Some probably dumb questions by a potential customer

[stlpaul]

Hi,

I'm currently a Charter cable customer, but I recently got an HDTV and Charter thinks their HD service is the best (or at least they price it that way). I'm very interested in DirecTV's choices, but there are some questions/concerns and you guys seem to know your stuff, so I figured I'd ask. I'm sure these are FAQ so I apologize in advance.

1. I don't have a phone line at my house. Does that make me ineligible for DirecTV? Do they charge extra because of that? I know it is used for PPV ordering, and I have no interest in that at all. Why don't they just put an ethernet port or wifi on it and let you order over the 'net? Phone lines are old tech.

2. I currently have Cable. Since I use cable for my internet as well, I would want to keep my internet but ditch the TV service. I know DTV will have to run a new line into my house, but once it is inside can they use the existing wiring which goes to the TVs or will they need to run all new lines to each TV? Do they charge extra for that? The walls are old plaster and past experiences have shown that trying to make a small hole turns into a gigantic hole with little to no effort I also want to avoid drilling holes through the hardwood floors where possible...

3. The promotional prices on DTV's website say they last for 12-months. Does that mean I would have to sign a 12-month contract? Longer? Can you sign up with no obligations and just pay the normal price? Is there a money-back guarantee (or no-penalty cancellation period) if I get it and decide I don't want to be locked into it for a year? I don't want to have a multi-year contract for something frivolous like television. If I lost my job or something like that, I would regret having this unnecessary financial burden.

4. I had DirecTV in the olden days. Back then I just bought the equipment on ebay for less than the stores sold it for, and put it up on the roof myself. Can you still do that, or do they force you to get new equipment and installation through them? Their website did not have any (easily accessible) info about this kind of ordering.

5. I have an HDTV, but most of the channels DTV has are not in HD, or are HD channels that don't broadcast HD programming much of the time. Do the non-HD channels look alright when viewed on an HD receiver? (my non-HD cable box looks decent, but I have heard horror stories so perhaps it varies from one receiver/TV to another?)

6. Their website wants to add in extra "free for 3 months" movie channels and crap I don't want. I'm sure it is so they can charge me for them after I "forget" to call and cancel the channels I didn't want in the first place. Is there a way to delete them from my order right away?

7. Along the same lines, I assume there is no à la carte package? They certainly have it figured out... the 5 or 10 channels I actually would watch are split up between all the packages.

That's all. Thanks in advance!

 

[JAG72]

1) Phone line is not needed. They do not charge for not having the phone line connected. They do have an Ethernet port that can be used in place of the phone line. If you are getting the HD-DVR you will want to hook it up to make use of the On Demand services.

2) It really depends on how your cables are run. If you have splitters throughout the house they will have to run new cables. Also the DVR's currently require 2 cables to so they will need to run a second one if you will have a DVR installed.

3) HD or DVR's require a 24 month commitment.

 

[joed32]

Hi,

I'm currently a Charter cable customer, but I recently got an HDTV and Charter thinks their HD service is the best (or at least they price it that way). I'm very interested in DirecTV's choices, but there are some questions/concerns and you guys seem to know your stuff, so I figured I'd ask. I'm sure these are FAQ so I apologize in advance.

1. I don't have a phone line at my house. Does that make me ineligible for DirecTV? Do they charge extra because of that? I know it is used for PPV ordering, and I have no interest in that at all. Why don't they just put an ethernet port or wifi on it and let you order over the 'net? Phone lines are old tech.

2. I currently have Cable. Since I use cable for my internet as well, I would want to keep my internet but ditch the TV service. I know DTV will have to run a new line into my house, but once it is inside can they use the existing wiring which goes to the TVs or will they need to run all new lines to each TV? Do they charge extra for that? The walls are old plaster and past experiences have shown that trying to make a small hole turns into a gigantic hole with little to no effort I also want to avoid drilling holes through the hardwood floors where possible...

3. The promotional prices on DTV's website say they last for 12-months. Does that mean I would have to sign a 12-month contract? Longer? Can you sign up with no obligations and just pay the normal price? Is there a money-back guarantee (or no-penalty cancellation period) if I get it and decide I don't want to be locked into it for a year? I don't want to have a multi-year contract for something frivolous like television. If I lost my job or something like that, I would regret having this unnecessary financial burden.

4. I had DirecTV in the olden days. Back then I just bought the equipment on ebay for less than the stores sold it for, and put it up on the roof myself. Can you still do that, or do they force you to get new equipment and installation through them? Their website did not have any (easily accessible) info about this kind of ordering.

5. I have an HDTV, but most of the channels DTV has are not in HD, or are HD channels that don't broadcast HD programming much of the time. Do the non-HD channels look alright when viewed on an HD receiver? (my non-HD cable box looks decent, but I have heard horror stories so perhaps it varies from one receiver/TV to another?)

6. Their website wants to add in extra "free for 3 months" movie channels and crap I don't want. I'm sure it is so they can charge me for them after I "forget" to call and cancel the channels I didn't want in the first place. Is there a way to delete them from my order right away?

7. Along the same lines, I assume there is no à la carte package? They certainly have it figured out... the 5 or 10 channels I actually would watch are split up between all the packages.

That's all. Thanks in advance!

Sounds like you would prefer to stay with cable from your questions. Probably best for you. The contract will be 24 months, not 12.

 

[atp1313]

6. Their website wants to add in extra "free for 3 months" movie channels and crap I don't want. I'm sure it is so they can charge me for them after I "forget" to call and cancel the channels I didn't want in the first place. Is there a way to delete them from my order right away?

7. Along the same lines, I assume there is no à la carte package? They certainly have it figured out... the 5 or 10 channels I actually would watch are split up between all the packages.

6. The "free trials" are automated and will automatically turn off at 6am of the 90th day (or whatever the trial end date is). You can have a recording set to go that spans the 6am threshold, and it will literally stop recording at 6am. So no worries there.

7. There are a couple of a la carte channels, but not "a la carte programing" like you are looking for. The A la carte channels are like The Baby Channel or Setanta Sports...or something like that. The packages are all built on each other. So the lowest package has 150 channels, then the next package adds another 35 channels to that lower package, etc. Once you get the package you want, you can always filter out the channels you don't want by setting up Favorites Lists. Just order the package that has the minimum channels you want and filter down from there.

 

[Zynergi]

I'm currently a Charter cable customer, but I recently got an HDTV and Charter thinks their HD service is the best (or at least they price it that way). I'm very interested in DirecTV's choices, but there are some questions/concerns and you guys seem to know your stuff, so I figured I'd ask. I'm sure these are FAQ so I apologize in advance.

1. I don't have a phone line at my house. Does that make me ineligible for DirecTV? Do they charge extra because of that? I know it is used for PPV ordering, and I have no interest in that at all. Why don't they just put an ethernet port or wifi on it and let you order over the 'net? Phone lines are old tech.

It's not 100% needed, but for PPV and Game Lounge Definitely, and I believe for Seasonal Services such as Sunday ticket, Center Ice, etc.. (that may just be because I use a HSP (installer) account. It is actually cheaper to order via your account on diectv.com

2. I currently have Cable. Since I use cable for my internet as well, I would want to keep my internet but ditch the TV service. I know DTV will have to run a new line into my house, but once it is inside can they use the existing wiring which goes to the TVs or will they need to run all new lines to each TV? Do they charge extra for that? The walls are old plaster and past experiences have shown that trying to make a small hole turns into a gigantic hole with little to no effort I also want to avoid drilling holes through the hardwood floors where possible...

It completely depends on what is happening in the house, if each room is a home run and no splitters are used then yes. They could also use yoru existing line to fish new ones. You will need to maintain 1 line from your Cable for Internet that is not connected in-line with DTV as you will have issues when your passing voltage over that 2-10db used for inet services.

3. The promotional prices on DTV's website say they last for 12-months. Does that mean I would have to sign a 12-month contract? Longer? Can you sign up with no obligations and just pay the normal price? Is there a money-back guarantee (or no-penalty cancellation period) if I get it and decide I don't want to be locked into it for a year? I don't want to have a multi-year contract for something frivolous like television. If I lost my job or something like that, I would regret having this unnecessary financial burden.

Directv is not as bad as most when it comes to commitments, but the do require a 24 month commitment and all equipment is now leased, even if you spent a billion on a receiver directv will still have you on a lease agreement. 18 montsh for Standard Def, 24 months on Hi-Def. If the special is for 12 months then yes teh price would change or teh item would disapear after 12 months. They do this to alleviate upfront costs customers complained about, simular to Cell Phone Service Contracts... Phone is free for 24 months or $500 for month to month.

4. I had DirecTV in the olden days. Back then I just bought the equipment on ebay for less than the stores sold it for, and put it up on the roof myself. Can you still do that, or do they force you to get new equipment and installation through them? Their website did not have any (easily accessible) info about this kind of ordering.

You get FREE 4 room installation minus wall fishing or extrodianry work.. the guy will climb around your roof to install it so let him, liability is now on the installer not you. As stated before you get Leased equipment, new or refurb (generally new equipment opened that didnt get installed)

5. I have an HDTV, but most of the channels DTV has are not in HD, or are HD channels that don't broadcast HD programming much of the time. Do the non-HD channels look alright when viewed on an HD receiver? (my non-HD cable box looks decent, but I have heard horror stories so perhaps it varies from one receiver/TV to another?)

It varies and yea after watching "Wilds of Alaska" on Discovery Theater HD, "Friends" just looks like crap DTv has over 100 true HD channels not ones that are just up converted so you will be pleased. It all depends on the way the original programming was recorded and with as to the "quality" of the SD signal on a HDTV.. although most of it looks fine if not great..

6. Their website wants to add in extra "free for 3 months" movie channels and crap I don't want. I'm sure it is so they can charge me for them after I "forget" to call and cancel the channels I didn't want in the first place. Is there a way to delete them from my order right away?

Yep.. just tell the CSR you dont want them

7. Along the same lines, I assume there is no à la carte package? They certainly have it figured out... the 5 or 10 channels I actually would watch are split up between all the packages.

You can do à la carte but I think you have to start with minimum programming, one customer I had installed, had the basic package and wanted 2 other channels and they charged $2.99 for 1 and like $3.99 for the other. a CSR/Sale Agent could Answer 100% as most of us are techs/customers

 

[stlpaul]

Thanks to all of you for the very detailed info, I appreciate it. The 24-month lease is really disappointing. I would understand being locked in to the length of the promotion, but 24-months on a 12-month promotion? That is crazy. I guess it works for them, though. 24 months ago I was watching rabbit ears on a 12-inch TV. Who knows what 2009 will bring?

I guess I'm one of the weirdos in the USA because I don't like being in debt to anyone, I don't like being prevented from having choice as a consumer, and I paid $500+ for my cell phone (and I am not under any kind of yearly phone contract).

As far as 100 HD channels, when I looked at the Xtra package including HD locals for my area, there were 35 HD channels. Dish's equivalently-priced package had 42 (of course 10 or so of those are Voom channels which barely count IMO). That is compared to 18 from Charter (including the locals) for more money than either sat company's advertised deals. I'm not interested in movies so I am not counting premiums like HBO/Showtime/etc, PPV channels, 10 games of NFL/NCAA or whatever. I'm just counting regular HD channels (like A&E, TNT etc).

Thanks again!

 

[JAG72]

As far as 100 HD channels, when I looked at the Xtra package including HD locals for my area, there were 35 HD channels. Dish's equivalently-priced package had 42 (of course 10 or so of those are Voom channels which barely count IMO).

I counted 48 not including your locals or regional sports network. This was also removing all the pay movie stations since you stated that you were not interested in them.

 

[stlpaul]

I just went back to DTV's site and put in my ZIP code (63119) and for Choice Xtra it now has 42 channels listed plus 4 locals. There may be others I'm not aware of (ESPN Alternate feed? East/West feeds? Network HD for networks not covered by locals? That kind of stuff) that they don't show on the list. They only show 4 locals, and the local Fox Sports Net channel isn't listed on the page, but I know it's included somewhere, too. Definitely more than Charter offers by a long shot. Charter actually has ads on that claim they have more "available HD channels". I think their "available" claim is because when the satellite goes out, it is not available... so during those massive storms, I guess cable does have more "available" channels. That's like saying I have more "available" money than Donald Trump because Trump isn't in the room with me right now.

 

[markfp-1]

The "satellite always goes out in a storm" is a scare tactic from cable. You might lose it for a few minutes in very, very hard rain storm, but in the last year, I doubt that I've lost it for more than ten minutes total and I live in "snow country" where we measure it in feet not inches. In fact, cable has been down for days at a time over the last couple of winters and I never had a problem. Obviously, if you lose power both cable and satellite goes down, but other than that don't believe everything they tell you.

 

[IcEWoLF]

Thanks to all of you for the very detailed info, I appreciate it. The 24-month lease is really disappointing. I would understand being locked in to the length of the promotion, but 24-months on a 12-month promotion? That is crazy. I guess it works for them, though. 24 months ago I was watching rabbit ears on a 12-inch TV. Who knows what 2009 will bring?

I guess I'm one of the weirdos in the USA because I don't like being in debt to anyone, I don't like being prevented from having choice as a consumer, and I paid $500+ for my cell phone (and I am not under any kind of yearly phone contract).

As far as 100 HD channels, when I looked at the Xtra package including HD locals for my area, there were 35 HD channels. Dish's equivalently-priced package had 42 (of course 10 or so of those are Voom channels which barely count IMO). That is compared to 18 from Charter (including the locals) for more money than either sat company's advertised deals. I'm not interested in movies so I am not counting premiums like HBO/Showtime/etc, PPV channels, 10 games of NFL/NCAA or whatever. I'm just counting regular HD channels (like A&E, TNT etc).

Thanks again!

But, I've been with Charter cable a long time....their customer service is horrible.
I've moved to DTV about 6 months ago and I will never look back, plus the 24 months commitment flies by really quick.
Once you try DTV, you will never look to cable again.
Feel free to post up if you have any other questions.

This is from a formers Charter cable customer.
I still have their HS+Telephone service.

 

[charper1]

The "satellite always goes out in a storm" is a scare tactic from cable. You might lose it for a few minutes in very, very hard rain storm, but in the last year, I doubt that I've lost it for more than ten minutes total and I live in "snow country" where we measure it in feet not inches. In fact, cable has been down for days at a time over the last couple of winters and I never had a problem. Obviously, if you lose power both cable and satellite goes down, but other than that don't believe everything they tell you.

DITTO!

Also ask cable about those ice storms or tornado/in-line winds that rip their lines and power lines down for 3+ weeks at a time LOL! My generator has me up in about 20 mins. A lamp, TV, DBS, heater and a coffee pot!

 

[atp1313]

The only time I have lost my sat signal was during a tornado warning where we had F1's touch down about 1 mile from my house. Signal was out for all of 10-20 seconds. And add another 10-20 seconds on either side of that "no signal" period for some pixelation. Of course, if the straight line winds were strong enough to rip my dish off my roof, then my signal would have been gone for a while.
But the bottom line for me is that if the signal goes out, chances are you shouldn't be sitting in your La-Z-Boay watching TV anyway...you should be ducking for cover in the hallway/basement or have your electronics turned off to prevent surges.

 

[stlpaul]

I had DirecTV in the old days, so I know it doesn't go out every time a cloud passes by the way the cable commercials would have you believe. It did go out pretty routinely during thunderstorms, though, which was very annoying. It pretty much ruins what you are watching when goes out. (This was about 7 or 8 years ago, single LNB dish.)

I hadn't really even thought about that when comparing services, to be honest. You guys seem to have better luck than I did back then, though. Maybe they are not as sensitive now as they used to be. I think our dish back then showed 90+ signal strength when the sky was clear.

Cable's claim to have more "available" HD channels is, of course, hilarious, whether they are referring to bandwidth or uptime. It doesn't matter how "available" it is if they don't actually use that availability to carry HD channels.

Yesterday I got a message on my cable box announcing 8 new HD channels to be added in about three weeks. Seven of them are regular, one is premium. So that bumps them up a notch in the side-by-side comparison, at least, but still nowhere near as many as either satellite company carries.

With regard to my existing wiring, I think I would need it re-done by the installer. I've got the cheapest wire and splitters money can buy, one line split many, many times... First split goes to the living room, then onto the second split which is divided between basement and bedroom. The bedroom wire is split to go to the cable modem and to another splitter which goes between the bedroom TV and a spare coax long enough to reach anywhere in the house for when I want to set up a TV someplace temporarily (or running it directly into the ATSC/QAM tuner card on my PC). I'm guessing that arrangement would be insufficient for DirecTV as-is :-D

 

[charper1]

Cable HD Channels: they likely list anything and everything they have that is HD; including PPV and VoD


As far as splitters & DirecTV: thats a no-go with satellite use.


And on rain fade: it can and does happen rarely. I have been some pretty violent storms the last 6 mos and MAYBE a total of 5 - 10 mins of outage. When you research total up time; DBS fairs better than cable overall.

 

[stlpaul]

Cable HD Channels: they likely list anything and everything they have that is HD; including PPV and VoD

Sure, but isn't that what they are all doing? Their "100 national HD channels" surely includes dozens of channels reserved for sports packages and blacked-out network & regional sports HD channels and stuff like that, right?

update: I just looked on Where is HD ? (which was mentioned on a DirecTV ad I got in the mail today). It lists HD channels from the different providers, though I think it is missing some. I don't see NHL network on any of them, for example. It looks like the DirecTV list does include the OTA networks and sports channels. Nobody carries all of my locals in HD. Charter omits CBS, DirecTV omits CW and PBS. There is a local "My Network" station that neither of them carries, but I don't know if they do anything in HD anyway. I could not name one program that is on that network. The MNT station does carry sports, though. Our local NBC station has pre-empted NHL games for the last several weeks in favor of pre-season and regular season baseball games. The local MNT station has carried those NHL games instead. They also have shown pre-season NFL games in the past.

For the locals that are not carried, do you get the national HD channels instead? Like, would I get the New York HD CW feed if they don't carry the St. Louis HD CW feed?

As far as splitters & DirecTV: thats a no-go with satellite use.

That's what I figured. It would probably be for the better, anyway.

I found out we have DirecTV HD hooked up to a 52inch plasma in the break room at work, but every time I go in there someone has some SD programming on, all stretched and crappy looking. I guess Oprah isn't in HD (and I think that's a good thing?) I'll have to try to sneak in there when nobody else is around and check out the channel selection and PQ.

And on rain fade: it can and does happen rarely. I have been some pretty violent storms the last 6 mos and MAYBE a total of 5 - 10 mins of outage. When you research total up time; DBS fairs better than cable overall.

I have been lucky with my cable, compared to most people who always complain about theirs going out. I think it has gone out twice that I've been aware of in the last 5 years. Both times were late at night (after midnight) and due to them having to repair or replace some major piece of equipment in my neighborhood. I don't think it has ever been out during daytime/primetime hours. My cable internet has gone out plenty of times, but the TV always works.

If only my electricity were so stable... it goes out all the time. I have my sensitive electronics hooked up to UPS's so they don't get totally fried.

Thanks.

 

[charper1]

Buy a generator. After a severe storm, when my neighbors were all out because of downed lines (cable & power) I was up with TV, DirecTV, a lamp and a coffee pot. They were down for weeks. Thrown in my gas stove and I was set.

But to be totally honest, there are just many more things/events that can attack a cable vs a DBS setup.

 

[mneitzel]

I am thinking about making a similiar move. I moved and added HD with charter. They jacked me up to full price on everything. $80 for extended cable plus HD. So much with the bundle.

I have had bothe E* and D* in the day. I miss them. But I think E* is in big trouble with Tivo.

Let us know if you do to D*, I will see what I do.