Dvr Fees Going Up!

[TheRatPatrol]

Can someone explain to me why they even charge a DVR fee to begin with? What exactly is the DVR fee paying for? I mean there's no maintenance of the system, every things internal at each DVR box. If its for the program guide service, then why aren't we paying for a guide service fee with the none DVR units? Or is this just a way for them to gouge us in our wallets?

 

[Stargazer]

Right when I was thinking about doing away with AEP they pull this crap. Maybe I would be better off with a few 721's to replace my 522's since they do not have the DVR fee. I'd save $144 a year if I did that. $6x12 = 72 x 2 = $144.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I hate to say it, with 6 DVR's on my account with At180, its cheaper to get the everything pack!

I can see existing customers getting upset over this, but the problem is that around 80% of all the new customers who sign up are getting DVR's these days!

 

[Stargazer]

That extra buck adds up for chuck.

 

[Cyclone]

he he, you said "up chuck".

 

[Reefer123]

Funny how he is always fighting for the small guy when it comes to rate hikes from the raping channel companies. ohhhh wait I guess small guys can't afford DVRs.

 

[kb7oeb]

I think the DVR fee is absurd but if you have an HD pvr they really stick it to you. Not only do they charge you the because we can DVR fee but if you have an HD unit you now have to buy the local channel package just for guide data for your hd locals. Thats nearly $12 in fees just to make the unit work.

 

[Stargazer]

Don't forget the HD package fee that is required to get the unit active.

 

[Purogamer]

He's saving us money on programming by not giving it to us, bends us over with price increases despite the lost programming, and now refuses the reach-around by taking fees up on the hardware you need to watch the programming he doesn't give us...amazing...

I would understand if fees for the next gen DVR's were higher...Bigger Hard drives, New Technology, etc...I get it...But what I don't get is charging more money when no additions have been made to any of these boxes recently. NBR was never delivered as promised, the boxes haven't become more stable, etc...

What possible justification could there be for this increase on things we already have and haven't seen upgrades on?

 

[catnap1972]

He's saving us money on programming by not giving it to us, bends us over with price increases despite the lost programming, and now refuses the reach-around by taking fees up on the hardware you need to watch the programming he doesn't give us...amazing...

I would understand if fees for the next gen DVR's were higher...Bigger Hard drives, New Technology, etc...I get it...But what I don't get is charging more money when no additions have been made to any of these boxes recently. NBR was never delivered as promised, the boxes haven't become more stable, etc...

What possible justification could there be for this increase on things we already have and haven't seen upgrades on?

"Because we can" ?

Same arguments I was thinking of--unless they're also paying health insurance for the receiver (they sure as heck ain't feeding it--ie electricity), I don't see the justification either.

 

[David Dietzel]

In my 'hood, even with the increase in Dish's total fees, Echostar is still more cost effective than the equivalent service from my cable franchisee. And, even with the new Voom HD-lite (which I understand is only temporary until MPEG4 ramps up) the picture quality on Dish is superior to my cable provider (Charter in my area significantly compresses the signal).

And, I don't have line of sight for OTA reception.

I'm I disappointed in the Dish fee increases? Sure.

But my local alternatives are worse.

I'll stick it out with crazy lying Charlie and ride out 2006 before I make any rash decisions like switching to that DirectTV thing owned by that ultra right wing wingnut fellow.

 

[waltinvt]

Through all of this commotion, nobody has mentioned wether the 501/508 units will still continue to be free. Scott, whats your sense of this?

Free - yes but it's a moot point since they'll probably do a software upgrade that will make the units so frustrating to use, you won't want them anyway . I laugh but it's definitly something to think about, especially if you've been a "E" sub long enough to remember the 4000s, the 7200s and more recently the 811s, 921s,.......

 

[navychop]

The lady I work with just showed me her Comcast bill for basic service only and one STB. Just shy of $54. I pay $5 more to get 180 channels and have 3 receivers, including 2 DVRs.

DISH is priced very reasonably, thank you. As long as the alternatives available to me are more expensive, it's hard to complain. And if you think there's a better deal for you elsewhere, just go elsewhere.

 

[caesar gdi]

what about the 510... I have to pay this stupid fee and I don't even have NBR!

 

[Stargazer]

Dish Network decided to raise the DVR Fee because DirecTv and most cable companies are charging at least $5.99 so they figure that they might as well charge that amount too.

That Dish bill is going to be $4 higher ($2 price increase on AT180 and $2 price increase - $1 for each DVR) so $5+4= $9 more as of February 2006 than Comcast. AT180 itself is $53 before tax with locals so I do not see how you are getting two additional receivers and two DVR fees for only $5 more unless you have the DVR's that do not have the DVR fee (501, 508, 721). The DVR fees alone right now would result in $10 and $5 for each additional outlet fee that applies. Now perhaps if you had AT60 with DVR fees that would be an accurate price.

AT60 w/locals $32 + DVR Fee $5x2=$10 + Additional Outlet fee $5x2=$10 That is a total of $52 + tax and will go up to $57 + tax next month ($45 without DVR fees)

AT120 w/locals $43 + DVR Fee $5x2=$10 + Additional Outlet fee $5x2=$10 That is a total of $63 + tax and will go up to $67 + tax next month ($55 without DVR fees)

AT180 w/locals $53 + DVR Fee $5x2-$10 + Additional Outlet fee $5x2=$10 That is a total of $73 + tax and will go up to $77 + tax next month ($65 without DVR fees)

This goes to show how all of these additional fees add up. You can easily pay $10-20 more in fees in addition to the programming. This is money that never ever has to be paid to the tv stations as they get to keep it themselves. For each additional DVR you add to your account they are getting $12-17 extra (depending on if it is a dual tuner hooked up to a phone line or not).

 

[griz_fan]

I just wish Dish would be more up front about their fees. It is really dificult to assess the actual price of their service. For example, Stargazer (someone with nearly 6,000 posts, I'm sure he knows exactly what he's talking about) showed this break down:

AT60 w/locals $32 + DVR Fee $5x2=$10 + Additional Outlet fee $5x2=$10 That is a total of $52 + tax and will go up to $57 + tax next month ($45 without DVR fees)

I login to my account online to see what I'm paying for my AT60 w/locals, my 522 and my 510 and here's what I get:

AT60 w/locals $32 + DVR Fee $5x2=$10 + Additional Outlet fee $5x1=$5 That is a total of $47

So, now I'm wondering if I should be paying an extra $5.00/mo and have just been lucky to dodge that fee.

When there is this much confusion over pricing, it has to be tough to attract new customers and keep existing ones. Compared to my local cable company (CableOne of SW Idaho), Dish is still roughly $20/month less for similar service, so I should be happy to be getting a good deal. But, because they do such a poor job of communicating with their customers, this isn't the case.

I think the biggest problem Dish has isn't so much the rates they charge, but the horrible job they do keeping customers informed. Dish should simplify their fee structure, and be more up front with their customers regarding what they charge and what services they offer. Instead, they fumble, bumble and mumble their way through. What are Dish's plans for hardware in the coming year? Programming? who knows, all we have is broken promises (NBR on 5xx boxes anyone), rumors and speculation. Not knowing what services I'll get in the coming year makes it a lot more dificult to swallow these rate increases...

 

[Chris Walker]

Glad I have 3 508s and not the 510s

 

[jbcheshire]

I think the pricing is different based on how long you have been with them too.. here is what I have on my bill with a 301, 501, and 508 (all leased):

DIGITAL HOME PLAN WITH AT180, 2 RCVRS, LOCALS = 62.99
LEASED RECEIVER FEE = 5.00
STATE/LOCAL TAX (SALES/GROSS RECEIPTS) = 1.12
TOTAL = 69.11

 

[Roger]

A DVR increase is also a programming increase IMO and you don't cut off service (Lifetime) to customers without a fair warning. If I was watching a channel and it went off without notice then I'd be pissed. Lifetime sucks but what happens when it happens to your channel? I don't want to play any of Charlie's game and I want all the channels I want like OLN so I'm going with DTV. I have to put up a 2nd dish for locals but I will get a couple more channels and I know I'll get OLN and continue to do so when with E* you'll never know when the channels will come and go.

Let’s look at a couple E* scams that I can remember.

Encore theme channels: This was on E* with the Starz package and E* tried (and did) to take them away when they started the Top whatever package so I had to call and bitch to get them back because this is what I ordered and now they wanted me to upgrade to another package.

Speed, Outdoor, and Outdoor Life: This was a package of three channels that I ordered that were taken away a few days or weeks after I ordered it.

Superstation Scam: They used to part of a regular package and then went to a la carte package after adding KWGN and I think one other. I prepaid for a year so I had to fight to keep my programming for a year. Then when it came to the yearly renew they tried to charge me every one la carte instead of the Superstation Pak.

Then they took away Viacom packages at one time and what have you.

It’s getting old and you guys need to wake up to this charade of caring about you when he cares about himself with the penny pitching. Service doesn’t come to mind when he won’t offer Yes to his customers and look how long it took them to get FSN-West 2.Sorry, Charlie, I’m not playing your games so take your games, your programming fee increase, possible DVR increase and stick them up your rear-end. I’ll take OLN and the rest of the channels DTV has to offer and not worry which one will be your next penny pitching target.

 

[navychop]

If you think it's hard to figure out E* fees, try going to the D* site and try to figure out what locals cost- without actually ordering the service.

I have no DVR fees, as I have a 721, 508 & 301. And pay much less than the equivalent cable rates.

Do you really want to keep all those channels, and pay whatever those channels demand? Guess what would happen to your bill then!