watchdogfl
04-12-2007, 10:36 PM
Well, it's been a long winding road and at the end of the road.... TiVo wins.
I've decided that the combination of dropping TiVo and the changing anti-choice policies at DirecTV have pushed this 7 year, A+ customer, out the door. For 3 weeks I ran Charter and DirecTV side by side. No series 3... just a Moxi box vs HD direcTIVO. PQ was similar except for HD where Cable beat out. And of course I got all my locals on HD instead of none on DirecTV.
I had placed an order for the HR20. Got a fair deal I think. But the fact that they were forcing me to sign a 2-year contract in addition to PAYING to lease hardware. Well, that was too much. Cable companies tried the contract route and people jumped quickly. DirecTV, in its glut, is heading down the same path that drove customers away from cable and to them. I guess it's time to reverse the revolving door. Early adopters are the first to change with the flow of economic tides... I'm positive that many more will follow in the coming months. Dangling carrots of HD channels and competitive DVR's will only keep the bottom of the barrell. The least profitable customers.
I do hope that the new leadership at DirecTV has the vision to bring TiVo back as an option. My hope is that the development work that Tivo has done to divorce their software from their hardware (aka the comcast deal) can be leveraged to possibly replace HR20 software with Tivo software. But of course, that's sheer speculation and is at a minimum 1 to 2 years away. More than likely TiVo would modify the series 3 or their "in development" low-budget hd box. Wishful thinking... but one can hope.
But there you go. I spent hours with the HR20 at friends houses and in stores. I considered my options and decided that being treated like a commodity and being forced into a 2 year indentured servitude was not the way to treat customers. I wish DirecTV the best of luck. But I've decided to take my business and follow TiVo because I truly believe that content and the delivery of that content is the commodity. The true value, the thing that is worth spending money on, is a dependable, trusted, and devoted facilitator that will present that content to me the way I want it. and that facilitator is Tivo.
I've decided that the combination of dropping TiVo and the changing anti-choice policies at DirecTV have pushed this 7 year, A+ customer, out the door. For 3 weeks I ran Charter and DirecTV side by side. No series 3... just a Moxi box vs HD direcTIVO. PQ was similar except for HD where Cable beat out. And of course I got all my locals on HD instead of none on DirecTV.
I had placed an order for the HR20. Got a fair deal I think. But the fact that they were forcing me to sign a 2-year contract in addition to PAYING to lease hardware. Well, that was too much. Cable companies tried the contract route and people jumped quickly. DirecTV, in its glut, is heading down the same path that drove customers away from cable and to them. I guess it's time to reverse the revolving door. Early adopters are the first to change with the flow of economic tides... I'm positive that many more will follow in the coming months. Dangling carrots of HD channels and competitive DVR's will only keep the bottom of the barrell. The least profitable customers.
I do hope that the new leadership at DirecTV has the vision to bring TiVo back as an option. My hope is that the development work that Tivo has done to divorce their software from their hardware (aka the comcast deal) can be leveraged to possibly replace HR20 software with Tivo software. But of course, that's sheer speculation and is at a minimum 1 to 2 years away. More than likely TiVo would modify the series 3 or their "in development" low-budget hd box. Wishful thinking... but one can hope.
But there you go. I spent hours with the HR20 at friends houses and in stores. I considered my options and decided that being treated like a commodity and being forced into a 2 year indentured servitude was not the way to treat customers. I wish DirecTV the best of luck. But I've decided to take my business and follow TiVo because I truly believe that content and the delivery of that content is the commodity. The true value, the thing that is worth spending money on, is a dependable, trusted, and devoted facilitator that will present that content to me the way I want it. and that facilitator is Tivo.