three separate rooms of the house at the same time, including the room where the XiP 813 is located, but this is just speculation on my part and is based on my experience with my own DISH Network DVR, the ViP 622.

With the expandability of the new whole-house DVR system, it sounds like it is easy to add other rooms to the system by adding more XiP 813 DVRs, which will be automatically shared with the rest of the system. As we have been seeing more and more in recent years, entertainment technology seems to be merging with the technology that has been used to connect computers for a number of years.

Computer networking technology like WiFi seems to be everywhere these days, including in people’s homes. It’s pretty routine stuff these days, and now it looks like frontrunners in the video entertainment industry like DISH Network will be making advances with their technology and equipment that follow the same model.

This will really change the way DISH Network customers use the service. Rather than having a DVR in one room and other DVRs or receivers in other rooms as I currently have in my home, the new centralized systems will give every room in the house an improved video experience by attaching smaller client units to individual televisions rather than worrying about installing separate DVR or receiver units with separate satellite feeds in each room. Still, each client unit will allow the great features of the DVR to be enjoyed.

Since the client units can be connected to the XiP 813 via coaxial cable, it will be easy to install these systems in the many homes that already have existing coaxial cable installed in multiple rooms of their house since this is the same cable that is used to distribute cable TV service. Since cable TV has been around for so long, even homes as old as mine – which was built in the mid 1980’s – is wired with coaxial cable in multiple rooms.

New Whole-House DVR On Tap From DISH

DISH probably does not offer as much on-demand content as cable television providers simply due to the nature of satellite technology vs. cable TV technology. However, it appears that DISH is ramping up its efforts to be more competitive in the on-demand arena.

I’ve not watched a whole lot of on-demand programming since I usually find enough current programming to record on my DVR to satisfy my TV watching desires. I did experiment with watching some on-demand TV programs some months ago, but the interface was rather cumbersome to use at the time and each program had to be downloaded to my DVR, which seemed to take a very long time.

Some time within the past few months, DISH Network completely revamped the on-demand interface for the ViP622 DVR (and probably others as well) and at the same time, seemed to break the on-demand capability of my DVR. At least I thought so.

Each time I would try to seek out an on-demand TV program to watch I would simply receive a message on my screen that said something like “You have not selected any titles. Please press BACK to return to the previous menu.”

The problem was that I could never get to a point to where I was able to even view on-demand programs to select from! A bit frustrating to say the least.

After a while I decided to call DISH Network and try to get the problem resolved. After working my way through a couple of lower-tier tech support people, I was finally able to get through to “advanced technical support” where one of the technicians tried to diagnose the problem. He led me through some diagnostic tests on my DVR which all passed with flying colors.

The technician then tried to access my DVR through the internet since it is indeed connected to my home broadband connection (a requirement if you want access to on-demand programming). He reported that it appeared that my DVR was trying to access the internet, but for some reason was not able to connect to DISH Network’s servers.

At that time the technician suggested that they simply send me a new DVR and I agreed. We finished out conversation and I hung up the phone.

A short time later as I sat watching TV it hit me. The problem was not with the DVR at all! The router that connects all the computers and other network-enabled devices to the internet in my house is also a firewall with built-in web proxy. It’s not a standard router that you can buy off the shelf at CompUSA or Best Buy, although I suspect some of those off-the-shelf routers might cause problems with DISH Network DVRs or other devices.

I had remembered that were certain programs on my PC that would not interact with certain servers on the internet unless I allowed the web proxy to be bypassed when accessing those sites on the net. It happens very rarely, but it does happen. The router solution I use (which actually runs on a dedicated PC) offers enormous flexibility, which is why I choose to use it.

I logged into the router and adjusted the settings to allow the DVR to access the internet without passing through the web proxy. Within an hour or so, the on-demand programming I was not able to access before was showing up on my DVR. The web proxy had been blocking the traffic from the DVR for some strange reason and was causing the problem with access to on-demand programming.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that DISH has made significant improvements in the on-demand programming functionality. Not only is there an improved user interface that is much more intuitive, the on-demand programming is now available immediately!

With the old interface, I would have to wait hours for the on-demand programming to download from the internet to my DVR, but now there is only a delay of around 5 or 10 seconds before you can begin watching on-demand programming. A very significant improvement!

The take-away from this post is that if you are not able to access on-demand programming from your DVR, check your internet router and see if you can exempt the DVR from any proxies or firewalls that might be blocking the DVR’s access.

Some routers allow you to designate a particular computer or other device as part of a DMZ or “demilitarized zone.” Placing your DVR (usually by using its IP address) in that zone may solve problems you have accessing on-demand programming from your DVR.

DISH on Demand Problems With My ViP622 DVR

With 3D becoming available on some newer televisions, consumers are now able to enjoy 3D programming right in their own homes. DISH Network is stepping up to the plate with some new 3D programming for the first time.

On-demand movies are being offered for viewers who have a 3D-capable television and a ViP922 HD DVR. A sample of 3D movies available on DISH include Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, The Last Airbender, A Christmas Carol and Step Up 3D.

DISH plans to make the following movies available starting in January: Despicable Me, "Shrek Forever After, and Saw: The Final Chapter.

3D movies will be shown in HD resolution up to 1080p.

Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming for DISH Network offered the following comments on the new developments: “DISH Network is giving customers the ability to experience the power of 3D from home with a variety of popular movies available on DISH Cinema. Our customers expect engaging video experiences, and we look forward to bringing them additional 3D titles as we expand our DISH Cinema platform."

3D Movies Come To DISH Network