[mjitkop]

Hi everyone.

Little background: I have been a loyal DirecTV customer since November of 2001. Started with regular SD receivers and then upgraded to DVRs in 2004. Currently 4 TVs hooked up with their own DVRs and 1 of them is a lease (R15-300-CR) while all other 3 are owned. All DVRs other than the R15 are TiVo-powered. My wife hates the R15 with a passion and she said she wants TiVo.

Now 3 of the TVs are HD and the last one is a regular CRT TV (still working... for now).

I am looking into getting full advantage of the HD TVs by upgrading to HD with DirecTV. The main requirement is that all "receivers" hooked up to each HDTV must be TiVo HD DVRs. I understand that with TiVo you don't get Whole Home and it is not compatible with HMC but that's fine, I discussed this with my family and that's what we want.

I have been looking/asking around to figure out exactly to the penny, well at least to the dollar, how much my bill would be in the end every month. I can't get a clear number (can't figure out fees per account or receiver).

Here is my current statement:

Current Charges for Service Period 03/24/12 - 04/23/12

03/24 04/23 PLUS DVR Monthly 76.99
03/24 04/23 Network: NBC West Monthly 2.50
03/24 04/23 Network: FOX West Monthly 2.50
03/24 04/23 Advanced Receiver-DVR $8.00/mo Included in Base Pkg 0.00

Fees

03/25 Additional TV 6.00
03/25 Additional TV 6.00
03/25 Additional TV 6.00

Adjustments & Credits

03/22 AT&T Customer Savings -5.00 Credit
02/27 Tax Adjustment -0.59 Credit

Taxes

Sales Tax 6.70
Gross Earnings Tax Reimbursement 5.54

AMOUNT DUE $107.23

I want to get HD and replace 3 SD DVRs (including the R15) with TiVo HD DVRs. The CRT TV will remain as is with its current SD TiVo DVR (I know a SWiM supports legacy receivers).

Would anybody be kind enough to help me figure out exactly what fees apply to the account and what fees apply per receiver? In the end, I need to understand the impact on my monthly bill.

Also I have heard that the up-front fee of $199 for a leased HD DVR gets credited back to your account in your bills after a given amount of time. Is this true?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[carl6]

You will add HD fee to the monthly cost, $10 per month. Otherwise (except for Tivo costs), your bill should be the same. I do not know what the monthly Tivo cost is, or if it is per receiver or per account. There is a separate forum here for the new HD DirecTivo, you may want to post there (or have a moderator move this post to there).

As to SWM, you will need an external SWM8 (not an SWM LNB) in order to retain your legacy Tivo DVR. Or, optionally (without whole-home), a WB68 multiswitch would serve your purposes.

 

[sbl]

The HD fee can be eliminated if you sign up for auto-pay.

The TiVo fee is $5 per account. I think that should be the only change if you replace the receivers.

No, the "lease upgrade" fee never gets applied to your account.

 

[Shades228]

The HD fee can be eliminated if you sign up for auto-pay.

This is not a guaranteed promotion anymore. Not all customers are eligible for it.

 

[amenic]

You're going to want to call Directv about this. While there are a standard set of rules and prices, and those prices are tending to be a lot more consistent from one customer to the next than in years past, there are still a number of little factors that can make an account vary in promotions and pricing.

Since I don't see a monthly charge for Tivo service, I'm assuming you paid the roughly $300 lifetime fee when you started your Tivo service. If that is the case, then your monthly equipment fees would be: Hd + DVR + Tivo = $20, as well as the usual $6 Additional TV fee for each receiver exept your main one.

Each Hd Tivo receiver costs $199, with an installation charge of $49 that is mandatory when upgrading to HD. So you're looking at $646, most likely with no discounts. And no, don't expect it to be credited back; that is a rare offer that usually only applies to the further installation fees customers with poor credit are sometimes required to pay.

 

[mjitkop]

Thank you all for your replies.

You're going to want to call Directv about this. While there are a standard set of rules and prices, and those prices are tending to be a lot more consistent from one customer to the next than in years past, there are still a number of little factors that can make an account vary in promotions and pricing.

Since I don't see a monthly charge for Tivo service, I'm assuming you paid the roughly $300 lifetime fee when you started your Tivo service. If that is the case, then your monthly equipment fees would be: Hd + DVR + Tivo = $20, as well as the usual $6 Additional TV fee for each receiver exept your main one.

Each Hd Tivo receiver costs $199, with an installation charge of $49 that is mandatory when upgrading to HD. So you're looking at $646, most likely with no discounts. And no, don't expect it to be credited back; that is a rare offer that usually only applies to the further installation fees customers with poor credit are sometimes required to pay.

Thank you for all these details! No, I didn't pay the lifetime fee for TiVo so I have to make the monthly payments. Right now, that's included in my current package anyway (but in the end still paying for it, one way or another).

The up-front fee is a killer. I don't understand why you have to pay so much if you are leasing the device. At that price, I might as well pay a little bit more and own the device.

Need to think about all this with my family.

Thank you for all the information.

 

[CCarncross]

Thank you all for your replies.

Thank you for all these details! No, I didn't pay the lifetime fee for TiVo so I have to make the monthly payments. Right now, that's included in my current package anyway (but in the end still paying for it, one way or another).

The up-front fee is a killer. I don't understand why you have to pay so much if you are leasing the device. At that price, I might as well pay a little bit more and own the device.

Need to think about all this with my family.

Thank you for all the information.

That little bit more is actually more than double to outright purchase these STB's.

 

[mjitkop]

That little bit more is actually more than double to outright purchase these STB's.

That's true, I called DirecTV again last night and I found out it would probably cost at least $599.

Anyway, while I was on the phone, they offered me a good deal so I am considering it now.

 

[ThomasM]

That little bit more is actually more than double to outright purchase these STB's.

The "outright purchase" of a TiVo STB (like the premiere) is less costly because TiVo plans on getting it's money through monthly fees (usually $20 a month for the first year or two).

Either way, you pay and pay and pay unless you are a new DISH or DirecTV customer and take their existing new customer equipment offers. You even get free HD from DirecTV for the 2 year contract cleverly disguised by calling it a "$10 discount the second year".