HD DVR Price Drop?

[DirectMan]

In the Wachovia Conference Call referenced by ScoBuck the D* CFO mentioned that they expect their costs for the HD DVR to drop from "north of $400" in the middle of this year to $300 by the end of this year. That could translate into a drop of perhaps $100 on the list price to lease the unit from say $300 to $199, or at Costco from $269 to $169.

We might also see greater promotional activity such as a $150 rebate, but I think that D* would want to be able to drop the initial hit to subs on the machine because with VOD coming next year they want to have more of the machines in subs homes.

 

[rad]

Or D* will just decide to pocket the $'s from the savings to increase their profit and make their stock holders happy, and make up for all those HR20's that they're giving away.

 

[ShadowEKU]

Ide say theyll pocket the money, especially since I got 2 of them for free

1 i got for free as a Protection Plan switch for my HR10-250, and the other I got for "shipping" which came with new dish and switch.

 

[LonghornXP]

I believe at some point DirecTV must start offering the HD DVR boxes for free or very low cost and I'm talking more like 50 bucks a box max. Right now with cable triple play packages DirecTV is hurting. Yes they are fine right now because if things continue for the next few years it will add up. If DirecTV still charges 200-300 upfront per HD DVR to new customers they better pray that the two biggest cable companies and Dish Network don't try and compete on HD. Also as long as cable companies add the bigger HD channels (ie SciFi HD, USA Network HD, TBS HD etc) it will be very hard to sway customers to switch from a bundle with that kind of upfront cost.

Sorry but most customers won't switch to DirecTV because they have CNN HD and the Weather Channel HD when their cable company doesn't. I'm sorry to say that some customers will want those channels but most if not nearly all customers just won't care about them to make the switch and pay upfront money and maybe even a higher overall bill. Now if their cable company didn't carry SciFI HD, USA Network HD, TBS HD, Disney HD, ABC Family HD, HBO's, Starz etc than everything I said above is out the window and many customers might see that as being worth the investment.

I'll be honest and say that I'm looking at DirecTV right now and the "only" thing holding me back is the cost of the HD DVR. I have good hope that Comcast will add most of the big name HD channels within a very decent amount of time that I cannot justify paying the upfront cost nor the extra 15 bucks it will cost me per month for the switch for a few extra months.

Now if DirecTV were smart when football season gets closer and they do their promo deals they should offer the first HD DVR for free and upto a second and third HD DVR for 50 bucks each. They should just take the hit to gain that customers because I'm the customer they want and I know I'm not alone on this feeling.

My issue is that if I switch to DirecTV I must cancel my bundle with Comcast at which point my internet and phone services instantly go up almost double the price. Also I cannot get DSL nor FIOS so I have no choice on that matter. Now maybe I could get a double play bundle but when I price services and make a switch I think overall short and long term price and that means I look at non promo prices.

In my case my internet jumps to 42.95 per month plus 3.00/month modem rental.
My phone service jumps to 44.95/month. So my total Comcast bill with taxes post switch would be about 95.00/month.

My DirecTV bill will be as follows to keep the same services I had with Comcast and I do want these services.

100.00/month for Total Choice Premier with Locals.
10.00/month for HD access fee.
10.00/month for lease fee of two extra rooms.
6.00/month for Protection Plan.
6.00/month in total taxes.

So that comes to a total of 132.00/month and I'll round down to 130.00/month.

So my total costs now will be 225.00/month for both DirecTV and Comcast at normal prices post promo.

I'm currently in a Comcast Triple Play Premier Bundle with no price increase for two years without a penalty to cancel and yes I have this in writing.

This bundle includes all three services with all premium channels and all the fees waived for "one" HD DVR for 160.00/month.

160.00/month for Triple Play Premier bundle.
17.00/month for second HD DVR box.
17.00/month for third HD DVR box.
3.00/month modem lease fee.
8.00/month in total taxes.

So I pay currently a total of 205.00/month for all my current services.

Again I'm aware of just how long this post is but I'm just trying to show just how hard it will be for DirecTV to compete if they don't start doing something about that HD DVR charge.

So in my case to switch it would cost me an extra 800 bucks upfront for my three HD DVR boxes and yes I've called and called and they refuse to lower the price and they will only give me the HD access and 10 bucks a month off for 12 months to offset the cost of the HD DVRs.

So I'll take 240 bucks off that 800 upfront and I'll now consider the boxes a net cost of 560 bucks. I'll assume that for the first at least six months but no more than one year my monthly price will be the same via a DirecTV new customer promo deal. So I'll consider a 15 bucks a month price difference for one full year which gives DirecTV the benefit of the doubt too.

So besides the 560 bucks net upfront cost my bill will also cost me an extra 180 bucks the second year so I'm now 740 bucks in the hole making that switch compared to staying where I'm at for those two years.

Sorry DirecTV but its worth the risk waiting an entire year for Comcast to add many of those HD channels but if they don't add them in a year maybe DirecTV will have greatly reduced the upfront cost of their HD DVR boxes by that time.

Again sorry for the long post but the future is HDTV and people cannot justify that kind of money when they don't feel it will pay off in the long run. But I will say that if I can get all three HD DVR boxes for no more than 100 bucks "total" I would switch in a second. Very little upfront cost plus access to NFL Sunday Ticket is well worth an extra 15 bucks a month without even having to think. Because I must enter into a two year agreement I consider the pricing as follows below.

100/month Total Choice Premier.
10/month HD access.
10/month lease fee for two extra rooms.
6/month Protection Plan.
4/month upfront box fee spread over 24 months.
6/month in total taxes.

146.00/month total for 24 months for DirecTV and 95.00/month total for 24 months for Comcast Internet and Phone services.

So that total is 241.00/month total for 24 months. I'm currently paying 205/month so in my case I consider that I'm paying an extra 36 bucks a month and honest to get all the HD channels right away plus Sunday Ticket with free Superfan I won't think twice paying that extra money.

Again sorry for the long post but the key point is that even with no upfront costs most people will still be paying quite a bit more and the question will always be how much are those new additional HD channels worth to each customer. Sorry to say I believe DirecTV will be shocked to find the true answer to this question because they won't like it at all.

 

[bonscott87]

If you're paying $299 now for the HR20 you are paying too much. You can *easily* get it for $199 or down to free if you negotiate from DirecTV. Only reason to pay $299 is if you want to get it from someplace other then DirecTV.

 

[Brewer4]

I got an HR20-100 new on ebay for 199. I didnt want to go through Directv for the second one. So you can find deals out there for new ones if you dont want to deal with them.

 

[LonghornXP]

First like many of you have said you can find the HD DVR for 199 so even if I took the one HD DVR offer for 200 bucks from DirecTV and got two more from say ebay for 200 bucks each it will still cost me 600 bucks. Also so many of you talk about getting credits from DirecTV and all that but while I was a customer for almost three years they never gave me a break on hardware not even once. They never gave me a break on even one HD Tivo box and they didn't waive NFL SuperFan like so many others have said and worse they just let me cancel everything without even trying to keep me. I talked to 29 and yes I said 29 different CSR reps over a two week period without being offered a break so I cancelled. Maybe I had unusual bad luck but I will "not" make a move in the hopes DirecTV would give me a break because I have "no" faith that they will. So with that said I want the deal for 3 HD DVR boxes within my 30 days to cancel window. If I have to call DirecTV for a deal after I'm a customer or pay even 200 bucks each for the other two HD DVR boxes I won't bother making the switch.

I was always a Total Choice Premier with locals customer who ordered NFL Sunday Ticket for all three years. I did pay upfront for SD Tivo boxes and for an HD Box as well as never getting a decent new customer offer either. I have perfect credit and always paid my bill in full and never late so I see no flag that should have kept me from getting a deal from customer retention that so many other customers have received.

 

[Jimbo]

LonghornXP,
IF you want to come back,
I would call D* and tell them what you have and what you pay and see if they will work out a deal to get you what you need to make the move without it costing the excesive out of the pocket money from you.
Can't hurt to call and find out.

jimbo

 

[LonghornXP]

LonghornXP,
IF you want to come back,
I would call D* and tell them what you have and what you pay and see if they will work out a deal to get you what you need to make the move without it costing the excesive out of the pocket money from you.
Can't hurt to call and find out.

jimbo

I've called about ten times within the last month or so and they have been fully aware exactly what I want and what I pay now along with what I'm willing to pay out of pocket. I'm starting to have a feeling I've been blacklisted for some stupid reason. I ended my last call and told the manager you as in DirecTV know what I want and expect after my tenth call and I could care less about switching until the deal isn't absurd. I told DirecTV that I'll just wait until their prices drop enough and they just better pray that Comcast doesn't add many of those HD channels they are going crazy about because that will be the last chance they have of getting me as a customer. Hey if me saying the above blacklists me so be it but I'm telling it like it is and companies must understand in today's market you only get one chance in ten years at best to gain a customer. Yes some customers go back and forth but most high profit customers tend to stay with one company for very long periods of time like ten years.

So DirecTV must understand that this one period of 6 months is their window to gain me as a ten year customers. If they don't take advantage of it they will be giving that customer away to in my case Comcast. The bad part for DirecTV is that I'm a very very very happy Comcast customer right now so it makes it even harder for me to switch to DirecTV because I've dealt with DirecTV customer service in the past and I haven't been happy at all with them.

Its quite amazing how smart DirecTV is with the whole HDTV channel push because yes I'm saying its a wicked smart move on their part. Its because of this that it surprises me just how stupid they can be about their HD DVR pricing and the fact how little they really do to gain a new customer. At some point DirecTV must understand that as time goes on fewer and fewer customers will be willing to shell out that kind of upfront money while their cable company still as a monthly price below their own monthly price "and" no upfront costs.

Again like I said above all of this talk DirecTV is doing is good but they better pray that most cable companies don't match many of those HD channels because DirecTV will be dead in the water if this happens. Also from what information I have is that DirecTV isn't going to be happy with Comcast by years end if you catch my drift. All I can say is that I have this crazy feeling that things between Comcast and DirecTV will be getting very nasty close to years end and I say its going to be quite a bit of fun to watch.

 

[bonscott87]

Sure cable is typically no up front cost, but they get you with $13+ a month for that HD DVR.
Or I can pay DirecTV nothing to $199 for their HD DVR with no monthly fee outside the $4.99 a month mirror fee that I'd be paying anyway no matter what the receiver is.
Doesn't take much time for me to come out ahead with DirecTV on costs while cable keeps on charging me that monthly fee.

But to each his own.

 

[LonghornXP]

Sure cable is typically no up front cost, but they get you with $13+ a month for that HD DVR.
Or I can pay DirecTV nothing to $199 for their HD DVR with no monthly fee outside the $4.99 a month mirror fee that I'd be paying anyway no matter what the receiver is.
Doesn't take much time for me to come out ahead with DirecTV on costs while cable keeps on charging me that monthly fee.

But to each his own.

What you fail to understand is that some customers will pay more for DirecTV for the services we want. Right now I'm in a bundle with Comcast called triple play premier. This is what I currently pay right now with all charges.

159.99/month - Triple Play Premier...includes in my area 16Mbps/1Mbps internet, digital voice service and digital cable with all premium channels, Sports and Entertainment Pak and all fee's for "one" HD DVR.

I pay an extra 17 bucks a month for each of my two HD DVR boxes which makes a total of three HD DVR boxes on my account. That 17 buck fee includes HD rental, remote rental, DVR Service fee and extra outlet fee.

I also pay an extra 3 bucks a month for the voice/internet modem rental. I also pay about 8 bucks a month in total taxes.

So my total bill for all my services is 205 bucks a month with Comcast. Now lets look at my costs for switching to DirecTV now with just monthly costs without even considering those crazy upfront hardware lease charges.

First I'll note that yes I can get cheaper phone services but I've tried Vonage and Sunrocket and hated those services. So I'd rather pay more for Verizon Freedom or Comcast phone service as at least they work and work quite well.

Also keep in mind that I cannot get DSL nor FIOS at my location so my only option is Comcast for internet. I will "not" pay more for wireless/satellite internet that isn't as good as Comcast.

So the best deal I could get is the following below.

I'd order the double play for internet and voice service from Comcast at 70 bucks a month. I'd have the modem rental fee of 3 bucks a month and taxes of about 4 bucks a month. So that portion of my services will cost me 77 bucks a month.

Now lets look onto the DirecTV side. Now yes many of you have been given good deals and discounts but sadly I've never been one of those customers. Also DirecTV still considers me an existing customer and thus will "not" give me a new customer offer so I'm paying full price for everything.

100.00/month for Total Choice Premier with local channels.
10.00/month for HD Access Fee.
10.00/month for mirror/lease fee for two extra boxes/rooms.
6.00/month for DirecTV Protection Plan to cover replacement of boxes and service calls just as cable does.
8.00/month for total taxes.

Again I'm matching service for service offered. So that brings DirecTV with a total monthly cost of 134.00/month.

134.00- DirecTV Services.
77.00 - Comcast Services.

211.00 - Total Cost for Services.

So I'm going to pay six bucks more per month just for programming alone by making this switch. So as you can see in my case I'm sure as heck not coming out ahead as some of you claim.

Now the "best" offer I've been given has been the following below.

200 for first HD DVR from DirecTV.
300 for second a third HD DVR from DirecTV.

800 total upfront cost for three HD DVR boxes from DirecTV.

They have been willing to give me one year of both 10 bucks off per month and free HD Access Fee.

So both of those discounts come to a total 240 bucks in total credits to offset the upfront cost. My issue is that I'm still in the hole by 560 bucks at the end of the year while I'm still paying 6 bucks a month more if not worse. Even if I continue to get credits every single year when those credits are gone I'm still paying more per month.

Now in two years if Comcast goes to full price and doesn't have a bundle deal everything changes. But in my specific situation it would be the worst business choice anybody could make to switch to DirecTV. Also I'm sure as heck not going to sit in my two year deal with DirecTV beating myself up if Comcast adds a crap amount of HD channels in six months. Sorry I'd rather go without those HD channels for two years and wait for prices to drop on those HD DVRs. I can find so many better ways to spend that money that is for sure.

I know I've said this in a post above but it seems it wasn't noticed. Again many people will pay less switching to DirecTV but I sure as heck ain't one of them not even close. We are all paying for those HD DVR boxes regardless of whether we rent them monthly or pay upfront. If anything with DirecTV I feel like I'm both renting them monthly "and" paying a huge upfront charge. I think this because how in the fricking world could their monthly pricing be the same as cable with HD DVR rental fees.

 

[Jimbo]

Are you referring to Verizon local service or cell service ???
If you have home service, you should (in most cases) have DSL available too, unless your too far away. If you are too far away, call the local offices and ask if they have Digital Pair Gain in your area (DPG) , if so they can run your DSL on that.

I'm suprised that D* would not work with you to get you back.

Jimbo

 

[LonghornXP]

Are you referring to Verizon local service or cell service ???
If you have home service, you should (in most cases) have DSL available too, unless your too far away. If you are too far away, call the local offices and ask if they have Digital Pair Gain in your area (DPG) , if so they can run your DSL on that.

I'm suprised that D* would not work with you to get you back.

Jimbo

I'm talking about Verizon home phone service not cell service. To be more specific I'm talking about a Verizon Freedom package with unlimited local and long distance calling to anywhere in the US "and" Canada. I have contacted Verizon and I'm within 5500 feet but my area has "no" high speed internet hardware installed so distance isn't the issue. The reason no DSL is in place is because this area never had DSL but now all the poles have fiber but my complex hasn't worked a deal to have fiber run to each of the buildings yet and they have no plans anytime soon.

So because I won't settle for anything but high speed internet my only option for a while is Comcast. Because I want home phone service the best price is via double play offer from Comcast compared to buying one service from Verizon and vice versa.

I'm as surprised as you are about DirecTV not working a deal with me but I gave up on them long ago in all honestly. I've tried so many times in the last month it only confirms my feelings about DirecTV before the calls. The fact is that DirecTV doesn't care to gain "me" as a customer and I believe they made it pretty darn clear.

 

[bonscott87]

I think your issue is that you used to be a DirecTV sub. They really only give the best deals to truely new customers. For good or ill.

My "triple play" is this:
1) Charter Internet - best available to me, DSL I'm too far from the switch to get full speed
2) Vonage for phone service - Had it for 4 years and love it, works perfectly. Can't beat $15 a month for local and long distance. But the quality of Vonage totally depends on the quality of your Internet connection.
3) DirecTV - Best programming package for the money available to me

I could get all 3 from Charter but I'd pay more then having it the way I have now. I guess Charter sucks.