Thinking of jumping ship.

[maxamus1975]

I need your thoughts and options. Please read.

I’m thinking about jumping ship from D* to Comcast Digital cable. They clam, all there channels are 100% digital. Does anyone know if this true? I’m afraid that the SD channels will look grainy and dull on my 51’ TV. The plus side to making the switch is, they now offer my choice of either NY or PA local channels. That was the main reason I decided on D* five years ago. With cable, I was restricted to only PA local channles, because of my location (south Jersey). Now that restriction has been lifted and I can now choose NY locals. Now back to the plus side. No long term contracts, no upfront cost for HD DVD (I really want this), No BS lease prices like D* , more HD channels, better PQ on HD channels (so I’ve heard) and On-demand. Not to mention because I have their high speed internet service, my bill for the two services will be cheaper, then what I’m paying now (D* $90, HIS $55). Anyone else thinking of jumping ship? I was really excited about D* leasing their equipment, but now I heard it is all a bunch of BS. :devil: How can they call it a lease, when I’m paying the same price for a HD DVR box but now I’m locked into a two year contracted and I don’t own the equipment? I don’t understand what they are thinking, and I’m not only. Sorry for the rant, but I’m getting frustrated with D*. So, can anyone think of a reason not to switch?

 

[charper1]

1. NFL ST
2. DirecTV's better plans for the future.
3. Cable's notorius bait and switch/hidden fees after X-time.
4. Cables IS the rental model that everyone is now going to.

IMH experiences with them. BUT yeah, your mind is already made up from reading the above.

 

[chrisexv6]

1. NFL ST
2. DirecTV's better plans for the future.
3. Cable's notorius bait and switch/hidden fees after X-time.
4. Cables IS the rental model that everyone is now going to.

IMH experiences with them. BUT yeah, your mind is already made up from reading the above.

1. What about those of us that dont need ST?

2. Ive been hearing of future plans for a while. Still havent gotten any good compelling new HD (my locals dont count because ive had them for 2 years now via an antenna). How about SV channels?

3. I agree with you here. I love calling out the cable reps that ask me to switch "I dont care how cheap it is the first year, how do you kill me in the 2nd year?" After 2+ years with their "deal", DirecTV ends up cheaper.

4. My cable co. doesnt make me pay 500.00 for their HD-DVR and then rent it on top of that. Ultimately their HD-DVRs end up at 15.00/month compared to D*s 10.00/month, but I didnt pay 500.00 to start. So 8 1/3 years from now, cable will be costing me money. 8 1/3 years from now I might be dead, so Im not caring very much about it. I dont see how the rental model is the same, at least not with my cable options.

-Chris

 

[Hogarth]

DirecTV's fee for HD DVR is also very dependent on manufacturing cost at present. Expect it to drop dramatically when the HR20-250 comes out.

 

[maxamus1975]

My mind is not made up just yet. Your four points are interesting, but here is my rebuttal.

1. NFL ST
I liked the server two years ago, but now prices are going up and additional cost for HD has turned me off.
2. DirecTV's better plans for the future.
There plans for the future is bait and switch. Every month/year they bait you in with promises and then let you down with excuses.
3. Cable's notorious bait and switch/hidden fees after X-time.
Good point and noted.
4. Cables IS the rental model that everyone is now going to.
That’s true, but there is no up front charges. It is a true lease.

 

[charper1]

1. If you don't need it great.

2. This is the exact reason why I agree when DirecTV (or any company) holds back info until near completion; everyone hears future plans and expects it now. Great things are worth waiting for to me. Keeping my original 1996 status on my account file as opposed to constantly jumping back and forth from deal to deal is priceless to me. Its just TV so I choose to stay consistant unless the bottom falls out like Voom.

3. Usually its 6mos to 12mos, so 24mos would be rare.

4. This one I am still reading about as I do not use a DirecTV provided DVR, I use a standalone; so I can't comment, I am sure others will pop in. Once I can backup my HD recording to a DVD via my PC, I will look into an HD-DVR, until then there is not use.

Cable is nothing but rental fees to me. I also know they are moving away from traditional DVRs and going with headend controlled server storage which YOU will not be able to control past recording what you want and then watching it a few times until the "time runs out" - NO BACKUPS! So bye bye to that.

They all have room for improvements, but I still say DBS is the better of the selections to me.

2. DirecTV's better plans for the future.
There plans for the future is bait and switch. Every month/year they bait you in with promises and then let you down with excuses.

Detailed examples? Never happened!

 

[maxamus1975]

Here’s a quick question.
With D* new “lease” program in place. Does this mean D* will replace/repair their equipment at no additional charge if it breaks?

 

[maxamus1975]

“Great D* new lease program”. “I can now get an HD DVR with out paying out a small fortune” “Wrong!” D* lease program is a joke. (read above)

New Mpeg4 switch for the first 24 markets, starting in January, no wait February, no wait March, no wait April. Sorry it is delayed until 2007

 

[charper1]

Dude you are misinformed IMHO. The schedule rolled out officially by DirecTV on MPEG4 HD LIL is what is happening within the time frames THEY laid out. You are basing your time perceptions on the rumors you read here and perhaps other places, that were just that, rumors.

Any other channel addition delays can very easily be because of an satellite launch facility that got behind schedule and failed to get DirecTV's birds parked ontime.

I love how everyone thinks that running a multi-billion dollar business is as easy as 1-2-3 flip the switches on or off! LOL!

I see you are here just to toss out non-fact based rubbish in an effort to turn this into yet another DirecTV hate thread.



See ya!

 

[satjay]

I guess it comes down to personal choice: Here are my reasons I am going to stay with DTV.

1. Sunday Ticket
2. Picture Quality
3. When I left DTV for a few months and had cable. Their DVR was always and locking up. As well was my HD Box.
4. On Demand...Just not a big fan of it, When I would try it, it would lock up. Which happens to many other cable customers I know. I live in Michigan so Comcast is our provider.

I currently have my phone and Internet service through comcast, so I subscribe to limited basic so I can save 20.00 (though I dont use the limited basic)

I am not a fan of this leasing thing.....But maybe, as things die down and and the dust settles. Directv will have some promotions for those who may want to upgrade to the HD DVR and such. I hope

 

[maxamus1975]

Look, D* has been very good to me the last five years. I agree that rumors from this board are filling my head with doubt. I wish someone from D* can give me a straight answer. If D* would cut me a deal on their HD DVR I would gobble it up in a second. But I can’t get a straight answer from anyone, and their not willing to cut me a deal. The cable company is buttering me up like a roll. I guess the only way to put some of these rumors to the bed, is to run D* and Comcast side by side.:up

 

[ddeloach1228]

If you can, run them side by side. I have D for NFL Ticket, but the Brighthouse Picture quality is superior in my opinion. I like both. Keep D at plus and get NFL during the season is what I do.

 

[boba]

Comcast has plans to offer the base programming duplicated on a digital tier so they can offer better picture qualityfor those that want to pay for the converter boxes. The analog will still be available for those that just want to connect the kids TV for free. Probably in the 2009 area they will go totally digital when analog signals are no longer available and TV sets are capable of taking cable cards. You should be able to lock in the cable price for 1 year under their current advertising, but it will jump on the 13 month and you will have to decide again if you want to play musical chairs.

 

[colofan]

I have both Comcast and D* recently (since before the super bowl). I am planning on dropping the TV part of the cable and just using the modem.

One thing about the PDF was a mention of selling cards to plug into media servers now that I could get excited about since I could then manage the recordings and archiving and stuff with my own hardware.

 

[dragon002]

colofan,

just a "hint" if you have cable modem, you still have the very basic tier of tv programming (locals)

 

[vurbano]

colofan,

just a "hint" if you have cable modem, you still have the very basic tier of tv programming (locals)

Giving directions on how to steal service?

 

[cal87]

colofan,

just a "hint" if you have cable modem, you still have the very basic tier of tv programming (locals)

It's not that great a deal, actually. I have always kept basic cable because in my area I get some neighboring locals. I hardly ever use it except for some sports. For the longest time, I was actually receiving their standard package - equivalent to TC+.

I recently switched from DSL to Comcast cable internet. In the process, now I truly have only basic cable

Anyways, the basic package only costs $11 or so. The discount on internet service for video customers is $14, so you actually pay less by subscribing to basic cable, promotional period aside. Plus, I was put on a higher speed tier.

 

[dragon002]

Giving directions on how to steal service?

nope just stating the facts.

 

[cablewithaview]

no contracts or commitments, locals included no extra fee, VOD, phone service, broadband internet (makes bundling option more affordable then seprate services), true HD no HD lite. everyone has an opinion though.

 

[cablewithaview]

also when equipment is upgraded through the cable, it's no extra cost to you, no up front cost, etc.