New Customer Confused about Price/Terms

[davedave]

I've been a D* subscriber for 8 years and want to switch to E* because I want to get HD programming and...
a) the VIP622 seems to have much better reviews than the HR20
b) E* has more HD now (and I'm betting that they keep up with whatever D* does by the end of the year)

But I'm having a hard time understanding the pricing/terms of E*. Their website is confusing and the sales reps, both on the phone and through "live help", aren't much help as I get conflicting answers, but I think I may have pieced it all together. At this point, I figured this forum would know more about these things than E*. Can someone confirm that I've got everything correct?

I want to connect one HD TV and one Standard TV.

I believe what I need is the "DishDVR Advantage with DishHD". My understanding is that this consists of the following:
1) America's Top 200
2) DishHD package
3) Local Stations (including the Local HD stations that are available)
4) VIP622
5) Free Installation
6) all necessary dishes/cables/splitters/etc
7) DHPP included for the first 18 months
8) 18-month commitment with a 13.33/month early termination fee
9) Auto-pay to credit card
10) Prices guaranteed until Jan 2009
11) 30 day no-risk money back guarantee


And I believe it is supposed to cost, including all taxes and fees:
49.99 activation fee
month 1: 0 (49.99 for DVR Advantage + 20 DishHD - 49.99 activate fee credit - 10 hd rebate - 10 new customer rebate)
months 2-10: 49.99 (69.99 - 20 rebates)
months 11-18: 69.99
after which the initial commitment period is over


Is all of the above information correct?

[James Long]

Looks good to me. If this is your only receiver and you connect the phone line there shouldn't be any suprises except the usual taxes.

[davedave]

Looks good to me. If this is your only receiver and you connect the phone line there shouldn't be any suprises except the usual taxes.

At one point, I was told no taxes since I was in California. So the prices I show would be the total price charged every month, right?

[James Long]

At one point, I was told no taxes since I was in California. So the prices I show would be the total price charged every month, right?Should be. If you were not paying taxes on your D* service the same would apply to E*.

[c4racer]

correct - no more taxes on sat TV in CA.

I just made that same move. I called and cancelled DTV today and the CSR was saying - wow, you have been with us a long time - we can get you free equipment, is there anything we can do to keep you? Not unless you can get me the E* -622 box :-) Not to mention more HD content.

Sounds right on the pricing. I have the Top 250 programming, which is $10 more / month and my bill will be $79.xx once the rebates stop kicking in.
I had to get the top programming level just to get Versus. Avid cyclist and I must have my pro cycling tour coverage!! Couple other channels in that tier that may be interesting as well either for me or the kids, so probably not a bad way to drop $10 / month.

I had mine installed today. So far I am very happy with the features and menus on the -622 DVR. Better than my Series1 TiVo, so I'm happy. I would have stayed with D* if they had a box as good as this, but I am not willing to subject myself to the HR20 - not worth it.

And WOW - the HD picture quality is just outstanding!! Very happy.

[SWTESTER]

I've been a D* subscriber for 8 years and want to switch to E* because I want to get HD programming and...
a) the VIP622 seems to have much better reviews than the HR20
b) E* has more HD now (and I'm betting that they keep up with whatever D* does by the end of the year)

But I'm having a hard time understanding the pricing/terms of E*. Their website is confusing and the sales reps, both on the phone and through "live help", aren't much help as I get conflicting answers, but I think I may have pieced it all together. At this point, I figured this forum would know more about these things than E*. Can someone confirm that I've got everything correct?

I want to connect one HD TV and one Standard TV.

I believe what I need is the "DishDVR Advantage with DishHD". My understanding is that this consists of the following:
1) America's Top 200
2) DishHD package
3) Local Stations (including the Local HD stations that are available)
4) VIP622
5) Free Installation
6) all necessary dishes/cables/splitters/etc
7) DHPP included for the first 18 months
8) 18-month commitment with a 13.33/month early termination fee
9) Auto-pay to credit card
10) Prices guaranteed until Jan 2009
11) 30 day no-risk money back guarantee


And I believe it is supposed to cost, including all taxes and fees:
49.99 activation fee
month 1: 0 (49.99 for DVR Advantage + 20 DishHD - 49.99 activate fee credit - 10 hd rebate - 10 new customer rebate)
months 2-10: 49.99 (69.99 - 20 rebates)
months 11-18: 69.99
after which the initial commitment period is over


Is all of the above information correct?

No, I don't think you get a free DVR *and* a $20/month rebate...

If so, I wonder if I can get more of a discount. I paid $199.99 for a 622 and have a >$230 bill for Platinum plus locals plus [$11*2 months] for 2 extra receiver fees.

Everyone is billed for 2 months all services within days of being installed, due about 3 weeks later. Plus you have to mail in the rebate with your first bill, you will be lucky to start getting your $20/month rebate 8 weeks later, essentially on your bill covering your 3rd-4th month. I just sent in my rebate [installed 1/24] and hope they process it by my March 23rd billing. Since that is 7 weeks, I will probably not see my discount until I get the bill for Apr.24th-May 23rd.
I need to call to see if I can get my $200 back for the DVR...;:confused:
Otherwise I am very happy :D , coming from a good Comcast system but having had a slooow Moto DVR.

[thefunks67]

I had mine installed today. So far I am very happy with the features and menus on the -622 DVR. Better than my Series1 TiVo, so I'm happy. I would have stayed with D* if they had a box as good as this, but I am not willing to subject myself to the HR20 - not worth it.

And WOW - the HD picture quality is just outstanding!! Very happy.

AMEN Brother. My sentiments EXACTLY!

The R15 hassles I had were enough to make me switch.

-Funk

[biz]

I'm about to order Dish (direct tv customer now). I would do it without the commitment, the 50.00 upfront is nothing compared to the monthly early term fee. I am afraid of the HD dvr from Direct and I want some hd programming now. Charter is my cable company and they have very little HD offerings.

What I need is one HD DVR for my hdtv. and 2 regular dvrs. We currently have 3 directivo's and lord help me if I make the kids share one. I wired my new house to have 2 coax's to each room. Basically I want a setup like I have now, except to change one to HD.

When I inquired of Dish before Christmas, they quoted me 165.00 for a multiswitch? I currently have a 5x8 switch. If I need one, I imagine I can find one cheaper than that. Will I need to push the issue when ordering for 3 boxes? Dish wants you to share and that is not an option.

[CABill]

Will I need to push the issue when ordering for 3 boxes? Dish wants you to share and that is not an option.
See the new sub lease agreement at http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/offers/disclaimers/dha/
Maximum of four (4) total tuners per account. Maximum of two (2) model ViP211 receivers per account. Maximum of two (2) model 522 or 625 receivers per account. Maximum of one (1) model ViP622 DVR receiver per account.
The 4 tuners could be a problem for you. DISH installs use very different switching which makes your multiswitch incompatible. You could get by with just the 622 HD DVR and a 625 DVR and not use "Record Plus" - that gives one tuner to TV1 and one to TV2. They wouldn't both have two tuners to watch something live during a recording. Feeding those two Dual output receivers can be done with the switch built into a DPP Twin LNB with just a single cable from the dish to each receiver. It is possible the $165 you were quoted was for a DPP 44 to feed up to four receivers (single or dual tuners). If it also included the third dual output DVR, you should go for it.

You can avoid the $50 activation fee with a ClubDISH referral. Check family, friends, co-workers, for existing DISH subscribers since they benefit as well.

I forgot - you can also send the TV2 output from the HD DVR to the rest of the house which can be very handy.

[bricor]

I just had Dish installed on Wed. after being with Directv for many years.
I have 4 HDTV's and wasn't going to settle for "SD only" on any of them.
I got 2 of the 622's and 2 of the 211's, Dish 1000, switch, etc.
The first 622 and the 211's were free, I bought the 2nd 622. I still get the $20 rebate credit on my bill for 10 months. I also paid the $50 activation so as not to be locked into a contract.
I had heard about the 4 tuner limit before and that would have been a deal breaker for me but the CSR didn't have any issue setting me up.
So far, so good, I am happy with the install, the picture quality and the functionality of the receivers.

[Mike D-CO5]

I hope you are happy with Dishnetwork. I have been for ten years now.

I REALLY LOVE ALL THE HD !:D

[c4racer]

So far I am happy. But I may need to add a 311 or 211 for the bedroom. My unique problem is the wife likes to watch live TV from ~8:30-10pm in the bedroom. Of course that is prime time and many of the shows we are recording are during that time slot. So the best way I could think to set up the -622 was using recordplus using TV1 as the priority for recording. That way most of the time, the TV2 tuner is available for the bedroom TV. But that means I can't watch live TV on the main HDTV set if a show is being recorded. Generally not a problem as I typically only watch shows from the DVR. But can be a hassle if I want to catch the news for a bit, or if watching a Giants or Sharks game.

Options I am considering:
1. add an OTA ant to pick up the news and some of the sports games from local stations and see how that works out.

2. stick a -311/211 in the bedroom so that TV can be fed from it's own non DVR box, or from the -622 box. then I could switch recordplus to TV2 priority and have a better chance of leaving TV1 open for viewing in the main room.

I think #2 is my best solution long term. Is there any additional charges for a non DVR receiver? I should have just ordered it that way in the first place, but I wasn't completely clear on how the -622 worked. I assumed, coming from a TiVo background - that TV2 tuner would be available to watch shows in the main HDTV if recording on another channel - which is not the case.

Any up-front or install fees to add a -211/-311 to the bedroom? Thinking -211 in case I want to upgrade the bedroom TV to an HD unit down the road. It sits pretty close to the bed on a shelf in a closet, so I am thinking a 23-27" LCD screen would work nicely in there and not cost much $$ either.

[biz]

I called Dish, I wanted 1 HD DVR and 2 SD DVR's. They said they could only give me 2 receivers. If I wanted the second SD DVR it was 349.00. So I said thanks but no thanks.

I then called a local Dish guy who I talked to at the mall around Christmas. He had worked out a deal (before the free HD DVR). Today, he said it would be 99.00 for the 2nd DVR. He has to check and see if I need a multiswitch and get final pricing.

We are used to controlling our own tv's, with two tuner tivo's. I really didn't want to give up that setup.

I'll post what the local guy comes up with.

[kf4omc]

I called Dish, I wanted 1 HD DVR and 2 SD DVR's. They said they could only give me 2 receivers. If I wanted the second SD DVR it was 349.00. So I said thanks but no thanks.

I then called a local Dish guy who I talked to at the mall around Christmas. He had worked out a deal (before the free HD DVR). Today, he said it would be 99.00 for the 2nd DVR. He has to check and see if I need a multiswitch and get final pricing.

We are used to controlling our own tv's, with two tuner tivo's. I really didn't want to give up that setup.

I'll post what the local guy comes up with.
Yea E* has a 4 tuner limit if you are leasing form them.

[thefunks67]

Yea E* has a 4 tuner limit if you are leasing form them.

Agreed. Do NOT confuse 4 tuners for 4 set top boxes. Count the number of tuners in all the boxes.

-Funk

[bfncbs1]

No, I don't think you get a free DVR *and* a $20/month rebate...

If so, I wonder if I can get more of a discount. I paid $199.99 for a 622 and have a >$230 bill for Platinum plus locals plus [$11*2 months] for 2 extra receiver fees.

Everyone is billed for 2 months all services within days of being installed, due about 3 weeks later. Plus you have to mail in the rebate with your first bill, you will be lucky to start getting your $20/month rebate 8 weeks later, essentially on your bill covering your 3rd-4th month. I just sent in my rebate [installed 1/24] and hope they process it by my March 23rd billing. Since that is 7 weeks, I will probably not see my discount until I get the bill for Apr.24th-May 23rd.
I need to call to see if I can get my $200 back for the DVR...;:confused:
Otherwise I am very happy :D , coming from a good Comcast system but having had a slooow Moto DVR.

I was 13 year subscriber to DTV until today ......Missed appointments for Hr320 Install....These missed appointments accumalated 2 months. Guy showed up today walked out of his truck spent 2 seconds and said to many trees can't do it....He was a complete a$$ didn't want to do the work cause it was going to be a lengthy job..Called DTV they wanted to send another tech and they gave me a April 5th date and tried to give me a $100 credit . No thanks....I'll call dish

Called Dish 2pm this afternoon they will be here tomorrow to hook up the 622 along with 2 standard DVR's at no cost! Better then what DTV offered to there suposebly "A" list customer.

49.99 activation fee which they credit the first month......$200 rebate spread out over 10 months.....got the America's choice 250 plus HDw/locals, HBO and Playboy, DVR advantage for around $100 a month...Still cheaper then what I was paying DTV for my standard def package.

[thefunks67]

Welcome aboard!

There seem to be many "converts" as of late to E*.

-Funk

[bfncbs1]

Welcome aboard!

There seem to be many "converts" as of late to E*.

-Funk

The main reason for the convert I think for most former DTV cutomers is there customer service...they suck. Alot of people were looking to upgrade to HD or DVR's and installtion schedules were horrible. You would wait literally weeks in order to have a installer show up. Was not uncommon to get a appointment date of 5-6 weeks after ordering ....then to top it off on the day of your appointment the installer would either no show the appointment or come out with missing equipment therefore requiring a reschedule. You would think a reschedule would be in a day or two...Nope to the bottm of the bucket you go. Wait another 5 weeks.

I had it with them....I loved there programming but that was it. Customer service and installation killed DTV for me.

Also the extra HD channels that dish offer is a great enticement also.:)

[smackman]

Okay, I already have the AT250 package with HD package and locals. If I take advantage of this DVR package I must subscribe to at least 1 premium channel. If I do this my DVR Fee will be waved and I will get my locals fee waved. Am I correct in saying this? All customer services kept telling me was I would save 3.98 a month on my monthly bill including HBO if I would do the DVR Advantage plan.
Thank you in advance

[James Long]

The Dish DVR Advantage you describe includes ...
$52.99 AT250
$20.00 HD
$5.00 Locals
$5.98 DVR Fee (one DVR)
$14.99 HBO
$98.96 ... more than "$3.98" per month saved.
Plus (IIRC) the $5.99? Dish Protection Plan is included

If you are getting the HD add-on you do not have to get HBO or another premium to upgrade AT250. But you can for $10.

The way E*'s Dish Builder (http://www.dishtv.com/mydish.jsp) puts it ...
$69.99 for Dish DVR Advantage (AT200 and HD)
+$10.00 for any added premium and/or
+$10.00 to upgrade to AT250

The basic savings on Dish DVR Advantage is $3.98, but when they allow you to do things like add $14.99 HBO for $10 the savings begin to grow.

[Kent Taylor]

The Dish DVR Advantage you describe includes ...
$52.99 AT250
$20.00 HD
$5.00 Locals
$5.98 DVR Fee (one DVR)
$14.99 HBO
$98.96 ... more than "$3.98" per month saved.
Plus (IIRC) the $5.99? Dish Protection Plan is included

If you are getting the HD add-on you do not have to get HBO or another premium to upgrade AT250. But you can for $10.

The way E*'s Dish Builder (http://www.dishtv.com/mydish.jsp) puts it ...
$69.99 for Dish DVR Advantage (AT200 and HD)
+$10.00 for any added premium and/or
+$10.00 to upgrade to AT250

The basic savings on Dish DVR Advantage is $3.98, but when they allow you to do things like add $14.99 HBO for $10 the savings begin to grow.

Isn't there a lease fee for the 622?

[James Long]

Isn't there a lease fee for the 622?It depends on how you get it. As the first receiver on a new account the lease should be included (as Dish Builder suggests). If one gets a 622 via an upgrade there can be a lease fee. (Mine was not my primary receiver so the lease fee replaced the extra receiver fee.)

[etzeppy]

Isn't there a lease fee for the 622?

I'm wondering the same thing. I got installed on Jan 27, 2007 just before this new pricing structure started. According to Dish Builder it looks like I paid $199 for a 622, which would have been free 3 days later.

Since they offer a 30 day money back guarantee and I'm still in that window, I decided to call and see if I could get converted to the new structure. The person on the phone assured me that new customers do not get the 622 for free but I'm not sure I believe that story. Dish Builder does not show an upgrade fee at all and they are still offering the $20/month rebate for 10 months.

[CABill]

I'm wondering the same thing. I got installed on Jan 27, 2007 just before this new pricing structure started. According to Dish Builder it looks like I paid $199 for a 622, which would have been free 3 days later.

Since they offer a 30 day money back guarantee and I'm still in that window, I decided to call and see if I could get converted to the new structure. The person on the phone assured me that new customers do not get the 622 for free but I'm not sure I believe that story. Dish Builder does not show an upgrade fee at all and they are still offering the $20/month rebate for 10 months.

I'm afraid I only have negatives to mention. There just isn't a lot of clout in that club you are swinging at DISH.

The 30 day guarantee that was in place prior to 1Feb would let you cancel and not have to pay for that first month of ATxxx, DVR fee, ... but it did NOT cover returning the $199 lease upgrade fee. That section of the website probably no longer mentions that part, but I recall quoting that part of the DHA here at DBSTalk at least once so you could find it.

If you do cancel under the 30 day guarantee, you don't qualify to sign up as a new customer under the current terms. You would have to send back leased receivers. Former customers that have been gone from DISH for 6 months and did subscribe for at least 6 months ("in good standing"), would qualify for the current DHA offer.

The most upbeat thing I can suggest is sending an email to CEO <at> Echostar.com saying you paid $199 that would have no charge 5 days later and you'd like to split the difference to get an extra $100 credit or some such. It really isn't DISH's fault that you didn't wait for the offer to change. It was pretty well advertised that the offer was going to change and new subscribers would get a 622 without any upfront fee. That doesn't make it easier to swallow - especially if you get a CSR that says new subs don't get a 622 free.

[etzeppy]

I'm afraid I only have negatives to mention. There just isn't a lot of clout in that club you are swinging at DISH.

The 30 day guarantee that was in place prior to 1Feb would let you cancel and not have to pay for that first month of ATxxx, DVR fee, ... but it did NOT cover returning the $199 lease upgrade fee. That section of the website probably no longer mentions that part, but I recall quoting that part of the DHA here at DBSTalk at least once so you could find it.

If you do cancel under the 30 day guarantee, you don't qualify to sign up as a new customer under the current terms. You would have to send back leased receivers. Former customers that have been gone from DISH for 6 months and did subscribe for at least 6 months ("in good standing"), would qualify for the current DHA offer.

The most upbeat thing I can suggest is sending an email to CEO <at> Echostar.com saying you paid $199 that would have no charge 5 days later and you'd like to split the difference to get an extra $100 credit or some such. It really isn't DISH's fault that you didn't wait for the offer to change. It was pretty well advertised that the offer was going to change and new subscribers would get a 622 without any upfront fee. That doesn't make it easier to swallow - especially if you get a CSR that says new subs don't get a 622 free.

I'm afraid I feel into the "hurry this offer expires on Jan 31" trap. I was not aware of the new structure and thought the rebate was about to expire. I don't disagree with your points but it is frustrating to have the CSR claim that the offer has not changed. If the answer is, sorry you screwed up, then they should be honest about it.