DirecTV questions

[rocketman]

I'm moving to a new place in June and I'm thinking of getting DirecTV. Right now I'm just trying to make sense of their "deals."

Do I need a phone line to get satellite? There was some mention of it in the fine print.

Looks like HD access is $9.99 a month extra on top of whatever plan I pick (looking at $44.99 per month DVR package). The fine print said that DVR plans required a 2-year contract. Is that right? Set-up looks to be $99 for the receiver.

What plans do you all have and what are you paying?

 

[THEWOOD]

You do not need a phone line in order to have DirecTV. I have the PLUS HD DVR Package along with HBO and Cinemax. I believe when I ordered they gave me those 2 channels free for 3-4 months. I also received 10 dollars off a month. Right now my total bill is 103 dollars or so with taxes every month.

 

[sandgk]

I'm moving to a new place in June and I'm thinking of getting DirecTV. Right now I'm just trying to make sense of their "deals."

Do I need a phone line to get satellite? There was some mention of it in the fine print.

Don't need a phone line unless you are going to order certain PPV or similar programming.

Looks like HD access is $9.99 a month extra on top of whatever plan I pick (looking at $44.99 per month DVR package). The fine print said that DVR plans required a 2-year contract. Is that right? Set-up looks to be $99 for the receiver.

Yes - a 2-year commitment is required.
The contract is fully portable should you move residence.

What plans do you all have and what are you paying?

Too many options and too much :)
HDTV 1 receiver, SD - multi-receiver; limited premiums (right now HBO only). DVR.

We are going to adjust our contract as we have passed the 2-year anniversary. I'll be trying to get best rates (free would be good but unikely) on an HD-DVR to replace the current duo we use in the LR of a DVD (not HD) and a stand-alone HD receiver.

(Newest HD-DVR's can do some networked media, but not networking of your recordings the newest ones also lack a separate OTA antenna spot. A separate OTA box is available. There are plenty of good OTA HD stations around Cincinnati, so it's worth looking into this. See if you can specify getting the OTA capable, or separate OTA box thrown in for free.

NOTE - The best times to get the very best deals are before installation or at the time of a contract expiration. The first time they get your business, the second time(s) they retain your business.

 

[rocketman]

Damn. Not a fan of the 2-year contract part... I don't know where I'll be in another year. I wonder how good of a deal you can get if you give them the "I'm thinking about getting <insert competitors service here> but I was wondering if you could give me a better offer" line. Worked well at OSU when we got WOW! and TWC to compete against each other...

 

[Taosman]

Check out both sat providers for the best deal. I prefer DirecTV over Dish.
The picture on even old tvs is great! I rarely missed OSU football even before the Big Ten Network.

 

[jwinslow]

How to get an additional $240 off as a new DirecTV customer

This worked brilliantly, had all the discounts all set up, but ended up pushing back installation due to really soft (post snowstorm thaw) ground, since I needed a pole mount.

I'm crossing my fingers that there might be a NFL deal added into the mix when I sign up again this fall.

 

[diehardbuckeye]

If I had to do it over again I would bundle my services with Cincy Bell and DirectTV. I love my DTV but my biggest complaint is that they have not done much with as an existing customer. I want to bundle all of my services now but can't unless I cancel my plan and sign up with C.B. I don't want to do that because I have been with DTV for 5 years. Now I have found out that you don't need the land line they say you do but when I upgraded to DVR I had to put one in. Basically the only reason I have a land line is to have internet and local, for my son. I think we pay 80 for DVR and 2 extra receivers. I don't have the phone jack hooked up on the other 2 only on my DVR receiver. So you don't have to have it.

 

[Buck Nasty]

If you want to get free stuff from DirectTV as an existing customer do not call customer service to upgrade any of your equipment instead call customer retention. When I called customer service and asked for it they told me $220 for the HD DVR plus $50 for the other two with free install. When I threatened to cancel and go to cable they said fine, we will be billing you $199 for early cancellation. Total pricks

The next day I called customer retention and they will do anything to keep you from leaving. There is no negotiation on the contract length, but I was able to upgrade to 1 HD DVR and 2 DVRs plus installation of a new dish and cabling for $50 and extending my contract for 2 more years.

 

[rocketman]

I guess the next question I have is can I get Road Runner without getting a cable subscription?

 

[jwinslow]

RR can be bundled with cable, but it's not a requirement.

 

[utgrad73]

Cable or Direct TV

Questions:

Can I dump cable and pick up Direct TV for less than the bundled price of cable (phone, cable and internet ~$120/mo)? I would want to keep the internet and phone and replace cable with Direct TV. Also, if the present cable service that I have is upgraded to HD, there's an additional charge ($9.95) on top of the monthly basic service. There may be additional charges etc with DTV, but if the Direct TV offers more HD channels for a lower price, I would like to know what those charges are before making the switch. Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Is this worth doing and will the monthly charges be about the same or more?

What about up time? I really don't have any downtime with cable due to weather problems. Is Direct TV as reliable?

 

[Taosman]

Unless you live somewhere that gets tons of snow you won't have any problems with DirecTV. It helps to coat your dish with silicon before winter snow. :tongue2:
As far as bundling goes you have to talk to them or your local provider for the best deal. Do your homework!

 

[buckeyefool]

Unless you live somewhere that gets tons of snow you won't have any problems with DirecTV. It helps to coat your dish with silicon before winter snow. :tongue2:
As far as bundling goes you have to talk to them or your local provider for the best deal. Do your homework!

Thank you so much. Captain Obvious

And thanks for posting about the silicon for the 15th time. Just in case the first 1000 times someone didn't read it.

 

[sandgk]

Silly Cone

not

Silly Kon

 

[BrutuStrength]

I guess the next question I have is can I get Road Runner without getting a cable subscription?

I had RR for a long time with DirecTV. The problem is that RR was costing me about $57 a month, as I needed to have high-speed internet access from my job. I just switched to AT&T DSL a few months ago, as that is now offered in my area and it saves me a lot of money. So yes you can use RR, but you pay through the nose when it's not bundled.

Can I dump cable and pick up Direct TV for less than the bundled price of cable (phone, cable and internet ~$120/mo)? I would want to keep the internet and phone and replace cable with Direct TV.

It really depends on how much your phone and Internet are by themselves, and how much programming you order from DirecTV. For me, I pay around $60 a month for DSL and phone through AT&T, and then my DirecTV package is somewhere around $100 a month, but includes some movie channels and additional receivers.

Also, if the present cable service that I have is upgraded to HD, there's an additional charge ($9.95) on top of the monthly basic service. There may be additional charges etc with DTV, but if the Direct TV offers more HD channels for a lower price, I would like to know what those charges are before making the switch.

You can find out a lot of information at their site about their packages. You should be able to get many of your questions answered by just clicking on their links.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Is this worth doing and will the monthly charges be about the same or more?

I really like DirecTV so it's worth it to me. Under the "words of wisdom" category, I'd wait until around August to switch over to them. They'll charge you for the NFL package but give you just about every other channel free for 4 months or so.

What about up time? I really don't have any downtime with cable due to weather problems. Is Direct TV as reliable?

Very reliable, IMO. Occasional brief outages in stormy weather.