DVR without subscription/contract renewal?

[kipp]

I've got DirecTV without DVR...and its KILLING me. I don't want to renew my contract for 12/24 months just to get a DVR. Do I have options? Can I buy my own DVR?

[dubber deux]

I've got DirecTV without DVR...and its KILLING me. I don't want to renew my contract for 12/24 months just to get a DVR. Do I have options? Can I buy my own DVR?

When you call make sure you select "customer retention" and ask if they are willing to offer you a 6 or 8 month commitment. You might get lucky.

I think they should offer a slightly higher monthly subscription price in lieu of the super long contracts .

But I would be happy with a 6 month commitment contract in general with a slighly higher monthly subscription fee.

[MountainMan10]

There are about 50,000 threads on this. You can BUY a DVR if you really want to and not extend your contract. But it is cheaper to lease the DVR and pay the cancellation fee as long as you keep it for at least 9 months.

[BattleZone]

You can buy (not LEASE, which comes with a discount) receivers directly from DirecTV and not have a commitment, but it's expensive! But... a while back, a couple of vendors were selling HR21 Pros for around $250, and they are all owned receivers that won't generate a programming commitment. Not sure if they're still available for that price, though.

[litzdog911]

Just remember that if you BUY your DirecTV equipment, you're on your own after the 90-day warranty. With the lease agreement your equipment will be replaced if defective for free (with the Equipment Protection Plan), or for the cost of shipping. Do the math and you'll quickly see that Leasing is a better deal than buying.

[Kheldar]

Just remember that if you BUY your DirecTV equipment, you're on your own after the 90-day warranty. With the lease agreement your equipment will be replaced if defective for free (with the Equipment Protection Plan), or for the cost of shipping. Do the math and you'll quickly see that Leasing is a better deal than buying.

The Protection Plan also covers owned equipment.

But yes, leasing is a better deal than buying.

The common argument to this is that people want to be able to get a return on their investment by selling the used box when they cancel service. There are several issues with this idea, but it boils down to the fact that you will not be able to sell the reciever at a high enough price to recoup the difference in cost.

You do have the option of purchasing one on eBay, CraigsList, etc, but you have to figure in the fact that the reciever is used, has possible issues (why is the seller getting rid of it if it works perfectly well?), has absolutely no warranty, and you would most likely have to purchase a replacement access card from D*.

[dodge boy]

I've got DirecTV without DVR...and its KILLING me. I don't want to renew my contract for 12/24 months just to get a DVR. Do I have options? Can I buy my own DVR?

I do not think there is a contract with an HR21 Pro... I might be wrong but I would call D* and tell them you want the "Pro" DVR.

[Kheldar]

I do not think there is a contract with an HR21 Pro... I might be wrong but I would call D* and tell them you want the "Pro" DVR.

Since the HR21 Pro is an ownership-only receiver, you are correct, but D* doesn't sell it directly. It is available at places like SolidSignal.com (currently $399.99) (http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=HR21PRO).

[cowart]

If you're not going to continue with DirecTV for 2 years, why would you spend several hundred dollars on a DVR? If you are going to continue with DirecTV for 2 years, why would you object to a 2 year commitment?

[whitepelican]

I've got DirecTV without DVR...and its KILLING me. I don't want to renew my contract for 12/24 months just to get a DVR. Do I have options? Can I buy my own DVR?

If you're not interested in HD, then your best bet would be to buy a used DirecTivo unit on ebay. If you want HD, then you'll most likely have to suck it up and agree to a commitment.

[Upstream]

I do not think there is a contract with an HR21 Pro... I might be wrong but I would call D* and tell them you want the "Pro" DVR.


Interesting. When I cancelled by DirecTV service, the incentive rep tried to offer me lots of price incentives to stay. I told him that I wasn't interested in those offers; I wanted to upgrade to HD without a commitment. He told me that he couldn't do that, since any HD upgrade would automatically create a new 2 year commitment. I wonder why he didn't offer me the HR21 Pro with no commitment?

[BattleZone]

The HR21 Pro is a commercial (as opposed to residential) item, like a SWM8 switch or an in-line amp. They are not supplied to anyone by DirecTV, and must be purchased at retail. The HR21 Pro was designed primarily for system integrators, and is rack-mountable, has a serial port for control via advanced wired remote systems (Crestron, etc.), and an option for optical HDMI. None of those features is "supported" by DirecTV, as the system integrator/retailer is on the hook for support of these items.

[Elephanthead]

Retention can't offer you no commitment, since they know if your free to leave you will after you get your first bill for 800 in receiver charges for not returning the receivers you returned, they can, however give you a monthly credit that in effect will prepay your cancellation fee. I would go this route.

[djwww98]

If you're not going to continue with DirecTV for 2 years, why would you spend several hundred dollars on a DVR? If you are going to continue with DirecTV for 2 years, why would you object to a 2 year commitment?

My thoughts exactly.

[joshjr]

If you're not interested in HD, then your best bet would be to buy a used DirecTivo unit on ebay. If you want HD, then you'll most likely have to suck it up and agree to a commitment.

This is a great option but there is one more piece to the puzzle to. If they have locals in MPEG4 then the tivo DVR would not get them either. If you dont have mpeg 4 locals and dont want HD then there you go.

[Mike Bertelson]

I've got DirecTV without DVR...and its KILLING me. I don't want to renew my contract for 12/24 months just to get a DVR. Do I have options? Can I buy my own DVR?Welcome to DBSTalk. :welcome_s

You can buy an HR21Pro which would be an owned receiver. I think they are currently ≈$399. You can figure that any purchase where the receiver is owned is gonna be about that price.

You will then have to make sure that after the owned receiver is activated you don't get hit with a commitment. I think the system is geared towards this and may automatically do this without intervention by the CSR. Make sure the CSR verifies your status before you get off the phone.

Can I ask you why you don't want the 24 month commitment?

If you're worried about something coming up where you would need to cancel early, there are ways to deal with it that don't require paying the early termination fee.

For one you can suspend the account.

Whatever you decide to do I hope it works out. :)

Mike

[JLucPicard]

You will then have to make sure that after the owned receiver is activated you do get hit with a commitment.
I think he meant to post "you don't get hit with a commitment".

[Mike Bertelson]

I think he meant to post "you don't get hit with a commitment".You are correct...edited the post...thanks ;)

Mike