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I just got my "free HD upgrade" today. I was very disappointed that the replacement Rx has no off air antenna input as well as no RF output. I had a Hughes HD Rx which I was able to get my locals in HD via the off air antenna connection as well as feed two additional TV's via the RF output. The replacement model is an H23-600. This really stinks. Anyone know if any of the latest D*TV Rx's have an off air input and RF output? This may be the push I need to switch to Verizon. Thanks.

Afterburner666 said:

I just got my "free HD upgrade" today. I was very disappointed that the replacement Rx has no off air antenna input as well as no RF output. I had a Hughes HD Rx which I was able to get my locals in HD via the off air antenna connection as well as feed two additional TV's via the RF output. The replacement model is an H23-600. This really stinks. Anyone know if the latest D*TV Rx's have an off air input and RF output? This may be the push I need to switch to Verizon. Thanks.

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Only the H20, HR20 and HR21 with AM21 addon ATSC tuners can receive OTA channels. None of the HD receivers have RF outputs, if you need RF out you'll need to get an external RF modulator from RadioShack or elsewhere, they're around $20 to $30.

If DirecTV isn't providing you local HD channel you could try calling them and say you want a H20 receiver to replace your H23. Or go with the HD DVR upgrade and get the AM21 addon to get your OTA back. Just call, at the prompt say cancel which takes you to the retention department, tell them what you had and what you have now, which is a step back for your locals, and see what they can do for you.

rad said:

Only the H20, HR20 and HR21 with AM21 addon ATSC tuners can receive OTA channels. None of the HD receivers have RF outputs, if you need RF out you'll need to get an external RF modulator from RadioShack or elsewhere, they're around $20 to $30.

If DirecTV isn't providing you local HD channel you could try calling them and say you want a H20 receiver to replace your H23. Or go with the HD DVR upgrade and get the AM21 addon to get your OTA back. Just call, at the prompt say cancel which takes you to the retention department, tell them what you had and what you have now, which is a step back for your locals, and see what they can do for you.

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Thanks rad. I think I may have an RF modulator buried somewhere. I'm going to call them and see what they can do. I'm not sure but is the H20 the Rx that had a lot of problems?

Afterburner666 said:

Thanks rad. I think I may have an RF modulator buried somewhere. I'm going to call them and see what they can do. I'm not sure but is the H20 the Rx that had a lot of problems?

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I got a H20 as soon as they came out. I bricked the 1st one doing the CE downloads, the second one has worked fine. There is the issue with the HR20-600's running warmer then the -100's IIRC, just keep it in a ventilated area and it will be OK.

Good luck, past experience has show that the CSR's will make a lot of promises and they really can't follow through on them, it depends on what the installer has on his truck. I think the best thing you can do is push for the HR21/AM21 combination. Yea, it's the HD DVR so you then have the $5.99/month DVR fee but you gain the Video on Demand function along with Media Share, plus the DVR capabilities, IMHO worth the extra money.

Well I call Directv today and was on the phone for more than an hour. I spoke to at least four people. The first rep told me there's nothing they can do for me. I asked to speak to someone else. The second person told me that there is no way they can specify to the warehouse or installer to use a specific model Rx. I asked to speak to someone else. The third person was talking to tech support and was working on trying to get me the AM21 but telling me to hook the off air antenna directly to the tv. I told him my set was only HD ready and could not decode the HD signal.The last person i spoke to was in the technical department. She said the AM21 would not work with the H23 Rx I have. I questioned everyone I spoke to on why it is impossible to specify a Rx model to the warehouse/installer and they had no answer. After all this, I asked her when my locals in HD (Richmond VA) were scheduled and she tells me September 08. If I knew that I probably wouldn't have called in the first place but I'm glad I did as she gave me the HD access for one year for free and some other HD pakage that's 5.99 a month for six months for free. Unfortunately I'm not getting most of them as I have the oval dish and when the tech came to install the new Rx, I asked him about installing the new dish and he said he was on limited disability due to a back problem and was only doing Rx swaps. When the woman I was speaking to heard this she was pretty angry and I'm scheduled to get the new dish installed on 9/3.

Here is an email recently sent to DirecTV:

Dear Ellen Filipak,


This is an email I hope you will take very seriously as I feel
it will bring to light a problem I think your company needs to
take very seriously.

I have been a DirecTV subscriber for the past 10 years, slowly
adding new services to the point that the company considered
me a "Premier" subscriber (whatever that actually entails).

You would think as a long-time subscriber in excellent standing
that I would be treated in a respectful and appreciative manner
by the staff and their Supervisor who are employed within the
calling center. I must say, the more I researched the amount
of complaints that were reported across the Internet, the more
my eyes were opened concerning the type of company that I have
been dealing with all these years....but I am getting slightly
ahead of myself, so, allow me to start from the beginning...

Quite simply, I have had intentions of leaving DirecTV for
about a year now. I had a good 10 year run, but with your
escalating prices and a new kid in town by the name of
Verizon Fios, I decided it was time to give someone else
a try. Only thing holding me back was that Verizon Fios
was still negotiating to get MSNBC (which they finally rolled
out this month).

Over the past year I had been receiving mailings to my
home telling me that DirecTV was upgrading their equipment
and that unless I had my current MPEG-2 Tivo and dish
replaced I would lose channels. I hesitated to upgrade since
I did not want to get into a new 2-year commitment knowing
I was eventually going to Verizon. I threw all the upgrade
notices in the trash,

Then your mailings suddenly changed. As of October. You
were offering a FREE "HD SWAP" stating that it was absolutely
a necessity that I upgrade my equipment and that it would be
done for FREE with absolutely NO COMMITMENT. This was
confirmed by your phone rep when I signed up for the upgrade
and by the installer who came to my home. Both told me these
were necessary upgrades, I would lose channels without it, and
that there would be no commitment.

So, imagine my shock this morning when I called DirecTV and
tried to cancel my account and was told I would be slapped with
a $480 early termination fee. I argued my point to the phone
rep who knew nothing of the FREE HD SWAP offer.

Next, I was connected with a Supervisor by the name of Chris
who was the most inconsiderate SOB I have every had the
displeasure of speaking with. He was condescending, kept
cutting me off and was totally unsympathetic to my situation
to the point where I was yelling at him that his company was
a "bunch of F'ing liers." Let me make it clear that I never used
the actual expletitive other than the letter "F." I usually never
get to the breaking point with a customer rep that I feel I have
to say something like that, but Chris made it clear in his tone
and mannerisms that I was bothering him, I was wrong, and he
was not going to assist me.

The next thing I did was pick up the phone and called the office
of DirecTV CEO Carey Chase. It was there I spoke with the
first real humanistic person related to your company, a lovely
lady who took the time to listen without any argument. She admitted
that DirecTV did have a FREE HD SWAP with no commitment, but
that there is a widespread problem of accounts being tagged otherwise
as the DirecTV computers can't tell the difference between a
contract and non-contract account. By the end of the phone
call she made certain that I would not be charged a termination
fee.

I then started doing research across the Internet to see just
how many people out there were having the same problems
I was. Ellen, you should really do this kind of research. From
Tivo to DBS forums alike, there are a lot of angry people out there
who are accusing DirecTV of all kinds of deceptive practices
that could be considered criminal. You should see the amount of
complaints from people whom were led to believe they were being
upgraded without any contractual commitment and then told otherwise.

Here is one of several websites I found that you might want
to browse through:

Consumer complaints about DirecTV


Additionally, there seems to be a disturbing trend amongst the
reports concerning the attitudes of DirecTV customer support and
their Supervisors towards consumers with legitimate problems.
As one phone rep explained to me, "The Supervisors and phone
reps do not have the power to credit accounts." In fact, they
told me to write the Billing Dispute center and then wait up to
two weeks for a response. Is this how you convey satisfactory
service towards your consumers?

I have found Internet forums where Insiders who work for
the company are reporting that reps do their best not to mention
commitments of any kind to customers signing up for service. It
seems obvious that "commitment" is a taboo word to mention to
customers.

Based on my experiences today, I am confident there is a problem
with DirecTV. Phone reps and their Supervisors have no authority
to handle problems so they become argumentive and condescending
towards a customer who should be treated with much more respect.

As much as DirecTV has tried to "woo" me with offers to stay
with them instead of going to Verizon, I must say that I am a bit
shaken by my experiences today. I have never, ever, been
treated so disrespectfully by any company and I feel that Chris
the Supervisor owes me a phone call of apology.

Furthermore, I feel it is my duty to further educate other people
who may be leaning towards going to DirecTV and are not aware
of the deceptive practices that are going on.

I plan to post this letter on the Internet, as well as my own forum
which is one of the largest and most read Home Theater discussion groups. I
genuinely feel that DirecTV is in a nasty decline as far as the manner
in which they advertise to and treat their customers. I feel this is
information that needs to be put out there so that nobody has to be
treated as poorly as I was today.

Thank you for your time.

Well spoken/written! While I have not had the sour experiences to which you refer, the manner in which you expressed your grievances was superb. Of all the shortcomings in today's schools and home education, to me, the one thing that has been most overlooked or never even considered for teaching is how to express yourself with clarity and conviction without devolving into a shouting match. Yelling at people will rarely get the situation resolved in a timely and effective manner. However, being stern and upfront about what has you in a tizzy and making logical arguments and plausible requests should yield a better result.

Whenever I get caught up in a testy situation like this, I simply remember my favorite fortune cookie slip: It is easier to catch fly with honey than vinegar.

Be polite (yet firm), and you should expect the same in return. Be nasty and fly off the handle, and you can probably expect the same in return.

I do hope that you get your personal situation resolved, and I equally hope that DirecTV takes your comments to heart and make every possible effort to improve across the board.