[yahnaman]

Just got off the phone with retentions trying to get a good deal on an HR10-250. The rep told me that Denver locals are coming May '06 and that there is no HD receiver upgrade needed? Anyone else have them tell you this? I asked about MPEG4 and he said he didn't know about it. My guess is just a clueless CSR. :down:

He also metioned that Comcast does not have true HD and that DTV does, anyone have something to add to this.

I'd really prefer to stay on DTV, but for the cost they want for HD DVR it is hard to swallow. $400 for a Tivo that will record HD on 8 channels, won't get the 6.2 upgrade, and won't record MPEG4 when it is rolled out... and Comcast will give it all to me with no upfront and $50/month.

Please help me avoid Comcast... I don't want to change!

 

[BlearyEyed]

You're in my same exact situation. I'm down in Colorado Springs, but facing the same situation. I fell into a quality HD capable TV for little money, but now I don't know whether to upgrade my DirecTV service, do nothing, or switch to cable. I called DirecTV, but got similiar results to you, namely a clueless CSR. He told me to just get the HR10-250, and that "everything would work out in time." I guess you can say that if its not your money.

I wrote a letter to DirecTV expressing my concerns (hoping it would result in them giving me some kind of deal) instead they just sent back a form letter thanking me for my "input".

I hate the idea of going to cable, but right now DirecTV is giving me nothing. I'm going to try calling again today, if I get results I'll post.

PS - With all the changes it's been a task getting educated on all the options coming up, with no info from DirecTV this board has been invaluable. I've been lurking for a few weeks and got up to speed on about everything. Thanks to all.

 

[scooby_doo_53]

This is actually the first I have heard that they were coming in May '06. I can't believe we don't need the new dish, but frankly, since KMGH finally got their act together, I can get all of the HD locals on antenna now anyway!

 

[NatasNJ]

I had a Directv sales rep go off about the quality of the signal between Directv and Comcast. Stating how the Comcast feed is a Digital feed that gets converted to analog and back and also is only 80% as good as the initial feed on average. Versus Directv only loses .05% from the dish to your TV. BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Not sure what truth it is but I am with Directv cause the picture looks better. Don't care about the details of why..

 

[litzdog911]

Clueless CSR ...
You will need the new 5-LNB dish and upgraded HiDef DirecTV Receiver (H20) to receive the Denver locals (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox) in HDTV. The HR10-250 HD DVR will not be able to receive those new MPEG4 channels, even with the new dish. But DirecTV has promised to upgrade HR10-250's to the new MPEG4 HD DVR when it ships later this year.

 

[tivolocity]

Just got off the phone with retentions trying to get a good deal on an HR10-250. The rep told me that Denver locals are coming May '06 and that there is no HD receiver upgrade needed? Anyone else have them tell you this? I asked about MPEG4 and he said he didn't know about it. My guess is just a clueless CSR.

I think the CSR you spoke with just might win the "Clueless CSR 06" award. Denver locals are coming in May, but doesn't know anything about MPEG4. Hmmmm.

As for the May date for Denver, that seems to be the current info on several boards.

Like scooby_doo_53, I'm fortunate enough to receive all the Denver locals OTA, so I'm in no hurry for Directv to provide them. At some point in time, probably when the mobile and networking features announced at CES are available, I'll want to switch to the new DVR. Then I'm confronted with the issue of wanting to continue to view the Denver locals OTA, but with diplexing not being possible in the MPEG4 environment, I'll be forced to view the Directv feed (I currently have two RG6 runs to each room in my home, one for each sat input on a DVR, with no ability to add a third.).

 

[jfh3]

Just got off the phone with retentions trying to get a good deal on an HR10-250. The rep told me that Denver locals are coming May '06 and that there is no HD receiver upgrade needed? Anyone else have them tell you this? I asked about MPEG4 and he said he didn't know about it. My guess is just a clueless CSR. :down:

He also metioned that Comcast does not have true HD and that DTV does, anyone have something to add to this.

I'd really prefer to stay on DTV, but for the cost they want for HD DVR it is hard to swallow. $400 for a Tivo that will record HD on 8 channels, won't get the 6.2 upgrade, and won't record MPEG4 when it is rolled out... and Comcast will give it all to me with no upfront and $50/month.

Please help me avoid Comcast... I don't want to change!

Wow. Super clueless CSR.

IF you can get the Denver locals OTA, the HR10-250 is not a bad deal - you'll get a better HD signal OTA than you will from DirecTV. And it's highly unlikely we'll see many new channels in MPEG4 other than the top 4 locals anytime soon (e.g. the next two-three years).

You do know that you'll only get ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX via DirecTV, so no KWGN, KTVD, KBDI, etc. (good news is that almost everyone can get KWGN (and the Fox affiliate) in HD OTA.

 

[yahnaman]

Yeah, I know that only the big 4 are going to be over DTV, I'm just not sure I'll get all of them OTA right now. NBC, CBS, PBS are to the south east, ABC is North, FOX is south west.

I can't justify spending $399 on a receiver to get 8 channels in the HD package and get OTA for the others (if I can get them all). I can't believe that the retention department doesn't care that a customer that has been with them for 5 years usually with TC Plus with locals and 2 or 3 movie channels is going to leave and won't give them any thing other than a few programming credits to try to keep them.

This is a difference of $600 for the first year for Comcast, and I'd be paying more than $1,228 for a year with DTV. I'd be happy to sign a 2 year commitment if I could get the DVR for $200. That would give them at least $2,400 in revenue over two years.

The 3rd CSR I talked to said that the deal that I was already offered was the best she has seen and couldn't believe it. I asked her to talk to her supervisor and see if they could do better, and after going away for a few minutes came back and said that he thinks I am getting too much.

I told her I'm going to Comcast, she just asked me if I'd like to close my account. Unbelievable.

 

[BlearyEyed]

I spoke with retentions last night, things actually went pretty smoothly. I called in and told them I had an HD TV and was considering an upgrade to DirecTV HD, but didn't like the prices I was going to have to pay, particularly considering the situation of the HR10-250 and the move away from TiVo.

I have a $200 gift certificate to Best Buy, so I told her I was not interested in getting the receiver from them, just the dish, install and OTA antenna. I explained that I was skeptical about the quality of DirecTV's DVR, and didn't want a lot of upfront costs to stick with DirecTV waiting on their DVR.

I asked for and received a free dish, install, and OTA antenna as well as 6 months of the HD service. I'm buying the receiver myself today. The rep I talked to was fairly informed, she was reading from her scripts but she did work with me decently.

I'd say the key is to do your research. She started by telling me a dish + antenna was $148 dollar value, I had looked up the packages on DirecTV.com and knew I could get it for $299 with $200 dollar rebate. She also offered me a bonus of 3 free months of HD service, whichis also already offered on their website. I told her that was standard, not a bonus, and she extended to 6 months.

So overall I'm upgrading to HD with a total cost of $199 to me over the next 6 months. At that price I can live with the potential mpeg2/mpeg4 and TiVo no TiVo issues.