Moving to Direct TV

[TheRyuu]

Since cable prices seem to increase 20% ever year (and a nuber of other things) I'm moving to Direct TV.
First off, what do you think of Direct TV. I've heard nothing but good things so far, but what do you (if you have it) think about it?

Second, I get a free DVR . It's only a 40 hour though. Think I could put a new hard drive in that thing?

Third, just post general comments to assure me that I made the right decision

 

[SpunkyJones]

I was glad to finally cut the cable wire after years of crappy service. Also nothing beats the Directivo.

 

[TheRyuu]

The site says nothing about tivo. It just says its a DVR.
So is it Tivo?

 

[creedog]

Direct tv used to use tivo branded hardware, which many had hacked. Now they have their own DVR which most say is not as good as the tivo. Never having tivo, I really do not know what I am missing. However the thing is a bit rough around the edges,

Not as easy as plopping in another hard drive as it needs to be formated with a specific File system that I doubt you will be able to do.

Also, you should get a free protable dvd player.

As for complaits. Make sure that your installer does do good job, Watch him, becuase getting someone back out to your house to fix something is crazy.

 

[dr150]

I'm waiting for DirecTV and Dish to convert their signal to MPEG 4 this year since it requires new hardware apparently.

For the time being, I ask Comcast to promo lower my rate for 3 months since it's gone $30+ over the past three years

 

[saahmed]

I have Dish, but DirecTV is prolly good too. Anything is better than cable these days.

 

[sygyzy]

Today DirecTV cut out of NBC right at the conclusion of Deal or No Deal. It remained networkless for at least half an hour. What the hell DirecTV?

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: saahmed
I have Dish, but DirecTV is prolly good too. Anything is better than cable these days.

I had DirecTV and it was pretty good, but then my parents switched to dish because we got a pqckqge deal on 4 rooms. I noticed some things each other didn't do as well at, but both of them are still good.

 

[DainBramaged]

And here we just got a TV.

 

[jstack]

DirecTV has been disappointing lately. They raised prices last march and they are raising them again on Wednesday. They have become just like any cable company now. So is Dish for that matter, 2 rate hikes in less than a year and a half.

 

[JasonSix78]

I've had my DirecTV service for over a year now and it's been great. The only problem I have is when it pours down rain the signal gets killed. I've been thinking about rigging up a little cover for it. Anyway, go for it...you'll be pleased with it.

-Jason

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: JasonSix78
I've had my DirecTV service for over a year now and it's been great. The only problem I have is when it pours down rain the signal gets killed. I've been thinking about rigging up a little cover for it. Anyway, go for it...you'll be pleased with it.

-Jason

It has little to do with rain on the dish itself. It's caused by the high amount of rain in the air and cloud density. Once the moisture in the air (cloud and rain) is dense enough it causes scattering and absorption of the signal. The only solution is a larger dish.

http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite/rain_fade_about.asp

A cover is only handy for snow. A wet snow is a real pain as it sticks to the dish and causes signal loss until it melts. A dish warmer is a good idea for that.

 

[Sepen]

Originally posted by: jstack
DirecTV has been disappointing lately. They raised prices last march and they are raising them again on Wednesday. They have become just like any cable company now. So is Dish for that matter, 2 rate hikes in less than a year and a half.

I have had DTV for 8 years now. Yep, they are increasing there rates, but apples for apples they are much cheaper than my local cable. Oh, and we did just get TNTHD.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: dr150
I'm waiting for DirecTV and Dish to convert their signal to MPEG 4 this year since it requires new hardware apparently.

For the time being, I ask Comcast to promo lower my rate for 3 months since it's gone $30+ over the past three years

Well, I guess it works out since my Tivo is starting to freeze up randomly.

 

[Queasy]

I don't think you can put a new hard drive in the DirecTV branded DVRs. You can for the DirecTivos but you either have to get one off eBay or get a refurb to get one now it seems. I've upgraded both my wife's and my DirecTivos so that we have more recording space and can transfer shows to the PC to save on DVD.

Supposedly, DirecTV is moving to leasing/rental model starting March 1st instead of the current buy model.

 

[Linflas]

I've been with them since 1997. They have already started deploying the MPEG4 HD receivers, the H20. I was able to get one installed for $14.00. They had to come out and put in a new antenna and multi switch. I also have a series 2 DirecTIVO which they no longer sell. That one you can drop in a new drive, I swapped out the original for a 120GB one which is the max the unit will recognize IIRC.

Today is the last day you can purchase their equipment, they are moving to a equipment leasing model starting tomorrow. I am probably going to run up and grab one of the regular DVRs to replace one of my original Sony receivers today.

 

[lokiju]

Well I had DirecTV with Tivo last year and loved the TIVO side of it, but it did cut out when there were bad storm clouds and since I live in South FL this happened about once a day in the summer which sucks and when it does lost its signal it takes about 3-5 mins to reaquire and come back to showing TV. Other than that I realy like it, but now that I have Comcast HD DVR cable, I still pay about the same per month ($50 for cable and $50 for internet) I can't complain, I now have On Demand, HD channels and my DVR functions, though they are not as good as the TIVO.


Once DirecTV goes all HighDef then maybe I'll switch back in the future.

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: Sepen

Originally posted by: jstack
DirecTV has been disappointing lately. They raised prices last march and they are raising them again on Wednesday. They have become just like any cable company now. So is Dish for that matter, 2 rate hikes in less than a year and a half.

I have had DTV for 8 years now. Yep, they are increasing there rates, but apples for apples they are much cheaper than my local cable. Oh, and we did just get TNTHD.

They did raise rates, the upside is now install is free for exsisting customers if you need to add a room etc... and the equipment is now replaced for free if it dies. The downside is you no longer own the equipment and you can't keep it, which is no biggie IMO since where else will it be used.

 

[Queasy]

Oh, if you get DirecTV and the installers have to run lines, make sure they do their best to run the lines neatly and mostly hidden. When I had my DirecTivo installed, the installers had to run a second line around the side of my house and drill a hole through my wall. They tried to run the line on the outside of my siding along the bottom. It was ugly. I made them re-run it along the underside of the siding so it would be hidden up until the point where it went though the wall.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: Dulanic

Originally posted by: Sepen

Originally posted by: jstack
DirecTV has been disappointing lately. They raised prices last march and they are raising them again on Wednesday. They have become just like any cable company now. So is Dish for that matter, 2 rate hikes in less than a year and a half.

I have had DTV for 8 years now. Yep, they are increasing there rates, but apples for apples they are much cheaper than my local cable. Oh, and we did just get TNTHD.

They did raise rates, the upside is now install is free for exsisting customers if you need to add a room etc... and the equipment is now replaced for free if it dies. The downside is you no longer own the equipment and you can't keep it, which is no biggie IMO since where else will it be used.

True except it does put a wrinkle in the ability to add storage space to your DVR. That is the only thing I don't like about the move to leasing.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Linflas

Originally posted by: Dulanic

Originally posted by: Sepen

Originally posted by: jstack
DirecTV has been disappointing lately. They raised prices last march and they are raising them again on Wednesday. They have become just like any cable company now. So is Dish for that matter, 2 rate hikes in less than a year and a half.

I have had DTV for 8 years now. Yep, they are increasing there rates, but apples for apples they are much cheaper than my local cable. Oh, and we did just get TNTHD.

They did raise rates, the upside is now install is free for exsisting customers if you need to add a room etc... and the equipment is now replaced for free if it dies. The downside is you no longer own the equipment and you can't keep it, which is no biggie IMO since where else will it be used.

True except it does put a wrinkle in the ability to add storage space to your DVR. That is the only thing I don't like about the move to leasing.

I'm still curious to see how their deal with Microsoft is going to work out. Supposedly, you'll be able to use a CableCard to run DirecTV through your Windows Media Center PC. Plus, there's that whole DirecTV blade on the Xbox360 thing too.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Queasy
I don't think you can put a new hard drive in the DirecTV branded DVRs. You can for the DirecTivos but you either have to get one off eBay or get a refurb to get one now it seems. I've upgraded both my wife's and my DirecTivos so that we have more recording space and can transfer shows to the PC to save on DVD.

Supposedly, DirecTV is moving to leasing/rental model starting March 1st instead of the current buy model.

What's the advantage of leasing? More money for them? I know that under the current scheme you sign a contract....

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Queasy
I don't think you can put a new hard drive in the DirecTV branded DVRs. You can for the DirecTivos but you either have to get one off eBay or get a refurb to get one now it seems. I've upgraded both my wife's and my DirecTivos so that we have more recording space and can transfer shows to the PC to save on DVD.

Supposedly, DirecTV is moving to leasing/rental model starting March 1st instead of the current buy model.

What's the advantage of leasing? More money for them? I know that under the current scheme you sign a contract....

Under your typical cable leasing schemes, the advantage is lower entry cost for consumers. Excluding deals, customers have to spend a good deal of money upfront to get DirecTV equipment which scares some away.

However, I'm still not sure what the upcoming leasing scheme is. Over at the TivoCommunity forums, some are saying that you still have to pay for a good portion of the equipment (up to 75%) and then pay monthly leasing fees. That just seems like a horrible idea and I hope it isn't true.

Guess we will find out tomorrow...

 

[TheRyuu]

Ordered Directv from their site last week. Guess I was luck since I own the equipment. (got it all for free)

 

[xanis]

Good luck. DirecTV has been nothing but problems since day one for me. The signal gets dropped randomly, even on sunny, cloudless days. This has happened many times, and the customer service has been horrible about it, saying that there is nothing that they can do aside from a dish re-alignment which is apparently unnecessary.