D* to E*... and back to D*, need advice on getting the most from D*

[BNDAZ]

I have had D* for about 5 years, after falling for the hype i ordered E* yesterday. I have not yet canceled my D* account, my hdvr2 still sets in the rack hooked up to play some recordings.

Yesterday E* shows up and install new dish and VIP722, took a while to get everything aligned as it should...long story short, 6 or 7 hours of messing with the 722...HATE it and the lack of intuitiveness.

I have until Tuesday( 72 hour cancellation policy) to cancel E* with no penalty according the the CSR.

SO my question is this...
D* still thinks i am their customer, i am, but i have no contract.
What can i do to get the best "upgrade" from D* without extending my contract?
We want HD. I would prefer a black unit( if possible).

 

[DodgerKing]

Any upgrade will require a new contract. But, it doesn't hurt to try to see what you can get. Tell them your situation. Tell them that you now have both and would like to cancel if they don't get you what you want. You may also want to try to call several times until you get a rep that is willing to negotiate.

 

[lern4483]

Hey There BNDAZ,

I have both dish and Direc. Why do you dislike the 722? I have the 622 and its the
reason I have not left dish.
Maybe give it a day or two to see if you like it. I have found the dish recievers are much
more stable than direcs. Built better. Easier, faster to record. Also scrolling through the menu
much faster.

However, I do understand that everyone likes what they like. I would simply call direc and threaten them with leaving and going to dish. That always works with direc. They will bend over backwards to keep you happy.

They do have the best customer service (direc) in my opinnion. They will work with you.
Make sure you get a manager not a csr.

Good luck,
Joel

 

[jcrandall]

DirecTV will upgrade you to the HR21, a BLACK HD-DVR. The regular price is $199, including install and a dish upgrade to receive the 92 HD channels.

They may do less than $199 given your history, you have to call and ask.

 

[richiephx]

Yesterday E* shows up and install new dish and VIP722, took a while to get everything aligned as it should...long story short, 6 or 7 hours of messing with the 722...HATE it and the lack of intuitiveness.

Intuitiveness has nothing to do with the 722. Now that you have it you can play with it and form your own opinion instead of basing your opinion on your intuitiveness or what others have said about it. You might just surprise yourself.

 

[BNDAZ]

I just got back from a buddys house who has an hr21.
Took me about 30 seconds to understand and manipulate the entire menu system and add a program to his recorder.
Thats what i mean by intuitive, the menus were very easy to follow and accomplished what i wanted to do.

A perfect example of what i did not like about the dish system was this...
i wanted to set a weekly recording for a show called "hells kitchen"
I typed it in, it searched and it came up with nothing.
I found out later that it didn't not find anything scheduled because i had typed the name with the apostrophe in "hell's kitchen...that is counter intuitive...you have to type it exactly as it is in the guide or it shows nothing.

Additionally, when i typed in "survivor" the search returned showing just a list of times that a show with survivor was listed in the title, i then had to go through each time slot and read what show it was, the day/time it aired.
With D* i typed in survivor and it gave me a list of SHOWS to choose from.
Click click , done.
MUCH easier to manipulate.

I came home called D* and ended up with the total choice + full HD programming for a year at 60.98 with HBO and Showtime free and the standard 99 dollar Hr21 or HR 20( what ever they send me)
In the end i end up with paying 84 a year for the package which is only 5 bucks more than i pay now.
I am satisfied.
I call E* tomorrow to cancel on Tuesday within my 72 hour grace period.

 

[BNDAZ]

So far so good...I have the Hr21-200 set-up an running, all passes were simple to set-up and it took me about 15 minutes.
MUCH better for our needs.

Interesting fact, the D* guys asked if dish had been in the attic...something was blocking a signal..found an old 4x3 direct splitter inline, was surprised dish didn't take it out...funny thing is, i TOLD the dish installers that i thought there was a splitter up there, they insisted there wasn't because their unit would not work if there was, they may have screwed themselves if in fact that had anything to do with the experience i was having with the unit.

Dish did give me hard time even though they acknowledged the the grace period was notated on the account they still tried to tell me there was no such policy. After i informed them that i had also recorded this and previous conversations wherein the CSR did in fact confirm the grace period the CSR got off the line , came back a few minutes later and said the service would be canceled without cost. The TV immediately when to an error screen.

In actuality my monthly rate came down by 9.98 than what is quoted above as i deactivated two other old tuners.

So ended up with a new Hr21, free Hbo and showtime $10 off for a year..$51 a month right now.
At the end of the year assuming i keep HBO i will be back to 75 a month, exactly what i was paying prior(except for ! receiver which we didn't use anyway) with better programming and a new piece of hardware.

 

[Tyralak]

So far so good...I have the Hr21-200 set-up an running, all passes were simple to set-up and it took me about 15 minutes.
MUCH better out needs.
Interesrting fact, the D* guys asked if dish had been in the attic...something was blocking a signal..found d old 4x3 direct splitter inline, was surprised dish didn't take it out...funny thing is, i TOLD the dish installers that i thought there was a splitter up there, they insisted there wasn't because their unit would not work if there was.

They're right. If it was a SPLITTER, Dish won't work. What you had up there, was in fact a MULTISWITCH. Still surprised the DP signal passed through it without issue, as they are based on different technologies. I reckon it wouldn't have worked for too long in any event. Had you kept Dish, you likely would have had to schedule a trouble call in the not too distant future.

 

[dcowboy7]

I would prefer a black unit( if possible).

once you go black youll never go back.

 

[BNDAZ]

once you go black youll never go back.

it looks Soooo much better than the silver boxes.