Help Talk Me From The Ledge!

[kraigk1]

Hey everybody,

Long time lurker, and I have to say that you guys are awfully helpful. Unfortunately, my first post is this, and please bear with me:

I've been with DTV since the beginning, and now I'm at a crossroads. It just seems like everything is really overpriced and a mess. I have a list of issues, and I'm hoping that maybe one of you could tell me something encouraging that will keep me from switching to Comcast. This isn't bitching, I really WANT to stay as I love the NFL Sunday Ticket. But I just wonder if it's worth the extra money now.

Here is my list of issues, please let me know if you have good news:

- There is no cheap way to circumvent connecting DTV to a phone line for my DVR and service. I'm paying an extra $14.99 a month just to have a landline (I use cell phone for anything else.)

- I currently can only get OTA HD channels. DTV won't have a HD-DVR that supports the new MPEG 4 locals until Fall of next year. And how much will I have to pay to upgrade if I have a Philips 1st gen HDTV-DVR?

- It costs an extra $10 a month just to get the good HD channels (Comcast is markedly cheaper.)

- DTV is raising their rates (again!)

Help! Besides NFL Sunday Ticket and the NFL Network, what would I be missing by making the switch? Sigh..

Thanks,

Kraig

 

[VIPERS-PIT]

your DVR is fine untill the mpeg 4 unit comes out, should be that long before anything is broadcast in mpeg4

the 10 bucks for the HD channels is not bad, especially if you have HBO and Showtime.

My understanding is that everyone is rasing rates. This is gonna happen from time to time. They usually dont drop prices.

And with your love for NFL sunday ticket, it seams like a no brainner to stay with D*

 

[Proc]

The NFL Sunday Ticket is the bait and those of us who love football are on the hook.

If you are with D* for the NFLST (as am I) then you know the answer. If you can deal without the "ticket" and are o.k. with whatever game is shown locally then make the switch to cable.

 

[dragon002]

comcrap in pittsburgh raised rates 2.1.06 by 8%, directv was nowhere near that.

if you love ST, well directv has it all by itself until 2011 and they will not share it.

 

[basshive]

- There is no cheap way to circumvent connecting DTV to a phone line for my DVR and service. I'm paying an extra $14.99 a month just to have a landline (I use cell phone for anything else.)

Actually there is a very very cheap way to do so as long as you have internet connectivity. I use the serial port on the directivo which connects to my laptop via null modem cable. From there it goes out and does its updates on the net. Yes it is a manual process, but I can just take the laptop to it ones a week or whenever and run the update. It is the only proven method I have ever found and has worked for me flawlessly. I struggled forever with trying to make it work over vonage etc..

Anyways if you do have internet access you might want to check this out. Could save you 14$ a month? Help offset your costs and D*'s price hikes

How to - http://www.b-lan.com/otto/tivo3xp/

Nullmodem cable - http://www.9thtee.com/tivo-sa2o.htm (you can make your own too)

 

[kraigk1]

Thanks!

How do I find out if my HD-DVR Tivo is software above 3.0?

And has anyone heard if DTV will ever let us drop the phone line? It's becoming so archaic.

 

[scotsmanron]

I've not had a phone line for my DVRs ever. I let them call in at my parents house and then brought them home. Once a month I delete the "you haven't called" messages". The only thing you don't get are the periodic updates and the ability to order PPV with the remote. Big fat hairy deal.

 

[kraigk1]

I've not had a phone line for my DVRs ever. I let them call in at my parents house and then brought them home. Once a month I delete the "you haven't called" messages". The only thing you don't get are the periodic updates and the ability to order PPV with the remote. Big fat hairy deal.

Interesting. But would that work if I wanted NFL Sunday Ticket?

 

[Hogarth]

How do I find out if my HD-DVR Tivo is software above 3.0?

Why? It's not. All HD TiVos should be running v3.1.5f.

 

[ncted]

My local cable company (TWC) just raised rates for standard cable by $10/month. It would cost me ~$95/month with TWC to get what I have from D* for around $61, and I would have to use their crappy DVR instead of my TiVos. I am sticking it to the man!

Ted

 

[LonghornXP]

Question 1. Soon and I don't know how soon all the boxes that have an ethernet jack on them will soon be connected via an ethernet jack instead of a phone jack if you have a high speed internet connection. You would have to make this choice on your own. Also in the future DirecTV will put in a backdoor channel that would connect the other boxes in your house to that one connected box. So in simple terms if you had four rooms only one box would need to be connected via ethernet to your high speed internet connection and your other three boxes will be connected to that internet connection via what DirecTV calls a backdoor. So in simple terms yes in the future you won't require a phone line nor will all you other boxes require a direct connection either. Also keep in mind that this new system can check that your connecting to the internet within the area your account is in. For example we staff members can see what company and area your in via your username and DirecTV will have software to make sure that your within the area your account is in.

2. DirecTV will have an HD DVR much before the fall of this year so that shouldn't be a problem. Now what isn't known yet is if this new rental plan requires an upfront hardware cost or not. But at worst case you would pay 250 bucks up front and you would pay a lease fee which would simply be in place of the mirror fee. So you won't pay a mirror fee but you will pay the same amount the mirror fee is but it would be called a lease fee.

3. The HD Package is steep but if you order Total Choice Premier you should soon be getting the HD Package for free. Soon Total Choice Premier will include the HD package at no extra charge so if you get this package or are close to it it would be cheaper that way.

4. DirecTV is indeed raising prices as every company is and I'm more upset with DirecTV about this as Chase said they wouldn't be raising prices and a month later says the complete opposite of what he just said a month before.

Also as a side note NFL Sunday Ticket will no longer have blackouts unless its your local team not selling out. So next season you won't be forced to watch a game on your local station anymore and that also means that if your local station doesn't broadcast HD or they do it very badly you can view the game in HDTV via the Sunday Ticket HD channel for that game.

 

[Ramy]

Also as a side note NFL Sunday Ticket will no longer have blackouts unless its your local team not selling out. So next season you won't be forced to watch a game on your local station anymore and that also means that if your local station doesn't broadcast HD or they do it very badly you can view the game in HDTV via the Sunday Ticket HD channel for that game.

Ok, it's not that I don't trust you on this, but has there been any announcement from D* about this. I would be really pissed if I purchased this and then it wasn't true. Know what I mean.

 

[LonghornXP]

Ok, it's not that I don't trust you on this, but has there been any announcement from D* about this. I would be really pissed if I purchased this and then it wasn't true. Know what I mean.

I don't think a press release says this but the new CBS and Fox network contracts that will be starting this coming season don't require blackouts. DirecTV would rather not have blacked these games out as they have lost customers and ticked off more but at the time they had to follow the contract until it ran out. That contract ran out at the end of the regular season and the new CBS and Fox contracts will start on the first week of this coming regular season.

In simple terms I'm 100% sure about this. Also I don't expect you to believe everything you read but I'm quite trusted but I'm sure Scott, Sean, IceBerg or another staff member can reply to this as well.

 

[basshive]

Interesting. But would that work if I wanted NFL Sunday Ticket?

I have had Sunday Ticket for 3 years and never had a problem. I update the dvr about once a week just to clean it up a bit and not get nagged but I did not start that until a year ago. I have not had a phone line for those 3 years and only every had my dvr dial in for updates using the method I posted about earlier.

 

[Ramy]

I don't think a press release says this but the new CBS and Fox network contracts that will be starting this coming season don't require blackouts. DirecTV would rather not have blacked these games out as they have lost customers and ticked off more but at the time they had to follow the contract until it ran out. That contract ran out at the end of the regular season and the new CBS and Fox contracts will start on the first week of this coming regular season.

In simple terms I'm 100% sure about this. Also I don't expect you to believe everything you read but I'm quite trusted but I'm sure Scott, Sean, IceBerg or another staff member can reply to this as well.

I trust what you are saying. I have sent messages to you and you have been very helpful in the past with information, but you just never know about the information sometimes. If you have seen the new contract then I think I will go ahead and get it. Thanks for the info.

 

[LonghornXP]

I trust what you are saying. I have sent messages to you and you have been very helpful in the past with information, but you just never know about the information sometimes. If you have seen the new contract then I think I will go ahead and get it. Thanks for the info.

I haven't seen the new contract but I do know a person that has seen it and I trust this person very much. Also you have no idea how much money DirecTV had to spend to deal with those extra phone calls for something they couldn't do anything about and many customers called in more than one time each week for all 16 weeks.

 

[austen0316]

hey longhorn, do you know when the hd package will be added to the Total Choice Premier?

 

[LonghornXP]

hey longhorn, do you know when the hd package will be added to the Total Choice Premier?

Not an exact date but within the next couple of months. I've been hearing March 1st, 2006 as a date though.

 

[peterl1365]

Question 1. Soon and I don't know how soon all the boxes that have an ethernet jack on them will soon be connected via an ethernet jack instead of a phone jack if you have a high speed internet connection. You would have to make this choice on your own. Also in the future DirecTV will put in a backdoor channel that would connect the other boxes in your house to that one connected box. So in simple terms if you had four rooms only one box would need to be connected via ethernet to your high speed internet connection and your other three boxes will be connected to that internet connection via what DirecTV calls a backdoor. So in simple terms yes in the future you won't require a phone line nor will all you other boxes require a direct connection either. Also keep in mind that this new system can check that your connecting to the internet within the area your account is in.

LonghornXP,
Is this the rumored MOCA box that you've hinted at in the HMC thread? Will we see multi-room viewing from D* this year? Will existing DTivo's support MRV?

Thanks

 

[LonghornXP]

LonghornXP,
Is this the rumored MOCA box that you've hinted at in the HMC thread? Will we see multi-room viewing from D* this year? Will existing DTivo's support MRV?

Thanks

This is a related but yet not related change. This backdoor channel for the phone line issue is something that will work with all existing boxes. This means that one box must be connected to a phone line and the other boxes on the account can connect via the backdoor channel which in turn can use the connected boxes phone line to upload PPV charges on those extra boxes among other things.

This backdoor also has the ability to work with an ethernet only connected box which right now will pretty much be DVR boxes. This means that if you have one DVR box you can connect this box via eithernet to the internet instead of using a phone line and the backdoor channel will allow your other boxes (any box DirecTV has) to use the connected boxes internet connection to again upload PPV charges among other things. This has nothing todo with MOCA but it does use some bits of it.

From what I hear the MPEG4 DVR products at some point will feature multiroom viewing but when is again the big question. The home media center product last I heard will still be released but that is delayed until second half of the year. The media center computer news with Microsoft and everything will also be another option and is seperate from the home media center that again will still be released.

I hope this explains things a little more for you but in simple terms all these things above are seperate products or offerings and they have no relation to either other.