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Let me jump in here and note that a lot of what I hear about Pegasus is simply wrong.

I originally activated my DTV service with Pegasus. The customer support has been excellent, and I have had no issues with them. There is no problem with buying and activating new equipment. Pegasus does not "own" your equipment. I bought two RCA DTC100's and one bottom-line RCA receiver, activated them with no problems.

I do think there are some issues with DirecTivo's, but I don't have one. There may also be differences in new subscriber packages - again, I don't know because I bought and put in my own equipment 3 years ago before signing up and at that time the new-subscriber deals were not as good (e.g., no "free" equipment at that time).

As for charges, yes, Pegasus upcharges the Total Choice programming. But they charge only $2 per extra receiver, so if you have a two-receiver setup, the price for Pegasus service is the same as DTV. And if you have 3 receivers, Pegasus is actually cheaper.

On the other hand, Pegasus does not have a web-based way of managing your account, which is a downside.

Like I said, there may be issues with DirecTivo service, but with respect to the other stuff, Pegasus has been perfectly fine. I lot of what I read on these boards about the company has reached "urban legend" status - rumors that have been spread around so much people now think it is fact.

John C.

I'm in a rural area, I think, Leavenworth County KS. Still never heard of Pegasus.

You guys are saying D* won't activate service in rural areas unless you go through Pegasus, right?

I'd be with E* if that was the case. Too many choices to have to fool with an intermediate anymore.

Just my thoughts............

"D* has an agreement for Pegasus to sell its service in rural areas. Why would D* have such an agreement? Your guess is as good as mine."

M Law:

Back when DirecTV was a gleam in the eye of General Motors, no one knew that DTH (Direct to home) Satellite Service would be as popular as it has become.

The NRTC (National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative) put in seed money with GM, with the understanding that they had exclusive rights to resell DirecTV services in certain designated areas of the country.

Pegasus has over time, purchased the rights from individual cooperatives, and therefore, have the right to resell DirecTV in those areas. Pegasus does not cover all NRTC areas. There are still areas of the country where you have to purchase your DirecTV service from the local phone company, etc..., as they are the NRTC provider for the area. If you notice on DirecTV disclosures, they do not mention Pegasus, they mention NRTC.

Alan

Pegasus is the reason I switched to Dish. They automatically add $3.00 to the DirecTV packages and added an additional $1.50 charge about a year ago. They do not offer anything additional, they just take the money. They do control what equipment you can purchase.

I was a Pegasus customer from the beginning (over 8 years) with one 18" dish and one 1st generation receiver. I wanted to add a receiver to my new HT room in the basement. I was purchasing a $130 receiver online from American Satellite. Once I told them I was a Pegasus member, they told me I could not buy that receiver. I had to purchase a particular brand/model that was about $400.00. That's when I decided to go to Dish. Pegasus is a bad deal, but DirecTV is to blame, also.

I have more programming, two receivers and cheaper than DirecTV/Pegasus.

Later,

Lamer

While it is true that E* is undergoing some rough times in their upper management right now. They have had it rough with some bad decisions and deals gone south over the past 18 months. DirecTV on the other hand is just coming out of a slump as a result of not knowing who was going to own them. We are seeing a shift now as a result of this upper management change.
In all the problems over the past 18 months with both E* and D*, look at the growth records. E* nearly doubled in size while D* gained about 20% in subscribers. Today, E* is just a couple of million subs less than D* and catching up fast. Additionally, E* has maintained an excellent cash cow compared to D* which was strapped being owned by a car manufacturer. In all this, the past 8 months have shown that D* is, once again gaining momentum in its technology and programming. While E* maintained the lead significantly over D* in HDTV, today D* has taken over. D* came lately in the HDTV PVR technology but while E* is struggling to get a bug free 921 in the hands of the first thousand customers, D* claims to be read to flood the store shelves with the HDTIVO, bug free on March 31st. While it took 2.5 years for D* to add Showtime HD, E* had it on day one but now, D* seems to be far more aggressive in acquiring new HD channels, to include more HDPPV titles, NFL ST in HD, and their last channel that E* has had over them is now firmly in the grasps of D*... CBS-HD national feed. Meanwhile, E* is struggling with contract negotiations to maintain contracts with CBS/Viacom.

So, with that said, I believe that DirecTV will be the front runner for services and equipment over the next year but, given the Pegasus wildcard, you better clear the air on what restrictions and additional costs that Peg. will tack on. It may not be worth it. You'll be dealing with an absentee landlord who takes and offers nothing to you in return. Personally, I would not get into any deal with Pegasus. I have just heard too many horror stories.

The good news in all this turmoil, is that E* is down now and they only have one way to go and that is up. Either they will do this ot the company will be history, either bought out or suffer a mass exodus of subscribers just as they are approaching matching D*. HDTV slacking off is one thing but the Viacom deal gone down the tubes, a failed Superdish launch last year and the new receivers market launch, 811 and 921 as well as their 522's failure to meet demand and launch with too many bugs, these issues are affecting all their customer base. Finally, E* is using a "Don't feed the PIG" ad campaign against rate hikes on Cable at the same time they are raising their own rates. How duplicitous is this? One hand doesn't know what the other is doing. That's just why I say they only have to get better as I doubt things could get much worse, save for all their staff walking out the door for the competition!