I need to buy a Directv receiver

[rudeguy]

I am looking on Fleebay/Craigslist because Directv is telling me its going to be $225 dollars for an add on receiver.

I know about DVR/HDMI/HD...the technical stuff. If I do buy a used one, do I have to worry about it being stolen or having a balance and them not activating it?

 

[nsafreak]

Hmmm that's a good question. I do know with Dish Network that if you purchase a receiver from another person and that receiver is leased or has a balance it can not be transferred to your account, at least not without the balance that is owed being paid. If its a leased receiver then it cannot be transferred at all. I know as of late DirecTV has started to lease receivers out to customers so that may be something to watch out for. I know that there is information that is needed to activate a receiver with their service. What I would do is get that information from the seller and then call DirecTV and ask them if it can be activated on your account or not.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: nsafreak
Hmmm that's a good question. I do know with Dish Network that if you purchase a receiver from another person and that receiver is leased or has a balance it can not be transferred to your account, at least not without the balance that is owed being paid. If its a leased receiver then it cannot be transferred at all. I know as of late DirecTV has started to lease receivers out to customers so that may be something to watch out for. I know that there is information that is needed to activate a receiver with their service. What I would do is get that information from the seller and then call DirecTV and ask them if it can be activated on your account or not.

I sold these things for years and never had this problem come up. Checking the serial numbers is a good idea though.

Any other information or can someone point me to a reputable place to pick one up cheap?

 

[RobertE]

DirecTv went to a lease model (similar to cable) in March of 06. For the most part any boxes obtained after 3/06 are leases. In some cases the "owner" may not be aware that the box is really leased and needs to be returned to DirecTv and not sold.

If you do find a box that you want to get you will want to get the RID (Receiver IDentification) # off the box. It will be a 12 digit number. Then a simple phone call to DirecTv will get you two things: First if the box is leased or owned. If owned, you can move to step two. Second, is the owners account in good standing? ie, not in collections. If it's in collections, just move on to the next box. If the box is owned and the owners account is in good standings, your almost good to go. The last thing you will need is a new access card for it. $20 and they will ship you a new one.

If your looking at an HD box, the current models that will get everything are H20, H21, H23 for regular HD and HR20, HR21, HR22 for HD DVR. Anything else, skip it as it won't get 90% of the HD channels.

Lastly, you'll also want to make sure you have the current HD dish as well.

 

[Muadib]

RobertE is correct. Unless it is new in box, with a card that hasn't been activated, I wouldn't risk it.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: Muadib
RobertE is correct. Unless it is new in box, with a card that hasn't been activated, I wouldn't risk it.

Doesn't $200 sound out of line for one (non HD, non Tivo) receiver?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: rudeguy

Originally posted by: Muadib
RobertE is correct. Unless it is new in box, with a card that hasn't been activated, I wouldn't risk it.

Doesn't $200 sound out of line for one (non HD, non Tivo) receiver?

Oh hell yeah. You can get the HD DVR receiver from DTV for that.

 

[kalrith]

You can log into DirecTV's website and order a receiver for much less than that $225. It might be even cheaper to buy it at Best Buy. Here's their DirecTV receiver page. Prices range from $50 for a non-DVR, non-HD receiver to $200 for an HD DVR.

 

[CFster]

I ordered my HR21 from DirecTV.

That way they came and installed a 5-LNB dish up on my roof free of charge.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: CFster
I ordered my HR21 from DirecTV.

That way they came and installed a 5-LNB dish up on my roof free of charge.

why the hell are they giving me so much hassle then?

 

[CFster]

Hassle? What hassle?

They'll be more than happy to install any equipment you need to get a customer. I never had a problem.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: CFster
Hassle? What hassle?

They'll be more than happy to install any equipment you need to get a customer. I never had a problem.

They already have me...maybe that's the problem. When I told them that I was looking at dish, they offered me half off. That's still over $100 for a basic receiver.

Is this a ymmv situation?

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: rudeguy

Originally posted by: CFster
Hassle? What hassle?

They'll be more than happy to install any equipment you need to get a customer. I never had a problem.

They already have me...maybe that's the problem. When I told them that I was looking at dish, they offered me half off. That's still over $100 for a basic receiver.

Is this a ymmv situation?

Yes. I got my 2 HD DVR receivers for free. I got one plus a plan HD receiver when they first went MPEG-4, then I got the other when they wanted to replace my old HD Tivo.

When I first got the first 2, I called about 4 times before they finally caved in & gave them to me. Try try again, until you get a csr to see things your way.

 

[kalrith]

Originally posted by: rudeguy

Originally posted by: CFster
Hassle? What hassle?

They'll be more than happy to install any equipment you need to get a customer. I never had a problem.

They already have me...maybe that's the problem. When I told them that I was looking at dish, they offered me half off. That's still over $100 for a basic receiver.

Is this a ymmv situation?

If you weren't under contract, then you could probably sign a contract with them and get a DVR for free. However, even though you're under contract, those prices are way to high. I just logged into my account on directv.com and found these prices. I've got over a year left on my contract, so I'm assuming these are the regular prices. Shipping might be in addition to that, but even with $13 shipping the basic receiver would cost $82. If you don't have a directv.com account, go here and create one. Then go to My Setup and Add Receiver. See if the prices are the same as mine. You can also change your subscription package and if you have a DVR (which I HIGHLY recommend for only $30 more), then you can set shows to tape on the website. This comes in handy when you're at the office or out of town and forgot to set something to tape.

Edit: I should mention that DVR services cost $5.99/month (much cheaper than TIVO's $13/month), and it's the same price regardless of how many DVRs you have. Each additional receiver or DVR has the additional $5/month receiver fee. For example, I pay $10.99/month for two DVRs.