Why is the new H20 price for lease upgrade only?

[Mrudo]

Saw BB has the new H20 available for purchase, but lists that it's really a lease upgrade fee of $399.99 with an additional $5 a month?
Why can't we own it like our current HR10-250?

BB Link to HR20 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7959051&st=hr20&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1155071079972)

[JimSpence]

Because that's the way DirecTV is doing business now. IMHO, a true lease of equipment wouldn't include an upfront fee.

[Mrudo]

So I get the Honor of paying $400 up front to then pay an extra $60 a year to my bill?
Plus the additional $60 a year for the additional receiver/mirroring(assuming we keep our old HDDVR). Plus the additional $60 a year for DVR Service....hmm, that's just not cool.
SO this so called updated receiver winds up costing us $400+60(lease)+60(add receiver)+60(DVR fee)=$580 for the first year!
And then $180 for the remainder of years. Just for this ONE receiver?

What JUNK.
Maybe as a long time subscriber we can get them to waive those fee's for 6 months?

[Sknzfan]

So I get the Honor of paying $400 up front to then pay an extra $60 a year to my bill?
Plus the additional $60 a year for the additional receiver/mirroring(assuming we keep our old HDDVR). Plus the additional $60 a year for DVR Service....hmm, that's just not cool.
SO this so called updated receiver winds up costing us $400+60(lease)+60(add receiver)+60(DVR fee)=$580 for the first year!
And then $180 for the remainder of years. Just for this ONE receiver?

What JUNK.
Maybe as a long time subscriber we can get them to waive those fee's for 6 months?


As a Long time Subscriber YOU should be getting it fro FREE !
Call Customer Retention at 1-800-824-9081
Tell them you're ready to Upgrade another room !
Should eb simple....
If you DON'T get what you want Hang up and call again 10 min's later. !
Keep trying until you get what YOU want !
Thanx

[ebonovic]

HR20 that is...

You can "own" the box if you want.
A user last night (on www.dbstalk.com) purchased it for $830

What did he get for his extra $500 - $800 ($19.99 - $399.99 are the prices people are getting the box for)..... NOTHING

We are very early into this lease program with DirecTV... we don't know what the long term is going to bring. We really don't know if DirecTV is actually going to ask for the receiver back, say in 2 years if you live out your contract.

Right now, we don't know for certain if you can upgrade the hard drive or not... or if you can now, is that going to stay that way... or what....

I really think DirecTV screwed up by calling this program a "lease" program. It should have been called something else... but none the less.

All indications are that the HR20 will be a doorstop if you don't have DirecTV service. Aka, if it is like the R15... once you terminate your service, the HR20 will not even function as an OTA receiver.. (unlike the HR10).

And given that 300gb hard drives can be had for sub $100 now adays... the hard drive isn't even worth the $800 price tag.

[MikeekiM]

All indications are that the HR20 will be a doorstop if you don't have DirecTV service. Aka, if it is like the R15... once you terminate your service, the HR20 will not even function as an OTA receiver.. (unlike the HR10).


I was a bit upset at the leasing model...

But as you say, if all the DirecTV DVRs (TiVo powered units included) are virtual doorstops if you stop the service, do you really care if you have to return it when you stop the service (assuming you get a significant price break when you initially acquire the unit)?

I'm mixed about it... I am starting to lean toward the "don't care" category...

My concern is if these units are upgradeable, what are the implications of upgrading in a lease situation?

[ebonovic]

I was a bit upset at the leasing model...

But as you say, if all the DirecTV DVRs (TiVo powered units included) are virtual doorstops if you stop the service, do you really care if you have to return it when you stop the service (assuming you get a significant price break when you initially acquire the unit)?

I'm mixed about it... I am starting to lean toward the "don't care" category...

My concern is if these units are upgradeable, what are the implications of upgrading in a lease situation?

The HR10-250 will still at least tune in OTA.. but other then that.....

If DirecTV turns on the external expandable storage for these units (HR20, R15), then you will probably see any type of internal storage expansion blocked.

[mr.unnatural]

Think of the leasing plan as a lifetime warranty on the DVR. It may be a bit pricey but at least you'll never have to worry about not having one that works. If you buy the HR20 outright you only get a 90-day warranty with it. For a sticker price of $799 that's not much of a bargain if you also have to pay to get it fixed.

FYI - beachaudio.com has the HR20 for only $248.99 plus $5 shipping. I had to actually break down and buy one at that price.

[su_A_ve]

Think of the leasing plan as a lifetime warranty on the DVR. It may be a bit pricey but at least you'll never have to worry about not having one that works. If you buy the HR20 outright you only get a 90-day warranty with it. For a sticker price of $799 that's not much of a bargain if you also have to pay to get it fixed.

FYI - beachaudio.com has the HR20 for only $248.99 plus $5 shipping. I had to actually break down and buy one at that price.

And WHO said that it carries a lifetime warranty ?? If it breaks after the 90 days, you are STILL ON YOUR OWN. You can get a new one, by paying their regular 'upfront' fee (ie $100 for a regular DVR, etc).

If you want protection, then you have to have the equipment protection program...

My .02...

The only difference in terms before and now is that before you owned the equipment. Now D* owns it. But you are still responsible for it...

[serenstarlight]

So I get the Honor of paying $400 up front to then pay an extra $60 a year to my bill?
Plus the additional $60 a year for the additional receiver/mirroring(assuming we keep our old HDDVR). Plus the additional $60 a year for DVR Service....hmm, that's just not cool.
SO this so called updated receiver winds up costing us $400+60(lease)+60(add receiver)+60(DVR fee)=$580 for the first year!
And then $180 for the remainder of years. Just for this ONE receiver?

What JUNK.
Maybe as a long time subscriber we can get them to waive those fee's for 6 months?

The additional receiver fee is covering programing not a "lease charge" for the receiver. The fee is something that directv has always charge no matter if a customer is leasing or own the equipment. The reason why they switched to lease equipment is because in the long run it will save "new" equipment from going into the trash. At least now they have options to recycle equipment. And I guess they also figure if you're not with directv you can use the equipment elsewhere so it saves on space? But either way I don't see it as any different then how it was before, the equipment just labeled now.

[DVDKingdom]

And WHO said that it carries a lifetime warranty ?? If it breaks after the 90 days, you are STILL ON YOUR OWN. You can get a new one, by paying their regular 'upfront' fee (ie $100 for a regular DVR, etc).

If you want protection, then you have to have the equipment protection program...

My .02...

The only difference in terms before and now is that before you owned the equipment. Now D* owns it. But you are still responsible for it...
No you're not responsible for it, DirecTV has stated Leased receivers are replaced free of charge at anytime.

[mr.unnatural]

Yep, what he said. ;) When you lease the hardware it's DTV's responsibility to make sure it's always working. It's their hardware, not yours. You're just renting it for a monthly fee. The equipment protection plan is an extra fee that basically insures equipment that YOU own. If one of your personal receivers or DVRs breaks, DTV will replace it free of charge under the plan. If a leased receiver or DVR breaks, they will also replace it free of charge. The main difference being that you don't pay a monthly fee for the protection plan on leased hardware. Like I said, the upfront fee is just like buying an extended lifetime warranty.

[MikeekiM]

The HR10-250 will still at least tune in OTA.. but other then that.....

If DirecTV turns on the external expandable storage for these units (HR20, R15), then you will probably see any type of internal storage expansion blocked.

Is that true? Can you still use the HR10-250 on OTA even without a DirecTV subscription?

[ebonovic]

Is that true? Can you still use the HR10-250 on OTA even without a DirecTV subscription?


Yes... the HR10-250 will still function as an OTA Digital tuner... even without a subscription..

It will NOT function as a DVR though, without the service.

[T1V0]

No you're not responsible for it, DirecTV has stated Leased receivers are replaced free of charge at anytime.

Not quite free of charge. Basically if its leased and more than 90 days old, D* still charges $19.95 to replace any kind of receiver with another "leased" one. Unless you pay $5.99 monthly insurance of course.
Also, the only the thing you're "leasing" is the receiver. Not the remote, the access card, cables, or the dish. Without the insurance, D* will still charge for replacing the other components when they are outside the 90 warranty.
The lease thing made 3 changes : flat rate replacement for receivers, different wording on your bill, and you now have to return the receivers when they're not in use or be charged a fee that's higher than the average price of a box on Ebay.

[MikeekiM]

Yes... the HR10-250 will still function as an OTA Digital tuner... even without a subscription..

It will NOT function as a DVR though, without the service.

Ah... so it is not quite a doorstop...but it can't record anything either... Right?

[ebonovic]

Ah... so it is not quite a doorstop...but it can't record anything either... Right?

Correct... the HR10 would be nothing more then an HD OTA receiver with a 30 minute buffer... no recording, and if you don't have it to a sat line... no guide information...

[mr.unnatural]

Ah... so it is not quite a doorstop...but it can't record anything either... Right?
If you keep an active DTV account you may be able to get away with some sort of basic package and the DVR service to enable OTA recording. I have heard of people accessing their DTV account online and dropping the Total Choice package but keeping the DVR service and one of the sports packages. You probably wouldn't be able to do this via a CSR since they would probably insist that you'd have to keep Total Choice or some other programming package to have a legit sub. The beauty of doing it online is that you bypass the CSRs altogether and can pretty much tailor your package any way you want it.

Not quite free of charge. Basically if its leased and more than 90 days old, D* still charges $19.95 to replace any kind of receiver with another "leased" one. Unless you pay $5.99 monthly insurance of course.
The $19.99 covers shipping and handling via FedEx overnight. It's still cheaper in the long run than having to pay the monthly service fee. I believe the monthly fee for DVRs and HD receivers is $7.99 and not $5.99, unless they've changed it since going to the lease plan.