Open post to Charlie Ergen:
I've been watching the E* vs. Tivo situation for several years now. Regardless of the facts that you are arguing, the courts seem to be siding with Tivo in their patent dispute (and I agree the Patent Office is making a huge mistake here).
Whether it is based on facts or speculation, the new HD for Life plan seems to be a way to get subscribers to padlock their ankles to E* for two years of commitment. A few are speculating that a shutdown of E*'s DVRs may be imminent, and this is a way to reduce your potential subscriber losses.
Mr. Ergen, I've been a subscriber of E*'s since May 2000, and a DVR user since the Microsoft based Dishplayer. I am NEVER going back to a world where DVRs don't exist for me. Up until now I have been avoiding jumping to Verizon's Fios, which has a less compressed picture, better VOD offerings (including free access to PayTv content for services that I would subscribe to), always on HD RSNs, and more local channels. The SINGLE reason that I have not left is that your DVRs are better and more robust than theirs.
If you allow that single advantage to be eliminated, then I will be gone within days of any shutoff. I will not gamble that you will resolve the situation in a few days or weeks, I will simply make the switch. I am simply not returning to a world where I have to rush home to watch a show that I like. I understand that you are a world class poker player, and that you have no problem pushing your chips "all in" to get the best deal possible for your company, but realize that I will not allow myself to become collateral damage in your war with Tivo.
I currently spend more than $200 a month on your service. Paying Tivo's ransom demands will rub all of our fur in the wrong direction, but there comes a time when a pragmatic solution is less damaging than driving for all out victory.
If a shutdown is NOT imminent, and we are all overreacting, then keep fighting as you see fit. I just wanted to make sure that you did not underestimate how much the DVR has become a necessity and not assume that it was an extravagance that we could live without.
I will NOT sign on for any more commitments until the DVR issue is resolved one way or the other with a permanent solution that removes the legal Sword of Damocles that is hanging over all of the DVR subscribers' heads..
At the very least, I would ask that you give us notice to any planned shutdowns so that we would have time to migrate our saved recordings to other media. I have two years worth of saved recordings and I will be REALLY mad if I get NO notice before a shutoff locks me out.
Bob Murdoch
To my fellow SatGuys, I invite any of you who feel that you would leave if the DVRs went dark to post so here. Hopefully Scott G. can point Mr. Ergen's attention to this thread to remind him that there is a breaking point for our patience.
I've been watching the E* vs. Tivo situation for several years now. Regardless of the facts that you are arguing, the courts seem to be siding with Tivo in their patent dispute (and I agree the Patent Office is making a huge mistake here).
Whether it is based on facts or speculation, the new HD for Life plan seems to be a way to get subscribers to padlock their ankles to E* for two years of commitment. A few are speculating that a shutdown of E*'s DVRs may be imminent, and this is a way to reduce your potential subscriber losses.
Mr. Ergen, I've been a subscriber of E*'s since May 2000, and a DVR user since the Microsoft based Dishplayer. I am NEVER going back to a world where DVRs don't exist for me. Up until now I have been avoiding jumping to Verizon's Fios, which has a less compressed picture, better VOD offerings (including free access to PayTv content for services that I would subscribe to), always on HD RSNs, and more local channels. The SINGLE reason that I have not left is that your DVRs are better and more robust than theirs.
If you allow that single advantage to be eliminated, then I will be gone within days of any shutoff. I will not gamble that you will resolve the situation in a few days or weeks, I will simply make the switch. I am simply not returning to a world where I have to rush home to watch a show that I like. I understand that you are a world class poker player, and that you have no problem pushing your chips "all in" to get the best deal possible for your company, but realize that I will not allow myself to become collateral damage in your war with Tivo.
I currently spend more than $200 a month on your service. Paying Tivo's ransom demands will rub all of our fur in the wrong direction, but there comes a time when a pragmatic solution is less damaging than driving for all out victory.
If a shutdown is NOT imminent, and we are all overreacting, then keep fighting as you see fit. I just wanted to make sure that you did not underestimate how much the DVR has become a necessity and not assume that it was an extravagance that we could live without.
I will NOT sign on for any more commitments until the DVR issue is resolved one way or the other with a permanent solution that removes the legal Sword of Damocles that is hanging over all of the DVR subscribers' heads..
At the very least, I would ask that you give us notice to any planned shutdowns so that we would have time to migrate our saved recordings to other media. I have two years worth of saved recordings and I will be REALLY mad if I get NO notice before a shutoff locks me out.
Bob Murdoch
To my fellow SatGuys, I invite any of you who feel that you would leave if the DVRs went dark to post so here. Hopefully Scott G. can point Mr. Ergen's attention to this thread to remind him that there is a breaking point for our patience.
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