HD or SD for Switch to DT?????

[Sat4me]

I am a long time customer of DishNetwork but I am also a fan of the San Diego Chargers and I live in North Carolina. So, I am finally going to make the switch to Directv for the Sunday ticket. I have a few basic questions if someone would be so kind as to help me.

1. I had not contemplated HD switch just yet but since HD is coming on fast, would I be better to go ahead and bite the bullet now rather than wait? DT will give me a SD DVR or they will sell me an HD DVR for $199. If I take the SD, seems like in 2 years I might be very sorry but, if I wait, might DT give me the HD DVR as we get closer to mandatory switch over? I'm just confused about the entire switch to HD and wonder if someone could summarize the situation and give me some insight into what option I should take when I make the switch?

2. I know that last year, DT had a great offer for new customers in regards to Sunday Ticket. Does anyone know if they will make that offer again this year and if so, when might I expect that to happen?

3. What is the Superfan service and is that separate from the Sunday Ticket or part of that service?

4. All in all, I have been satisfied with Dish and would probably stick with them if they had Sunday Ticket. I've had few problems in the 6 years or so that I've had them and they have been quick to respond to any problems. Would someone who has had both services tell me if I can expect as good and reliable a service with DT as I have with Dish and will they respond quickly and adequately when I have a problem? Is the equipment as good and is the picture quality as good?

Thank you for any info you can offer to help me with this switchover.

[JLucPicard]

If I take the SD, seems like in 2 years I might be very sorry but, if I wait, might DT give me the HD DVR as we get closer to mandatory switch over?
I have a feeling it would only take a couple of months, not years to regret not getting the HD now. Basically, there is a new satellite scheduled to be launched in a couple of days that will greatly expand D*'s HD capacity. This satellite should be beaming an expanded HD line up by mid-September if all goes as planned.

1) I believe the deeply discounted upgrades apply more to MPEG2 HD receivers/DVRs than it does to upgrading from SD to HD. I have no inside info on that, but that's the 'flavor' I've gotten from what I've read here. The deals would be for upgrading HD boxes that can't get the new MPEG4 HD signals. If I were you, I'd do the HD sooner rather than later. Which brings me to ...

2) There is rumor on the board that a new Sunday Ticket offer is coming around the 12th of July. This would be the once a year deal they make that usually turns out pretty good. Again, I have no knowledge of what the deal will actually be.

3) SuperFan is an enhancement package that's an add-on to Sunday Ticket. Included in the package are the HD broadcasts of the those games carried by the networks in HD, plus some interactive-type features, which are used mainly, I believe, by the fantasy football types. They advertise the SuperFan package at $99, but they seem to be willing to work some deals on that in the right situations. That may or may not be a part of the upcoming ST deal.

I've never had Dish, so I can't speak to #4.

Again, if you can do the HD right from the get-go, I would definitely do that. I think it will be well worth it.

Good Luck!

.
By the way, "fantasy football types" is not meant to be derogitory. I'm one drinking the cool-aid! :) I'm in two leagues and am commissioner for both, plus one other for the ladies at work. I just don't happen to care for using those interactive features and am only interested in SF - like so many others - simply for getting the games in HD.

[Koz]

All I would add is that the mandatory switch from analog tv to digital will not affect DirecTV. All it means is that tv will no longer be allowed to be broadcast over the air (i.e. antenna) with analog signals. They will have to be digital. And this does not mean they will be Hi Def. Digital does not equal HD.

That said, I would still encourage you to get the HD box. And get the SuperFan package. Without it, you only get the games in SD.

[Dolly]

HD HD HD HD :righton: When I first joined this Forum I was like "what's the big deal about HD?" I was asked if I had ever seen HD TV and I said no. I was encouraged to see some TV in HD so I did--result I now own an HD TV :) And I have been with D a long time and they gave me a sweet deal when I said I wanted to go with the HD. May be since you are completely new to D you can get an ever better deal :whatdidid I've never had Dish TV so I know nothing about it to help you compare the two. The people on this Forum have given me great advice :yesman: I'm not a tech. expert so I can't answer many questions myself, but this one I can answer--HD :sunsmile:

[SledDog]

I am a long time customer of DishNetwork but I am also a fan of the San Diego Chargers and I live in North Carolina. So, I am finally going to make the switch to Directv for the Sunday ticket. I have a few basic questions if someone would be so kind as to help me.

1. I had not contemplated HD switch just yet but since HD is coming on fast, would I be better to go ahead and bite the bullet now rather than wait? DT will give me a SD DVR or they will sell me an HD DVR for $199. If I take the SD, seems like in 2 years I might be very sorry but, if I wait, might DT give me the HD DVR as we get closer to mandatory switch over? I'm just confused about the entire switch to HD and wonder if someone could summarize the situation and give me some insight into what option I should take when I make the switch?

2. I know that last year, DT had a great offer for new customers in regards to Sunday Ticket. Does anyone know if they will make that offer again this year and if so, when might I expect that to happen?

3. What is the Superfan service and is that separate from the Sunday Ticket or part of that service?

4. All in all, I have been satisfied with Dish and would probably stick with them if they had Sunday Ticket. I've had few problems in the 6 years or so that I've had them and they have been quick to respond to any problems. Would someone who has had both services tell me if I can expect as good and reliable a service with DT as I have with Dish and will they respond quickly and adequately when I have a problem? Is the equipment as good and is the picture quality as good?

Thank you for any info you can offer to help me with this switchover.

I recently switched from E* to D*...

1 - Go with the HD. That's the main reason I left. E*'s pricing was a bit high and D* is getting ready to launch a new bird that will increase their HD channels, hopefully with little if not no price increase.

2 - Don't have sunday ticket

3 - See above

4 - I'm not impressed with D*'s equipment or their picture quality. The equipment I have (H20 and D11) both have software issues. Even with the last software update for the D11 (SD receiver) there are issues. My H20 has not received the lastest national software release, but some that have are reporting issues.

The picture quality, on most channels, is nothing close to E*'s picture quality. Even D*'s HD channels have quality issues. At this point I'm nor sure that switching to D* was a good idea. I will reserve final judgement on the picture quality issue until the new bird comes on line.

As for equipment, E* is much better. But I did not change because of the equipment. I changed because of their HD service. Which I hope improves.

I would rate D* CSRs lower than E*'s. I think D*'s CSR motto is "I'm trying to think but nothing happens!" (Props to the Stooges for the quote.)

My D* install compared to my E* was much better. The D* tech did it right. The E* tech stood around and I did most of the work becuase he could not "grasp" the idea of how I wanted the dish mounted (on a pole, not the house), coax in a conduit run to the drops in the rooms (how do you get the wire in that tube and get it to the rooms?). The E* tech showed up in a trashed pick up truck, did not want to use any of his supplies, even tie wraps, and could have cared less about what he was doing.

D*'s tech, on the other hand, showed up in a D* marked van, said "pole mount, no problem!" "Hey, is that conduit running to the rooms? That's great! We'll be done in a flash!" He even grounded the dish and pole correctly.

So I'm hoping the equipment issues are fixed and the picture quality improves. I would rather stay with D* then go back to E*. D*, at this point, seems to be the better deal, even with the problems.

I just hope it all works out.

[HarleyD]

You may never have more leverage with D* than when you first sign up. New customers get the royal treatment. It's called "gaffing the fish". ;)

So go for the HD with DVR and Sunday Ticket and Super Fan and see what they can do for you in return.

Seriously, call them and talk, negotiate and if you don't think they're doing you right, pass on it...for now...then call again another time mayber later that day or the next day. Sometimes it literally comes down to the customer service representative you end up talking to and the kind of day they're having. It's commonly called CSR Roulette around here.

Wait a bit before calling the first time and see what materializes. Check the directv.com web site since there will almost certainly be a special involving new subscribers and Sunday Ticket in the coming weeks. Then call them and tell them you want to take advantage of the special, that you're interested in HD along with your service as well as adding the Super Fan package. The new ssubscriber special packages vary from year to year but it could be like 3 months of free preimum package programming if you sign up and buy Sunday Ticket and they may throw in Super Fan for free. I can't say for sure since they change it up from year to year. Use the advertised special as a starting point and see if you can get them to sweeten it from there.

I would almost guarantee that you can get them to update you to an HD receiver for little or nothing. The HD DVR is a little more iffy. Express reservations at the $199 price for the HD DVR. They have been known to do things to make that price a little easier to take.

They may not give you the HD DVR for free, but they may offer you some programming credits to offset the price of the DVR like free HBO/Showtime for some number of months, some free pay per view coupons or free HD service for a year or something....or "D) All of the above".

The thing is that you can negotiate with them. And as I said the new subscribers get the best deals. It sometimes seems like no two people get the same deal so there is definitely enough wiggle room on D*'s end to allow them to set the hook...er, make you happy.

Don't be ashamed to ask for what you want, and if you can cite specific numbers from Dish that you want D* to beat it will be to your advantage. Be nice...don't be belligerent or demanding. Just explain your position and concerns and see what kind of deal you can work out for yourself.

And again, be prepared to make more than one call. If you don't feel that you've done the best you can for yourself on the first call...or the second or the third...you can try again.

I'm not advocating taking advantage of D* or being unreasonable greedy, but new subscribers are coveted and they do make deals beyond what is advertised so do the best you can for yourself. You're making a 2 year commitment and you deserve as much as anyone else can get. You'll never have a more favorable opportunity. Make the most of it.

Good luck.

[Baxter Mccloud]

I'm actually in the D* sales dept. and actually CSR roullette doesnt really pertain to new customers. When you call as a new customer, you are patched with a completely different department than Customer Service. Through the new customer sales system, there are very few discounts that can be applied. Even a manager cant make a difference. We can provide rebates to help out, but no new customer can get a free HDDVR. Chances are the first time you reach sales and decline you'll be offered every extra discount possible. We all have the same to provide and I doubt the agent your speaking with risk losing commisson by holding out on discounts. When you call back multiple times I can guarantee that it wont make a diffference. You'd just be affecting the sales person's conversion and $$$ though. Every call hurts.
I get lots of calls from new customers thinking that they can get a retention deal or something. They call 5 times a day every day, sometimes reaching the same agents. When you do this it only kills our checks in sales :( and no we dont get paid enough for what we do to begin with.
For equipment actually, sometimes its best to upgrade as an existing customer. The best that can be done for a newbie is 1 $100 rebate for equipment and if you hold out, usually 2 additional discounts which are normally the same. They usually do not exceed more that $120 in bill credits and S&H waivers.