For $7,500/year, I'd hope those white gloves came on the hands of a super model who's sole purpose was to provide you with all the "technical support" you need...

:lol:

 

For $7,500/year, I'd hope those white gloves came on the hands of a super model who's sole purpose was to provide you with all the "technical support" you need...

:lol:

A super model? Nah... for $7,500 / year you might be able to get Mr Kitty though!

 

If you can afford Titanium, you can afford to hire people for CEs

Sorry to be the dummy, but I want to play too!

 

Sorry to be the dummy, but I want to play too!

Read and learn: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90847

 

You're missing that $7500 / year is cheap to some people for the convience of just watching what ever is on on what ever channel they want. You're missing that DirecTV has to pay $X per viewer for some pay-per-view events, like sports stuff or soap opera wrestling - weather the premier subscriber watches it or not. But mostly, it's the ability to watch what you want, when you want.

You're right about me missing the convenience factor, if that's what the $315 extra a month is buying. I should probably add another $50 a month ($600 per year) for the sports packages and special events to the "content" value (i.e. what you'd pay if you bought everything separately). So it might be down to $265 a month to avoid having to hit "order" on the remote. Still seems like that would be too big a price for most people, even millionaires.

I agree that DirecTV's costs are higher in this situation, but I take no issue with what's being charged -- charge as much as you can get away with, I say, that's how pricing works (competition and demand keep that in check). But, I know that all pricing on cable/satellite content is negotiable, and while it's traditionally based on the number of subs, it doesn't have to be. I worked on a billing system for a company that owned several networks, years ago. If what that company did with its pricing structure (to the cable MSO's) was any indication, there's a big financial reason that CNN is still on channel 202. Everything is negotiable...

Anyway, my thought here is that DirecTV isn't just treating the Titanium subs as though they order every single PPV for every viewing. That would probably exceed the $7500 per year, all on its own. There's bound to have been some negotiating there -- if I were Paramount, I'd gladly charge DirecTV for just a few viewings of a movie, per Titanium household, in lieu of being dropped from the Titanium package and forcing people to "choose" my movie. "Renting" every movie 2-3 times, especially those rated low in the Titanium demographic, has to be more profitable to the studio than only getting paid for actual viewings.

Like I said, I take issue neither with DirecTV nor the Titanium subscribers. I am just surprised the conveniences are worth that kind of money -- even in the luxury market. It's fascinating... and I guess I am just wondering if there's more content in the package, or some bigger conveniences I haven't thought of.

Ok, I admit it -- if I really got EVERYTHING, I might consider it, especially the part about the supermodels!

 

One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.

So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.

 

One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.

So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.

I think the bar owner probably did something sneaky, like "move" his service address with D*.

As far as the Titanium package goes, let us not forget family members, parties, overnight visitors of the subscriber. I'm sure the millionaires have many more visitors and throw many more parties than most of us. Imagine visiting Bill Gate's house and having to "order" a PPV! It should just "be there" for Bill Gates...

 

Bill Gates also bought a Porsche 959 that wasn't legal on the road in the USA (Porsche sold all they made and didn't see the need to do the crash testing). The last I heard, he was trying to crash test it via computer simulation but the Feds weren't being agreeable.

I did a little research just now via Google; there's both stories and denials that Billy pushed for a special law that allows certain specialty "show" cars to be driven on public roads a limited number of miles per year (2500) as long as some pretty specific limitations are met. Regardless...

So Mr. Gates wasn't as against frivolous spending as some might think...

He got married...that'll change anyone

 

Dont forget about the $14 for an hour and a half for channels in the 590's

 

Dont forget about the $14 for an hour and a half for channels in the 590's

Yeah whats up with that? I dont understand why they dont offer subs to those. If they are on 24 hours a day why not be able to subscribe to them, or anything other than pboy. Oh and I am asking that question for a friend.:lol:

 

One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.

So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.

We have a pizza place in Reno that markets itself as authentic NY (I don't want to get them in trouble, so no names here), and they have all the NY channels via DirecTV (not just the national nets and rsn's, but Ch 11, Ch 13, etc.)

 

it might be down to $265 a month to avoid having to hit "order" on the remote.

Actually, you still have to "order" the PPV in order to watch it. You just don't get billed for it. So you don't even get that convenience!

 

Do Titanium customer's also get HD Lite? :grin:

 

I think the bar owner probably did something sneaky, like "move" his service address with D*.

It was a corporate chain (he was a manager, not owner), so I doubt that more than I would if it were a privately owned deal (it wasn't a franchise -- literally a corporate store). I honestly think this was a blackout screwup -- I've heard D* does that alot.

We have a pizza place in Reno that markets itself as authentic NY (I don't want to get them in trouble, so no names here), and they have all the NY channels via DirecTV (not just the national nets and rsn's, but Ch 11, Ch 13, etc.)

I wonder how that works... I have carried a receiver from Atlanta to Denver, and before I switched my address, I fired it up to see what I got. The Atlanta locals weren't there, even though I was authortized for them. Unless 11, 13, etc. aren't on spotbeam, seems like D* couldn't really get those stations to Reno... so "moving" seems unlikely there, too.

I'd be surprised if there weren't some amount of money you could offer D* (and ultimately, the local station) to get them to allow you to pick up distant stations and override blackouts, for this very reason. I could see how D* would only offer this to the top tier customers, e.g. commercial customers, though.

Where's the forum for the commercial subs around here... there must be some folks out there who own or operate a commercial endeavor with D*.... (ok, I'm off to search now).

 

I wonder how that works... I have carried a receiver from Atlanta to Denver, and before I switched my address, I fired it up to see what I got. The Atlanta locals weren't there, even though I was authortized for them. Unless 11, 13, etc. aren't on spotbeam, seems like D* couldn't really get those stations to Reno... so "moving" seems unlikely there, too.

The Big Four from LA and NY are on national transponders. I have taken my system with an LA address and had some but not all locals when I set it up in Virginia. Basically the channels you see in the 380s are the same we see down in the 2-69 range. Those 8 channels are not spotbeamed and can be watched either on the 380s or in their location down in 2-69.

 

Yeah whats up with that? I dont understand why they dont offer subs to those. If they are on 24 hours a day why not be able to subscribe to them, or anything other than pboy. Oh and I am asking that question for a friend.:lol:

A friend told me that you can get three hours on all six channels for 14.99... but you have to provide your own white glove treatment. :lol: