Official LonghornXP DirecTV review:

[LonghornXP]

Edit: New Information to add!

It took several calls into Directv to get all the credits onto my account but they did get them on the account. The only thing they forgot was the free NFL Superfan package which I called into today to get added. I asked very nicely if I could get a free HD DVR box for some of my past and present troubles and was happy to be offered an HD DVR for free with a 20 buck shipping charge with free install. I can say that I will be a very longtime customer that is for sure.

End Of Edit:


First I will start by saying that DirecTV was installed less than two days ago so these are my first thoughts about DirecTV right now. Also this post will most likely be very long but I will break it down into sections. Also keep in mind that I have been a Comcast customer for the last 1-2 years "and" the last time I had DirecTV was about four years ago. So lets get started.

I called DirecTV about a month ago and spoke with several people in customer retention to get an idea about what kind of deal I could get as a returning customer. So I'm saying the deal I got so that others reading would know they do have options on getting some things cheaper.

With the above said I was happy with this deal even though I'm quite sure I "might" have got a better deal if I pressed it much harder. So now onto the Ordering section of my review.

Ordering Section:

First HD DVR (HR20-700 model) for 200 bucks plus 20 bucks S&H charge charged to my credit card.

Second HD DVR (HR20-700 model) I bought at my local Circuit City store for 300 bucks. DirecTV put a 100 buck bill credit towards this box which makes it a net upfront cost of 200 bucks.

I ordered NFL Sunday Ticket for 269 bucks for the season and got "free" SuperFan.

I'm also getting the following bill credits as part of what they called a Win Back offer.

10.00/month off any total choice package for 12 months (120.00 total).

Free HD Access for 12 months (120.00 total).

Free HBO, Cinemax, Showtime Unlimited and Starz Superpak for 3 months. This totals around 125 bucks in total credits.

So I consider free Superfan to be required as those services should be included in the base Sunday Ticket package so I don't consider this a credit like I do the others. With that said I consider myself as getting a total of 465 bucks in credits to offset my upfront hardware investment of 500 bucks (200+300).

I'm the type of person who doesn't care if I pay nothing upfront or get a discount over a period of time as long as the end result is a good deal for me. So in my case I may be spending 500 bucks upfront but the end result is that after one year my total "net" upfront cost will only have been 35 bucks for two HD DVR boxes so I consider that a great deal. Yes if I pressed it I might have been able to get no upfront costs for hardware but I doubt I would have also got all the programming credits so in the end I got the same deal as most others which is two free HD DVR boxes for 20 bucks S&H each.

Installation Section:

This will be most likely the shortest section. My installer who is named Steve at DirecT Tech showed up "On Time" and did one heck of a good job. Compared to my past installs and upgrades in Florida it was nice to see such a complex install go without any flaws. Nothing more needs to be said in this section.

Programming Section:

I'm a Plus HD DVR subscriber with Boston HD local channels with all premium channels except the Sports Pak. First the current MPEG2 HD channels without a doubt don't look very good compared to Comcast. But they are so far much better now compared to four years ago when they would cut in and out and tile like no end was in sight. I'm glad to say that I no longer see much of this thus far so I can live with them for now.

Now NESN HD (spotbeam channel in MPEG4) plus my Boston CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox HD stations in MPEG4 look stunning and I honestly cannot see any difference between them on DirecTV compared to Comcast for the day I watched them. I was watched them using an Optoma HD70 at 92 inches screen size so that is far big enough to notice any major and most likely minor difference.

So with all of this said "if" DirecTV puts all current and new national HD channels in MPEG4 with the same quality of my HD local channels I believe that HD-Lite will without a doubt be a thing of the past in our world.

DVR Features:

My new DirecTV HD DVR IMO is a big step-up from the Comcast Moto 3416 running the iguide software.

The HR20 is much more responsive to remote commands compared to the Moto box and that is a big plus IMO.

Also the fact that the HR20 can cache the guide data is a big plus over the Moto 3416 as well. I just cannot stand it when I have to unplug a box and wait 15 minutes for fricking guide data to show up again. With DirecTV that is no more.

Also the HR20 is far better with recording conflict management in that it lets me select a specific show in a clear view to not record to fix a conflict.

Its hard to remember everything but thus far the DVR seems to present critical menu options in a clear and concise way compared to the Moto box with Comcast.

Beyond all the above I still do miss the Comcast video On Demand service but I also have hope that the upcoming DirecTV On Demand service will fill that void. The single biggest feature I see with the DirecTV On Demand service IMO is the ability to "download and playback" a VOD title "while" recording two live HD feeds again all of this going on at the sametime.

My Comcast internet service is fast enough that I'm sure the VOD service with DirecTV will be a very good experience from what little I've seen thus far of it.

So to finish this off I must say that so far I'm very happy with everything available today on DirecTV and am waiting for all the new stuff coming soon. I will say that IMO I consider DirecTV to be a very different offering today compared to four years ago so my past experiences with them I'm throwing out of the window. So IMO it only matters to me what DirecTV does and doesn't do from this day and on. They have a clean slate in my book and lets just say that very very few companies get this chance with me.

 

[Ramy]

Great review. Hope this helps people that are thinking about getting Directv.

 

[bidger`]

So to finish this off I must say that so far I'm very happy with everything available today on DirecTV and am waiting for all the new stuff coming soon.

Sums up how I feel as well. There's no denying that DIRECTV fell behind, but you don't catchup or move in front overnight. I'm pleased with the progress I'm seeing and it just confirms my choice of programming provider.

Please do a follow-up here as channels and features are added.

 

[iceturkee]

longhorn, how do you like it compared to fios?

 

[rad]

Longhorn, welcome back.

 

[vurbano]

Welcome back Longhorn

 

[LonghornXP]

Without a doubt FIOS picture quality was better than DirecTV when I had the service in Tampa, Florida. DirecTV has IMO about an equal channel offering as FIOS not counting sports packages of course. FIOS HD local channels looked about the same as DirecTv MPEG4 local channels. I say the look the same as I don't remember seeing any flaws. Now FIOS SD channels do look better than any TV company I've had but I don't watch much SD anymore. What little SD I do watch will have HD feeds available in a few months or less.

Beyond that I wasn't that happy with BHN and FIOS On Demand offerings at all. They lacked so much critical content compared to my most recent company Comcast. It looks like DirecTV might also have more On Demand content than both FIOS and BHN as well. I also believe thus far that DirecTV might also give Comcast a run for their money with On Demand content. Remember this is coming from a very happy Comcast customer who just couldn't live another season in New Hampshire without my local Buccaneers football team. So I switched because of NFL Sunday Ticket plus what looks like a very good HD future not because I wasn't happy with Comcast.

Beyond the above I believe the FIOS DVR was a complete joke compared to the current HR20 box. Now this is based on their FIOS 1.0 guide so with that said I have no idea how good or bad the brand new FIOS 2.0 guide is. So I think its better to say that I cannot compare the current FIOS program guide with the HR20 as I've never used it before. I "will not" post based on what I hear only on what I've used.

Yes I've gone back to the darkside again LoL and thanks for the welcome parade.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Its not the darkside, its just the other side of the pond.

Jump on in the water is fine and I hear we will have some nice HD weather soon.

 

[skottey]

Beyond that I wasn't that happy with BHN and FIOS On Demand offerings at all. They lacked so much critical content compared to my most recent company Comcast.

Just curious LonghornXP, what content is BHN missing in the OnDemand realm? I am a pretty nasty critic of BHN (I subscribe to BHN and Dish and live in the Tampa market) but think their OnDemand is pretty good. I am giving credit where credit is due, at least they have OnDemand (Dish really doesn't). What am I missing that Comcast has? Maybe you moved out of the Tampa market before they expanded the OnDemand beyond the premium channels and PPV. They have several other channels of OnDemand and content. How much better is it at Comcast?

 

[LonghornXP]

Just curious LonghornXP, what content is BHN missing in the OnDemand realm? I am a pretty nasty critic of BHN (I subscribe to BHN and Dish and live in the Tampa market) but think their OnDemand is pretty good. I am giving credit where credit is due, at least they have OnDemand (Dish really doesn't). What am I missing that Comcast has? Maybe you moved out of the Tampa market before they expanded the OnDemand beyond the premium channels and PPV. They have several other channels of OnDemand and content. How much better is it at Comcast?

First Comcast has a very large section of free movies on demand with quite a few very good movies. Beyond the above the HD On Demand is far better on Comcast compared to BHN last time I talked with my mother who currently has BHN digital cable service. Also BHN still doesn't carry Starz On Demand and Encore On Demand yet like Comcast does. Starz and Encore On Demand have around 25 total movies in HDTV last I checked. Beyond the HD both Starz and Encore On Demand have well over 100 SD movies on demand and that is being on the low side last I checked. Also the Comcast Free Movies On Demand includes well over 100 SD movies along with anywhere between 10-20 of those being in HDTV.

BHN isn't the worst with On Demand but they need to carry at the least Starz and Encore On Demand before they can even consider themselves as big players in the On Demand market. I do believe that On Demand is an edge with all cable companies today but that could change in less than a year "if" DirecTV has success in their VOD offerings.

I'm hearing that DirecTV is looking at Clearwire for the future of their company and for the future of their On Demand service. They are looking at Clearwire to cover 85+ percent of their customer base for a future triple play offering. But beyond the triple play options with Clearwire it seems they plan in the future to include a Clearwire card in every new DirecTV box in the future to support VOD usage. So they can offer internet service to customers but they can also work a deal with Clearwire to enable all DirecTV boxes at some point to have internet access for VOD playback.

This VOD test is just the first run for their hard core customers who can connect their own boxes to the internet and use it for VOD. It will also allow them to fine tune their VOD servers over a period of time and work out most of the kinks until such time as the Clearwire network gets built and going.

Now the above is only what I've been told but the future is for DirecTV to use a closed portion of bandwidth on the Clearwire network to serve their VOD offerings so they can fully control the experience. I'm also told that after about a year or so when this will start to take place they expect the SD DVR boxes to reach a low enough cost that the SD DVR will because the base box that all customers will get. So from what I'm told in the future they will have at the least three DVR boxes as an option. A basic 40GB SD DVR box which will become the base box and free in upto four rooms. The next step up will be the current SD DVR box with the last box being the HD DVR box. I'm hearing that once all of this Clearwire stuff starts going forward DirecTV will "no" longer offer a box that isn't a DVR. So the basic digital box and HD box will be a thing of the past. They will still work but they won't support VOD services.

I just figured you all might want to know what the future might shape up to being at DirecTV. Again take all of this as rumor but it seems like this isn't going to be scrapped anytime soon as they have invested far too much time and money into it so far.

 

[skottey]

BHN isn't the worst with On Demand but they need to carry at the least Starz and Encore On Demand before they can even consider themselves as big players in the On Demand market.

Agreed. I am pissed that BHN doesn't offer Starz OnDemand or Starz HD. I didn't even know Encore On Demand existed but I would like to see all of it. Thanks for the info.

 

[lovswr]

I will join in others in saying welcome back, longhorn.

I am glad that you speculated on what cold become a very nasty net neutrality fight. I'm in Bellsouth (ne AT&T) territory & I can just imagine Mr. Ed going ballistic over millions of potential D* customers downloading for "free"

Please keep us informed of your experiences on your return to D* & any other info you may hear.

 

[rad]

I wonder if AT&T would get into trouble if once they dump D* and partner with E* only, if they throttle/block D*'s VOD content but let E*'s go without touching it?

 

[ScoBuck]

I wonder if AT&T would get into trouble if once they dump D* and partner with E* only, if they throttle/block D*'s VOD content but let E*'s go without touching it?

Big trouble if they ever got caught doing something like that.

 

[LonghornXP]

The feel I'm getting from DirecTV is that the next 1-2 years will be a test of VOD services with many growing pains some of which will be from different ISP issues. I have been told that DirecTV is ready to fight in court if need be but they don't think it will come to that. Just keep in mind this is mostly a general test for the next year or two.

At some point they plan to offer their own internet services via Clearwire and/or other alternatives such as BPL and Wimax for example. Once this is done they will at that point become an ISP with full control over their own total available bandwidth. Once this occurs they will reserve a specific amount of bandwidth that will be specific to each area served (the more customers in an area results in more bandwidth for that area and vice versa) that will be used "only" for VOD services via "only" DirecTV On Demand. This will allow them to control and increase the bandwidth pipe as VOD usage occurs.

I've also been told that once this occurs in whatever form it may show they will start to increase the amount of content sent via satellite while using the Clearwire network for example to send the request for the download. For example I've heard that all HDTV content could be sent via satellite while all SD content will be downloaded via say the Clearwire network.

The plan is to have all VOD services run 100% over a DirecTV owned and controlled bandwidth pipe unlike the way it is today but those plans take some time. I'm also told that when DOD launches to the public it won't be advertised hardly at all as the service in its current forum is intended for their more computer savvy customers who can connect their own internet connection to their HR20 boxes etc. DirecTV installers will "not" be trained or allowed to install networking hardware on these boxes. Also CSRs will not offer support for problems passing a network test. DirecTV will however provide support for any VOD issues "as long" as your box passes the networking test showing the box itself is connected to the internet. DirecTV support can tell this by a request that the box phone home via the internet. If the phone hope via internet request is a success they as in the CSRs will know the issues are on the VOD side of things.

I think I might have said more than needed but I felt it was important that most here know the type of plans and direction they are looking at going with this product. At some point in say 2-3 years many DirecTV customers will have the option to order a triple play package of DirecTV service, high speed internet and phone service in a bundled package. Also I'm told that if your area has Clearwire (DirecTV plans a nationwide rollout) you won't need to order internet or phone service to get DirecTV On Demand over the clearwire network. Again this is what I'm told so I'm just passing this information on okay.

The plan is for DirecTV to offer On Demand service without the customer needing networking hardware, computer or an ISP. Its going to work like cable companies VOD works. Also I'm told not to count out a future of pure IPTV VOD streaming so that nothing will even need to be downloaded. This they believe will save them bandwidth as many people will start a show but hardly ever finish it so they tend to download more than they watch.

Just know that things I believe are going to get much more fun in about two years time.

 

[Jimbo]

Good to see you back with D* Longhorn

I know it was a trying time for you awhile back !!!

Jimbo

 

[LonghornXP]

Just wanted to let you all know I just got an HD DVR for free with a 20 buck shipping charge.

 

[JayPSU]

Just wanted to let you all know I just got an HD DVR for free with a 20 buck shipping charge.

How?! The DTV rep I spoke with would not budge on this area which was why I didn't sign with them.

 

[LonghornXP]

How?! The DTV rep I spoke with would not budge on this area which was why I didn't sign with them.

I called customer retention as an existing customer "after" I got service installed. Beyond that its just what rep you get and how good of a mood they are in as far as giving stuff away I guess. One note of advice is that once you get the offer you wanted or one you are happy with take the offer right away even if they say they will note the account as in some cases another CSR may not see the note if you catch my drift.

Beyond that maybe they have a system for who gets what and maybe I got the offer because I did leave last time when I said I would. I don't know the reasons they do some of the things they do but this is a game and you must learn how the game is played to be honest.

 

[ScottChez]

I wonder if its based on a Credit score, on time payment or average monthly bill type of formula?

Seems like everyone gets something different here and there.