Directv Going To Lease Only On 3/1/06

[stevesmall]

I assume any stuff we own now can be shelved for a year and then turned back on right?

Depends on the speed of the mpeg 4 and 5 lnb dish upgrades? i wouldnt count on anything, Directv doesnt owe you anything once the box is turned off. I dont necessarily agree with this but the box was not generating income so i dont think they would be doing anything for people with older boxes that are no longer compatible with their new mpeg4 system. although we all know that will take much longer than a year some of us may be left with worthless boxes if they are not activated. We shall see

[herdfan]

except if you go through a big box CE chain or through DIRECTV directly you must order and pay for professional installation.

What if you are an existing customer? I am not going to pay installation fees for them to come hook up a receiver. There is not a D* installer in this country that is touching my setup.

D* will regret they day they came up with this little plan. And Robert, I think many of D* dealers will regret it as well. D* is taking something that used to be easy, ie walk into a BB or CC or order it online, and turning it into cableco hell.

I am beginning to think I can live without NFLST after 12 years.

Also Robert: Will you sell H20's/AT9's to customers who don't live in the top 36 markets?

[adidaz3223]

OK, first of all greetings.

I held off as long as I could with all this HD stuff but I finally took the plunge and purchased an HDTV in December. I've been with DTV for 3 years (2 SD-DVRs, 1 SD Receiver) and would like to upgrade to their HD service.

Questions: Do I act now before 3/1, buy my equipment (HD DVR + Sat Antenna + OTA Antenna) and sign away to a 2 year commitment?

Until when would I have to wait to get an HD-DVR under the new lease agreement? (They were going to be released QTR 3. I can't wait that long.)

Should I just purchase through eBay and not sign any contracts?

Thanks for the help!

[Stargazer]

Going lease only could be a sign that only MPEG-4 HD receivers may be offered to customers in the near future in which are a bit more expensive than their MPEG-2 receivers. Remember a while back when it was said that all existing subscribers were going to get a new HD DVR? I do not know whether to believe that so much now since some are getting nonDVR's.

If the consumer has to pay $150-200 to lease then Dish Network is going to look more attractive and Dish Network is going to be more likely to take the same route or at least make their offers not as good for those that want to still own their hardware.

[dnyce]

It's been a LOOOONG time since I posted here. But am I missing something?? This sounds like GREAT news! Leasing is the only reason I have both Comcast and DirecTV. I'm paying $5 a month right now for a HD DVR with Comcast much better than a one time fee of $700! Come March Bye Bye Comcast! The only bad thing is no TNT HD right in the middle of the NBA season, Oh well.

Also, was it me or did I see a commercial for a free HD box with DirecTV special on TV like 3am this morning??

[herdfan]

But am I missing something?? This sounds like GREAT news! Leasing is the only reason I have both Comcast and DirecTV. I'm paying $5 a month right now for a HD DVR with Comcast much better than a one time fee of $700!

Maybe you are missing something. While no one knows all the specifics, the plan/rumor being circulated is that all D* is doing from the customer standpoint is replacing the mirroring fee with a lease fee. You still have to pay an upfront amount for higher-end equipment. The current amount being bandied about is $300 upfront for the HD DVR which is just slightly cheaper than you can get it for now, but now you own it and take it out in the woods and shoot holes in it if you choose. What D* wants is for you to pay the $300 upfront, yet they still own the box.

[dnyce]

Maybe you are missing something. While no one knows all the specifics, the plan/rumor being circulated is that all D* is doing from the customer standpoint is replacing the mirroring fee with a lease fee. You still have to pay an upfront amount for higher-end equipment. The current amount being bandied about is $300 upfront for the HD DVR which is just slightly cheaper than you can get it for now, but now you own it and take it out in the woods and shoot holes in it if you choose. What D* wants is for you to pay the $300 upfront, yet they still own the box.

Oh! I retract my previous statement. That sucks!

[mikedz4]

I was thinking about dropping comcast this fall and going with only directv but now that I read they are doing this in making you pay for the box AND for a lease fee as well I think I may just keep both comcast and directv.

[charper1]

This is not at all what I have been reading.

[herdfan]

This is not at all what I have been reading.

From post #17 (Directv Going To Lease Only On 3/1/06) by Scott:

The new Lease Program requires customers to pay a nominal lease fee, some examples of which are highlighted below (please note that the following illustrations are for new customers only). Note that the monthly lease fee is in addition to applicable programming charges:

New Customer Hardware
Upfront Hardware Lease Fees
Total Monthly Costs to Customer
Commitment Period/Early Cancellation Fee
1 Standard Receiver
$0
$0 Lease Fee (no fee for first receiver)
+Monthly programming
1 Year/ $150 prorated
1 Standard Receiver + 1 DVR
$0 (after $100 mail-in rebate*)
$0 Lease Fee (no fee for first receiver)
+ $4.99 Lease Fee (for second receiver) + $5.99 DVR Service Fee (Whole House)
+ Monthly Programming
2 Years/ $300 prorated
2 DVRs + 1 HD
$197 (after $100 mail-in rebate*)$0 Lease Fee (no fee for first receiver)
+ $4.99 Lease Fee (for second receiver)
+ $4.99 Lease Fee (for third receiver)
+ $5.99 DVR Service Fee (Whole House)
+ Monthly Programming
2 Years/ $300 prorated
1 HD DVR
$299 (after $100 mail-in rebate*)$0 Lease Fee (no fee for first receiver)
+ $5.99 DVR Service Fee (Whole House)
+ Monthly Programming
2 Years/ $300 prorated

So at least for 2 DVR's + HD and the HD DVR there is an upfront cost.