Possible switch to Directv.

[lparsons21]

OK. So the sub saves you about $35/month in programming costs compared to the normal cost. So where does the rest of the $60 or more a month come from, certainly not from any fees I can think of given what you are getting from D*, unless you have a lot bigger sub and more equipment with E* now.

No problem with saying you are saving in the first year, just the amount. When I was looking, I kept reading all these postings from different people about these huge monthly savings in the 1st year, yet I could never figure out where they got the figures. When I asked some others, they then showed that they weren't going to save as much as they thought when they sat down and ran the numbers properly.

 

[cappy29]

OK. So the sub saves you about $35/month in programming costs compared to the normal cost. So where does the rest of the $60 or more a month come from, certainly not from any fees I can think of given what you are getting from D*, unless you have a lot bigger sub and more equipment with E* now.

No problem with saying you are saving in the first year, just the amount. When I was looking, I kept reading all these postings from different people about these huge monthly savings in the 1st year, yet I could never figure out where they got the figures. When I asked some others, they then showed that they weren't going to save as much as they thought when they sat down and ran the numbers properly.

I have the same receiver setup with Dishnetwork and pay about a buck and a quarter per month. Wado66 who posted on the first page who recently joined Directv showed me what equipment he got and what package he picked and is paying $47.99 for the first year. Now if I go with the same package as him the only difference would be is I need a regular HD receiver instead of a standard Def receiver. So, even if my monthly fee is a few dollars more than his, then it still is a big saving for the first year compared to what I am paying now.

 

[lparsons21]

Yep, it is a big savings. But some of that savings is coming from dropping things you have with Dish. No way a Top200 or 250 and one extra receiver costs $125 a month with Dish unless you made the worst deal ever with them.

 

[cappy29]

Yep, it is a big savings. But some of that savings is coming from dropping things you have with Dish. No way a Top200 or 250 and one extra receiver costs $125 a month with Dish unless you made the worst deal ever with them.

Programming wise, I have the Top250 with Showtime and Cinemax and DishPlatinum and the ridiculous tax on everybody's satellite bill (mine is $7.00) which we should not have to pay.

 

[lparsons21]

Ah, I see where some of your savings are coming from. With dropping Sho/Max, is $24 gone and Platinum is another $10, so $34 of the savings is coming from things you're dropping.

 

[JerseyMatt]

Can't get the costly extra sports you ask about.

But I can watch 4 different HD shows on 4 different HD TVs while recording 3 or 4 HD shows per location for $30/month in equipment fees... So that's 8 recordings at a time for D* for $25 in equipment fees or 12-13 HD recordings at a time from E* for $30. That's using 4 HDDVRs with free HD service for either provider...

Whoa whoa whoa back the truck up. You conveniently left out several minor (actually major) details.

First of all, when you say you can record 4 HD shows per location, that isn't 4 shows on satellite, you can record 2 satellite and 2 OTA (when you pay extra for the OTA module). Not everyone can get or wants to deal with OTA. Compare apples to apples. You can do TWO satellite recordings per DVR with a dual tuner on either service. Strike one.

(also, when Dish promotes their "duo" receivers as being able to run two TV's, they conveniently omit the fact that TV2 is SD, and that TV2 is running off the second tuner in the DVR, so you CAN'T record two things without interfering with TV2)

Second, I don't understand how you can claim you can get four dual-tuner DVR's for $30 a month in equipment fees with Dish. Dish charges per tuner, and then charges extra for each DVR. Dish gives your first one free, then you pay $17 a month for each additional one. So that's $51 a month in extra receiver fees, not $30. Strike two.

Third, four dual-tuner DVR's on Directv costs $18 a month, not $25. They charge $6 per receiver with the first one free, regardless if it's single tuner or a dual-tuner DVR. Strike three, you're out.

Being a provider fanboy is one thing. But don't LIE about it to try and make up for its shortcomings.

 

[bbixler]

Whoa whoa whoa back the truck up. You conveniently left out several minor (actually major) details.

First of all, when you say you can record 4 HD shows per location, that isn't 4 shows on satellite, you can record 2 satellite and 2 OTA (when you pay extra for the OTA module). Not everyone can get or wants to deal with OTA. Compare apples to apples. You can do TWO satellite recordings per DVR with a dual tuner on either service. Strike one.

Second, I don't understand how you can claim you can get four dual-tuner DVR's for $30 a month in equipment fees with Dish. Dish charges by the tuner, and then charges extra for an HD tuner or DVR. Dish gives your first one free, then you pay $17 a month for each additional one. So that's $51 a month in extra receiver fees, not $30. Strike two.

Third, four dual-tuner DVR's on Directv costs $18 a month, not $25. They charge $6 per receiver, Strike three, you're out.

Being a provider fanboy is one thing. But don't LIE about it to try and make up for its shortcomings.

He only has 2 strikes.....I originally mentioned the $25 for 4 HD DVR's because I was including the $7 DVR fee per account. Thanks for the other info....I didn't think you could get 4 HD DVRs through Dish for $30.....$51 sounds more like it....LOL

 

[JerseyMatt]

He only has 2 strikes.....I originally mentioned the $25 for 4 HD DVR's because I was including the $7 DVR fee per account. Thanks for the other info....I didn't think you could get 4 HD DVRs through Dish for $30.....$51 sounds more like it....LOL

Well you caught me during an edit, I added another lie Dish tells as a footnote, so count that one as strike three. Doesn't change the fact that he is blatantly LYING in an attempt to make Dish look better. He sounds like a Dish Network commercial!

 

[bbixler]

Well you caught me during an edit, I added another lie Dish tells as a footnote, so count that one as strike three. Doesn't change the fact that he is blatantly LYING in an attempt to make Dish look better. He sounds like a Dish Network commercial!

Again, appreciate the info.....from everything I've seen 4 HD DVRs would be a huge monthly equipment fee with Dish, compared to Direct TV, so I didn't quite understand where his figures were coming from.

 

[lparsons21]

4 HD DVRs from Dish can certainly be $30/month, plus the $6/month DVR fee. With Direct 4 would cost you $18+7=$25. With Dish i was incorrect, it would cost $36/month.

This is how it is made up : 1 -622/722/722k for zip, nada, zilch - 2 SAT tuners + 1 or 2 OTA tuners.
3 - Vip612s @ $10/each per month - these are the equivalent of the D* HDDVRs as they only work with one unique TV at a time.

So I was incorrect by $6/month.

 

[lparsons21]

Whoa whoa whoa back the truck up. You conveniently left out several minor (actually major) details.

First of all, when you say you can record 4 HD shows per location, that isn't 4 shows on satellite, you can record 2 satellite and 2 OTA (when you pay extra for the OTA module). Not everyone can get or wants to deal with OTA. Compare apples to apples. You can do TWO satellite recordings per DVR with a dual tuner on either service. Strike one.

(also, when Dish promotes their "duo" receivers as being able to run two TV's, they conveniently omit the fact that TV2 is SD, and that TV2 is running off the second tuner in the DVR, so you CAN'T record two things without interfering with TV2)

Second, I don't understand how you can claim you can get four dual-tuner DVR's for $30 a month in equipment fees with Dish. Dish charges per tuner, and then charges extra for each DVR. Dish gives your first one free, then you pay $17 a month for each additional one. So that's $51 a month in extra receiver fees, not $30. Strike two.

Third, four dual-tuner DVR's on Directv costs $18 a month, not $25. They charge $6 per receiver with the first one free, regardless if it's single tuner or a dual-tuner DVR. Strike three, you're out.

Being a provider fanboy is one thing. But don't LIE about it to try and make up for its shortcomings.

First of all, HDTV is HDTV, it isn't my fault that D* chose not to allow for locals. And yes, some can't get them, which is fair to complain about. Some don't want to do it, which is just a choice, not a fault. Heck, D* was the one dumb enough to design an HDDVR with 2 SAT + 2 OTA tuners and then only allow 2 to be used at any given time. And they still do the same damn thing with the AM21. Dumb design then, dumb design now, imo.

Second - I was off a little, I did leave off the DVR fee (which is per account, NOT per DVR, that stopped a long time ago), but I didn't think it was being added in with the D* figures.

Third - kind of a made up BS call by you based on previous mis-information - some of that my fault.

And I didn't lie, I did leave off the DVR fee because I didn't catch that it was being included in the D* figures.

 

[lparsons21]

Again, appreciate the info.....from everything I've seen 4 HD DVRs would be a huge monthly equipment fee with Dish, compared to Direct TV, so I didn't quite understand where his figures were coming from.

You've not seen enough things then. The reason you have seen those is that everyone wants to compare the fees with the $17/month units that have a 2nd independent TV output. But none of the D* ones do, so the correct choice is the Vip612, which is $10/month. So for 3 additional HDDVRs above the free first one, the cost (not counting the DVR per ACCOUNT fee) is $30 with E* and $18 with D*. Yes, E* is higher, just not nearly as high as D* fanbois want people to believe...

 

[bbixler]

You've not seen enough things then. The reason you have seen those is that everyone wants to compare the fees with the $17/month units that have a 2nd independent TV output. But none of the D* ones do, so the correct choice is the Vip612, which is $10/month. So for 3 additional HDDVRs above the free first one, the cost (not counting the DVR per ACCOUNT fee) is $30 with E* and $18 with D*. Yes, E* is higher, just not nearly as high as D* fanbois want people to believe...

And how much is the DVR account fee with E*? That's why I said $25 total for D* ($6 for each HD DVRs 2-4, and $7 for the DVR account fee).

 

[lparsons21]

The E* DVR account fee is $6/month. Basically with 4 HDDVRs+the DVR fee it could be $36/month with E* and would be $25 with D*. So yes, higher, just not horribly so.

But the bottom line is what you pay and should care about. I know that's the way I look at it. I add up all the charges and fees and in general, E* is cheaper with 2 receivers and D* is cheaper with 3 or more. But usually unless you really have a ton of receivers, the difference in the bottom line isn't a huge amount.

 

[JerseyMatt]

First of all, HDTV is HDTV, it isn't my fault that D* chose not to allow for locals. And yes, some can't get them, which is fair to complain about. Some don't want to do it, which is just a choice, not a fault. Heck, D* was the one dumb enough to design an HDDVR with 2 SAT + 2 OTA tuners and then only allow 2 to be used at any given time. And they still do the same damn thing with the AM21. Dumb design then, dumb design now, imo.

What do you mean "chose not to allow for locals"? They have locals in more markets than Dish. OTA means with an ANTENNA. How is it any fault of Directv that someone like me can't get OTA because of distance/terrain issues? It has NOTHING to do with the satellite. No significant measurable portion of the satellite-subscribing public gives a rat's ass about OTA.

Second - I was off a little, I did leave off the DVR fee (which is per account, NOT per DVR, that stopped a long time ago), but I didn't think it was being added in with the D* figures.

Yes the DVR fee itself is per account, but it doesn't change the fact that EACH DVR costs $3 more per month than its non-DVR counterpart. So they ARE charging PER DVR, ON TOP of account's DVR charge.. D* does not. It's $6 no matter what receiver you have.

Third - kind of a made up BS call by you based on previous mis-information - some of that my fault.

Whatever. Now you sound like a Dish CSR backpedaling when caught in a lie.

And I didn't lie, I did leave off the DVR fee because I didn't catch that it was being included in the D* figures.

Intentionally not disclosing information = lying. You puffed out your chest and bragged about how E* could record 4 programs at each location, but failed to mention that it's only 2 from satellite. The other 2 are from OTA (which requires purchase of a separate tuner for each receiver, it doesn't come with that capability) which nobody really cares about. Then you falsely compare the prices.

 

[lparsons21]

Intentionally not disclosing information = lying. You puffed out your chest and bragged about how E* could record 4 programs at each location, but failed to mention that it's only 2 from satellite. The other 2 are from OTA (which requires purchase of a separate tuner for each receiver, it doesn't come with that capability) which nobody really cares about. Then you falsely compare the prices.

Since I didn't 'intentionally' not disclose info, then I must not have been lying...

And yes, some do care about OTA. For instance during the season, it is quite often that I have each local station recording at the same time, which I can do with one Dish HDDVR and not with any single Direct HDDVR. And there are others like me.

 

[bobvick]

You've not seen enough things then. The reason you have seen those is that everyone wants to compare the fees with the $17/month units that have a 2nd independent TV output. But none of the D* ones do, so the correct choice is the Vip612, which is $10/month. So for 3 additional HDDVRs above the free first one, the cost (not counting the DVR per ACCOUNT fee) is $30 with E* and $18 with D*. Yes, E* is higher, just not nearly as high as D* fanbois want people to believe...

You mention D* fanboys, are you not a big E* fanboy? Reason I ask is, you are over in the DirecTv forum.

 

[lparsons21]

You mention D* fanboys, are you not a big E* fanboy? Reason I ask is, you are over in the DirecTv forum.

Somewhat, although I've had both services and overall liked both. I even was ready to switch because of the free ST a bit ago, but D* and I couldn't come to terms that were agreeable to both of us. Other than the free ST, which was more what my son wanted than what I wanted, there isn't anything that much different about the 2 services that would cause me to lose sleep were I with either one. Don't take that as not having differences, just none that are things I care a heck of a lot about.

And I'm over here because I can be and I think that I add something to at least some of the conversations.

 

[JerseyMatt]

And I'm over here because I can be and I think that I add something to at least some of the conversations.

Yeah deception. You knew full well that you weren't making a fair comparison when you said E* DVRs could record 4 programs at once. Wow you care about OTA, while 99% don't. You also implied such could be done without purchasing additional equipment. You even imply that it justifies the extra equipment costs (which it doesn't) and that E* doesn't charge extra for each DVR (which they do).

 

[lparsons21]

Yeah deception. You knew full well that you weren't making a fair comparison when you said E* DVRs could record 4 programs at once. Wow you care about OTA, while 99% don't. You also implied such could be done without purchasing additional equipment. You even imply that it justifies the extra equipment costs (which it doesn't) and that E* doesn't charge extra for each DVR (which they do).

Some Dish DVRs can record 4 programs at once, I didn't specify OTA or SAT, just HD. So no deception.

And yes, I do care about OTA. Your 99% don't is just conjecture on your part backed up by no data at all. But with D*, I could understand it being that way since even if you have a DVR that does do OTA, it is limited to 2 recordings at once maximum. So if D* has your locals in HD there is no advantage to having an OTA module or ability.

No I didn't imply it could be done without additional equipment, that's your opinion. But I will say you can do 3 without buying additional equipment with many of the HDDVRS.

And E*'s fee structure is different. Your definition of how they do it is one way to look at it, but certainly not the only way. Other than the missing per account DVR charge which I mistakenly left out, I was correct in the other figures.