Some questions (newbie), not sure if in right forum!

[andreah1]

Hi there all. I got directv in July. I must say this whole satellite process has not been fun. I miss living in the city and getting cable. We moved to the country (we're the only house on the road) and obviously needed satellite. I had dish network when I lived in a more urban area and never had any problems as cable covered my local stations. Anyways, first, trying to get nbc, abc, cbs, etc was a nightmare. Other people in my area got them right away, not local feed as there isn't any in our area but the ny/la feeds. I had to wait until our local stations ok'd us getting the ny/la feed. Well, we were turned down by nbc and abc. We live in a wooded area and had no luck with an antennae. Finally after practically crying on the phone AND numerous phone calls, a gentleman turned them on for us stating we were in a wooded area so it was ok. Never heard another word about it. After all this, I decide I hate directv and want to go back to dish network. Oh no, not so easy. First I call Dish...after literally 15 different phonecalls and 15 different answers I've been told that yes, I can join again as a new subscriber to get all the perks and no I cannot. So, who the heck do I believe! I cancelled it in June...some have said I have to wait til January then can join as a new customer, some said I can do it now and others of course said I never can. And, they told me I have to go thru the network nightmare all over again. I told them my parents live within 5 miles of us and never had to wait 45 days, they got the feeds immediately. They won't believe me.
Sorry to ramble on, as you can tell I'm so peeved over all this. My first question is...does anyone actually know what the procedure is for a new/existing customer is? Can I rejoin as a new customer and get the free equipment? Is there a way around the 45 day wait for network feed? I tried to explain to them that I get them now because we are surrounded by trees. They said I still have to go thru the procedure.
My next question is, if I were to keep directv do they have a dual feed dvr? I was never told anything when I ordered originally, they just brought equipment and hooked it up. I have a dvr in the living room and two receivers in two different bedrooms. I saw by reading on dishnetwork website that they have a dvr that I could have hooked up in the living room and a bedroom then would only need another receiver in the other bedroom. If directv had one of these why wouldn't they have told me? The dvr I have can record 2 shows at once, would that mean that maybe it already is a dual one but no one ever hooked it up that way?
Again, sorry for all the rambling but I'm trying to figure out what we want to do here and trying to save money of course. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[dfergie]

Welcome to SatelliteGuys... Unfortunantly once a subscriber, always a subscriber to either provider there are ways around this (spouse subs instead etc...) . And the waiver process is slow...

 

[boba]

With DISH Network officially you can't be a new customer again, but they do allow you to be a returning customer and get similar benefits to a "new" customer. Returning customers had to leave DISH in good standing and they have to commit to 18mo. contract, they also don't get the $49.99 rebate on their first bill.
When you switch providers you have to start the waiver process all over again that is Federal Law not the providers choice. You already have Directv and your channels and it sounds like the most you might save is $4.99/Mo. or $60/yr. is it worth the waiver hassle again.

 

[andreah1]

Thanks. So, nobody knows if directv has a dual dvr receiver?
I'll tell ya, I'm not sure if it would be worth saving that much a year, actually, I hate talking to either company. I wish these companies would think before outsourcing to totally unknowlegeable people who get paid peanuts. No one wants to help, etc.
Thanks for the spouse idea, we may just do that.

 

[Plywodstatebum]

their new DVR's are dual. HR10-250 is HD and the standard is the R-15

 

[Newshawk]

Thanks. So, nobody knows if directv has a dual dvr receiver?
I'll tell ya, I'm not sure if it would be worth saving that much a year, actually, I hate talking to either company. I wish these companies would think before outsourcing to totally unknowlegeable people who get paid peanuts. No one wants to help, etc.
Thanks for the spouse idea, we may just do that.

The D* DVRs have dual tuners, but only one output, so they can only be used for one TV. That output can be routed to more than one TV, but they all have to watch the same program.

 

[andreah1]

That bites. I'm gonna find a way to switch back to dish and not get penalized. I would think they would LOVE to get an old customer back and have nice offers for them. Guess they're like any other monopolized company, they've got what you want so all they have to do is sit there, ha ha! Even though I wouldn't be saving much money by switching I think the piece of mind is worth it, less equipment is better in my book and direct seems to go out often when the weather is bad besides. My only BIG worry is the having to wait for network feeds. Ugh. I wish there was a way around that. Does anyone know if dish does the same as direct in that if you get turned down for a station they find another reason (like surrounded by trees) to get the feed for you?