DirecTV HDTV - Page 173

Well I just signed up for DirecTV tonight after leaving them years ago when Comcast rolled out their HD DVR service (which at the time saved me a TON). Unfortunately, Comcast has been jacking up my rate every chance they get. For the past couple of months my bill has increased in addition to the $30 increase over the past year or so. Anywhoot - I asked about the ~$5/month service plan and the rep said that the equipment that I am leasing from DTV comes with lifetime warranty as long as I subscribe to the service and that the only reason to get the service plan is if I needed a house call to fix something like Dish alignment, etc. He said I would not need to pay the monthly service protection plan to just get a replacement on failed equipment.

Who knows if he was just trying to make the sale, but I had him confirm this twice.

He was nice enough to throw in free Showtime for a year without me even asking.

Welcome back To D* -- keep in mind, rates are going up in 4 weeks.

Nice - he failed to mention that one lol

That's because your rate won't be going up. It's locked in for 12 months. But he did lie to you about the protection plan. The receivers only have a 90 day warranty.

Well, I look at it this way, which makes me feel much better about it:

I used to have the SD-only package until I upgraded to HD. Now I pay around $15 more a month to have HD access.

The thing is, nearly every channel I ever watch is in HD on D*. So, I think of it as I'm paying the old monthly fee for HD that I used to pay for SD - and I get all the SD channels for around $15 a month more.

They will replace a defective receiver for the price of shipping and a renewed commitment as long as you have Directv. With the service plan there is no contract renewal.

Yeah, I consider that to be pretty far from free. Many times, they want to throw in a $70 service call too.

A couple of observations:

- If they're shipping you a new receiver, tell them where they can stick their service visit.

- If you're getting a replacement receiver, doesn't that indicate you have plans to stick around? So, is it that much of a big deal to do another contract?

Shipping is usually no more than $30. That's way cheaper than buying a box outright or paying for the protection plan.

Many times, the "shipping" charge is to ship it to the service company. I understand that they've been getting better about this recently, though. It used to be damn near impossible to get a receiver shipped to you.

If I'm getting a replacement, it means the one I have is broken. I really don't see any correlation to having plans to stick around or not. It just means I want to enjoy the service I'm currently paying for.

This is true, but the protection plan covers more than just the receivers.

FYI:For me the protection plan has paid for inself.
Past 6 months:
1 call to come out and align the antenna
1 call to replace LNB
2 calls to replace multiswitch
1 overnight replacement of HR22 with hung HDD. Replacement was new, not refurb

what i don't get is that if you are 'leasing' the receivers and have to send them back once you are through, whey should you have to pay hundreds of dollars for them at the beginning?

Think of it as an upgrade charge, not a lease charge. You can get a no frills SD receiver for no upfront charge, want a SD DVR or a HD box which is a bit higher up the chain that's $99, want a fully loaded HD DVR, that's a $199 upgrade.

Yup. I had to have an H20 replaced a month ago and they wouldn't do it over the phone. They insisted I either had to pay a $70 tech visit (and he'd bring the receiver if it was needed) or I could join the protection plan for 1 year and they'd still send out the tech. I got the same story from two CSR's. When the tech did come out, I explained it to him, he looked at it for about a minute, and then went and got me the new receiver. Great waste of everybody's time (and my money).

I'm in the same boat.Comcast is killing me! My son got an HD TV for x-mas so we have 3 hd TVs in the house.HD dvr in LR +2 HD receivers in Br's=over $130month.Been thinking about getting "D" either through AT&T or straight from D.Might save a little more from AT&T if I bundle w/my home phone & internet.I can get free upgrade to HD dvr,but they want $99 for each add. HD receiver(2).Anyone know away around this? Thought D leased their boxes now?Does "E" charge for additional boxes?
Thanks.

Read the last few posts in this thread. Dish is no different.

FYI:With the up coming release of multi room viewing the requirement for multiple DVR will decline.

So if my 7 year old wants me to record one of her Disney shows in the living room, she will be able to watch it in her bedroom ?????

I wasn't aware of that. How far off are we for this?

They will replace broken receivers. I have never had the protection plan and have 2 replaced in the last few years that have broken. They will also send them through the mail. You just have to get lucky with the CSR that you talk to. If they tell you that you have to have a service call just decline and call back. You will get one that will do it. I just had my broken HR21 replaced last week. It is 15 months old and croaked. They sent me a new one and charged a $20 shipping fee. On top of that they gave me a $5 credit for the next few months to essentially "refund" the shipping fee. Just be nice, tell then what is wrong and let them troubleshoot it. When they can't they will either pass you on to another CSR in deeper support or tell you that you need a service call....just decline and call back. It is a pain, but that is how you have to deal with D* customer support.

That has been a rumor going around for about the last 3 years. Have they actually announced it now? Can you post a link. I would love to read about it.

I guess there are people testing it right now.

As far as I know it only works between DVRs though, so you'll still need a DVR in each room if you want to be able to watch everything off either of them.

That's not accurate with the testing going on now. Sorry if you want more info you should check out the CE fourms over at www.dbstalk.com since the rules are CE discussions should be kept in the CE forums.

DirecTV Hikes Rates

Satellite Television Operator Price Increases to Take Effect March 4

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/9/2009 10:35:06 AM MT

DirecTV will raise monthly rates on programming packages an average of 4% effective March 4, and while the increases are in line with other video providers one Wall Street analyst said the satellite leader could be more vulnerable to "recession-related downgrades" than cable competitors.

DirecTV's Select package, for example, will increase to $48.99 per month, up 6.5% from $45.99 previously. The Plus HD-DVR tier is being hiked to $75.99 per month, up 4.8% from $72.99.

The Basic tier will be $12.99 per month, a 30% increase $9.99 previously, while the Family package will remain unchanged at $29.99 per month.

According to DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer, the new pricing reflects the increasing cost of programming as well as the "significant investments we've made to enhance our customers' viewing experience."

As examples, he cited DirecTV's recent launch of more than 20 new channels, including MLB Network, Cartoon Network West and Fox Business Network, and an HD lineup that now tops 130 channels.

Sanford Bernstein senior analyst Craig Moffett, in a research note Monday, said DirecTV's price hikes come on the heels of similar increases at Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems, AT&T and Dish Network.

"[T]he magnitude of DirecTV's price increase is in-line with its historical price increases, despite the troubled economy, and suggests that -- despite fears -- price competition in the video industry does not seem to be escalating," he wrote.

However, DirecTV is more reliant on video than cable operators are for per-subscriber growth, Moffett said.

"Weighing on the pay TV stocks has been a generalized fear that investors will downgrade their service packages," he said. "On this score, DirecTV may, over the long run, be more vulnerable to recession-related service downgrades than its competitors given DirecTV's more significant reliance on 'discretionary' services."

Discretionary items comprised nearly 32% of DirecTV's third quarter 2008 average revenue per unit, compared with only about 21% of Comcast's video ARPU for the same period, according to Moffett.

In addition, Moffett also pointed out, DirecTV is raising pricing on many of its premium add-on services, including movie channels (e.g., an additional 99 cents per month for a single premium selection) and Distant Network Service (an additional $0.51 for one or two network feeds).

DirecTV is scheduled to report fourth quarter and full-year 2008 results on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

http://www.multichannel.com/article/...ikes_Rates.php

Sorry about posting incorrect info, that is what I had been hearing. I just went and checked out the CE section though and you are right it's only working on the non-DVRs right now (and they are still testing it, it is not a national release).

The CE stuff looks pretty interesting though. I might have to see if I can figure out how to participate.

This thread has everything you need to know: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90847

So I just subscribe to email notifications for the one thread and I'll get an email telling me when it is updated. I check the thread and it will tell me when to force an update, then I force an update during that time and that's it? I don't have to actually sign up for anything?

Looks like I should have looked into this more last week . Oh well I'm really waiting for MRV between HR21s since I have two of them (and one SD box that doesn't get used much).

That's correct.

DirecTV Loads Up 301,000 Subs In 4Q

Satellite Operator Posts Best Sub Growth in Three Years as Revenue Increases 9%

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 2/10/2009 7:13:12 AM MT

DirecTV delivered its best quarterly subscriber growth in three years, adding 301,000 net U.S. subscribers in the last three months of 2008, while net income for the quarter dropped 5%.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was $5.31 billion, up 9% year over year, and earnings per share increased 7% to $0.32 compared with the same period last year.

The satellite operator's 301,000 net adds in the U.S. -- giving it 17.621 million subs at the close of 2008 -- blew past analyst expectations; Sanford Bernstein had projected 214,600 net subscriber additions for the quarter. Analyst consensus estimates were earnings of 34 cents per share, though quarterly revenue was in line with expectations.

DirecTV "continues to defy gravity," Sanford Bernstein senior analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a note.

"The word 'impervious' comes to mind," he said. "Indeed, one could make a case that DirecTV has, at least so far, been as little impacted by the recession as any company in America."

For the full year 2008, DirecTV reported a 76% increase in free cash flow, to about $1.68 billion, which the company attributed higher operating profit before depreciation and amortization, a decline in capex driven by lower set-top box costs and an increase in the use of refurbished set-top boxes.

"Clearly DirecTV's strong brand and message of offering the best television experience in America is resonating with consumers," DirecTV president and CEO Chase Carey said in a statement. "Despite the more challenging economic and competitive landscape, we remained sharply focused on attaining higher-quality subscribers" with its highest gross additions in three years at 3.9 million subscribers and the lowest monthly churn level (1.47%) in 9 years.

Carey said revenue and operating income "were impacted by greater promotional activity for both new and existing customers, as well as an increase in the number of customers signing up for advanced services resulting in higher equipment and installation costs."

DirecTV last week told customers it would raise rates, effective March 4, by an average of 4%.

Given the state of the economy, this is quite impressive.

Very, very impressive, and I think with the coming OTA digital switch they'll probably continue to do well in the next 2 quarters.

I just noticed the other day that PBSHD came to Miami but I didn't see the announcement at dbsforum. Suite!