[dj2cohen]

Hello everyone,

Obviously new here and I have learned a lot just by lurking.

My question:

I want a D* HR20 DVR. I want the 20 b/c I can receive OTA HD. I found one at what I believe to be a good price.

Can I post the price and the place to ask everyone's opinion?

I don't want to start out by breaking the rules if I am not allowed to.

Thanks everyone,

DJC

 

[kw2957]

Hello everyone,

Obviously new here and I have learned a lot just by lurking.

My question:

I want a D* HR20 DVR. I want the 20 b/c I can receive OTA HD. I found one at what I believe to be a good price.

Can I post the price and the place to ask everyone's opinion?

I don't want to start out by breaking the rules if I am not allowed to.

Thanks everyone,

DJC

I don't know the rules by heart myself, but what first popped into my head was, "Hey, why not?!"

 

[spartanstew]

Sure, DJC

Does it start with E and end in y?

 

[2dogz]

solidsignal.com still has HR20s, but I just checked and the price has gone up $30 to $229. I've read that Costco has them at some locations for $169, but you know Costco, it's catch as catch can. Also check your local Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

[MartyS]

solidsignal.com still has HR20s, but I just checked and the price has gone up $30 to $229. I've read that Costco has them at some locations for $169, but you know Costco, it's catch as catch can. Also check your local Best Buy or Circuit City.

2 Dogs, I believe that Costco (at least down here) only has the HR21's... and if you can find a 20 there, you're probably lucky.

To the original poster, however, Be careful if you're BUYING an HR20 from a source like eBay or somewhere else other that DirecTV or one of the reputable dealers.

Oftentimes, people have found that when they buy that "leased" piece of equipment from someone on one of the online auction sites, they can't get it activated, since that leased unit was supposed to have been returned to DirecTV as part of the customer agreement.

If you're going to buy one, make sure that you're actually buying a new lease from DirecTV (like you do from Best Buy, Costco, Solid Signal and other true retailers) and not buying a unit that some guy had hooked up and decided he didn't like it.

Just my suggestion.

 

[evan_s]

How many receivers are you going to want to start off with? You can get a HD DVR for 99$ as a new customer. If you end up with a hr21 you can get an am21 to add OTA support and still only be at 149$. If you go the AAA promo route you can get 2 hd dvrs for 99 a peice. You aren't likely to find any legitimate hr20 for less than 149$. You might even get lucky and end up with an hr20 for 99$ but it's probably not very likely at this point. It's also going to be much simpler to get a new account created and get all the discounts if you just accept the standard install with what ever receiver they give you than trying to provide your own.

This is all assuming your a new customer and not upgrading an existing receiver or adding another additional receiver.

 

[dj2cohen]

Thanks everyone for the time to read and respond to, what some I'm sure think is, a stupid question. I just didn't want to break any of the forum rules. These forums cannot exist without some ground rules.

I am a 10+ year customer of D* and am wanting to upgrade to HD. I talked to D* a while ago and, of coarse, got the no brain, cannot compete a sentence, part time high school kid who cannot speak five words without a 30 second "uh" and breathe heavily into the headset. He actually gave the name of my local installer after I asked for it four time. He told me that it is Skylink. My point is why should I pay $20 shipping on a unit that some one else will ship to me for half as much or even free and have a 300 pound gorilla tromp through my home to plug the box in and hook up my two RG6's that I installed myself two years ago when I jumped on the R-15.

I can get a few OTA HD channels and I want the OTA reciever. I checked and found the HR20 on Solid Signal for $199 plus $12.95 shipping. 2dogz, I am not trying to argue with you but the page that I have open still shows this.

I found an HR-21 with the AU9 dish, 100 ft. of RG6, and a signal meter for $284. I don't need the cable, but it never hurts to have it on hand just in case. I can of coarse use the meter for my own install and any future realigns. D* will ship me the BBC's. I still of coarse have to pay $50 for the AM-21. This package is from Sadoun.com. Sorry, I can't post a link yet.

Marty, I do not trust second hand electronics, especially from ebay but thanks for the heads up. We are on the same page. My closest BB and CC are over 100 miles away and I don't have a Costco here in BFE West Virginia.

Sorry to ramble so much, just trying to get the most bang for my buck,

DJC

 

[spartanstew]

I can get a few OTA HD channels and I want the OTA reciever. I checked and found the HR20 on Solid Signal for $199 plus $12.95 shipping. 2dogz, I am not trying to argue with you but the page that I have open still shows this.

Shows $229 for me too (plus shipping). Does it stay at $199 when you add it to your cart?

I think your best bet is to just go through D*. They'll give you the dish for free (and install) and since you need OTA, they may even give you the AM21 for free (if they don't send an HR20). They might even give you a discount on the receiver and/or some programming discounts since you're switching to HD.

The level of installation can vary, but I've never had an issue with any of my installs (3 of them) and it may even save you $100 or more from doing it yourself.

 

[dj2cohen]

The HR20 did stay at $199 in the cart. I don't know why we are getting different numbers on the same product. That's really odd.

I plan on calling D* again and talking to a different CSR and a supervisor if necessary. I do not feel it is right that I am going to have to shell out $250 just have the privilege of paying $10 more a month for the programming. That is a dead horse around here though and I don't want to drag that up.

If D* gave existing customers rebates on the R15 then they can do the same for the HRxx.

 

[2dogz]

The HR20 did stay at $199 in the cart. I don't know why we are getting different numbers on the same product. That's really odd.

I plan on calling D* again and talking to a different CSR and a supervisor if necessary. I do not feel it is right that I am going to have to shell out $250 just have the privilege of paying $10 more a month for the programming. That is a dead horse around here though and I don't want to drag that up.

If D* gave existing customers rebates on the R15 then they can do the same for the HRxx.

Better double check that price, the HR21 is $199 (no OTA) and the HR20 is $229. I was in your exact position needing OTA and I got my two HR20s from solid signal last winter, but that was before the AM21 addon box for OTA was available for the HR21. I would call D* and see what kind of deal they might offer for an upgrade. It's usually pretty cheap and they upgrade your dish for free. If you get a HR21, and you probably will, you can order the OTA AM21 as soon as the receiver is activated for $50.

 

[ATARI]

As a 10+ year D* customer, all you should have to do is call them and tell them you are planning to switch to E*.

That will get you to the retention department, and they will be able to cut you a good deal.

Best of luck.

 

[tcusta00]

As a 10+ year D* customer, all you should have to do is call them and tell them you are planning to switch to E*.

That will get you to the retention department, and they will be able to cut you a good deal.

Best of luck.

So... lie? :nono2:

 

[dj2cohen]

I just rechecked the Solid Signal site again and the HR20 is indeed up to $229 now. I am now kicking myself in the behind for not pulling the trigger last night when I had the blasted thing sitting in my shopping cart with the $199 price in tact.

I guess that I am stuck now. My best deal is with D* directly. I am going to have to look at this equipment lease just like one would look at an automobile lease. Down payment is gone as soon as it leaves one's hand. I guess D* had too many people that actually remembered to mail in the rebates on the R-15 when it came out giving it a net price of 0, and D* ended up losing their butts on that one.

I have talked to the retention department once. I used it only as a last resort when my R-15 went on the blink. After 3 or 4 phone calls trying to get it figured out and always being told to just press the red button, I was a bit steamed. All I wanted was to just get the thing replaced so that I could watch TV. Finally, it was traded out for a refurb and I have had no problems with it since.

When I talked to them, I did not threaten to leave. I was asking a CSR for the address that I could send leased DVR back to since it was freezing up and totally locking up, making it useless. I told them as a matter of fact that since I could not get to speak with a CSR that did not simply tell me to press the red button, I was sending the unit back to them. I was then transferred to another CSR that walked me through the disk reformat. I was told to try that first. My account was noted that if that did not work then I was to get a replacement. It didn't work, I called, without any further problem, I was shipped another one with a return label for the old one.

 

[ATARI]

So... lie? :nono2:

So your real name is tcusta00? :nono2:

 

[EricJRW]

My 3 cents...

1) Yeah, work with D*... Based on my experience with my installer, if you can handle part (or all ) the work yourself, the installer will be more than happy to get a jump on his next job. I might have him check signal strength on the dish (with his very fancy meter). While he is doing that, you plug in the new box, he can then make his activation call and go.

2) My HR21, and new 5 LNB dish, was "the cost of shipping" ($19 - That was the best deal I could get). But as it turns out I also paid another ~$19 in tax (tricky). I paid for it, then got a $199 credit... So I still had to pay the tax... Still $40 for an new HR21, not bad IMO.

3) I have read posts of people who paid $54 ($50 + $4 tax), or even $59 (non-D*) for their AM21s. I also read posts where people managed to get it for free. D* might be catching on, as the best I could do (in 20 minutes) was to get if for half price ($27). 20 minutes for $27 was worth it to me, I was ready to pay full price, so I was happy with the compromise.

Lastly, and this is mostly anecdotal, I get the impression that a) general perception of the HR21 is better than the HR20 (granted this may be selective retention on my part since I have the HR21), b) the ATSC tuners in the AM21 are better than the ones built into the HR20 (this I am sure of), c) if you have a color preference, you might like one better than the other (HR20s are silver, 21s are black).

 

[tcusta00]

So your real name is tcusta00? :nono2:

!rolling Huh? And this has to do with lying to DirecTV about your intentions... how?

 

[jodyguercio]

As a 10+ year D* customer, all you should have to do is call them and tell them you are planning to switch to E*.

That will get you to the retention department, and they will be able to cut you a good deal.

Best of luck.

So your real name is tcusta00? :nono2:

And your real name is Atari?

Comparing lying to get something for nothing and someone's username doesnt even deserve the apples to oranges saying.

Wow. :eek2:

 

[EricJRW]

Wouldn't this have been solved just by saying, "I'm considering other options other than DirecTV?" I must admit I gave AT&T U-Verse a serious look, but to get the bundle on par with what I already have (channels & DSL speed) it was not such a great deal (the free multiple receiver aspect does not apply to our household).

Lie, or not, as consumers we have choices and asking what DirecTV will do to keep a customer seems perfectly valid to me.

 

[dj2cohen]

Eric,

Thanks for your opinions. My install should be very fast and painless, unless my existing pole mount in out of plumb, from what I have read elsewhere.

There is no wiring to do that I know of. I currently have a 2 LNB dish with the two RG6's running to a 3x8 multiswitch that I picked up from consumerdepot.com for around $20. I am just concerned about aiming the dish. I have never aimed anything other than the standard round dish and I am afraid of either screwing it up or not getting it aimed correctly at all.

I am wondering about this multiswitch that I have. I am afraid that it won't work with the slimline dish but that is a question for the installer or any knowledgeable person here that feels like chiming in.

 

[tcusta00]

Wouldn't this have been solved just by saying, "I'm considering other options other than DirecTV?" I must admit I gave AT&T U-Verse a serious look, but to get the bundle on par with what I already have (channels & DSL speed) it was not such a great deal (the free multiple receiver aspect does not apply to our household).

Lie, or not, as consumers we have choices and asking what DirecTV will do to keep a customer seems perfectly valid to me.

There's nothing wrong with trying to get a good deal. There's something wrong with lying to do so. I feel sorry for people that can't see the difference.