DirecTV Trying to "extort" us???

[john21mart]

:down:I got a recorded message from DirecTV telling me that I cannot get HDTV Sunday Ticket unless I change my equipment to the new dish and "non-tivo" PVR...They offered it for free if I sign up for the HD Sunday Ticket...In other words, you want to watch Hi-Def football, we're taking your Tivo away...should we stand for this???

[ZeoTiVo]

more than likely HD Sunday Ticket is sent as mpeg4 which the DirectTiVo HD can not process.

[Bob Coxner]

more than likely HD Sunday Ticket is sent as mpeg4 which the DirectTiVo HD can not process.

It's not "more than likely", it's 100% mpeg4.

[BobCamp1]

Soon the HR-10s will only be good for OTA HD recording only. DirecTV will be switching all HD to MPEG4, which the HR-10 cannot handle. NFL Sunday Ticket is first on the transition list. It's not extortion -- it's called "upgrading".

If the OP likes DirecTV better, he should take them up on their offer.

If the OP likes Tivo better, he should cancel DirecTV, buy a Tivo HD, and sign up for cable or FIOS.

[dswallow]

Soon the HR-10s will only be good for OTA HD recording only.

OTA SD/HD & SD DirecTV channels.

[MsRoboto]

I understand all this but I think the changing provider option goes out the window when Sunday Ticket is a requirement.

It kills me that DirecTV has this exclusively. I personally would like to have FIOS (which I have) with Sunday Ticket and Tivo.

Alas that will not happen until the current Sunday Ticket contract runs out in 2010. Then there is no guarantee that anything will change.

Until then 2 out of 3 will have to do.

[dtvrox08]

I understand all this but I think the changing provider option goes out the window when Sunday Ticket is a requirement.

It kills me that DirecTV has this exclusively. I personally would like to have FIOS (which I have) with Sunday Ticket and Tivo.

Alas that will not happen until the current Sunday Ticket contract runs out in 2010. Then there is no guarantee that anything will change.

Until then 2 out of 3 will have to do.

Well I hate to burst your bubble, but I believe Directv has exclusive rights through 2013. I could be wrong thought but I think that was what I was told not too long ago.

It is just like anything else. in February 2009, you are going to need a digitial converter box because all signal is going digital. You have to stay up with the times if you want the services you must upgrade. If your still using the same computer you were using 5 yrs ago.. I feel for you.. Receivers are like Computers, they keep getting faster and having new features, but as technology advances you must also.

Atleast your getting the option to upgrade for free (im sure with a 2 yr commitment), but try taking your old computer back to the store and asking for a free one........see how far you get!

[MsRoboto]

You could be right on the DirecTV exclusivity rights to Sunday Ticket running until 2013. I got my information from wikipedia which can be a somewhat iffy place to get that kind of information.

[mattack]

It is just like anything else. in February 2009, you are going to need a digitial converter box because all signal is going digital.

That's only OTA. Cable signals have no such deadline.

[john21mart]

My problem is not the new equipment, it's the fact that we cannot have the "real" TIVO!

[Bonanzaair]

My problem is not the new equipment, it's the fact that we cannot have the "real" TIVO!

The quote that bothered me the most was from the DirecTV 1Qtr Conference Call. This is a post from Dave Zata at Zatznotfunny.com.

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2008-05/status-quo-for-directv-tivo/

While relations between DirecTV and TiVo have thawed (extended pact, do-not-sue agreement, software update), there doesn’t appear to be much momentum based on comments made during DirecTV’s earnings call:

"I think we continue to see a few things — I think we have a constructive relationship. We are not doing a lot in all honesty but I think we have an honest dialog that I think is sincere about seeing if there are things that make sense for us. I mean, at our core, the heart of our business is going to continue to get driven by set-top box technologies we’ve developed that are at the core of the — as we launch VOD and whole home solutions and broadband connectivity and all these things, they are all tied into set-top box software that is deployed and operated by us. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things we can do with TiVo and if we can find a way to crack it, I think we’ve always been open to an intelligent relationship if there was one."

No mention of DTV’s ReplayTV IP play…

All I want is the DirecTV signal to my TivoHD. They can keep the VOD and home solutions. I've gone to the FCC website and complained about DirecTV and Dish not allowing access to their signal from third party vendors like Tivo. Yes it will take a million years to be heard, but I want to do something. Here is their complaint webpage.

https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formE!input.action

Bonanzaair

[reh523]

My problem is not the new equipment, it's the fact that we cannot have the "real" TIVO!


Umm sure you can. You can't have the NFLST in HD and your Tivo.

Build a bridge and get over it. The content is worth more than the delivery.....

[tivoupgrade]

Build a bridge and get over it. The content is worth more than the delivery.....

Depends on who you ask. I was surprised at the priority of content vs the provider from my survey question here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6275240#post6275240).

[HiDefGator]

Depends on who you ask. I was surprised at the priority of content vs the provider from my survey question here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6275240#post6275240).

You mean the results of a poll taken on the Tivo forum that only involves Comcast vs. Directv? Gee I'm blown away it leans more towards provider than content.

The results are contradicted by the rate Directv is signing up new HD customers. And all the other service providers seem to be taking the hit. God knows it isn't the HR20 that is driving so many high end customers to Directv.

[tivoupgrade]

You mean the results of a poll taken on the Tivo forum that only involves Comcast vs. Directv? Gee I'm blown away it leans more towards provider than content.


Exactly. Although I was initially surprised, I probably should not have been given the loyalty-factor of those who are members here.


The results are contradicted by the rate Directv is signing up new HD customers. And all the other service providers seem to be taking the hit. God knows it isn't the HR20 that is driving so many high end customers to Directv.

Yes, I agree there too. The issue is that there is definitely some polarization going on.

Up until recently, I was a DIRECTV customer for 11 years. I dropped DIRECTV because of the lack of TiVo. When I found out that they also locked me into a new two-year contract (its a long story, but the short version is that when they send me an HR20, they assured me that I would NOT have to renew my contract; and when I attempted to disconnect, they denied all of it) the ensured that I will never go back...

[magnus]

Ditto that. Not going back to D*. They tried to stick me with a 2 year commitment on a used box... and only found out about it several months after canceling service.

Exactly. Although I was initially surprised, I probably should not have been given the loyalty-factor of those who are members here.



Yes, I agree there too. The issue is that there is definitely some polarization going on.

Up until recently, I was a DIRECTV customer for 11 years. I dropped DIRECTV because of the lack of TiVo. When I found out that they also locked me into a new two-year contract (its a long story, but the short version is that when they send me an HR20, they assured me that I would NOT have to renew my contract; and when I attempted to disconnect, they denied all of it) the ensured that I will never go back...

[nrc]

Umm sure you can. You can't have the NFLST in HD and your Tivo.

Build a bridge and get over it. The content is worth more than the delivery.....

Depends on the content and the person. For me, DirecTV's Sunday Ticket isn't worth what they're charging for it because I already get most of my team's games. There aren't that many programs that I watch that I don't already get in HD. The delivery, and all the features and benefits that come with it, far outweigh the two or three shows that I watch that I don't get in HD right now.

[ADent]

I will almost certainly drop DirecTV when the kill my S1 SD DTiVo (I predict a couple of years for my city) or I get an HDTV (a year or two away?) because of the 2 year commitment.

Why not - I can try Comcast w/o a committment then go back to DirecTV or try Dish if I don't like Comcast. Hopefully the TiVo HD will work with SDV by then.

W/o commitment I would look at picking up a used S2 DTiVo or a used HD DTiVo and adding it to the account.

[fasTLane]

Content is well and good.

Let them ram their delivery down someone elses throat. (2 years, my butt)

They can keep their 'preciousss' content and I will do the same with my Tivo.

[Phantom Gremlin]

I will almost certainly drop DirecTV when the kill my S1 SD DTiVo (I predict a couple of years for my city)
I would also drop DirecTV if they killed the S1 DTiVo.

But why should they? They have quite a few operational satellites at 101, broadcasting SD to millions of working receivers. Those satellites still have a working life of many years. They can't obsolete that infrastructure without requiring a new antenna and new receivers in all affected households. Millions of households.

I don't know the numbers but I'd be willing to bet that many more households receive DirecTV on Ku band (the old MPEG-2 technology) than receive on Ka band (the new MPEG-4 technology and receivers).

So if DirecTV keeps the old Ku infrastructure active for many more years (and I think they will), why would they obsolete the S1 TiVos?

The same argument applies to just the old MPEG-2 "locals". The satellites are up there, the satellites have been paid for (they are a sunk cost), the satellites still have many years of useful life. Why would DirecTV shut them down?

[stevel]

To the best of my knowledge, there is no plan to discontinue MPEG2 national SD channels. In areas where locals are served from an alternate satellite such as 72, those will probably move.