Free Upgrade to MPEG-4??

[wolfman]

I called D* today and according to a supervisor I spoke to it's $99 for the 5LNB dish and H-20 receiver plus they want your old HD unit. He offered it for $49, but I didn't want to give up my Sony HD-200. Another thing he told me is can only get one upgrade and since I have an HR-10 250 I want to use it for that when it becomes available. Does anyone have any different information. It seems like D* is not living up to what they said about FREE UPGRADE

 

[LonghornXP]

I called D* today and according to a supervisor I spoke to it's $99 for the 5LNB dish and H-20 receiver plus they want your old HD unit. He offered it for $49, but I didn't want to give up my Sony HD-200. Another thing he told me is can only get one upgrade and since I have an HR-10 250 I want to use it for that when it becomes available. Does anyone have any different information. It seems like D* is not living up to what they said about FREE UPGRADE

If you call them you will pay full price period. As has been said you must wait to be contacted by DirecTV via phone or mail. You will be contacted at some point in which you can get your free upgrade. Or if you don't mind waiting until after the first of the year it seems that DirecTV will have their new HD DVR available and they can rent/lease it too you with no upfront costs. They can send a tech out to install the new dish free of charge with a two year agreement. That shouldn't be a big deal because getting the new box via free upgrade and/or rental will also require a two year agreement. You will have options but for now you must wait for DirecTV to tell you when you can upgrade for free.

 

[wolfman]

LonghornXP-- Thanks for the reply. Just got off the phone with D* and they waived all the charges for the upgrade-- finally got to the right department. And she said they will upgrade my HR10-250 when the new MPEG-4 box is available.

 

[hdtvtechno]

LonghornXP-- Thanks for the reply. Just got off the phone with D* and they waived all the charges for the upgrade-- finally got to the right department. And she said they will upgrade my HR10-250 when the new MPEG-4 box is available.

Which department did you speak with ?
details please details

 

[wolfman]

hdtvtechno- Did you receive the card with a special phone # on it. If not the # is 1-800-353-4388. It gets you thru fast. I believe she called it CSD dept.(customer satisfaction dept possibly.) If you choose new equipment orders and tell them on Sept. 6 D* in a press conference D*announced current HD subs would be upgraded for free. When I first called tonite they gave me a $50 credit toward the $99 charge also waived 14.95 S&H. After reading LonghornXP's reply I immediately called them back. That's when I finally found a CSR that remembered D*'s offer of a free upgrade. She credited my account another $50. I'm getting the H-20 from Robert at Value Electronics with the $200 rebate and 5 yr extended warranty Included in the $199.99 price. All I can say is you have to keep calling until you get the right CSR. I had to call about 6 times to get the right one. If your a good customer and persistent you should be able to get it for no charge. GOOD LUCK. Let me know how you make out.

 

[LonghornXP]

hdtvtechno- Did you receive the card with a special phone # on it. If not the # is 1-800-353-4388. It gets you thru fast. I believe she called it CSD dept.(customer satisfaction dept possibly.) If you choose new equipment orders and tell them on Sept. 6 D* in a press conference D*announced current HD subs would be upgraded for free. When I first called tonite they gave me a $50 credit toward the $99 charge also waived 14.95 S&H. After reading LonghornXP's reply I immediately called them back. That's when I finally found a CSR that remembered D*'s offer of a free upgrade. She credited my account another $50. I'm getting the H-20 from Robert at Value Electronics with the $200 rebate and 5 yr extended warranty Included in the $199.99 price. All I can say is you have to keep calling until you get the right CSR. I had to call about 6 times to get the right one. If your a good customer and persistent you should be able to get it for no charge. GOOD LUCK. Let me know how you make out.

Pushing the CSRs until you get the right one is another good way to get what you want. Just remember if they want you to pay something you must try and get another CSR or just wait until your contacted. If you can't wait for it I suggest doing as you just did by calling.

 

[LonghornXP]

Humm, above your speaking about CRG and that number listed has expired. As for you wolfman. i would call back and get them to note your account, our policys state one free upgrade. Working in this department i know not all csrs are clear, but you will NOT be eliable for a swap on your hd-dvr later. So again get them to note your account right away. or else you'll be at a huge loss.

Good point. DirecTV will upgrade for free upto 5 HD boxes but they will not upgrade your HD box for the MPEG4 HD box and two months later upgrade your new MPEG4 HD box to the HD DVR MPEG4 box. Now if the customer had both an HD box and an HD Tivo he would have no problems getting a free dish and HD box upgrade now. Because he still is keeping his HD Tivo he can get that upgraded for free when the new MPEG4 HD DVR comes out sometime in January.

 

[wolfman]

Thanks for the info, D* is not upgrading my HD box just the dish. At the present time I have a Sony HD-200 and HR10-250. Since I want to keep the Sony I'm getting the H-20 from Value Electronics, so I'm not upgrading my receiver thru D*. Therefore this should not be considered an upgrade. I called D* to make a note on my account but they are upgrading there system at the present time and are suppose to call me back. I'll make sure they note it though.

 

[wolfman]

Just to update guys I called D* and cancelled at this point and am going to wait until they contact me or at least until the new HD DVR is available. Again Thanks for the info. To much confusion at D* to take a chance on what they say and losing out on an upgrade for the DVR.

 

[mikedz4]

why not get the upgrade now and then just lease the hd dvr or home media center when they come out? If I lived in an area where I could get hd locals I'd do it but I can't even get squat over the air with an antenna that directv gave me. Hopefully by the time Pittsburgh HDTV locals are launched I will qualify for Significantly Viewed locals so I can get them through pittsburgh or maybe they will launch the sd/hd locals in wheeling/steubenville at the same time.

 

[wolfman]

mikedz4-- There is a reason I decided to do it this way. I have a Winegard OTA antenna with which I can receive local Chicago HD channels with no problem. Basically the upgrade for me is not as critical as it is for you. If you are within a reasonable distance from your local station towers a better outdoor antenna may be the answer. Check out www.winegard.com As for renting or leasing I would rather own it which I believe will be more cost efficient in the long run. From what I've been reading in these forums the antenna D* installs is crap. Good Luck

 

[paulyme]

Good point. DirecTV will upgrade for free upto 5 HD boxes but they will not upgrade your HD box for the MPEG4 HD box and two months later upgrade your new MPEG4 HD box to the HD DVR MPEG4 box. Now if the customer had both an HD box and an HD Tivo he would have no problems getting a free dish and HD box upgrade now. Because he still is keeping his HD Tivo he can get that upgraded for free when the new MPEG4 HD DVR comes out sometime in January.

Let me see if I understand. I am ok with waiting to get a call or mail from D* for upgrades. I live in the Philly market and just got lit this week.

Currently have 3 lnb dish, 1 old hughes hd receiver, 1 tivo, and 2 standard receivers.
What will I be upgraded to for free?

I want 1 5 LNB DISH, 1 H20 DIRECTV MPEG-2/4 HD Receiver, 1 directv dvr , and 2 standard receivers that will enable use of the mix and active channels.

Is this what I can expect for free or do I need to purchase anything additional.

Please inform me I am a little confused

 

[LonghornXP]

Let me see if I understand. I am ok with waiting to get a call or mail from D* for upgrades. I live in the Philly market and just got lit this week.

Currently have 3 lnb dish, 1 old hughes hd receiver, 1 tivo, and 2 standard receivers.
What will I be upgraded to for free?

I want 1 5 LNB DISH, 1 H20 DIRECTV MPEG-2/4 HD Receiver, 1 directv dvr , and 2 standard receivers that will enable use of the mix and active channels.

Is this what I can expect for free or do I need to purchase anything additional.

Please inform me I am a little confused

First you will have to wait for the H20 HD DVR to come out in January at which time you can pay the difference in cost between upgrading your old HD box with the new HD box. To put this simple right now DirecTV offers customers with an HD box to upgrade to the MPEG4 HD box for free and the retail cost of that box for an existing customer to buy it is 199.99. Now if the HD DVR (H20) comes out next month and existing customers can buy it upfront for 399.99 for example you would be given the option to trade-in your old Hughes HD box and pay the difference between the two.

400.00 - Retail cost of HD DVR (H20).
-200.00 - Trade-in value which is cost of new MPEG4 HD box retail.
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200.00 = The difference which is what you will pay upfront and final.

Now I see no reason why you couldn't call DirecTV to see if they can replace free of cost or very low cost your SD Tivo for the new DirecTV DVR Plus box.

Also I also see no reason why DirecTV couldn't also give you for free or very low cost two new standard receivers that support interactive TV services so they work with the mix channels.

Your dish will be replaced free of charge. Also keep in mind that all of this will require a new two year agreement. Also just so you know the upcoming HD DVR (H20) and the DirecTV DVR Plus boxes fully support the new interactive features such as the mix channels.

 

[Digital Dude]

Do they take the boxes you paid for up to 4 years ago when they upgrade? The new HD boxes don't have the output I need for my projector.

 

[wolfman]

That's what D* is telling me. That's why I'm getting the H-20 with the rebate, so basically it comes out to a free receiver and you don't have to give up yours.

 

[maogdamian]

Upgrade is $99 and they will take all old equiptment and swap it for free.

 

[LonghornXP]

Do they take the boxes you paid for up to 4 years ago when they upgrade? The new HD boxes don't have the output I need for my projector.

I know this doesn't help you but so far they haven't taken the boxes with them but they can take them if they want. Again I know this doesn't help you but nothing on that side can be promised for you. You could at least call D* and tell them that you will switch providers if they cannot promise you that you can keep the box you paid for. See what they say because I don't think they would have any problems at all allowing this request considering how many customers they have lost so far.

 

[aeneas3]

i am still trying to decide what to do. just saw that crutchfield and circuit city are offering the h10 for free after rebate with a 2 yr agreement. is d* offering the same thing?
it looks like they are offering the hd receiver and the dish for $49 after rebate. i am not sure if i need the dish. i will need the upgraded dish when mpg4 gets rolled out.
i am tempted to go for the $99 for the over air antenna, hd reveiver and the new dish but i wonder if i need the new dish. is that the new mpeg4 dish that they will swap out for free anyway?
i will likely call this week. if i can get this i will go for it:
-hd receiver
-over the air antenna
-new dish
-some discount programming, like $5 off hd programming for 6 months and free starz or something
-free install.
we have a 1 yr agreement ending in may so that might not help.

 

[aeneas3]

also, is VE able to offer programming discounts or only d* can do that?

 

[maogdamian]

Yes all cust are eligable for an hd ird rebate. You pay $199 and get a $200 mail in rebate.