[tubesguy]

Hi folks -


I'm brand new at this stuff, so bear with me, if you will.


I just picked up an open box DTC100 yesterday, with no access card. I signed up for Direct TV thru Blockbuster today, one dish - Para Todos. (The great deal expired Sunday, by the way. Now it's $45 and a one-year commitment.)


How can I activate the DTC100? Can I ask for a second receiver install from the person who shows up, and, if so, will he have an access card? Or do I wait for him to leave, pull the new receiver out and sub the DTC100, pulling the access card out of the new receiver and sticking it in the DTC100?


My kids, of course, would be thrilled to have the second receiver set up in their bedroom.


Can I also assume that any HBO subscription will enable me to get HBO-HD? TIA - Pat

 

[RJS]

You need to make sure you have the oval dish installed (which I doubt the Blockbuster guy is planning). As far as the set-top box, I would wager that the guy could care less whether he activates the box he brought, or your box with the access card from the other box.



Regardless, it is all moot if you have the wrong dish.

 

[tubesguy]

Thanks RJS, but isn't the oval dish required for Para Todos? - Pat

 

[RScogland]

You DO get HBO-HD #509 with "Total Choice HBO" ($15.00 per month, which includes the Cinemax channels) and also with "HBO A La Carte" ($12.00 per month with no Cinemax).


If it was real clear to all parties involved in your installation, than the "Para Todos" requirement is supposed to include the elliptical (oval) dish that you need (and hopefully two dual LNB's with the correct multiswitch).


The installer is most likely an indepentant contractor. Most of them will not arrive with a spare receiver or access card (unless that was arranged ahead of time).


I also dont think anyone cares which (legal) access card goes into which receiver as long as you activate it with DirecTV and keep it the way you activate it (and keep it plugged into a phone line with the same number it was activated with).

 

[tubesguy]

Hmm, so maybe a call to the installer to set something up prior to the scheduled install?


Is there any problem with the fact that I have a receiver with no access card whatsoever? Is Direct TV happy as long as I pay the extra $5/mo for the second receiver, or are they going to want to know how I got a receiver with no card, or, worse, where the darn card is now?


Thanks guys - Pat

 

[AllenD]

I'm in a similar boat. I bought a PSHD105 for OTA HD never considering satellite service. (Not interested in HBO/SHO HD.) But with HDNEt available at no extra cost with STB programming, I want to watch some sports in HD.


Will the STB I have an access card in it already? I bought it brand new.


tubesguy,


I was planning on buying the oval dish on my own for $49.99 from CircuitCity.com. It's a Terk TRK-S2 which will give you satellite + HD sat. service. I'll be going through DirecTV. Hope this helps.

 

[RScogland]

New DirecTV receivers always used to come with an access card. Recently, I heard they changed this and DirecTV sends them overnight after you call them. You can always get a new access card from DirecTV (you "might" need to pay for it, but I think it is less than $100.00).


Oval dishes are usually more than ~$50.00 so be sure it has everything you need (ie: LNB's/multiswitch, etc.). They usually cost ~$150.00 at stores such as CircuitCity or BestBuy.


As long as all of your DirecTV's receivers are tied to the same telephone line, you only pay for the programming on one of them, plus $5.00 for each additional receiver (you get all the same channels included for the $5.00/receiver price).


PS - DirecTV does NOT have Showtime-HD.

 

[Mongo]

Quote:

Originally posted by tubesguy Hi folks - I'm brand new at this stuff, so bear with me, if you will. I just picked up an open box DTC100 yesterday, with no access card. I signed up for Direct TV thru Blockbuster today, one dish - Para Todos. (The great deal expired Sunday, by the way. Now it's $45 and a one-year commitment.) How can I activate the DTC100? Can I ask for a second receiver install from the person who shows up, and, if so, will he have an access card? Or do I wait for him to leave, pull the new receiver out and sub the DTC100, pulling the access card out of the new receiver and sticking it in the DTC100? My kids, of course, would be thrilled to have the second receiver set up in their bedroom. Can I also assume that any HBO subscription will enable me to get HBO-HD? TIA - Pat

My advice is to let the installer come and install the receiver and dish that you bought from Blockbuster and activate that receiver. If you fail to activate it, you could get a big bill from Blockbuster as they will not get their commission on the sale and install. Deal with the second receiver later.


Once your BB receiver is up and running, call DirecTV and tell them you bought another receiver that you want to add to the account as a second receiver. Tell them what you bought and that no access card was included with it.


Access cards are now married to the receivers, so you can't just take one out and put it in another one.


If they do what they did when I called them with the same situation, they will get the serial number from you and send you a new card for the DTC-100 for $20 or possibly for free.


If you subscribe to HBO, you will be able to get HBO-HD automatically. As long as you are a DirecTV subscriber of any kind, you will also get HDNet.


The other thing is that the installers do not carry access cards with them and you probably don't want to confuse things by even bringing up a second receiver. What you can do though is ask if he can pre-wire the other room for a second receiver so you can add one later. You will get charged for this and I don't know how much. Maybe 50 bucks or so.


Seriously though, do yourself a favor and keep it simple for the installer and the activation so you don't get stuck.

 

[tubesguy]

Thanks folks -


I'll follow Mongo's advice and keep it simple. - Pat

 

[JMcCormick]

I purchased a panny reciever in the beggining of sept. expressly for watching hd.net. The receiver came with a bad card in it. DTV was going to fed ex me a new one. However, seeing how I have been upgrading my dss recievers so i could have s-video outputs. I happenned to have a 3 year old reciever, de-activated. I pulled the card out of that one and called directv and they had no problem, whatsoever, activating my new reciever with the three year old access card in it. The whole process with the good card took all of 5 minutes. My advice to you is have them activate the card you have on the dtc-100 and then have them send you a new card and put it in the non hd one. Get both connected by the installer and when you get the card put it in the receiver in your kids room and your good to go.

enjoy

joe

 

[JMcCormick]

One more thing, when you do get the card in the mail you just call dtv and they turn it on. Now with hd.net I love DTV. I don't even mind waiting on hold all day.

joe

 

[tubesguy]

Thanks Joe -


If only it were that simple. I just got off the phone with Direct and they won't send me a card for the DTC100. They claim the retailer, American TV, the largest audio and video retailer in Wisconsin, is likely engaged in fraudulent activity by selling the receivers out of the boxand without cards, and the woman I spoke with at Direct said basically tough ****, they don't need my business. Oh well - Pat

 

[tle]

Mongo,


You said that HDNet comes with any kind of package , does it mean that if I have only HBO a-la-carte I also have HDNet?


Thank you

 

[mchurchm]

Quote:

Originally posted by tubesguy Thanks Joe - If only it were that simple. I just got off the phone with Direct and they won't send me a card for the DTC100. They claim the retailer, American TV, the largest audio and video retailer in Wisconsin, is likely engaged in fraudulent activity by selling the receivers out of the boxand without cards, and the woman I spoke with at Direct said basically tough ****, they don't need my business. Oh well - Pat

wow, that is horrible. I was considering purchasing an open box dtc 100 from american tv, this will definitely make me think twice, and I will speak with directv before making my purchase. I didn't think anything like this could happen.

 

[JMcCormick]

Tubes ask to speak with a supervisor! They will send you a card.

joe

 

[Dingboom]



Originally posted by RScogland

You DO get HBO-HD #509 with "Total Choice HBO" ($15.00 per month, which includes the Cinemax channels) and also with "HBO A La Carte" ($12.00 per month with no Cinemax).


I knew about the $12 HBO A La Carte-- are you saying that I can order only HBO & cinemax ala carte for only $15 a month (i.e. no other basic channels)??

 

[Mongo]

Quote:

Originally posted by tle Mongo, You said that HDNet comes with any kind of package , does it mean that if I have only HBO a-la-carte I also have HDNet? Thank you

My understanding is that it is a free channel to any subscriber. It does not show up on an unsubscribed receiver, so the card has to be activated to get it, but I believe that it is available as long as the account is active for any kind of programming.

 

[Mongo]

Quote:

Originally posted by tubesguy Thanks Joe - If only it were that simple. I just got off the phone with Direct and they won't send me a card for the DTC100. They claim the retailer, American TV, the largest audio and video retailer in Wisconsin, is likely engaged in fraudulent activity by selling the receivers out of the boxand without cards, and the woman I spoke with at Direct said basically tough ****, they don't need my business. Oh well - Pat

I know you're excited about having new HDTV toys but you are 2 steps ahead of yourself.


Of course DirecTV won't sell you an access card. You aren't a customer of theirs yet.


That's why I said in my other post that you should get your Blockbuster system installed and activated first, THEN call D* and talk to them about getting the other receiver activated.


Now, I think you may have confused the situation by calling in about this prematurely.


Do yourself a favor and don't start calling people at D* about this until after you activate and get a customer number. Then you can try calling and see where you can get with the CSR's and supervisors. Right now, they don't owe you anything.


Once you get a customer number it is a whole different story.

 

[tubesguy]

Point taken Mongo -


My problem with that was that I had realized that, with my old rooftop dish, I could just keep my E* system, with round dish and single LNB pointed at 119, in place - drop HBO from them - and subscribe to HBO ala carte from D*. Best of both worlds, no 1-yr commitment to D*, and no having to deal with an installer at all. Oh well. Thanks - Pat

 

[Allen A]

I bought a DTC-100 from American TV in Madison a few weeks ago, open box, without an access card. When I signed up for the Blockbuster deal I knew I would want to use the DTC-100 with DirecTV. Because I had about a week before the installation was scheduled, I called DirecTV and ordered a card. I was not yet a customer. If they were going to give me any trouble, I wanted to know about it ahead of time, and would have just cancelled the install. I had bought the DTC-100 just for OTA anyway at the time. They asked me where I bought the receiver without a card, and I gave them that information. They made no comment, and just sent me a new card via Federal Express and charged me $20 on my credit card. The card arrived a couple of days later. When the installer finished he called them to activate the included receiver. When he finished, I talked to the CSR to set up my programming. All of my information was already in their computer from the transaction with the access card a few days before. At that point, I told the CSR, whose name was Rick, that I had prewired my house for a second receiver, and wanted to activate the DTC-100, and asked him if it would be better if I did that later so as not to cause confusion. He said he could take care of it just fine right then, advised me that I owed them $1 because they forgot to charge me tax on the card. He had me install the card that they shipped me, and walked me through a few menus to get more information, and within 15 minutes both receivers were up and working. He charged my credit card for one month's programming plus the dollar that I owed them. They did not require that I pay two months in advance like DISH always does, and a few days later I got a bill for the $5.24 for the second receiver. It all went very well for me. I don't know why they would accuse American of shady activity. I think the receiver that I bought (they had 3 on the shelf) were just being phased out of service in favor of some newer hardware. They might have kept the cards for use in the next receivers. Maybe D* is just getting a little paranoid with all of the hacked cards they have been the victims of.