Curious about install and purchased/owned HD-DVR hardware

[jforman]

Hello all, long time reader, first time poster :)

After upgrading my Comcast service to HD, and watching my bill explode, I am now looking into plunking down for Directv. After reading the forums there are a couple questions I have pre-installation:

What is the benefit of purchasing the HD DVR myself (as opposed to not renting/leasing one from Directv) ?

How much does this save me in recurring charges since the HD DVR would be my own?

Should I catch any slack from the installer, or have any problems during the installation of service since I would own my own HD DVR?

Any tips, hints, suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[PCampbell]

1. None, you can only use it for directv so if you cancel service then you own a brick.
2. Directv charges 5.00 pre recever but credits back 5.00 for thr first one so if you only have one recever then there is no cost.
3. The installer does not care.
You will get a two year commitment if you do not own the recever.

[HDTVsportsfan]

See this link for some great info on installation maintained by Milo.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=67769

[johnzim63]

1. None, you can only use it for directv so if you cancel service then you own a brick.
2. Directv charges 5.00 pre recever but credits back 5.00 for thr first one so if you only have one recever then there is no cost.
3. The installer does not care.
You will get a two year commitment if you do not own the recever.Totally agree. There is very little benefit to "purchasing" over "leasing" the equipment, and certainly not worth the price delta (~$300-400). Unless you're made of money, it's a very extravagant move. Cheers.

[carl6]

Please understand that regardless of where you get the equipment, it is leased. The only place you can actually buy to own is from DirecTV, and the price is substantially higher (around $700 for a DVR, around $300 for a non-DVR receiver).

There is no on-going cost difference. Your month to month fees will be exactly the same whether owned or leased. First receiver is included with your programming package. Each additional receiver is $4.99 a month (owned or leased).

If you have a DVR, there is an additional DVR fee, once per account (not per DVR).

If you have HD, there is an additional HD fee, once per account (not per receiver).

If you get the HD Extra pack, that is also one fee per account (not per receiver).

Carl

[BattleZone]

The only "benefits" of owning your own receivers are:

- The ability to subscribe without being under a programming commitment (i.e., you can cancel at any time).
- You could, theoretically, modify the equipment in a limited fashion, such as installing a larger hard drive.

Of course, you'd also be 100% responsible for purchasing your dish, any multiswitches, and performing the installation, as well as maintaining all of the equipment at your expense. That includes replacing the equipment if it fails outside of warranty (90 days).

Commercial accounts must buy their equipment and pay for their installation, but there are very, very few residential accounts done this way, because it's almost always a financial loser.

[Dave]

Welcome to the forums.:) :) :)