How to reduce Directv bill?

[ironwood]

Trying to cut on all my bills.
Already reduced gas, electric and got rid of land phone line.
DirecTV bill is way too high. I barely watch any TV mostly network channels and my kids watch Nickelodeon, wife watches HGTV. I got rid of all the premium channels since there is nothing good anyway. I dont feel like 10-15 basic channels we are watching are worth 100 dollars a month. The only reason I am keeping this package is because of HD DVR.
Directv seems to develop a strategy where they separated market into two segments - one is people with old TVs and standard receivers that dont care if they have cable or sattelite therefore they can get a package for 29.99 a month. And then there are people who bought HD tvs and DVRs and charged minimum of 73 dollars a month for HDDVR package.
Very unfair. I am thinking of cutting my directv completely off and going with free cable since I already have their internet. Will save 100 dollars a month. But I hate letting go of my HD DVR. Any suggestions?

[jdspencer]

You could drop the HD Pack which would save you $10/month.
This pack only adds several of the HD channels that don't have SD equivalents.
You could also remove any extra receivers from your account to save the mirroring fee.

[ironwood]

I dont have HD pack. I pay 72.99 for HD DVR pack which is a rip off. They justify high price by the fact that it includes DVR fee (5.99) and HD fee (9.99).
As to receivers I only can drop one but it would only save me 5 bucks and then I probably would have to send back one of my HD DVRs since they are leased

[satjay]

If you really need to cut back, go with the basic cable you have included with you internet

[ironwood]

I was thinking of closing my account and then opening one for my wife. I dont mind 2 year commitment is it will cut my bills. But then of course there is always a problem - I would have to return my equipment and pay for new HD DVRs. I would have to buy at least two on top of the one that comes free so it will be 400 dollars. Not worth the savings

[Jhon69]

Trying to cut on all my bills.
Already reduced gas, electric and got rid of land phone line.
DirecTV bill is way too high. I barely watch any TV mostly network channels and my kids watch Nickelodeon, wife watches HGTV. I got rid of all the premium channels since there is nothing good anyway. I dont feel like 10-15 basic channels we are watching are worth 100 dollars a month. The only reason I am keeping this package is because of HD DVR.
Directv seems to develop a strategy where they separated market into two segments - one is people with old TVs and standard receivers that dont care if they have cable or sattelite therefore they can get a package for 29.99 a month. And then there are people who bought HD tvs and DVRs and charged minimum of 73 dollars a month for HDDVR package.
Very unfair. I am thinking of cutting my directv completely off and going with free cable since I already have their internet. Will save 100 dollars a month. But I hate letting go of my HD DVR. Any suggestions?



Looks like the Family package might be worth a try.

[ironwood]

satjay you right its very tempting. I just hate having HD TV sets and no HD programming. And no DVR recording. I personally dont care. But other people in my household might. Should I try to suspend my service for a month and see how it goes

[evan_s]

You can do with the family pack or the choice package and just add hd and dvr onto either of them. You don't need to have the Choice + HD DVR package to have a HD DVR receiver.

[dcowboy7]

how do u cut back on your electric bill ?

[ironwood]

will it save money Evan?

[ironwood]

how do u cut back on your electric bill ?

In california there are programs for low income families with kids. I have 4 kids so my threshold is very high. If I make under 57,000 or something like that I can get up to 20% discount on monthly bills. Same with gas bill. Also I found out if I still have phone line I would quialify for some program with them too.

[jdspencer]

how do u cut back on your electric bill ?
Turn off the TV. :)

I have Plus HD DVR package for $69.99, but that's with No Locals. And as stated, you could go to a less expensive package and then add the HD DVR service.

[Jhon69]

will it save money Evan?


Yes.;)

[ironwood]

well i did some calculations.
To keep channels like CNN, NIcklodeon and HGTV I would need choice package. If I add DVR fee and HD fee wouldnt it end up being same 73 dollars a month?

[evan_s]

Chioce is 52.99 + 5.99 for dvr + 9.99 for hd = 68.97 vs 73.99 for choice extra + hd dvr. It's roughly 5$ savings which is the price difference between choice and choice extra. To get any major savings you'd need to drop to family but it doesn't sound like it has the channels needed to keep the wife and kids happy.

CNN does seem to be the only one that would be missing from the family of the ones you mentioned and that does get you down to 29.99 + dvr and hd fees. If you can live with getting your news on the web that would be a bigger savings.

[ironwood]

does that include locals?

[CindyJ]

well i did some calculations.
To keep channels like CNN, NIcklodeon and HGTV I would need choice package. If I add DVR fee and HD fee wouldnt it end up being same 73 dollars a month?
The Family Package has HGTV and Nickelodeon. You've already said that you watch mainly network channels. So why pay for 150 channels in the Choice package when you won't watch most of them? Having CNN is worth that much extra cost?

[satjay]

satjay you right its very tempting. I just hate having HD TV sets and no HD programming. And no DVR recording. I personally dont care. But other people in my household might. Should I try to suspend my service for a month and see how it goes

If its a matter of being able to provide the basic things for a family, its the way to go. You could suspend, then go from there. I think most of us have tried to see how we can cut back on our monthly budgets some way during these crazy times

[ironwood]

Hmmm interesting I didnt know that. So you saying I get HGTV and Nicleodeon. So I pay 29.99 and then add DVR 5.99 and HD 9.99 = 46 dollars per month. Thanks Cindy if this is true I am definitely switching packages. I always thought Family pack was a bunch of infomercial channels and Disney.

[satjay]

Hmmm interesting I didnt know that. So you saying I get HGTV and Nicleodeon. So I pay 29.99 and then add DVR 5.99 and HD 9.99 = 46 dollars per month. Thanks Cindy if this is true I am definitely switching packages. I always thought Family pack was a bunch of infomercial channels and Disney.


Just an FYI...You may know this but with the 9.99 HD you only get the HD channels in the 29.99 package

[CindyJ]

Hmmm interesting I didnt know that. So you saying I get HGTV and Nicleodeon. So I pay 29.99 and then add DVR 5.99 and HD 9.99 = 46 dollars per month. Thanks Cindy if this is true I am definitely switching packages. I always thought Family pack was a bunch of infomercial channels and Disney.
You can see which channels are included in each package by going to http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/compare/compareChannels.jsp?packageType=ENGLISH

[ironwood]

Just an FYI...You may know this but with the 9.99 HD you only get the HD channels in the 29.99 package


oh yeah i know that. all i care about is network channels

[Tubaman-Z]

satjay you right its very tempting. I just hate having HD TV sets and no HD programming. And no DVR recording. I personally dont care. But other people in my household might. Should I try to suspend my service for a month and see how it goes

For a minimal cost you can get an antenna and receive your OTA HD channels for free. (I am assuming that your HD TV sets have ATSC tuners) Can't DVR them (unless you buy a TiVo or some other stand-alone DVR) but the price is right. And if you've still got a VCR that is still an option (albeit SD) for time-shifting.

[Mindhaz]

Or do what I did... DirecTv just got too expensive for me. Family pack is missing a bunch of channels.

Dish Network Turbo HD Bronze DVR Advantage plan is $39.99 per month. It includes locals and 26 HD Channels and a DVR. This is the normal price. There are some promos for 6 months. I switched a week ago and so far so good.

It cost me $100 to setup with 2 DVRs and 1 standard HD box.

[bonscott87]

Or do what I did... DirecTv just got too expensive for me. Family pack is missing a bunch of channels.

Dish Network Turbo HD Bronze DVR Advantage plan is $39.99 per month. It includes locals and 26 HD Channels and a DVR. This is the normal price. There are some promos for 6 months. I switched a week ago and so far so good.

It cost me $100 to setup with 2 DVRs and 1 standard HD box.

Just FYI that the Turbo HD packages are going up $10 a month.

[ironwood]

My biggest problem with switching to other provider is the fact that I do have 4 HD DVR worth 800 dollars if I were to get them again. So its definitely something holding me back. But option with Family pack sounds good right now.

[Mindhaz]

39.99 is the 2009 price.

[ironwood]

Just FYI that the Turbo HD packages are going up $10 a month.

Thats another thing. I know for a fact that there is no free cheese. You cant save more than 5-10 bucks on comparable products when jumping from one company to another. They are all trying to make money

[evan_s]

does that include locals?

Yes. Family includes locals.

[Mindhaz]

Dish is not a savings with that many DVRs. They're $12 a month each past the first one. Directs are only $5. 1 DVR will feed a HD set and in my case an infinite number of SD sets. Of course only 2 channels can be tuned at once so with a lot of people in the household, this might not help you.

It''s just me and the wife. I have TVs in most rooms, but we can't watch more than 1 at a time.

No reason to switch without a price reduction. The quality of DirecTv at my house was always excellent.

[Mindhaz]

You cant save more than 5-10 bucks on comparable products when jumping from one company to another.

I saved 30.66 per month overall. I lost DIY, Comedy Central, and a bunch of channels I don't watch. I also dumped Showtime saving another $10 + tax since Cinemax is free for a year with CC billing. Dish has more HD HBO, Direct has more HD Showtime.

You are right... apples to apples, the price is almost identical. Dish just worked better for me. We watch mostly network TV and movie channels. It's nice to have a few in between. DirecTv could offer a similar package for the same price. They just don't.

[NickFluth]

You could try what I did and get the Preferred Choice Package... $34.99. This requires you get on international channel, which I have for $5.99. You get your locals and a much better selection of channels than the Family Package.

Preferred Choice = $34.99
MYX = $4.99
HD = $9.99
DVR = $5.99
Receiver = $4.99

Total = $60.95

[Brandon428]

Suspend your Directv account for 6 months. Get Dish,free HDDVR (722),pay the $99 start up cost so you don't have to sign a contract,then get Turbo Bronze HD for $30+$5(locals)=$35 a month. After 6 months make your decision. Doing this now will save you money. Even if you factor in the $99 start up cost into your monthly bill it's $51 a month a savings of $21 a month. If I were you I would just switch to Dish as long as you can do without NFLST and MLBEI. You will have more options to save money with Dish. Things to know about Dish though is every package will be $5 more with locals,every receiver needs to be connected to a phone line to avoid a $5 fee,and probably the worst thing about Dish is you pay a DVR service fee per DVR not like Directv one fee covers all. Even with all these stipulations you can still save money.

[dodge boy]

If its a matter of being able to provide the basic things for a family, its the way to go. You could suspend, then go from there. I think most of us have tried to see how we can cut back on our monthly budgets some way during these crazy times

I didn't cut back, I still make a measly $5,000 and spend 90% of it. Some of us have to try to keep the economy going.... :D

[satjay]

Looks like the Family package might be worth a try.

In spring and summer we dont watch too much TV, if Directs family package had the Fox RSN included I would switch for for those months...But they dont, so its for not

[dtv757]

how do u cut back on your electric bill ?
ask for a budget plan,

i know Dominion Virginia has a budget plan. They look at your activity for the past 6 months and generate an average for your monthly statement. This amount is fixed for 6month. I have had the budget plan for a little over a year and my bill has only gone up like $4 total.

i just did some cutback's on my plan as well i dropped down to FAMILAR (which is $1 cheaper than ULTRA) and i took off HD extra. when basketball is over i'm taking off sports pack.

[dodge boy]

how do u cut back on your electric bill ?

I cut back on my gas and electric bill, I upgradeed to a 94% furnace and upgraded my central air to a 13 SEER unit last summer and upgraded to a programmable T-stat.

[CCarncross]

I appreciate needing to save some money here and there, but am I the only one that finds it strange that someone with 4 HD DVR's, and potentially 4 HDTV's is worried about his programming bill?

[ironwood]

I appreciate needing to save some money here and there, but am I the only one that finds it strange that someone with 4 HD DVR's, and potentially 4 HDTV's is worried about his programming bill?

No kiddin huh? Thats why I cant bear the thought of letting go of those nice shiny HDDVRs and watching crappy cable picture with ghosts and lines accross the screen :)

[jdspencer]

If one of those HD DVRs is the HR20 model then do as was suggested earlier and get an antenna for OTA.

[ThomasM]

Just FYI that the Turbo HD packages are going up $10 a month.

And be careful with DISH-be sure to read the fine print (and there is a LOT of it!) I considered switching sometime back when my DTV commitment was ending but after reading all the DISH network restrictions and fine print I kept DTV. They even make you send the dish back if you cancel and YOU have to pay shipping! Plus, 4 tuners max. per account. Yuk!

I had the FAMILY package for some time and it really isn't too bad. The value is that you can add DVR's for only $5/month and record all your locals and a pretty good selection of other channels, too. FAMILY has a lot of nice channels like SCIENCE, HALLMARK, CNN HEADLINE NEWS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, BOOMERANG, etc. It's a much better value than cable or an OTA antenna where you have to suffer through commercials!!

[carl6]

I appreciate needing to save some money here and there, but am I the only one that finds it strange that someone with 4 HD DVR's, and potentially 4 HDTV's is worried about his programming bill?

Well, by carefully tightening my budget, I was able to save enough extra money each month to go buy another TV the other day. Part of the budget tightening was reducing my DirecTV bill. I don't find it strange at all that someone with 4 HD DVRs and presumably 4 HDTV's is concerned about reducing their recurring monthly cost.

[aa9vi]

In california there are programs for low income families with kids. I have 4 kids so my threshold is very high. If I make under 57,000 or something like that I can get up to 20% discount on monthly bills. Same with gas bill. Also I found out if I still have phone line I would quialify for some program with them too.

which would explain why your state has a huge budget deficit. $57k? That's a large chunk of change to qualify for assistance.

[Paul Secic]

You could drop the HD Pack which would save you $10/month.
This pack only adds several of the HD channels that don't have SD equivalents.
You could also remove any extra receivers from your account to save the mirroring fee.

I'm really sick of paying $10 for HD. Both providerrs should lower it to $5.

[j_t]

If you drop the HD Access fee ($9.99 a month) don't you have to return the HD DVR?

[carl6]

If you drop the HD Access fee ($9.99 a month) don't you have to return the HD DVR?

Probably. If you retained SD service they might let you keep the hardware and take HD off the account. Only way to find out would be to call and discuss the option.

[ironwood]

which would explain why your state has a huge budget deficit. $57k? That's a large chunk of change to qualify for assistance.

I agree. But it gets even better. With 6 people in my household I can make just under 72K and still qualify for some discount.

http://www.sce.com/residential/income-qualified/CAREFERA/care-fera-rate-programs.htm?from=care

[ironwood]

Doesnt make any sense to drop HD access. Thats the whole purpose of HD experience and all the equipment. Otherwise I would settle with free cable

[daniellee]

Get a DirecTV rewards VISA card.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=3320009

I just got HBO free for 1 year with my points.

[PCampbell]

oh yeah i know that. all i care about is network channels

The put up a OTA and get the network channels for FREE.

[bjs188]

I switched from the PLUS HD DVR package to Family and added DVR but I can't find anywhere to add HD. I already have the HD Extra Pack for free for three months.

I get The 101, the HD Extra Pack channels and a couple of regional sports channels in HD but not the ones that are in the Family package (Nat Geo, Disney, etc.).

But the problem I am having is that my HR20 and HR21 won't let me choose anything but 480P as an output for my OTA HD local channels. Is this because I don't have the HD package or is this due to the recent software upgrade?

[cariera]

I guess you could become a Directv sales person and start referring friends and relatives:

https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/wizard/referralProgram.jsp?includeTimeout=false&_requestid=635359&DPSLogout=true&_requestid=636672

At 1 referral/month for a year you would save $600.:)

[dcd]

actually, wouldn't 1 referral/month for a year give him a $10 discount on his bill for the next 60 months? the $50 credit is given in $10 installments, at least for me.

[harsh]

I switched from the PLUS HD DVR package to Family and added DVR but I can't find anywhere to add HD. I already have the HD Extra Pack for free for three months.Did you confirm that they didn't remove HD Access when they downgraded your programming? It sounds like it might have gone missing.

[ThomasM]

There are actually some channels in FAMILY that have HD equivalents (National Geographic, Weather Channel, etc.). If you have FAMILY and HD on your account, you should be able to get these channels in HD.

[cariera]

actually, wouldn't 1 referral/month for a year give him a $10 discount on his bill for the next 60 months? the $50 credit is given in $10 installments, at least for me.

But you can have multiple referral discounts running at the same time.:)