D* Satisfaction Guarantee?

[CallMeBob]

Just switched back to D* from cable two days ago. I have not cancelled cable yet. They sent me a new box and replaced a dead one that I already had. After I got it hooked up I was amazed at how their picture qualtiy has gone downhill. It is so much softer and has terible macroblocking and compression artifacts in the signal. I have a 96% signal strength on both tuners on both the HR10s that they sent. Does D* have a satisfaction guarantee? I don't want to pay $300 (plus the $300 I paid for a HR10) after only two days with their service, but I will if I have to because I did an A/B comparison with my HD cable box and it was a no brainer in regards to PQ.

[gquiring]

Welcome to HD-Lite. DISH does it also.

How did your cable co do for HD channels - more or less than D*? That should also be a factor if you are going to switch back or not.

[CallMeBob]

Welcome to HD-Lite. DISH does it also.

How did your cable co do for HD channels - more or less than D*? That should also be a factor if you are going to switch back or not.


Well it's not just HD, the SD on D* is horrible compared to cable. On cable HD it was night and day better than D*. Cable on both SD and HD is soooo much sharper and much fewer artifacts. I would say D* looks like a watching a .avi torrent file with vasoline smeared on my screen.

[PRMan]

But they have TiVo and Sunday Ticket... :rolleyes:

[Adam1115]

Well it's not just HD, the SD on D* is horrible compared to cable. On cable HD it was night and day better than D*. Cable on both SD and HD is soooo much sharper and much fewer artifacts. I would say D* looks like a watching a .avi torrent file with vasoline smeared on my screen.

Depends on your cable company..

There's plenty of overcompressed crappy cable too..

[gquiring]

My cable company has crappy SD also, it's nothing to get me moving for it. Many of the channels are still analog. But what they do offer is more HD channels, dual tuner HD DVR and no money down. But the monthly fee for the DVR is higher. No simple answer as to who is better.

[newsposter]

i'm pretty sure the fine print says you are out your 'lease upgrade fee' or whatever they call it.

tis a shame they never tell u that

[CallMeBob]

Depends on your cable company..

There's plenty of overcompressed crappy cable too..


I just sat down and compared apples for apples the PQ using my HDMI switch and both boxes. I put them both on the same channels and switched back and forth. First I started with HBO (SD). D* much softer and lot of pixelation around the peoples faces, additionally the picture seemed blurier on D*. Next I switched to Fox News. When their logo came up after commercial, D* was nothing but macroblocks and I couldn't even read the Fox logo for about two seconds. Switched back to cable and backed up the timeline to watch the same thing, the picture was smooth with no pixelation. Also when the put the banner up on Fox, where they put the current headline, D* had blotches in the red area as well as lots of noise and blocking, back to cable the banner was smooth and solid red with no noise of blocking. Next was HBO HD. D* was blurry and a bit washed out while the cable was clean sharp and somewhat three dementional.

All I can say is that I am very unhappy and when I get a chance I'm calling D* and asking them to take back their equipment. I just don't think that I can be happy with their picture when there is this much difference between them and my local cable. I like Tivo, but over the last year I have been pretty happy with my Moto 6412 PIII. I wanted to give D* the benefit of the doubt, but I feel letdown.

Which brings me back to my question. Does D* have a Satisfaction Guarantee. or 30 trial period? It would seem quite unfair that after two days they would want me to pay all their penalties.

[WhyMe]

I think you are out of luck, I called after I got my HD Dvr and they told me that once the equipment was installed no returns. Good luck

[stiffi]

Next I switched to Fox News. When their logo came up after commercial, D* was nothing but macroblocks and I couldn't even read the Fox logo for about two seconds.

Are you sure you know what macroblocking is? I'm not trying to be mean, but terms get thrown around these forums, sometimes without people even knowing their meaning.

If you truly see that much macroblocking on a channel, there is something radically wrong with your set up. Either you're getting a bad signal, or a connection is not right.

[CallMeBob]

Are you sure you know what macroblocking is? I'm not trying to be mean, but terms get thrown around these forums, sometimes without people even knowing their meaning.

If you truly see that much macroblocking on a channel, there is something radically wrong with your set up. Either you're getting a bad signal, or a connection is not right.


Yeah, I know what macroblocking is. I've been into HT for 12 years and have three different setups in my home. I have been around long enough to know what these "terms" mean and what they look like. I don't think it's a bad signal as I am getting 96% on both tuners. I don't think it's a bad box because it is happening on all my D* boxes. I know it's not the cables because I'm using the same coax and HDMI cables that I used with cable. I have a cable splitter in my attic, right next to where the dish lines come into the attic. I disconnected the coax (all quad shield runs) from the cable splitter and connected them to the dish, so I'm using the same runs.

Maybe I'm just looking for problems and I'm seeing more than what's there, but I do believe that the quality is much worse than what I have with cable. I was very pleased with cable other than the lack of local HDs, which my local cable co. (Cox) is arguing with over compensation. The only reason I went back to D* was for the OTA recording of local HD, but I'm not so sure it's worth it.

[PhysicalPresence]

Don't most cable companies use RG-59 cable? Satellite works best with RG-6. Maybe that's the problem.

[CallMeBob]

Don't most cable companies use RG-59 cable? Satellite works best with RG-6. Maybe that's the problem.


I am using all RG-6 quad shield cables.

[stiffi]

It's definitely worse than cable, but I don't see it as that bad. I worked in Primestar master control for 2 years, before DTV bought them out, and I never would have done any troubleshooting for what I see on the normal DTV signal now.

It really sounds to me like something is wrong, but maybe you just have a more discerning eye.

[CallMeBob]

It's definitely worse than cable, but I don't see it as that bad. I worked in Primestar master control for 2 years, before DTV bought them out, and I never would have done any troubleshooting for what I see on the normal DTV signal now.

It really sounds to me like something is wrong, but maybe you just have a more discerning eye.


You know, I spent a little more time doing A/B comparisons and even though it is worse, I think it's maybe only a small percentage worse. I think that after reading about their overcompression I'm just looking for problems. After looking at cable a little harder I see a good bit of artifacts there as well. I think that maybe I'm just looking for problems, but I will give it a bit longer to see if I start to overlook them, like I was probably doing with cable.

[newsposter]

since the guarantee has been requested 2x
free access to 185 channels

free dvr or hd receiver after rebate

free install

Find out for yourself why DIRECTV has been #1 in customer satisfaction five years in a row.* If for any reason your experience is less than exceptional, let us know and we'll fix the problem. If you're still not completely satisfied, DIRECTV will refund your money and waive any cancellation fees.

OFFER IS AVAILABLE ON APPROVED CREDIT. Any applicable DVR service or monthly lease fees and applicable taxes will be refunded if customer cancels within 30 days. Shipping/handling/ delivery fees may apply. New lease customers only. Lease fee $4.99/mo. for 2nd and each additional receiver.

*American Customer Satisfaction Index, University of Michigan Business School (2001-2005). OFFER DETAILS: OFFER AVAILABLE 4/26/06-7/1/06. IF YOU DO NOT CONTACT DIRECTV TO CANCEL WITHIN THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF SERVICE, THE DIRECTV SERVICE(S) TO WHICH YOU ARE THEN SUBSCRIBING WILL AUTOMATICALLY CONTINUE, AS WELL AS A $4.99/MO. LEASE FEE FOR THE 2ND AND EACH ADDITIONAL RECEIVER, FOR THE REMAINDER OF YOUR PROGRAMMING COMMITMENT. Shipping/handling/delivery, custom installation fees, base package costs over $49.99/mo., pay per view purchases, sports subscriptions, premium services and equipment upgrade fees are not included in satisfaction guarantee and will not be refunded. HARDWARE LEASE: Purchase of 12 consecutive months (24 consecutive months for advanced receivers) of any TOTAL CHOICE package ($34.99/mo. or above), DIRECTV PARA TODOS programming ($29.99/mo. or above) or qualifying international services bundle required. DVR service commitment ($5.99/mo.) required for DVR and HD DVR lease. In certain markets, programming/pricing may vary. FAILURE TO ACTIVATE THE DIRECTV SYSTEM WITHIN 30 DAYS MAY RESULT IN A CHARGE OF $150 PER RECEIVER NOT ACTIVATED. IF YOU FAIL TO MAINTAIN YOUR PROGRAMMING COMMITMENT, DIRECTV MAY CHARGE A PRORATED FEE OF UP TO $300. RECEIVERS ARE AT ALL TIMES PROPERTY OF DIRECTV AND MUST BE RETURNED UPON CANCELLATION OF SERVICE, OR ADDITIONAL FEES APPLY. VISIT DIRECTV.com OR CALL 1-800-DIRECTV FOR DETAILS. NEW CUSTOMER $100 MAIL-IN REBATE: Customer must complete and sign rebate form (sent automatically in first DIRECTV bill or in a separate mailing), and comply with the terms on the form. Visit DIRECTV.com/lease rebate for full details. Programming, pricing, terms and conditions subject to change. Pricing residential. Taxes not included. Receipt of DIRECTV programming is subject to the DIRECTV Customer Agreement; copy provided at DIRECTV.com/legal and in your first bill. ©2006 DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo, TOTAL CHOICE and DIRECTV PARA TODOS are registered trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners

(oops that expired 7/1)

[HomieG]

Bob - I switched to cable about a month ago, from DirecTV. I agree totally with your assessment. Even SD DirecTV looks terrible when compared to cable (Comcast in my case). It really was that awful.

[CallMeBob]

since the guarantee has been requested 2x



So D*'s guarantee was a special? Only during that period of time were you guaranteed to be satisfied? They must have very little confidence in thier product.

I'm going to give it until tomorrow night and if I'm still unhappy with the service I'll try to get a refund. If they won't let me out of the contract I'll keep cable and drop to the Family Package. Can I send back all but one DVR, drop to the Family Package and still Tivo local HDs with that package?

[newsposter]

i searched their site for 'satisfaction' and trial...well some porn movies actually came up in the search...no money back though

[bigmixx]

I can't compare DTV to cable because I've never had HD cable, but DTV compared to OTA makes DTV HD look like SD. I know OTA is Mpeg-4 but it definitely leaves something to be desired. As long as the ESPN/2 channels look good during football season I'll be a happy camper.

[bacevedo]

Did you pay with a credit card?

If so, then I would do exactly as you said - contact DirecTV and try your best to get them to give you a refund because they didn't give you the service you expected and paid for. If they won't budge, call your credit card company and tell them you are disputing a charge and explain what happened. You may have to wait a month until the charge officially shows up on your statement. The credit card company is on your side (especially if you are good customer of theirs) and more than likely will get DirecTV to refund you the money or issue a chargeback. Companies don't want chargebacks - if they get too many, their credit card processor may refuse to service them and they don't want to have to deal with that fallout. You just need to show good faith in trying to resolve the matter with the merchant yourself so that it makes your case stronger.

That's why I use credit cards for purchasing things wherever possible. You have special protection as a consumer so that you don't get burned by companies who have unfair return policies, etc.

I have only had to issue a chargeback once and I easily won the dispute - it was pretty obvious that I was in the right and the merchant had no ground to stand on. Don't abuse the system - only use it for legitimate disputes and you will be ok.

If you can go this route, let us know how that goes.

Bryan

[chris_h]

Can I send back all but one DVR, drop to the Family Package and still Tivo local HDs with that package?


Yes, but you will also have to pay the DVR fee.

[newsposter]

I know OTA is Mpeg-4 but it definitely leaves something to be desired.

?? will wait for correction as ota is mpeg2 and u surely meant something else :)

[Strickland]

I had to register just for this topic. I just had DirectTV install a HR10 2 days ago. I am experiencing the same visual acuity, or lack thereof. My HD with a OTA antenna straight into my Tv is better than when the same OTA antenna goes through the HR and then into the TV.

I just had a VIP622 for a week as a test drive and the HD picture from it drove circles around this HR10.

The picture from the HR just seems soft around the edges. It is not very crisp like a 1080 should be.

The way I read the contract you have 7 days. I have been digging for info on the quality, or lack thereof, of these HR trying to come to a resolution to decide whether I keep the HR or kick it to the curb.

Strickland