Noted: Less than a bitty Hopper, Dish Network said the HopperGO is now available for $99.
Dish customers can transfer up to 100 hours of recorded TV shows from their home Hopper DVR (2 or 3) to the new HopperGo and then wirelessly stream the shows in the car or outside of the house — no internet required. That’s because the HopperGo creates its own wireless network that up to five Wi-Fi smartphones or other devices can access.
The idea isn’t new. Hard-drive makers like and began offering portable drives that allow wireless access for the past several years. Dish, too, has long offered a way for customers to access recorded shows away from home, with its service.
The HopperGo, however, doesn’t have a monthly fee but a one-time charge of $99 for the device.
From our with the Douglas County company, they told us there’s also a feature to help you pick videos to put on HopperGo if you don’t have time to transfer shows to the device. “Smart Prepare” takes shows Dish thinks you might be interested in and sends those to the HopperGo as well.
And the reviews so far are … good!
PC World calling it “simple to use” but dings it for short battery life and high price.
Tom’s Guide but notes it “can’t transfer recordings back to DVR from HopperGO” and “not all DVR content can be transferred to HopperGO.”
According to Dish, the HopperGo can stream videos for four hours before needing to recharge.