Retailer Chat Recap: January 14, 2010

[Slamminc11]

Charlie are you listening?

I guess you better hope he isn't looking here then...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-ne...cancel-dish-because-new-receiver-pricing.html

 

[Islandguy43]

Many cable companies are changing their signals from analog to digital to save bandwidth and add more hd. I think comcast was the first to start doing this, they did it last year during the dtv conversion even though that mandate was for only broadcast channels. So cable ready tvs will not get most of the channels, depending on what you want to watch on those secondary tvs you might still need an sd box.

Well in upstate ny (buffalo area), we are getting upwards to 100 channels in HD when using a cable receiver. However there are about 75 analog channels for the cable ready tvs, and if you have a hdtv with a qam tuner you will get 10-15 hd channels without the settop box.

And you would be shocked what I am paying a a month.

high speed roadrunner
hd dvr
second hd receiver

I have all the TWC tiers except the premium channel tiers (gives me about 85 -90 hd channels).

Showtime/Movie Channel Package (6 additional hd channels - $5.00 extra for six month special)

Plus this gives me channels I can't get with Dish - MSG-HD & MSG-HD+, MLB-HD and YES HD; and "real" video on demand.

All for price guarantee $85.00 a month for year one, and
$95.00 a month for year two, and no commitment on my part. I can cancel without a fee at any time.

I always thought I would switch back to Dish if and when they added the similar sports programming (the MSG's & YES). However with their new pricing scheme, I can see I would be paying more for Dish alone, while receiving less, and still have to purchase high speed internet from TWC. If I ever switch, it could very well be for FIOS, if and when they ever offer it in my area.
.

 

[Mark A Sparks]

Let me put it this way. A 2 or 3 dollar increase is one thing. I have been a loyal customer of Dish for over 7 years. What does that get me? Nothing. When the increase is in the 10, 20 or 30 dollar range I will jump ship on principle. Believe me this is no idle threat. I will post when I get my bill. Shame on Charlie! These are not the best of times to pull this on people.

I am right there with you, I don't think DISH expected people to research their options when considering this outrageous price increase for the best subscribers!

Now that so much discussion has been done and so many other options have been revealed thanks to the discussions here at SatelliteGuys I too will have to say goodbye to DISH after nearly 14 years. And thankfully I am under no contract.

I will save money, and not with DISH! :rant:

 

[eacalhoun]

Have I Correctly Calculated My New Bill?

I'm a little slow, but I think I've figured out how the new fees will affect my bill. Excluding taxes, here are my current and my estimated new (post-February) charges:

Current:

Classic Silver 200
w/ DVR Advantage & Locals -- 57.99
Additional Recvr (322 Duo) --- 5.00
Total ------------------------------ 62.99


New:

America's Top 200 w/ Locals -- 52.99
DVR 625 (Primary Recvr) -- 0.00
DVR Fee -- 6.00
322 Duo Recvr Fee -- 14.00
Total ------------------------------- 72.99


So, did I get it? If so, I am contemplating a couple of things. First, I cannot drop DISH because I have about 17 months remaing on a committment. I was dealt a pay cut last summer, so I called DISH to see if they could help. They gave me $10 off for 12 months in return for a 2-year committment -- what's done is done, right? If I'm not "fee'd" to death up front, I am looking at trading the duo receiver for a solo which would knock $7 off. Or dropping DVR, keeping the 322 Duo and swapping the 625 for a non-DVR solo receiver. I wish I'd never jumped on the DVR bandwagon -- it has spoiled my wife and I, but if we'd never had it we wouldn't be struggling with keeping it or not. :rant:​

 

[Scherrman]

What's hard to understand. The 622/722/722k are the best DVRs available. Period. All others pail in comparison. The 612 can be troublesome, has a smaller HDD, and no PiP. All E* HD DVRs are dual tuner plus one or more OTA tuners, including the 612. The 612 only has a single independent output compared to the others' two independent outputs. You really seem to be hung up on how many receivers people can have. Ever have any customers who are doc or lawyers living in 4500 and 6000 sq. ft. homes with 4 or 5 kids?

I understand why you would want it. Who wouldn't want DVR on every TV? My point is, as a retailer, I have to follow Dish's business rules. We put multiple receivers in a customer's mansion and had to set up two separate accounts in order for us to do the job. It was the only way Dish would allow us to do it.

I have a 622 and a 922 and that is plenty for my wife and myself. Just curious why anyone would need 5 or 6 dual tuner DVRs in a home. Unless you had a family of 12. It doesn't really matter, anyone can do what ever they please. I was just surprised.

 

[Jonhern]

I understand why you would want it. Who wouldn't want DVR on every TV? My point is, as a retailer, I have to follow Dish's business rules. We put multiple receivers in a customer's mansion and had to set up two separate accounts in order for us to do the job. It was the only way Dish would allow us to do it.

I have a 622 and a 922 and that is plenty for my wife and myself. Just curious why anyone would need 5 or 6 dual tuner DVRs in a home. Unless you had a family of 12. It doesn't really matter, anyone can do what ever they please. I was just surprised.

I think what he is saying is that most people use it in single mode, so the duos are not feeding two rooms, just one.

 

[Scherrman]

I'm a little slow, but I think I've figured out how the new fees will affect my bill. Excluding taxes, here are my current and my estimated new (post-February) charges:​

Current:​

Classic Silver 200
w/ DVR Advantage & Locals -- 57.99
Additional Recvr (322 Duo) --- 5.00
Total ------------------------------ 62.99​

New:​

America's Top 200 w/ Locals -- 52.99
DVR 625 (Primary Recvr) -- 0.00
DVR Fee -- 6.00
322 Duo Recvr Fee -- 14.00
Total ------------------------------- 72.99​

So, did I get it? If so, I am contemplating a couple of things. First, I cannot drop DISH because I have about 17 months remaing on a committment. I was dealt a pay cut last summer, so I called DISH to see if they could help. They gave me $10 off for 12 months in return for a 2-year committment -- what's done is done, right? If I'm not "fee'd" to death up front, I am looking at trading the duo receiver for a solo which would knock $7 off. Or dropping DVR, keeping the 322 Duo and swapping the 625 for a non-DVR solo receiver. I wish I'd never jumped on the DVR bandwagon -- it has spoiled my wife and I, but if we'd never had it we wouldn't be struggling with keeping it or not. :rant:​

From all the info I have, that looks correct. Looks like anyone with at least 2 dual tuners on there account hooked up to phone lines is gonna take at least a $10 hike. As a retailer I am very disappointed. Looks like customers are getting charged more and retailers are getting paid less.:rant:

 

[Scherrman]

I think what he is saying is that most people use it in single mode, so the duos are not feeding two rooms, just one.

That's a good point. That is still an awesome set-up. Makes me sad to see Dish's biggest customers get the highest price changes. I really don't think these new changes will last long. Too many people are going to be upset and will switch. Not to mention they may lose some retailers and installers.

 

[JohnL]

John, do you have 1 or 2 separate bills from Dish. From my knowledge, a customer needs to have 2 separate accounts for that many tuners. You have a pretty extreme case here.

Scherrman,

No with Dish you are limited to 4 leased tuners, but you can have upto 6 receivers on a residential account if you wish to purchase the additional receivers.

John

 

[dont24]

I think what he is saying is that most people use it in single mode, so the duos are not feeding two rooms, just one.

I have 3) 722s and only one feeds another TV. No way I could ever go back to a single tuner dvr.

 

[Laddyboy]

I understand why you would want it. Who wouldn't want DVR on every TV? My point is, as a retailer, I have to follow Dish's business rules. We put multiple receivers in a customer's mansion and had to set up two separate accounts in order for us to do the job. It was the only way Dish would allow us to do it.

I have a 622 and a 922 and that is plenty for my wife and myself. Just curious why anyone would need 5 or 6 dual tuner DVRs in a home. Unless you had a family of 12. It doesn't really matter, anyone can do what ever they please. I was just surprised.

I understand your point. E* had problems with some bad retailers over the years that stacked accounts. Maybe the limits are in place to limit exposure there. Maybe when I had 6 DVR receivers/7 tuners (501s, 708s, and one 721 all owned), I had two accounts and they were just consolidated into one bill. I don't know. I never saw two different account numbers. I've been with E* since August 1998. I only have a 722 and 211 now so these changes aren't going to really affect me. On the other hand they are going to hammer some of E*'s best and highest paying subscribers which doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[branchbouncer]

You will find here at SatelliteGuys that a lot of our members are high end and have 6 recievers, I will admit that many of our members are not your n ormal Dish Network customers. And thats why I think a lot of folks here are upset at the new pricing as they are the ones that will see the highest increase in their bills.

This true, when we were installed with E* last January, I was helping the installer, was pretty cold and 4 boxes needed to be installed. When I was talking to him he said most jobs that he rolls on have 1 or 2 boxes not like the 4,5,6 mentioned here

 

[branchbouncer]

This is the first time I had a commitment with Dish Network (never had any other provider and Dish is my first) and then THIS happens. This is exactly why I was worried to do a commitment. This is WORSE than I ever thought would happen and it happens on my first commitment ever that I get. It will be my last as well unless I get a very sweet deal. The price increase probably higher than the deal I got for doing the commitment.

We only have 11 months left so we could cancel out, but of course they new that people would think about cancelling so they jack that fee up also, what another 100.00. Still may be worth looking around, of course where we are that means Comcast or OTA. Hell of alot fo choices LOL

 

[lawman1627]

Scherrman,

No with Dish you are limited to 4 leased tuners, but you can have upto 6 receivers on a residential account if you wish to purchase the additional receivers.

John

I think this varies based on how long you have been a customer and what tier you are. Being a long time customer with a high tier I was able to lease 6 tuners.

 

[dont24]

I think this varies based on how long you have been a customer and what tier you are. Being a long time customer with a high tier I was able to lease 6 tuners.

Same here. I lease 6 tuners. Dropped an email to the ceo address and asked to lease a 3rd 722. Explained ( nicely ) that Comcast would be more than willing to lease me 3 or more hd dvr boxes.

 

[rdinkel]

Just curious why anyone would need 5 or 6 dual tuner DVRs in a home. Unless you had a family of 12. It doesn't really matter, anyone can do what ever they please. I was just surprised.

It depends on your collection of TVs in the house and your lifestyle--not the number of folks in your family. Wife and I have a total of 6 HDTVs in our home. Two of the smaller ones are only fed by the analog output from two of our 4 HD DVRs. The other 4 HDTVs are each collocated with one of the 4 HD DVRs which provide direct HD connections.

Basically, we watch TV from various rooms in the house depending on where we are at the time. No matter where we may be in our house, we want access to high-quality picture and all of the DVR functionality. When I explained this to Charlie at Team Summit in Denver, he was shocked that a couple would own 6 HDTVs. I guess Charlie must always go to his video room whenever he wants to watch TV.

 

[Scherrman]

Yeah, you have a pretty elaborate set-up. Nothing wrong with the way you have. I agree, I would prefer to have HD on any HDTV I have. At the moment I have 3 HDTVs and would like to put one in my kitchen also. I have a 922 and 622. The TV in the bedroom does not have any cable run to it and will be too hard to get any HD or coax cable to it. I can't wait for the new products for the 922 to come out so I can have HD in the bedroom wirelessly.

 

[GRExpert]

Scott,
Any clarification about the Turbo packages - or Dish America as they are going to be called. Locals are not going to be included or they are included but the price went up $5 so gotcha either way? I was looking forward to a savings because we haven't gotten all the channels. Do you think they will change this going forward with the new "Dish America" and we may get a bone from the potential HD additions?

 

[rdinkel]

Yeah, you have a pretty elaborate set-up. Nothing wrong with the way you have. I agree, I would prefer to have HD on any HDTV I have. At the moment I have 3 HDTVs and would like to put one in my kitchen also. I have a 922 and 622. The TV in the bedroom does not have any cable run to it and will be too hard to get any HD or coax cable to it. I can't wait for the new products for the 922 to come out so I can have HD in the bedroom wirelessly.

I live in the mountains of Colorado, so there is no OTA access. Satellite is the best option to receive TV. At Team Summit I asked Charlie to start sending HD signals via the coax outputs so any HDTVs in the house could receive an HD signal without needing more lines coming in from the outside. He tap-danced on that request. It won't be many more years until new TVs don't include analog tuners. So then the current setup for secondary rooms will no longer work.

 

[Bob Haller]

Charlie are you listening?

no he is busy shining up E for sale.

he needs a message, a clear hit to his sub numbers both existing and new.

me? I am going t spend the weekend analyzing everything we watch.

I have come to realizer I have been spending way too much on tv........