Consider switching from E* to D*

[daffy]

I have been an E* customer for 6 years - and have really been wanting to upgrade to a DVR. E* has their upgrade promotion to the 522 DVR details now available - and its' not financially attractive - and I've been reading about all the problems that the 522 has.

I'm seriously considering switching to D* and getting 2 DirectTivo systems.
Can you offer any advice or things I should consider before switching ?
I do not have HD TV and will not be purchasing a new TV for at least a year or two. I've looked at the programming packages and do not think I'll be losing any channels that matter to me.

I'd appreciate any input from others who have already switched or who are also considering switching from E* to D*.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tds4182]

Switching from E* to D*

I have been an E* customer for 6 years - and have really been wanting to upgrade to a DVR. E* has their upgrade promotion to the 522 DVR details now available - and its' not financially attractive - and I've been reading about all the problems that the 522 has.

I'm seriously considering switching to D* and getting 2 DirectTivo systems.
Can you offer any advice or things I should consider before switching ?
I do not have HD TV and will not be purchasing a new TV for at least a year or two. I've looked at the programming packages and do not think I'll be losing any channels that matter to me.

I'd appreciate any input from others who have already switched or who are also considering switching from E* to D*.

Thanks in advance.

Go ahead and make the switch. I did about 2 1/2 years ago and I'm glad I did.
I now have an HD Tivo, an SD Tivo and 2 SD Hughes receivers.

Call D* and see what kind of a deal they'll make you as a new customer. You'll love the Tivo units and their stability/reliability.

Enjoy!

 

[rad]

If you're looking for a new system check out www.valueelectronics.com, their a sponser of this site and treat you right.

I'd recommend that you look at the manual for the box you're thinking about getting on the www.directv.com web site so you can see how it works and what it will and won't do. For example, the D* Tivo's don't have RF remotes, they don't have caller ID, they require a phone line connection in order to get software updates installed (they're downloaded on the dish but it needs a phone call home to activate). Be warned that te DirecTV style guide is VERY slow, but the Tivo list guide is much faster but still slower then the E* hardware. There is a $4.99 Tivo charge, per account not per DVR, but it's waiver is you have Total Choice Platinum package. You also need two coax cables from the dish run to each D* Tivo to use both tuners. It's also strongly recommended that you get a phase III dish installed, even if you don't need it now, for the future and also it includes a 4 by multiswitch. And while the box has two USB ports on the back they are not currently enabled and D* or Tivo have never officially said that they will ever be or if the Home Media Option will ever be available (althought the rumor mill says you might see it fairly soon). Hope that helps. Now let's wait for reddice to chime in on how bad D* sucks.

 

[boba]

Current Directv promotion gives new customer a $50 rebate on 1 TiVo unlike DISH charging for each DVR Directv only has 1 $4.99 DVR fee per account. Take advantage of the Para Todos programming packages. Opcion Ultra Especial at $39.99 gives virtually all the programming of Total Choice plus and is not going up in price March 1st.