External Hard Drive Activation Fee

[jonesy99]

I would gladly pay more for more channels, but activating a usb port on a receiver that I own is very frustrating to say the least.

It's like selling me a car, and than saying: if you would like to listen to the radio please pay an additional fee to activate it.

I guess it's all optics. Had the receiver cost 40$ more, I probably still would have bought it, but than maybe there would not be an activation fee for the EHD.

Guess I am one of those guys who would rather pay 207$ for a plane ticket, instead of 200$ (but have to pay 7$ once seated to get a hot meal). Makes you feel like you are being nickel and dimed.

As for tech support for this feature... Puh-lease! How hard is it to plug in an EHD and click OK to format? I do not buy the reason for the 40$ activation fee is because of the additional tech support required for this. It's a cash grab.

Anyway, like I said: Given your answers, it is probably better to look for a deal on an EHD rather than trying to get Dish to waive the activation fee.

Thanks to all for the comments!

I get that its a cash grab, not sure I see the car radio analogy though. The laws (and lawsuits) are different than in Canada. One could possibly make an argument that an EHD is not the same as a normal DVR, not sure it would stand up in court though.

 

[KAB]

It's like selling me a car, and than saying: if you would like to listen to the radio please pay an additional fee to activate it.

To the point, its more like...selling me a car, and than saying: if you would like to listen SATELLITE radio please pay additional for a Sat ready radio THEN pay an additional fee to activate it. Same principle.

 

[Juan]

I would gladly pay more for more channels, but activating a usb port on a receiver that I own is very frustrating to say the least.

It's like selling me a car, and than saying: if you would like to listen to the radio please pay an additional fee to activate it.

!

They call that XM/Sirius satellite radio

 

[Juan]

I didn't know any Canadian company had an EHD service like Dish.

They do!! How to turn my Bell HD receiver into a PVR

 

[Mr Tony]

They do!! How to turn my Bell HD receiver into a PVR

you're about 4 hours late there Juan
SatelliteGuys.US - View Single Post - External Hard Drive Activation Fee

 

[Juan]

you're about 4 hours late there Juan
SatelliteGuys.US - View Single Post - External Hard Drive Activation Fee

oh well..I just wanted to post it anyway (Because this isn't DBS TALK!!)

 

[harshness]

It's like selling me a car, and than saying: if you would like to listen to the radio please pay an additional fee to activate it.

Here in the US, many new vehicles come with radio that has SARS and/or OnStar and you have to pay activation fees for those services to use them even though everything is built in. I usually opt for the radio delete option simply because I like to know that I'm not paying for something that I'm not going to use.

Nobody said it had to make sense.

 

[Tyralak]

Of course, here's the interesting thing on that page: "There's no activation fee for this feature - just plug and play."

 

[navychop]

Dish certainly paid to get this feature to work, and is still paying to improve and maintain it. Certainly, they hope to profit from it.

It certainly isn't simply plug it in and expect it to work. There is a lot of software involved.

 

[Derwin0]

oh well..I just wanted to post it anyway (Because this isn't DBS TALK!!)

Plus you had a good link to Bell as well. I would have done the same.

 

[Awohar]

As for tech support for this feature... Puh-lease! How hard is it to plug in an EHD and click OK to format? I do not buy the reason for the 40$ activation fee is because of the additional tech support required for this. It's a cash grab.

Alright, so then consider this: You wake up one morning to watch your movies that you have stored on your EHD and they won't play. What then? Are you gonna call DISH network for help or just deal with it? How many here would call DISH? How many laymen with this feature would call DISH?

The bottom line is if this weren't an available feature, then there would be no need for anyone to call about it if it weren't working.

As an EHD customer, your tech support needs are increased versus a non-EHD customer.

 

[waltah]

get creative like i did.

told them my DVR was pooping out and rebooting randomly. told them i wanted the data from that received and asked if theyd waive the fee to allow me to hook up external hdd to transfer my shows from the old dvr to the new.

success. still activated

 

[navychop]

You're proud of this?

 

[KAB]

You're proud of this?

There will be one side that thinks he's a genius. The other will think him a crook. Since I willingly paid my fee, I'm in the latter.

 

[Bobby]

I don't think he's a crook... I think he's a liar, liar, pants on fire!

 

[KAB]

I don't think he's a crook... I think he's a liar, liar, pants on fire!

:up:up:upCheat, lie, steal...either way.

 

[harshness]

The bottom line is if this weren't an available feature, then there would be no need for anyone to call about it if it weren't working.

In this case, we have something domestic to compare against. Look at all of the activity in the D* threads about "working eSATA setups" and see if that is the kind of customer relationship you want to develop.

Another example is the D* WHDS service that if you don't use their networking scheme, you're essentially on your own. Either way, the monthly charge is the same.

As I said earlier, some things you just have to chalk up to differences in consumer culture.

 

[inazsully]

Other than "because they can" I see no reason to charge for me installing an EHD. I bought it, it plugs in. Why does E care if I add a larger hard drive. They could always offer a larger hard drive and then charge for that. They don't care what size my TV is. It's just a money grab that they can get away with.

 

[KAB]

Other than "because they can" I see no reason to charge for me installing an EHD. I bought it, it plugs in. Why does E care if I add a larger hard drive. They could always offer a larger hard drive and then charge for that. They don't care what size my TV is. It's just a money grab that they can get away with.

Again please, I little more coherently?

 

[navychop]

In this case, we have something domestic to compare against. Look at all of the activity in the D* threads about "working eSATA setups" and see if that is the kind of customer relationship you want to develop.

Another example is the D* WHDS service that if you don't use their networking scheme, you're essentially on your own. Either way, the monthly charge is the same.

As I said earlier, some things you just have to chalk up to differences in consumer culture.

Other than "because they can" I see no reason to charge for me installing an EHD. I bought it, it plugs in. Why does E care if I add a larger hard drive. They could always offer a larger hard drive and then charge for that. They don't care what size my TV is. It's just a money grab that they can get away with.

Apples to oranges. The external drive on the D* system REPLACES the internal drive, does it not? The E* version SUPPLEMENTS the internal drive. BIG difference. And there is a lot of software they've had to write to support swapping and other features. It certainly is not as simple as plugging in an EHD to a PC.