A few years back, DISH Network introduced the Hopper Whole-House DVR. Since then, the DVR category has never really been the same. Tons of competitors have popped up with similar offerings, giving viewers more recording options than you could ever imagine. Then, DISH just one-upped them a year later by upgrading the Hopper to include Slingbox place-shifting technology, so that subscribers could view DVR content and even live TV from across town or across the globe. That's the current Hopper with Sling Whole-House DVR.
So where does the company go from here? Wireless, of course!
The latest member of the Hopper family is the Wireless Joey. If you're not familiar with the Hopper lineup, the Joey is a separate client that connects to a wall outlet in any room via coax. That one wire can put all of the Hopper's live and recorded TV content into other rooms of the house, all without having a whole separate DVR box. It's cheaper, easier and cleaner.
Now with the Wireless Joey, you also don't even need to have coax to feed that content into other rooms. It can hook up to any TV in the house -- even crappy ones.
Before the Wireless Joey came along, my DISH Network setup consisted of one Hopper with Sling in my living room and one Joey in my master bedroom. However, I have the saddest little TV in an exercise room on the first floor. It's always been an afterthought. To prove my point, it still has a VCR connected to it, from when my son was little. (Even he has shunned such primitive technology!) I've never thought about adding actual satellite service to it because running wires can be a pain and I've always had my iPad to keep me entertained.
Oh sure, I tried to add antenna channels more than once. However, because of the location of the room and the TV, the two indoor antennas that I tried didn't seem to tap into that many channels. And really, I didn't even need or want the ones it was yielding. In other words, back to my iPad.
However, when I was sent a Wireless Joey, things changed -- and for the better.
Out of the Box(es)
I need to mention that the Wireless Joey should be installed by a technician. For purposes of this review, DISH Network sent me the hardware to install. However, I definitely kept them on speed dial. It's important to note that you can't just buy a Wireless Joey off of the web and start streaming; it needs to be authorized as a piece of equipment on your account. (And you'll need to commit to $50 for the Access Point, as well as a $7 monthly fee for the Wireless Joey.)
The Wireless Joey comes packaged in two boxes. One has an access point. The other is the actual Wireless Joey client. The setup also comes with the same DISH remote that you get with the Hopper and/or any of the Joey boxes.
If you want to go completely wire-free (except for the power, silly), you'll need to hook up that Access Point. This creates a network that the Joey can tap into. It also couldn't be any easier.
[editor's note: actually, it could be easier: it could connect to your DISH Hopper DVR using your existing wireless network, without the wireless access point, and that's actually how I installed it. I just turned on the wireless Joey (which was already linked to my DISH account), followed the on-screen instructions, hit the WPS button on my router when prompted to do so and I was up and running with the software update and installation. Moments later I was watching DISH content and recorded shows in my basement home theater. And now back to your regularly scheduled review...]
Even though the Wireless Joey can go into any room in the house, the Access Point needs to live near your Hopper box. That's because it needs to plug into one of the DVR's two Ethernet ports on the back. It also needs to be close to an available outlet. Once you make those two connections, verify that the switch on the back of the Access Point is flipped to "Access Point" and not "Client."
After everything is connected, the Ethernet LED on the front of the Access Point will turn a solid blue, while the green power button blinks. That means that software is downloading and magic is happening.
Then, turn on your Hopper DVR and press the menu button on the remote. From there, click on Settings, Network Setup, and the Whole Home option. At this point, the Wireless Joey should appear in that area as a linked device.
Another Joey is Born
Once the Access Point is linked to your setup, it's time to get the Wireless Joey into the picture. As mentioned, I connected the Wireless Joey to an insanely old TV. The Wireless Joey does have RCA-type connections to make that happen. However, if you're connecting this to a newer TV, HDMI is also an option (the preferred option).
Connect the Wireless Joey to your TV of choice, plug it into an outlet, and turn it on. From there, you should see the start-up menu appear on the TV screen. Once the Wireless Joey is fired up, it will walk you through the rest of the setup process, which is basically pushing the WPS button on the front of the Wireless Joey, followed by the WPS button on the Access Point. As soon as I completed those steps, the Wireless Joey rebooted and magically started showing channels -- all of them.
Since the setup was completed, we have been enjoying TV in a spot where we've never had it before. Even my son has rekindled his interest in that little TV. The picture is always clear and I have yet to experience any issues with either live or recorded TV. Also, I don't have to worry about dropping my iPad while I am flailing away on the elliptical machine.
Something worth mentioning is that the Wireless Joey does take up one of the Hopper's tuners when watching live TV. Adding that extra box does not give you another viewing or recording option. It just taketh away! (And makes you want to get the Super Joey, which can add two more tuners into your setup.) However, the payoff is very much worth the sacrifice, especially if you're looking for a super-easy, reliable way to add more TV viewing spots in the house.
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