Upgrading to DVR on Dish is making me mad!! Help Please!

[Lets_Dance]

I have been a Dish customer for close to 3 years now and have had nothing but good things to say about their service (except for not having Viacom for a week). Recently I have had issues with their customer service, mostly over a situation when I ordered Extra Innings this baseball season.

I am in the market for buying a DVR/Tivo product. My friend just got one with his DirectTv (which he has been a customer of for over 5 years). He paid $100 dollars for the reciever and 5 bucks a month. So I went to Dish' website and discovered their cheapest reciever is $300 and $5 dollars a month. This isn't the part that angers me. If I were to be a new customer I would get a DVR reciever for free. I don't like the fact that I am a current customer and am being shafted on the price of a DVR.

I did some research and if I were to stop my subscription to Dish and take up a DirectTv installation "new customer" deal, I could pay $50 for the reciever and $5 bucks a month. Also, if I just bought Tivo and hook it up to my Dish reciever I could pay $50 dollars for a Series2 reciever and $12 a month or $300 lifetime.

So here is how I see it: Dish Network, I would pay $360 for the year.
For DirectTv $170 (including the $5 more in package fee).
Tivo $194 or $350 for life.

I just don't like that by sticking with my current company I will be paying $150 more dollars a year. Has anyone been successful talking to Dish and having them work with you to come down in price on a DVR to satisfy you?

I really don't want to go through the hassle of changing providers, but I can't see myself paying the extra $150 dollars a year knowing I can save it. If they don't meet me in the middle or work with me I am more than likely going to switch to DirectTv (they also have the NFL Network, which is worth the $5 extra bucks).

Thanks guys and please let me know if you have had success getting them to work with you.

 

[video62]

Some more things to consider...

A integrated satellite receiver + DVR is far more preferable to a standalone DVR, IMHO - it's a hassle to have a separate DVR (Tivo) box due to

1) Channel changes from the IR gizmo to control the box may not be 100% reliable

2) The standalone forces you to choose a recording quality, while the integrated DVR is recording the compressed satellite stream for 100% playback quality. Also, the standalone DVRs quote their recording capacity using their lowest quality setting - thus a "40 hr. TiVo" may only be a 12 hr. Tivo at the quality that would even hope to be as good as the integrated DVR.

3) Standalone Tivo means only one tuner - you cannot watch "channel A" live while it is recording on "channel B". DirecTivos and some Dish DVRs have dual tuners so this isn't a problem.

4) With an integrated DVR the guide downloads come via satellite, with the standalone they come via phone line (unless you have the SA Tivo setup to do network access).

On the plus side the (newer Series 2) SA Tivos have all sorts of nifty network stuff like "Home Media Option" (share programs between Tivos, play MP3s/view pix that live on your PC) and "Tivo-to-Go"... the former can only be had by hacking your DirecTivo to run a different version of software - DirecTV doesn't offer any software that uses the network (USB) on the back. But, the SA Tivo fee is $12.95/mo. for 1st unit, $6.95/mo. for extra units unless you pony up $300 for a "lifetime subscription". As I said before, DirecTivo DVR fee is only $5/mo. no matter if you have 1, 3 or 6 DirecTivos.

I switched from Dish (was with them since '96) to DirecTV 18 months ago and have been delighted - I now have 3 DirecTivos, two of them extensively 'hacked' with larger hard drives, network/web access, etc. Also DirecTV only charges $5/mo. DVR fee per account and not per box as Dish does, so my monthly fees are the same whether my additional receivers are DirecTivos or just vanilla receivers.

The DirecTivos have very stable software and are feature-rich compared to Dish DVRs. Some people have no interest in these extra features, others love them...

Check out http://www.tivocommunity.com for more on Tivos/DirecTivos, or the DirecTV forum here for DirecTivo info.

As for switching providers... it doesn't make much sense to switch if the other guy doesn't have the core programming that you want, but if you're willing to make some tradeoffs (programming -vs- cost -vs- stability -vs- DVR features) then making the move might not be so bad.

 

[SimpleSimon]

Have you checked/asked about a DVR upgrade?

Lots of folks get to lease the 522 for $50-150.

NO one should be considering buying receivers now or in the future - too many changes (MPEG-4) coming.

 

[OoTLink]

Honestly, if you can get a better deal by switching to D*, go for it! This is what brought me to E*, and probably what will make me leave it in the future

 

[korsjs]

welcome to the site, glad you are here. give dish a call and tell them you want to cancel. they will switch you to a customer retention member who will work with you to give you what you want.

 

[sprintcarcrazy]

They just gave me two 811's for $24 and 4.99 a month, now I am selling my bought 811's. So they will probably try to help you, call and ask.

 

[jbcheshire]

Regarding the 522 lease:
I was out on the Dish website this morning and they are now "advertising" the 522 for lease at only $198 for their current customers...(It was $98 briefly, then $149 for a month, and now....) Aren't we lucky?

 

[NightRyder]

Regarding the 522 lease:
I was out on the Dish website this morning and they are now "advertising" the 522 for lease at only $198 for their current customers...(It was $98 briefly, then $149 for a month, and now....) Aren't we lucky?

Never saw the $98 price. Mine still say's $149.


NightRyder

 

[bimmerbenz]

The price you quoted for the Dish DVR is the retail price of the machine with no strings attached. If you are willing to commit to Dish Network for some time (usually 1 year), give them a call and unless you have already received a promotional upgrade from them within the last year, they will give you a much better deal than $300.

If you don't want the commitment, check out Dishstore.net for their 508 or 721 receivers. Neither has the $5 a month DVR fee and it's still less expensive than paying Dish Network retail price for a 510 that does have the $5 a month DVR fee.

Bimmerbenz

PS: I would go with a remanufactured 721. I purchased one from them about 7 months ago and haven't had a problem with it since (other than the usual software glitches of course.)

 

[jbcheshire]

If he's looking for a dual tuner DVR, then the 508 will not fit his needs. However, they will give you (lease) the 508 for just the $5 extra receiver fee per month, no $5 DVR fee like the 510 has.

 

[Zookster]

If you're concerned about the upfront fees, it might be worth looking into cable, many of which lease dual tuner DVRs, both SD and HD. They won't likely be the cheapest option in the long run, however, depending on the company and the level of service you order. The cable price advantage only kicks in when you bundle internet and phone if available in your area.