locals hd receiver vs hddvr

[pomona]

Working on behalf of my 80 year old mother who wants a dvr, trying to record to the vcr is confusing for both of us.

• Has a hdrcvr but not being charge for hdservice. Rep explain it's so she can get her locals.
• If she got a standard dvr, she would lose her locals. ? she couldn't expalin why.
• If she upgraded to a hddvr for $200 - hdservice must be added. It can't be an option.
• She would have to commit for two more years to get the hddvr. Her current commitment ends May 2011.
• No credit when the hdrcvr is returned.
• $21 more a month added to her bill

Any other options?

I'm with dish and It always seems I get a warm, fuzzy when I talk to them. No offense- but my last 3 calls with dtv seems like I'm bothering them. I was halfway thinking of switching to DTV if it would help the dvr cause for my mother, but I was afraid to ask!

Thanks.

 

[jtwex]

Working on behalf of my 80 year old mother who wants a dvr, trying to record to the vcr is confusing for both of us.

• Has a hdrcvr but not being charge for hdservice. Rep explain it's so she can get her locals.
• If she got a standard dvr, she would lose her locals. ? she couldn't expalin why.
• If she upgraded to a hddvr for $200 - hdservice must be added. It can't be an option.
• She would have to commit for two more years to get the hddvr. Her current commitment ends May 2011.
• No credit when the hdrcvr is returned.
• $21 more a month added to her bill

Any other options?

Thanks.

They are always running deals & it sounds like you got a dud of a CSR at DTV.
She wants to record shows so I'm skipping the non-DVR questions.
Hd service must be added if you get an HDDVR, but you don't lose your locals providing your package has the HD locals in them. If you have a roof or attic antenna you could purchase an AM-21 receiver from DTV & get your locals from the local broadcast towers. You can definitely find a better deal than $200 for one HDDVR (as a new customer) all the way down to free in some cases ($99 would be the absolute max). She would have to commit to a new 2-yr term & no credit would be returned if you send back the unit after your time is up. Not sure about the $21 more a month, it depends on what package she would want to purchase.
I'm with dish and It always seems I get a warm, fuzzy when I talk to them. No offense- but my last 3 calls with dtv seems like I'm bothering them. I was halfway thinking of switching to DTV if it would help the dvr cause for my mother, but I was afraid to ask!

 

[raoul5788]

Working on behalf of my 80 year old mother who wants a dvr, trying to record to the vcr is confusing for both of us.

• Has a hdrcvr but not being charge for hdservice. Rep explain it's so she can get her locals.
• If she got a standard dvr, she would lose her locals. ? she couldn't expalin why.
• If she upgraded to a hddvr for $200 - hdservice must be added. It can't be an option.
• She would have to commit for two more years to get the hddvr. Her current commitment ends May 2011.
• No credit when the hdrcvr is returned.
• $21 more a month added to her bill

Any other options?

I'm with dish and It always seems I get a warm, fuzzy when I talk to them. No offense- but my last 3 calls with dtv seems like I'm bothering them. I was halfway thinking of switching to DTV if it would help the dvr cause for my mother, but I was afraid to ask!

Thanks.

If all she wants to record is her locals and sd Directv channels, and if she can get the locals ota, then get an HR10-250. It's an older hd dvr that doesn't get the new mpeg4 Directv channels, but will get her local channels in hd with an antenna. You can buy one on eBay. I'm not sure if it will work without a Directv subscription, so she may need to add it to her account. Since she would own it, it wouldn't extend her contract, but it would cost her $5/month extra. Here is a link to some that are on eBay right now:
hr10-250, Electronics, Computers Networking. Great deals on eBay!

 

[JAG72]

It sounds like you are in a market that the local channels are MPEG4 only. I thought that if this was the case you could get the HD DVR without having to pay for the HD channels.

Since her commitment ends May 2011 she is really only adding one more year to her current commitment. It would only extend it out to March 2012 if ordered this month.

 

[jdspencer]

A basic question that wasn't asked. Does she get the SD locals from DirecTV? If so, there's no reason why a regular SD DVR (R15, R16 or even the R22) receiver can't be used for the SD locals. Did I miss something here?

 

[JAG72]

A basic question that wasn't asked. Does she get the SD locals from DirecTV? If so, there's no reason why a regular SD DVR (R15, R16 or even the R22) receiver can't be used for the SD locals. Did I miss something here?

The OP made reference to a HD receiver being returned. The R22 would work in this case but I have heard that it has been discontinued.

 

[jdspencer]

Yeah, I saw that, but I was focusing on the fact that the CSR said that a standard DVR would cause the loss of locals. Which isn't true. The CSR was just trying to get the customer to upgrade.

The R22 should be able to be found somewhere and is a better option than the HR10.

 

[pomona]

It sounds like you are in a market that the local channels are MPEG4 only. I thought that if this was the case you could get the HD DVR without having to pay for the HD channels.

Since her commitment ends May 2011 she is really only adding one more year to her current commitment. It would only extend it out to March 2012 if ordered this month.

How do I find out if she is in a mpeg4 market?

I had a good deal on Sunday morning. $99 for a HDDVR I checked and double check and I was confirmed that it was a hddvr and no hd service required. So I asked if I need a confirmation, as I would have to check with mom if that was ok. The CSR said she would put notes on the account. When I called back, I got no deal and told I was wrong and misunderstood the csr.

If I understand correctly, if our locals are in a mpeg4 market, a standard dvr wouldn't work? She gets pretty bad receiption with ota.

Thanks

 

[JAG72]

Here are a few that I could find.

Customers in these markets will need MPEG-4 equipment to receive local channels:
· Burlington Vt.-Plattsburg, N.Y.
· Columbia-Jefferson City, Mo.
· Fort Wayne, Ind.
· La Crosse-Eau Claire, Wis.
· Lincoln Hastings, Neb.
· Peoria-Bloomington, Ill.
· Rockford, Ill.
· Traverse City-Cadillac, Mich.
· Youngstown, Ohio

Edit: This is the list for areas that went all MPEG4 in 2009. There will be more done in 2010 and 2011.

 

[raoul5788]

Yeah, I saw that, but I was focusing on the fact that the CSR said that a standard DVR would cause the loss of locals. Which isn't true. The CSR was just trying to get the customer to upgrade.

The R22 should be able to be found somewhere and is a better option than the HR10.

An sd dvr would lose the hd locals for her. That's probably what the csr meant.

 

[pomona]

Here are a few that I could find.




Edit: This is the list for areas that went all MPEG4 in 2009. There will be more done in 2010 and 2011.

I can't seem to get a good answer from dtv, so I'm asking here.
She is in a MPEG4 market. So will a standard $99 dvr work to pickup locals?
OTA is not an option. She doesn't pay for the hd service now. But has a hdrcvr.
She is ok to pay $99 + lease and dvr service, but not $199 + $10 for hdservice +$lease+$dvrservice. Which the csr said would be required for the hddvr.

If we ordered a standard dvr for our market and the standard dvr can't get the locals, will they send her a hddvr instead?

(Dish is so easy to negotiate things like this, I don't know why dtv is so difficult!)

Thanks everyone!

 

[JAG72]

I can't seem to get a good answer from dtv, so I'm asking here.
She is in a MPEG4 market. So will a standard $99 dvr work to pickup locals?
OTA is not an option. She doesn't pay for the hd service now. But has a hdrcvr.
She is ok to pay $99 + lease and dvr service, but not $199 + $10 for hdservice +$lease+$dvrservice. Which the csr said would be required for the hddvr.

If we ordered a standard dvr for our market and the standard dvr can't get the locals, will they send her a hddvr instead?

(Dish is so easy to negotiate things like this, I don't know why dtv is so difficult!)

Thanks everyone!

If she is in one of the markets that I posted a standard DVR will not work for her (except the R22 which is discontinued).

You could always look on ebay or other retailers to see if you might be able to grab a R22.