Does DVR receiver cause bills to increase automatically (even without the 'service')?

[StarSeeker]

I see where DVR receivers can be obtained, used or new, for a reasonable price.

The question is - if I used such a receiver, would D* AUTOMATICALLY charge me more, citing "DVR Service", even if I don't sign up for any such "service" but merely chose to use the DVR manually?

Ethically, unless I signed up for a "service", I shouldn't be charged more just for using a DVR which I purchase; but I don't know how they calculate the bills and if any DVR-capable receiver automatically enables "DVR 'service' ".

Anyone have any experience with or direct knowledge of this issue?

 

[harshness]

If you have a DVR on your account, you must pay for DVR service. They don't care whether you own the device or not as they consider it a service.

 

[StarSeeker]

But what if I only use it as a "receiver", per se? Is there something in the code on the receiver portion of the receiver which IDs it as a "DVR"?

Anyway... that's one of the things which ticks me off about the way D* does business. You buy a DVR. Now they want to to PAY THEM to use your OWN DVR.

The alternative, of course, is to use a DVR which is not linked to the D* system at all, but merely captures the analog signal coming out of the D* receiver. Seems a doggone shame to have to do that, but I cannot imagine paying a company a monthly charge to use a piece of equipment I purchase for myself.

 

[Tyralak]

But what if I only use it as a "receiver", per se? Is there something in the code on the receiver portion of the receiver which IDs it as a "DVR"?

Anyway... that's one of the things which ticks me off about the way D* does business. You buy a DVR. Now they want to to PAY THEM to use your OWN DVR.

The alternative, of course, is to use a DVR which is not linked to the D* system at all, but merely captures the analog signal coming out of the D* receiver. Seems a doggone shame to have to do that, but I cannot imagine paying a company a monthly charge to use a piece of equipment I purchase for myself.

Agreed, but the only problem with that a standalone DVR like a Tivo is going to have amonthly fee too. And a higher one.

 

[StarSeeker]

Agreed, but the only problem with that a standalone DVR like a Tivo is going to have amonthly fee too. And a higher one.

I don't understand how Tivo makes money. Really. What insanity; you buy a piece of equipment that you have to PAY to use.

That's like my water utility company charging me a monthly fee to use my hot water heater.

At some point, there are going to be standalone DVRs without the insanity of a monthly fee. They simply will be a digital version of a VCR. You can do it already with a computer. You can do it already with a DVD Recorder.

I imagine the only reason there aren't a slew of standalone DVRs, sans monthly fees, on the market is that someone has a strangehold on the patents required to do so.

 

[Tyralak]

I don't understand how Tivo makes money. Really. What insanity; you buy a piece of equipment that you have to PAY to use.

That's like my water utility company charging me a monthly fee to use my hot water heater.

At some point, there are going to be standalone DVRs without the insanity of a monthly fee. They simply will be a digital version of a VCR. You can do it already with a computer. You can do it already with a DVD Recorder.

I imagine the only reason there aren't a slew of standalone DVRs, sans monthly fees, on the market is that someone has a strangehold on the patents required to do so.

Those kind of DVRs exist. The reason they're not very popular is because they don't have guide information. You have to set all times manually, and most people who want a DVR, want it so they can do name based recording, new episodes, etc. With a standalone DVR, the monthly fee is paid to acquire guide information so you can set your recordings without doing it manually by time.

 

[StarSeeker]

The reason they're not very popular is because they don't have guide information. You have to set all times manually, and most people who want a DVR, want it so they can do name based recording, new episodes, etc.

Heh. Manual like a VCR. Yet still many people use THOSE.

I realize the convenience of the service for those willing to pay for it. But I am interested simply in replacing my old VCR with a digital recorder - but one I don't need to inssert DVDs to run.

I also imagine one of the reasons the standalones are not popular is a lack of availability and marketing. You don't see them at Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart or in most online stores. If they are not properly marketed then of course they will not be popular.

With a standalone DVR, the monthly fee is paid to acquire guide information so you can set your recordings without doing it manually by time.

Right; but ironically, that "serivce" already PART of what you get with D*, since you have the listing grids and can set your receiver's timer by them.

So in that case you're actually getting nothing from D* except the ability to use the equipment you bought with the service they're already providing. Sigh.

 

[jdspencer]

Perhaps a DVD recorder that has a hard drive would work for you. Of course, you'll need to connect a standalone DirecTV receiver as the source. Or use its internal tuner. Are there any with ATSC tuners?

Try this for an analogy. Would your car run without gasoline (or some other fuel)?
The DVR service is the fuel for the hardware.

 

[bjdotson]

I have a media center PC-DVR (looks like a VCR or a piece of stereo equipment) hooked up to a SD directv receiver (sw310). The DVR also has a OTA HD tuner in it. I can get my local stations in HD free. There is an online guide which you can set up. Since the receiver plugs into one tuner and the HD into another; the only way I can record two stations is to record one SD, the other HD. It does have a duel tuner but I would have to plug in two receivers to make that work. I use it as a backup system, since I have two directv DVRs upstairs.

My point is you can buy a stand alone DVR and hook it up to a receiver or two and it DOES come with a guide provided by Zap2it.com

 

[meStevo]

There are options, but it really is more of an enthusiast thing.

You can buy your hardware, but to be able to record, you have to pay. Just the way it is, and likely won't ever go away aside from being bundled into one of your programming packages. This is true for every single provider out there.

 

[darrencp22]

seems liek a lot of effort to save $5. I think part of these fees are now going ot the content providers btw because of the loss in commercial revenue.

 

[philhu]

I don't understand how Tivo makes money. Really. What insanity; you buy a piece of equipment that you have to PAY to use.

That's like my water utility company charging me a monthly fee to use my hot water heater.

My water company DOES charge me to have a hot water heater. Monthly, $6.31

But, with Tivo, you can get device lifetime service, and then there are no monthly fees.

 

[Salrod]

OMG, Philhu. Almost certainly, someone at my water supply district is going to see this. Then I'll be paying the extra fee too.