[harsh]

Never said I was coming out ahead.

So you're just tithing to the Church of DIRECTV because you can?

 

[b4pjoe]

Not too many entertainment packages where you come out ahead. It is a cheap protection plan and I don’t need your opinion on it. So go troll someone else for your entertainment.

 

[harsh]

Not too many entertainment packages where you come out ahead.

The Protection Plan obviously isn't an entertainment package.

It is a cheap protection plan and I don’t need your opinion on it.

I'm not offering an opinion on the package one way or the other. I'm simply trying to figure out how you derive value from it as there may be something there that others have overlooked.

 

[codespy]

If you are paying $8.99/mo / $107/yr, how are the remotes free ? You can buy 20+ remotes on Amazon per year before you break even on PP. Unless you are constantly breaking DVRs...

In my 20+ yrs, I've had a total of ONE receiver go bad.

I’ll chime in here-

With the basic PP, it’s more than just remotes-

-I’ve gotten 3 new HR24’s in the last 6 years at no charge, no haggling and no other fees even if there was a truck roll.

-Dozens of RF remotes over the years. Some rooms we have 3-4 remotes controlling the same receiver since there’s multiple pieces of furniture to sit at and a good size family.

-Had a couple of truck rolls to adjust dish antenna due to storms, or bad LNB’s to get replaced. I could’ve done it myself, but didn’t always have the time.

-With several owned not leased IRD’s, replacements on those were covered too and got activated as owned.

-Had one of my SWM-16’s that took a dump- truck roll to replace no charge. I could go on and on.

I’ve had HDD’s and fans fail over the years that I just handle myself, and those are the only failures I’ve had on IRD’s. It helps preserve recordings we treasure from years past. Others aren’t that tech savvy to replace those items and use the PP to get a free replacement without having to do CSR roulette to waive the fees.

I’m ready to dump the PP due to several factors-

-I can fix my own IRD’s unless a motherboard goes bad.

-Remotes are cheap elsewhere.

-DirecTV has eliminated the possibility of shipping out additional HDDVR’s for people like me (I probably have enough of them anyways).

-I already have a HR54 and a C61K. The HS17 will cripple us as we integrate OTA. IOW-I have the latest and greatest equipment as it stands

-I despise clients.

To me, it was definitely worth it over the years. But now with my current and matured setup, I’m ready to save $8.99+tax per month.

 

[b4pjoe]

Yeah I have had receiver, lnb replacements, dish alignments, cables replaced or repaired over the years too. Call them up. They come out. Fix the issue. No charge. I didn’t get DirecTV to become a service man for them. I can’t see an upgrade in the future as an HS17 would cut my number of tuners in half but you never know. But I know if I have any problems with the dish, lnb, swm-16, cables or wall outlets that one phone call will take care of it.

 

[b4pjoe]

The Protection Plan obviously isn't an entertainment package.
I'm not offering an opinion on the package one way or the other. I'm simply trying to figure out how you derive value from it as there may be something there that others have overlooked.

The PP is an optional part of the entertainment package equipment. I have to ask why it bothers you so much that I pay for it? Maybe you need a hobby?

 

[codespy]

I’ll also admit in the past with PP truck rolls, I would still tip the tech. The ones in my area with DirecSat were always competent and were great. They’d also then let me ‘shop’ the truck if I needed additional hardware- items like rolls of RG6 to run my own lines, connectors, remotes, backup SWM16’s, SWM splitters, PI’s, power bricks, dish antenna for our camping property and a spare backup dish in case of emergency. Since I service all my own stuff now, including for 3 other members of my family who also have DirecTV, it has been very beneficial. I haven’t ‘lost’ money on the PP over the years. Just sayin’.

 

[b4pjoe]

I was looking to get a couple more replacement remotes, having the protection plan. I got about 6 replacement RC66RX remotes shipped for free back in mid-February, but I need more since I have so many receivers. For some reason, the costs are now showing $15-$30 for each remote- depending on the model. These prices were zero dollars back in February, as they should still be now.

Back to your original post. I wanted to try to get a new remote today and at the site it showed $15 for the RC66 and RC73 and 25 for the RC73 backlit remote. It said if you have the PP it would remove the charge when you checkout. I tried it and it still showed the charge so I aborted that plan and went through chat and they are sending me the new RC66 for no charge.

 

[dtv757]

Same have had multiple dish relocations new lines ran in the house replacement stbs (same day installs ) and more

I'm very happy with pro plan

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[SledgeHammer]

I’ll chime in here-

With the basic PP, it’s more than just remotes-

-I’ve gotten 3 new HR24’s in the last 6 years at no charge, no haggling and no other fees even if there was a truck roll.

-Dozens of RF remotes over the years. Some rooms we have 3-4 remotes controlling the same receiver since there’s multiple pieces of furniture to sit at and a good size family.

-Had a couple of truck rolls to adjust dish antenna due to storms, or bad LNB’s to get replaced. I could’ve done it myself, but didn’t always have the time.

-With several owned not leased IRD’s, replacements on those were covered too and got activated as owned.

-Had one of my SWM-16’s that took a dump- truck roll to replace no charge. I could go on and on.

I’ve had HDD’s and fans fail over the years that I just handle myself, and those are the only failures I’ve had on IRD’s. It helps preserve recordings we treasure from years past. Others aren’t that tech savvy to replace those items and use the PP to get a free replacement without having to do CSR roulette to waive the fees.

I’m ready to dump the PP due to several factors-

-I can fix my own IRD’s unless a motherboard goes bad.

-Remotes are cheap elsewhere.

-DirecTV has eliminated the possibility of shipping out additional HDDVR’s for people like me (I probably have enough of them anyways).

-I already have a HR54 and a C61K. The HS17 will cripple us as we integrate OTA. IOW-I have the latest and greatest equipment as it stands

-I despise clients.

To me, it was definitely worth it over the years. But now with my current and matured setup, I’m ready to save $8.99+tax per month.

Most people don't have 16 TVs .

I got my HR24 -> HR54 upgrade for free and I milk the .... out of the loyalty program and have never had PP.

One DVR I had go bad, replacement was overnighted free, no charge.

Remotes I've always bought online. I did want one several months ago, the rectangular backlit ones and eBay was gouging people for $70 lol, so I waited a few months and checked again and they were back down. Not sure why they spiked for a brief period.

Also replaced a fan by myself.

I had some dish alignment problems a long while back and they replaced my mount to the heavy duty under eave mount. Free.

Oh yeah, I have the old school dish where the multiswitch is in the attic and the morons who replaced my air conditioner decided to toss it into the insulation and it cooked itself. I replaced that myself.

Never had any wiring issues.

Also have no interest in the HS17.

 

[SledgeHammer]

So you're just tithing to the Church of DIRECTV because you can?

tax write off haha.

 

[dtv757]

I think they fixed mother board on an old Samsung tv I had once

No complaints from me .

One time I called time at 12pm and tech showed up at 2pm same day I was amazed

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[SledgeHammer]

No complaints from me .

I think PP is a racket and most people that have it are deep in the red, but no complaints from me either. It's free money for DirecTV (well, that and outlet fees) and finances the loyalty program which I take full advantage of .

You'll also note a common thread among posters on Dbs seems to be that under DirecTV, when you can typically get most stuff for free if you ask nicely, they must have PP or their lives will end, but suddenly when they go streaming, and they're actually responsible for maintaining all their devices and all costs, they mysteriously couldn't care less about PP or having "insurance".

That being said, if you actually DO need a service call some day and you aren't able to get the fee waived, you'd come out ahead by carrying PP for a month or two to cover the fee and then drop it.

 

[Mike Lang]

Speaking of the protection plan, my dish is starting to get quite rusty. Will they swap it out just for being an eyesore with the plan?

 

[harsh]

Speaking of the protection plan, my dish is starting to get quite rusty. Will they swap it out just for being an eyesore with the plan?

When the antenna stops doing what an antenna is supposed to do, they will replace it.

 

[harsh]

The PP is an optional part of the entertainment package equipment.

While you can't get the PP without an entertainment package (required to maintain an account), it isn't part of the of the entertainment package at all. That's like asserting that a maintenance contract on a wedding ring is part of a marriage.

Given that your "upgrade" or "repair" options are replacement of conventional DVRs/receivers with Genie Minis and that multiswitches and various adapters/converters are typically no longer in play, the PP surely has significantly less value than it used to.

In your case, since you have so many non-Genie class set tops, you have no upgrade path for the HR54 and if any of your other STBs fail, they will be replaced (downgraded?) with Genie Minis. You may still save on repoints as dtv757 points out but the days of getting an improved/updated receiver or having to replace some other component of the system are very much limited and not as costly as it once might have been.

 

[b4pjoe]

Blah Blah Blah Blah...

Thanks for your input.

 

[SledgeHammer]

While you can't get the PP without an entertainment package (required to maintain an account), it isn't part of the of the entertainment package at all. That's like asserting that a maintenance contract on a wedding ring is part of a marriage.

Given that your "upgrade" or "repair" options are replacement of conventional DVRs/receivers with Genie Minis and that multiswitches and various adapters/converters are typically no longer in play, the PP surely has significantly less value than it used to.

In your case, since you have so many non-Genie class set tops, you have no upgrade path for the HR54 and if any of your other STBs fail, they will be replaced (downgraded?) with Genie Minis. You may still save on repoints as dtv757 points out but the days of getting an improved/updated receiver or having to replace some other component of the system are very much limited and not as costly as it once might have been.

If the drive on my HR54 dies, I'll just run to Microcenter, plop down $50 for a new drive and be back in business in 10 mins. I can replace 2 drives per year and still come out ahead of PP. Or 1 drive + 10 remotes or no drives and 20 remotes. The possibilities are endless!

 

[b4pjoe]

So my C61K quit working today. Won't connect to the HR54. Has to be replaced. Support could not fix remotely. Without PP $99 plus the cost of the service call. Scheduled service call for Saturday and with PP there is no charge. They might have to replace the HR54 also which would be another $299. Depends on what the service guy says.

 

[MysteryMan]

Speaking of the protection plan, my dish is starting to get quite rusty. Will they swap it out just for being an eyesore with the plan?

That's interesting. I've had DIRECTV since 1995 and never had a dish rust.