Switching from Comcast to Direct TV

[Atlienzz]

Okay so I've been stuck with Comcast for the past three years. The signal quality has been continually degrading and after several repeated attempts at having Comcast fix the issue I've finally given up.

The reason I'm posting this is because of the great deal that I received to switch.

I went online to direct TV's site to see what kind of deals they had and was not happy with the results. I wanted an HD-DVR and a normal DVR like I have with Comcast right now. They didn't want to give me both receivers for free.

I decided to call them and here is the deal I got:

NFL Sunday Ticket for the next four months @ $80 a month.
The premiere package at no cost for the next four months. This is the package with all their premium channels etc.
An HD-DVR and normal DVR for free.
Free shipping on said DVR's.
Free installation.

After the four months of NFL Sunday ticket expires, I can switch my package at no cost to me to whatever package I choose.

Only catch is a two year agreement, but I'm not planning on switching any time soon as long as the service is better that comcast, which shouldn't be too hard to do.

I don't care about all the premium channels and whatnot, so what package should I switch to after NFL Sunday ticket goes away?

Right now I'm spending about $110 a month for comcast, which doesn't include any premiums.

I want all the HD channels I can get minus the premium ones. What will I end up spending per month approximately?

[cmtar]

Okay so I've been stuck with Comcast for the past three years. The signal quality has been continually degrading and after several repeated attempts at having Comcast fix the issue I've finally given up.

The reason I'm posting this is because of the great deal that I received to switch.

I went online to direct TV's site to see what kind of deals they had and was not happy with the results. I wanted an HD-DVR and a normal DVR like I have with Comcast right now. They didn't want to give me both receivers for free.

I decided to call them and here is the deal I got:

NFL Sunday Ticket for the next four months @ $80 a month.
The premiere package at no cost for the next four months. This is the package with all their premium channels etc.
An HD-DVR and normal DVR for free.
Free shipping on said DVR's.
Free installation.

After the four months of NFL Sunday ticket expires, I can switch my package at no cost to me to whatever package I choose.

Only catch is a two year agreement, but I'm not planning on switching any time soon as long as the service is better that comcast, which shouldn't be too hard to do.

I don't care about all the premium channels and whatnot, so what package should I switch to after NFL Sunday ticket goes away?

Right now I'm spending about $110 a month for comcast, which doesn't include any premiums.

I want all the HD channels I can get minus the premium ones. What will I end up spending per month approximately?

I got the Plus HD DVR package for $69.99 which is about 200 channels, dvr, hd. I think to had the other box you owuld be looking at about $75 but i might be wrong.

Also for $10 you can get the HD extra pack but I dont think its worth it but its your call.

[mosoccer]

Since you want all the HD (minus the premiums) and will have a DVR I'd suggest the PLUS HD DVR package that currently runs at $72.99/month plus since you have an additional receiver it will be an additional $4.99/month so less than $80/month.

I too switched from Comcast in May, welcome to the good side and welcome to DBS Talk.

[hilmar2k]

You can get an awful lot from DIRECTV for $110 per month. I spend less than that and I have HBO and 4 receivers.

[spartanstew]

It might be too late, but I would also suggest trying to get TWO HD-DVR's instead of ONE HD-DVR and ONE SD-DVR. The HD-DVR's will work fine on your SD TV (even better, probably) and it will allow you to get all the channels that a SD-DVR might not get (like the channels in the HD extra pack). Additionally, if you ever decide to upgrade your display down the road you'll already have the HD-DVR, as deals are much harder to come by once you're a current customer. Since the DVR and HD fees are per account, it wouldn't cost you any more per month to have the HD-DVR.

[dishrich]

Also for $10 you can get the HD extra pack but I dont think its worth it but its your call.

The HD xtra pak is actually only $5 extra. (maybe you are confusing it with the HD access charge of $10???)

And also, all new customers can get it for FREE for 3 months as a new HD customer. ;)

[Gaily Waily]

There isn't an HD access charge with the PLUS HD DVR package.

[natethegreat]

There isn't an HD access charge with the PLUS HD DVR package.

There is, its just already included in the price. There are really only 3 real packages, family, choice, or choice Xtra. Every other package is just adding options (DVR, HD or both, and all movies) to the Choice Xtra package.

[Santi360HD]

the downside of now being on the good side ...IS

That when I jumped to Direct TV in 2006 i got everything in SD (at the time), got the NFL ticket and 4 months of my regular package free...Yee Haw I was so thrilled to get rid of **Time Warner...Then came a few bonus checks and finally the arrival of HD in my house..I shoulda done the HD flip from the ONSET Looking back I'd of gotten alot more reduced or for free back then.

UNTIL--> to the victor goes the spoils...

-Needed New Dish 5LNB from 3LNB this was free cause I have the protection plan. But 22 days for DTV tech to arrive to do the dish fyi!! Tell me why they dont sell Dish's & LNB's in Best Buy or Circuit City.. I know I coulda ebay'ed it and have a smaller wait --> but again why dont stores carry this???

-NEW HD BOX, had to be purchased as DTV protection plan would only flip an SD box for free, as it's what I had originally. Leats that's what they told me.

-New DVD player that would do the UPCONVERT, sorry Blu-ray you're still too expensive and If Im gonna spend that much dough i'd get a PS3 instead. And I'll flip my XBOX-360 (for one that has the HDMI interface) before I'd shell out $$ for PS3. Red Green & Blue Composite cables on my XBOX-360 still look great dont see how much an HDMI port would differ.

The Ups & downs of HD and Satellie. Still I love it and never go back to cable. Just so many extras had to shell out.


** I still have Road Runner Cable Modem from TWC so I have the coax still running into my house. and directly into the coax input on the HD for rain failover ...nice

(side note : NO DVR because I had so much trouble with Time Warner DVR's that to this day I have never had or wanted the tivo setup with Direct TV, and going forward I wont. As long as Torrent sites exist for PC I'll never miss a show)

And finally forgot to mention, tech was 2 1/2 hours late for the Dish (slimline 5LNB) install so I got october's bill WIPED in full. No charge for the HD for NFL ticket... maybe I saved some dough for this month, but many bumps in the road to get there...Peace OUT!!

[Atlienzz]

Thanks for all of the replies and advice everyone!!

Yeah I guess I could have asked for another HD-DVR at the time even though I only have one HD tv in the house. I'm not sure they would have given that to me for free as well though. I don't think there is much I can do now because my installation is Wed.

Sounds like I've made the correct decision in switching. Again thanks!!

[cmtar]

The HD xtra pak is actually only $5 extra. (maybe you are confusing it with the HD access charge of $10???)

And also, all new customers can get it for FREE for 3 months as a new HD customer. ;)

Yea your right where was i getting $10 from lol
But since when is the plus hd dvr pack $72.99? im paying 69.99...im guessing your state has tax?

[dishrich]

But since when is the plus hd dvr pack $72.99? im paying 69.99...im guessing your state has tax?

I have no idea, since I didn't mention anything about $72.99... :confused: :confused:

[mosoccer]

Yea your right where was i getting $10 from lol
But since when is the plus hd dvr pack $72.99? im paying 69.99...im guessing your state has tax?

I mentioned $72.99, that's what it shows up on my bill as (before the 12 month new customer credit).

I just confirmed it on the DirecTV website as well. It says the Plus HD DVR is $49.99 with the $23 credit for 12 months so $49.99 + $23 = $72.99.

[Brian Hanasky]

But since when is the plus hd dvr pack $72.99? im paying 69.99...im guessing your state has tax?

If you don't have local channels on Directv then the Plus HD DVR package is 69.99

[GenTso]

Comcast can bite me. I'm in a tif with them right now over internet service. When I took my cable DVR back and told them to cut off the digital cable, but keep internet service, I specifically asked the CSR if my monthly ISP charge would change ($45.95 +fees) and she said it would be the same. First bill came recently and Comcast bumped the cost of internet service to $73.95/mo. + fees!!! I went back through all the paperwork to make sure there was nothing about increasing the cost of standalone internet service and there wasn't a thing.

I had also been a customer for a year and at the time I signed up, Comcast offered three months of internet service at $19.99 before going up to the regular rate. I have every single bill and the "regular rate" up until the cancellation of cable service was $45.95, then they bumped it an extra $25/mo. for getting rid of their overpriced cable service. I read the terms of service and there was nothing about the cost of internet service only; just that Comcast had the right to increase the cost of the service AFTER notifying the customer. The TOS also state that if you pay a bill at a higher cost, your payment is verification that you acknowledge the increase and agree to pay it from then on (or something like that ... that's how I read it).

Well, I don't have enough posts on this forum to be allowed to link the image of my results. It was 4402 kb/s DOWN and 360 kb/s UP.

BTW, that's the fourth test I've done in the past week. Previous results were 4310, 4432, 4604 DOWN and 354, 360, 362 UP. These people are trying to rob me. This might not be the right place to ask this question, but anyone have advice or dealt with this before?

[GenTso]

Let's see if I can do it now. Sorry, I know you're probably not supposed to do this, but I'm just going to make this extra post so I can get to 5 and post the test result image.

[GenTso]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/342027578.png

[houskamp]

Comcast can bite me. I'm in a tif with them right now over internet service. When I took my cable DVR back and told them to cut off the digital cable, but keep internet service, I specifically asked the CSR if my monthly ISP charge would change ($45.95 +fees) and she said it would be the same. First bill came recently and Comcast bumped the cost of internet service to $73.95/mo. + fees!!! I went back through all the paperwork to make sure there was nothing about increasing the cost of standalone internet service and there wasn't a thing.

I had also been a customer for a year and at the time I signed up, Comcast offered three months of internet service at $19.99 before going up to the regular rate. I have every single bill and the "regular rate" up until the cancellation of cable service was $45.95, then they bumped it an extra $25/mo. for getting rid of their overpriced cable service. I read the terms of service and there was nothing about the cost of internet service only; just that Comcast had the right to increase the cost of the service AFTER notifying the customer. The TOS also state that if you pay a bill at a higher cost, your payment is verification that you acknowledge the increase and agree to pay it from then on (or something like that ... that's how I read it).

Well, I don't have enough posts on this forum to be allowed to link the image of my results. It was 4402 kb/s DOWN and 360 kb/s UP.

BTW, that's the fourth test I've done in the past week. Previous results were 4310, 4432, 4604 DOWN and 354, 360, 362 UP. These people are trying to rob me. This might not be the right place to ask this question, but anyone have advice or dealt with this before?
Been there done that.. never had cable tv but several years ago I had their internet.. after the 1st year they bumped the rate do to not having tv from them.. have had ATT dsl ever since..

[Atlienzz]

Well GentSo I will probably be in the same position as you. I pay about $50 a month for their internet and I'm keeping it as well. I called them and told them to shut off my TV service on the date of my D* installation and asked them if my internet would be the same price and they told me yes. So I'll have to let you know if they raise it on me as well.

BTW I get about 18mb down and 1.5mb up.

[mosoccer]

I still have Comcast Internet and when they bumped my bill up I politely called and asked if there were any promotions I could take advantage of otherwise i was going to switch to Verizon DSL (and I was going to, it wasn't an empty threat) since it was considerably cheaper than Comcast's bumped up price. After getting transferred three times they gave me a deal for a year for around $30/month I believe.

BTW my speedtests are similiar to Atlienzz with 18 down and 1.5 up.

[GenTso]

If I was getting those kinds of speeds, I don't know if I'd be complaining or not ... yeah, I probably would just on principal. But just so you know, no official Comcast pricing tiers can be found on the internet. According to a high-profile broadband Web site, those numbers you are seeing are at the peak end of the bandwith scale (and would be in Comcast's highest pricing tier), which they listed as $67.95/mo. for non-TV customers ($52.95 for cable subscribers).

The numbers I'm seeing are at the lowest end of Comcast's advertised network bandwith (actually below the 4Mbps tier) and they're trying to charge me $75 a month? Luckily I just found a local pricing pamphlet that came with my "Welcome kit" when I moved here last year. It shows non-cable monthly service at $57.95 ($42.95 - what I was paying when I had cable - as the regular monthly service price); and non-cable "Enhanced" internet at $67.95 ($52.95 for regular cable customers).

So at the end of the day, Comcast is trying to charge me the highest price for the least amount of service. Why doesn't this surprise me? And you know what really chaps my hide? When I returned my DVR and had the TV service canceled, the CSR didn't care. She just said "OK" to everything, probably got annoyed by me asking that she made sure my internet service wasn't disconnected and put me in the highest pricing category. ... oh, and that $19.99 "trip charge" added to my bill just for kicks and giggles really leaves a bad taste in my mouth (hope Comcast doesn't charge me for that).

[evan_s]

I don't know if it will work in your area but here you can get a very basic cable service that is just locals and public access, basically what you would get with an antenna, for less than 8 bucks a month and save 10 or 15 bucks a month for having internet and cable service with them. Total cost ends up being less that way. Can't find any information on it on their site but if you ask for it the reps all seem to know about it.

Also if you haven't already I'd consider buying a cable modem. I spent ~25$ after rebate on a motorola surfboard cable modem which is the exact same model comcast was leasing me for 3$ a month. It's already paid for it's self.

[Justin23]

One thing to remember is that the NFL Sunday Ticket promo deal with free Premier includes DVR Service for 4 months, but not HD Access. You have to add an additional $10 for your whole account to have HD. So your cost for the first 4 months would be $90 ($75 for ST, $0 for Premier package, $10 for HD Access, and $5 for that 2nd receiver). After the 4 month promo, I would drop down to Plus HD-DVR if you aren't interested in the premiums and your monthly cost would be $78 ($73 for Plus HD-DVR package & $5 for the 2nd receiver). Hope this helps.

J

[JLucPicard]

Just out of curiosity here - DirecTV apparently is still selling the 4 months of ST & Premier free deal. What happens with the fact that there's less than 2 1/2 months left of Sunday Ticket? Aren't you just pretty much paying for Premier service then for the remainder of the 4 months?

If you sign up for that deal now (after mid-October), come end of December when Sunday Ticket ends, can you drop down to a cheaper package then or are you stuck for the remainder of the four months basically paying for Premier that you may not really want anyway?

[spartanstew]

Just out of curiosity here - DirecTV apparently is still selling the 4 months of ST & Premier free deal. What happens with the fact that there's less than 2 1/2 months left of Sunday Ticket? Aren't you just pretty much paying for Premier service then for the remainder of the 4 months?


Doesn't really matter since $80 is less than the premiere package anyway. No different than "The Premiere at a discounted rate of $80 per month for 4 months and ST free".

I was able to get this deal about 6 weeks ago and don't even watch ST that often (I like having it and have watched a few games, but I'm usually with the family on Sunday). I mainly did it for the premiere discount.


I agree though that if you won't take advantage of premiere, it might not be worth it to you.

And to answer your second question, you're getting Premiere for free so there'd be no benefit to lowering your package at the end of December. If you changed, you'd still be paying the $80 + whatever the new package costs.

[BattleZone]

Just remember that Sunday Ticket AUTO RENEWS, and that you have to call just before the season starts to cancel it.