Why is Dish shutting down the 721?
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for SD switchover.
Actually there is no mandate from the FCC. What you are thinking of is the requirement that if they carry any of the stations in HD for a market they need to carry them all. There is nothing about requiring the SD signals to be dropped.
No, not insane, just false.
The receivers being swapped out are 721s, 7100 and 7200. 7100 and 7200 are not part of the TiVo lawsuit.
The swap out is occurring because of the new smart cards. Dish does not want to bother upgrading the software of old receivers - unless there are a lot of them out there, such as the 501/508/510.
A gentleman called me on the phone after I sent him an email regarding this. He says it is an upgrade. I told him that it was not an upgrade, it was just swapping receivers and that an upgrade is giving me something better than what I have. I told him an HD DVR would suffice as a leased receiver. He told me there would be a 24 month contract and all the extra fees associated with it. I told him that was not fair, I did not have those fees with the 721 and those being offered the leased 522 do not get the fees so I shouldn't either. If I didn't prepay for one year I would have already cancelled service.
He would also not give me a real reason other than they would not work anymore because of them being discontinued. He would not tell me why they were being discontinued. He would not budge on their current offer and nobody else would either. I hung up on the guy because I knew he was not going to budge and was wasting my time. I bet if I had not paid a year in advance then he would have worked with me better. The guy said he could do nothing better for me. I told him that he could, he just chose not to and that it was wrong to give me a leased receiver that has to be returned in exchange to an owned receiver. It is not my fault that they will no longer support their older receivers because there are not many out there. I thought they were supposed to support the receiver for now on once you got it. Because of a decision they made they are going to own my receiver? If they wanted to they could do this to all the receivers everybody else owns too just so that they can own them all then just reuse the parts to put in the refurbished receivers they are replacing with a new case.
For those that are going to accept this leased receiver and promised no DVR Fees and additional outlet fees, you better get it in writing that you will never be charged those fees on this receiver or any that replaces it, otherwise I can see them scamming some people out of those fees.
He would also not give me a real reason other than they would not work anymore because of them being discontinued. He would not tell me why they were being discontinued. He would not budge on their current offer and nobody else would either. I hung up on the guy because I knew he was not going to budge and was wasting my time. I bet if I had not paid a year in advance then he would have worked with me better. The guy said he could do nothing better for me. I told him that he could, he just chose not to and that it was wrong to give me a leased receiver that has to be returned in exchange to an owned receiver. It is not my fault that they will no longer support their older receivers because there are not many out there. I thought they were supposed to support the receiver for now on once you got it. Because of a decision they made they are going to own my receiver? If they wanted to they could do this to all the receivers everybody else owns too just so that they can own them all then just reuse the parts to put in the refurbished receivers they are replacing with a new case.
For those that are going to accept this leased receiver and promised no DVR Fees and additional outlet fees, you better get it in writing that you will never be charged those fees on this receiver or any that replaces it, otherwise I can see them scamming some people out of those fees.
"For those that are going to accept this leased receiver and promised no DVR Fees and additional outlet fees, you better get it in writing that you will never be charged those fees on this receiver or any that replaces it, otherwise I can see them scamming some people out of those fees."
Very good advise ! :up
Very good advise ! :up
There aren't that many 721s out there anymore. From a business standpoint, does it make more sense to piss off the minority that still have 721s, or the piss off everyone else that was not offered free equipment upgrades with all fees waived? Once word started getting around that "Well, I know Joe Blow got this for free!!!" the company would be out a few more million dollars than it is already going to be. The number of people that are upset as you are have a much, much smaller financial impact on the company in the long run.
Sorry, and good luck with DirecTV
"For those that are going to accept this leased receiver and promised no DVR Fees and additional outlet fees, you better get it in writing that you will never be charged those fees on this receiver or any that replaces it, otherwise I can see them scamming some people out of those fees."
Nothing is forever.
Nothing is forever.
You still own the 721. They are just letting you use a second receiver for free, as long as you like.
You could always buy some other receiver.
Just like when my Nokia 5100 phone was no longer able to be used on the local networks. I still have that phone, and the company offered me a replacement, which I turned down since I didn't like the replacement. Instead I bought a new phone that I liked. I'd still rather have my 5100 though.
TiVo has nothing to do with the replacement of the 721s and DishPlayers. If it was the TiVo case, then nmy 501 would be getting replaced too.
I figured that since it is a minority that they would not care and do nothing, so when I go to cancel next year when my annual is up, they will have to do a lot to keep me as a customer of 12 years because they blew it with me. I think the best thing to do is leave Dish Network for a while then come back as an existing customer again with a new customer promotion. I will get a promotion from DirecTv then from Dish. That is the only way to make up for the shortcomings under this deal and just sell off what I have. I really like Dish Network and their hardware but you have to draw the line somewhere and they went past it with this.
What good is it to own a receiver that they are going to deactivate? When you deactivate the 522 then they will want it back then you lost the money that you have invested in a satellite receiver.
How many years of service has it given you?
If they were to shut down my 4900, which I purchased as an existing customer when existing customers got no deals at all, and offer a leased receiver to use in it's place, I should complain about the lost resale value of a receiver I've owned for 5-6 years?
And what pray tell would you complain about if Dish shut down and quite offering services at all, like all the DivX or Replay?
This swap does not seam to be reason to leave after 12 years to me. I've only been with dish for 10, but it would take more than this for me to switch. I've endured all the distant network garbage, the poor treatment of existing customers for new equipment, increasing fees, and the decline in customer service.
If my 501 was to be turned off and only the offer of a receiver with a fee, I'd not switch. Now, no replacement offered, or a non DVR might push me that far. But since the start of DVR fees I've know the days of the no fee DVRs were numbered.
It is rediculous to assume that something will work forever. They are offering you a free solution for as long as you want to remain a subscriber. This is above and beyond what they could have done. They could have stuck you with the DVR fee and a leased receiver fee. Yeah they will want it back. You will have invested NO MONEY in the 522 anyways. Your 721 "investment" simply got you a free use of a 522.
Face it your 721 is soon to be a doorstop. Demanding they give you a free receiver that you can turn around and ebay if you ever decide to drop Dish just makes you look greedy. Enjoy trying to buy an HD receiver from DIRECTV...
Right now you can buy a car or lease a car.
Suppose that 2 years from now, the US government says " Due to national security, we cannot send any more money to the Middle East, so one year from now, only hydrogen or natural gas automobiles will be allowed. "
If you bought a car, you are out of luck. If you leased a car, you just return it at the end of the lease.
You and I both bought a 721 some years ago. Suppose Dish Network went out of business ? We would both be out of luck because we bought rather than leased.
When you buy your own equipment, you are taking a risk that it may become obsolete.
Since Dish Network wants you and I both to continue to subscribe, they are offering us:
- A replacement DVR
- Two outputs instead of one for the 721
- Name Based Recording Feature (e.g. record all showings of "Seinfeld" whenever they are shown)
- A lease without the usual lease cost, i.e. no monthly lease fee
- Waiving the usual DVR fee
I cannot see any way in which that is worse than continuing to use a 721 - it looks better to me. What difference does it make if you have to return the 522 when you leave Dish Network ? If you leave Dish Network, what good is a 522 ?
Yes, it's a heck of a deal. The more I think about it, the more pleased I am.
Not to mention, I'm getting to buy a new HDTV for the bedroom out of this...
Not to mention, I'm getting to buy a new HDTV for the bedroom out of this...
I'd sure jump on an offer like that.
However didn't someone at Dish tell Stargazer needed to sign a 2 year contract, and pay the fees as well?
I think that Dish Network will agree with you that you shouldn't have to pay any additional fees. If you didn't have lease fees before, you shouldn't have lease fees after. If you didn't have a phone line connected before, you shouldn't have to after. If you didn't have DVR fees before, you shouldn't have DVR fees after. If you didn't have a programming commitment before, you shouldn't have a programming commitment after. If you talk to the right person, they should be able to accomodate you in all of those areas.
There two areas where I think they will not budge are:
1. You will receive a leased receiver as a replacement for your owned receiver (and you can keep your owned receiver as a door stop). There should be no monthly fee for it. In effect, the net difference is that they want your new receiver back if/when you cancel.
2. You shouldn't receive anything more than you have today unless there is no other choice.
For example, 942 owners are entitled to a MPEG4-capable 622 for free because there is no other way to give them all of the features of the 942 without including MPEG4. However, they are not entitled to the extra disk space of a 722 because all of the features of the 942 can be met by the 622. Getting a 722 will require an upcharge or programming commitment.
The one place where there may be some wiggle room is with the old Dishplayer 7100/7200 series. That receiver had WebTV. No other receiver can accomodate that.
There two areas where I think they will not budge are:
1. You will receive a leased receiver as a replacement for your owned receiver (and you can keep your owned receiver as a door stop). There should be no monthly fee for it. In effect, the net difference is that they want your new receiver back if/when you cancel.
2. You shouldn't receive anything more than you have today unless there is no other choice.
For example, 942 owners are entitled to a MPEG4-capable 622 for free because there is no other way to give them all of the features of the 942 without including MPEG4. However, they are not entitled to the extra disk space of a 722 because all of the features of the 942 can be met by the 622. Getting a 722 will require an upcharge or programming commitment.
The one place where there may be some wiggle room is with the old Dishplayer 7100/7200 series. That receiver had WebTV. No other receiver can accomodate that.
7200 wiggle room
Ok..I have a 7200...what am I reasonably likely to be able to get in exchange?
Would bringing up the lack of webtv be a help to bargaining?
Ok..I have a 7200...what am I reasonably likely to be able to get in exchange?
Would bringing up the lack of webtv be a help to bargaining?
I'd think the bottom end DVR, what ever that is now (I haven't kept up).
As to WebTV, do you actually use it? I'd never browse the web on my TV, resolution is too small.
Would it continue to work for web stuff without the satellite signal?
