First off, after reading the 1st two parts, I thought you were getting a BABY, with "the pending arrival and 9 months left !!!
Nice choise on your TV
Ok, come off the roof....
How long have you been with D* ?
Call them back and talk with whoever, explain to them that you would like to upgrade your equipment to the newer mpeg4, if thats the way you want to go.
Some are getting the HR20-700 for $200, I consider that a very fair price, (although it is a lease). If you get it for less, great, but don't expect it... lots of times they will offer you so many months with like a $10 credit monthly.
D* has decided to charge the upfront cost, there's no way around it, they have invested a lot of money into these units, (if you bought it out right it would be around $ 700) I personally have done that already and was not ready to spend that much for a receiver again., I would imagine that D* is also taking money from these upfront cost and using it to pay some of the cost of the Sat's, at least I would.
I don't like the pricing D* is using either, but that said, it only cost $ 5 to lease, my local cable co. charges $ 18 p/m addl. for the use of the HD DVR., also, if you have trouble and it needs to be replaced for some reason, with the lease there is no charge.
Jimbo