Satellite TV Bills to increase

[MikeD-C05]

Funny, I only have fees of $7/month.

Yes ,but you only have a 722k and no hopper setups.

 

[sam_gordon]

I have to keep asking for $20.00 discounts for 6 months twice a year , just to make up for some of the extra FEES that I get charged now for a hopper/super joey/joey setup.

Tivo is now allowing one fee of $15.99 a month and it cost nothing monthly for the Tivo minis ( like joeys),other than the $149.00 for each one that you buy. But if you add the 4 tuner Tivo for just ota and a couple of tivo minis, you can get the same mocca setup and pay only $15.99 a month instead of $12.00 for the hopper, $10.00 for the super joey and $7.00 for the joey = $29.00 monthly in equipment FEES. IF the ota Tivo isn't your setup , you can do a 4 tuner Tivo for both cable and ota or get a Tivo for 6 tuners for cable . This setup would be comparable to what DISH could do with the hopper /joey setup . IF DISH would just cut the fees on joeys alone, they become more competitive with Tivo.

See, I would think they're competitive with Tivo because of programming.

 

[MikeD-C05]

See, I would think they're competitive with Tivo because of programming.

Programming is only Half the price with DISH . DISH has always been lower than any other provider, it is the miscellaneous DISH FEES that they come up with that push their price up in the stratosphere . By next years annual price increase the prices of both programming and equipment FEES will intersect and many will have to decide whether they will continue on with DISH and the Hopper/joey setups. I have changed many things on my account over the last 18 years to keep my prices down. I have downgraded from AEP to top 250 to 200 and this year to top 120 without RSN to counteract the price of the DVR fees or equipment fees with the hopper/super joey/joey set up. If I downgraded any further it wouldn't make any sense to keep DISH at all , unless I used it strictly for the welcome pack and my locals,but then my equipment fees would be more than my programming pack.

 

[sam_gordon]

Programming is only Half the price with DISH . DISH has always been lower than any other provider, it is the miscellaneous DISH FEES that they come up with that push their price up in the stratosphere . By next years annual price increase the prices of both programming and equipment FEES will intersect and many will have to decide whether they will continue on with DISH and the Hopper/joey setups. I have changed many things on my account over the last 18 years to keep my prices down. I have downgraded from AEP to top 250 to 200 and this year to top 120 without RSN to counteract the price of the DVR fees or equipment fees with the hopper/super joey/joey set up. If I downgraded any further it wouldn't make any sense to keep DISH at all , unless I used it strictly for the welcome pack and my locals,but then my equipment fees would be more than my programming pack.

I don't disagree with any of that. My point was just it doesn't matter how much money I'm saving if I don't get what I "want" (and I use that term loosely). Let's say I save $50/month... does that really matter if I can't watch the programming I want to see?

 

[Yespage]

Programming is only Half the price with DISH.

You'd need a lot of equipment or a very small package for that statement to be accurate.

DISH has always been lower than any other provider, it is the miscellaneous DISH FEES that they come up with that push their price up in the stratosphere.

This is a good point because Time Warner and AT&T give you cash every month to use their equipment. Directv recently just ended a promotion where they would give a subscriber a pony if they used their multi-room receiver.

By next years annual price increase the prices of both programming and equipment FEES will intersect and many will have to decide whether they will continue on with DISH and the Hopper/joey setups.

*sigh*

(Dish ~= Directv) << Cable

 

[king3pj]

I don't disagree with any of that. My point was just it doesn't matter how much money I'm saving if I don't get what I "want" (and I use that term loosely). Let's say I save $50/month... does that really matter if I can't watch the programming I want to see?

And what do you want to see that's not available on cable? I have had Dish, Directv, and Charter over the years and they all basically have the same channels. There are some differences when you get into premium sports packages or foreign language stuff but those are niche channels. It seems like 99% of the regular "cable channels" are the same.

I haven't had pay TV since January so I don't really have a dog in this fight but I'm currently very happy using a PC with Windows Media Center as a 4 tuner, whole home OTA DVR with $0 in monthly fees and better picture quality than any of the paid providers I've had.

If I ever went back to pay TV I would get cable so I could continue to use this same DVR setup. I would have to pay $2 a month for a cable card but that's much easier to stomach. I'm done paying $20+ monthly for guide data when it's available for free. Plus Charter doesn't require contracts so I would be free to leave at any time if they drop a channel or do something else I don't like. I'm never signing a contract for TV again.

 

[sam_gordon]

And what do you want to see that's not available on cable? I have had Dish, Directv, and Charter over the years and they all basically have the same channels. There are some differences when you get into premium sports packages or foreign language stuff but those are niche channels. It seems like 99% of the regular "cable channels" are the same.

I'm confused. I was replying to Mike D who was comparing Tivo's costs to Dish. Would you then add a cable subscription to Tivo's cost or does the cost he mentioned for Tivo include the programming? I thought he was talking about OTA.

 

[ChadT41]

Just to give my 2 cents, I would never leave satellite tv again. If I ended up being forced out of dish for whatever reason, I would make my way to DTV. The personal satellite system is something I enjoy, and price is acceptable for how much and what I watch. Plus their equipment is key for less upfront.

 

[king3pj]

I'm confused. I was replying to Mike D who was comparing Tivo's costs to Dish. Would you then add a cable subscription to Tivo's cost or does the cost he mentioned for Tivo include the programming? I thought he was talking about OTA.

I think the most fair comparison would be Dish vs cable plus Tivo fees. In my area this would basically be a wash in terms of pricing and programing. I mentioned Windows Media Center because I don't think Tivo's fees are acceptable either. Going that route you just pay the base price for your cable package and use a cable card. This will provide savings over using Dish or Cable's equipment. I guess all I was saying is that I'm done paying equipment fees even if I ever do go back to pay TV. Windows Media Center has a user interface that's as nice as any DVR I have used and the 14 day guide has no monthly fees.

That being said, I'm done with pay TV for the foreseeable future. I realized that the vast majority of shows I was watching were available OTA and I can do iTunes season passes for the few that aren't. I've found that there are very few cable shows where I can't wait the year it takes to show up on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

 

[dare2be]

Yes ,but you only have a 722k and no hopper setups.

So, you're saying "you get what you pay for". I agree with that concept.

 

[empiretc]

I think the most fair comparison would be Dish vs cable plus Tivo fees. In my area this would basically be a wash in terms of pricing and programing. I mentioned Windows Media Center because I don't think Tivo's fees are acceptable either.

But that is not the only option.

We purchased the 722 for ~$350 back in the day, and it has always had a monthly fee. Paid $100 for the 211k, and it has always had a monthly fee.

We currently purchased a TivoHD with lifetime for $150, and a Tivo Premier with lifetime for $225. We are one Tivo away, and will be ready to make a change. It will probably be at the end of the NFL season, though, lol.

TWC offers a tv lineup that is better than AT120, and will only cost $10 more a month over what we currently pay for internet alone. Since we will own our own boxes, the only recurring equipment fee will be the cable cards @ $2.50/month. We never considered this before, but TWC now has something similar to the multisport pack w/ Redzone. Sports Pass for $9/month. But you can go strictly OTA and streaming if you choose.

Windows media center was an OK setup, but is is still windows. You cannot beat a tivo when it comes to overall simplicity and that is VERY important considering the wife factor.

We left Sprint after 14 years, and are saving a bundle now with better service. We are willing to try something out for TV as well. TWC has made major improvements over the past few years.

 

[king3pj]

But that is not the only option.

We purchased the 722 for ~$350 back in the day, and it has always had a monthly fee. Paid $100 for the 211k, and it has always had a monthly fee.

We currently purchased a TivoHD with lifetime for $150, and a Tivo Premier with lifetime for $225. We are one Tivo away, and will be ready to make a change. It will probably be at the end of the NFL season, though, lol.

TWC offers a tv lineup that is better than AT120, and will only cost $10 more a month over what we currently pay for internet alone. Since we will own our own boxes, the only recurring equipment fee will be the cable cards @ $2.50/month. We never considered this before, but TWC now has something similar to the multisport pack w/ Redzone. Sports Pass for $9/month. But you can go strictly OTA and streaming if you choose.

Windows media center was an OK setup, but is is still windows. You cannot beat a tivo when it comes to overall simplicity and that is VERY important considering the wife factor.

We left Sprint after 14 years, and are saving a bundle now with better service. We are willing to try something out for TV as well. TWC has made major improvements over the past few years.

I strongly considered Tivo when I decided to go to just OTA and streaming. The prices you listed sound much better than anything I saw. I didn't look to the used market but it sounds like I should have. That being said, I'm not sure I would have been happy paying that much for an older DVR that was used by someone else for years. Buying used electronics always makes me nervous because I don't know how the previous owner treated them.

It looks like they are now including lifetime service in the Tivo Mini purchase price but they weren't when I looked in January. Without factoring service fees into a Tivo Mini it looks like it would be over $800 to get setup with the cheapest current model with lifetime service and a Mini. That's pretty steep when you are trying to save some money buy cutting the cord.

It was much cheaper to turn a Windows 7 PC into a 4 tuner DVR for me and I still can access my recordings in any room in the house.

 

[empiretc]

I strongly considered Tivo when I decided to go to just OTA and streaming. The prices you listed sound much better than anything I saw. I didn't look to the used market but it sounds like I should have. That being said, I'm not sure I would have been happy paying that much for an older DVR that was used by someone else for years. Buying used electronics always makes me nervous because I don't know how the previous owner treated them.

It looks like they are now including lifetime service in the Tivo Mini purchase price but they weren't when I looked in January. Without factoring service fees into a Tivo Mini it looks like it would be over $800 to get setup with the cheapest current model with lifetime service and a Mini. That's pretty steep when you are trying to save some money buy cutting the cord.

It was much cheaper to turn a Windows 7 PC into a 4 tuner DVR for me and I still can access my recordings in any room in the house.

This is true. However, a Tivo is not difficult to repair. Have done several over the years. When our 722 failed last year, Dish would not replace it for free like they used to. Had to repair it, and there wasn't much to it either.

Yeah, going all new will take $800-$1000 depending on your needs. That's still less than a year of Sat. We decided on the slightly older equipment, because they are easily repairable. We are still going to spend a chunk of change, but will end up saving ~$85/month.

Did the WMC setup a few years back, but the wife and kids were not happy with it. Needless to say, changes had to be made.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I'm confused. I was replying to Mike D who was comparing Tivo's costs to Dish. Would you then add a cable subscription to Tivo's cost or does the cost he mentioned for Tivo include the programming? I thought he was talking about OTA.

IF you did a 4 tuner Tivo for just ota then all you pay is monthly $15.99 for the fee, or the life time fee if you don't want the monthly fee. If you use the Tivo with 4 tuners for both ota and cable,then yes the fee of 15.99 would be added to the price of the cable. My point was the TIVO is finally offering their product without the Extra monthly fees on the Tivo mini units, that DISH continues to charge for their joeys ,super joeys and additional hoppers on the same account.

 

[ChadT41]

How much is the cost of equipment new, and the lifetime membership and any other fees?

 

[MikeD-C05]

How much is the cost of equipment new, and the lifetime membership and any other fees?

You can research all this at www.Tivo.com. They have the new Romio Tivo for ota only and it is like $49.99 . The monthly fee is $14.99 a month. I thought it was $15.99 but I was off by a dollar. When you go to the equipment page to compare models , select antenna and it pops up .

 

[empiretc]

How much is the cost of equipment new, and the lifetime membership and any other fees?

best price you can get on a Romio with lifetime is ~$475. You can get the tivo Mini for ~$149 per room. there are no additional fees if you go OTA only.

 

[harshness]

What pisses me off is that my owned equipment has the same fee as leased receivers.

This is why the other guys have gone to calling it a "TV fee" (similar to cable's old "outlet fee").

A good portion of what they pay is based on how many unique views you have available; independent of who owns whatever is creating the view.

You have to be very motivated to not take advantage of the leasing program; especially considering the increasingly short useful life of the equipment involved and what it does to the resale value.

 

[Scherrman]

This is why the other guys have gone to calling it a "TV fee" (similar to cable's old "outlet fee").

A good portion of what they pay is based on how many unique views you have available; independent of who owns whatever is creating the view.

You have to be very motivated to not take advantage of the leasing program; especially considering the increasingly short useful life of the equipment involved and what it does to the resale value.

Do the networks charge the TV providers a fee for every receiver when they make these contacts? I'm curious if they do because that would make sense why all providers charge a monthly fee for them regardless of them being owned or not.

 

[harshness]

You can research all this at www.Tivo.com. They have the new Romio Tivo for ota only and it is like $49.99 . The monthly fee is $14.99 a month. I thought it was $15.99 but I was off by a dollar. When you go to the equipment page to compare models , select antenna and it pops up .

One must always remember the differences between the conventional TiVos and the special models like the Roamio OTA. Among the most important is that the Roamio OTA doesn't have a Lifetime Subscription available and it is not eligible for multi-unit discounts. (TiVo has recently updated their fine print to reflect the earlier press release claims).

Product Lifetime service subscription option and multi-service discount not available with TiVo Roamio OTA offer.

And for the cord nevers, the Roamio OTA MUST have a broadband Internet connection.