Ben

iTrader: (33)

I have a XP MCE pc already. The problem is in correctly getting HD video in and out of it.

TonyC

i really need to get FTA.... some Chinese / Japanese variety shows would really help my OTA HDTA non-cable setup... i flipped thru the OTA channels last nite and there was NOTHING on tv for 2 hours...

y8s

iTrader: (8)

ben, what five channels did you lose? my HD channels are still the same.

Ben

iTrader: (33)

HD Net Movies, MGM HD, MusicHD, Smithsonian HD, Universal HD
The last 2 being channels that I actually sometimes watch.
Really, all I need is those, the locals, ESPN HD, SciFi HD, Discovery HD, and Discovery HD Theater to be happy. God would I love to drop ALL the SD channels and not have to pay for them. Would be nice if we only had to pay for what we actually consume. Which is coming.

Mark Cuban owns HD Net and HD Net Movies, and apparently, he was PISSED when he found out that DirecTV was moving his channels to an a higher level tier. Mark's lawyers sued DirecTV, and the compromise they worked out was that one channel remained in the standard tier while the other went to the next.

DirecTV's reasoning for moving those 5 channels to the separate tier was that those channels do not have a SD simulcast counterpart. Which is odd, since I can name 3 more HD channels (not included HD Net) off the top of my head that don't have SD counterparts that did not get moved.
Really, it's just price gouging the HD customers, who I suppose are the clients that their market research told them that they would all "just go for it without complaint because they're rich." Maybe before gas was $3.30 a gallon...

y8s

iTrader: (8)

oh you already had the expanded HD channels. At least you're not getting fucked out of your 2 year old HDTiVO that's no longer compatible.

I'll probably still upgrade, but I'm going to bitch to Customer Retention about it until the new HDDVR is closer to free.

Ben

iTrader: (33)

They WILL replace your HDTivo with a new HR20 or 21 at no cost. They've been doing that for a while now. You'll need a 5LNB dish too. If you like OTA, get the 20 (if they have any left).

spike

I have direct tv,it does not bother me that they removed 5 channels,I get all the ******* channels including all the pay per views.

FTA rules.

fmowry

iTrader: (8)

They're all leased from DTV though. You can't own one unless you pony up at BB or CC and pay the retail price for it.

I actually like the HR20 about as much as the HDTivo which I still have active. Except for the lack of real dual buffers which I use when watching football. It's nice to upgrade the drive by just plugging in an ESata cable and external drive vs opening, booting in Unix, ******* around with scripts and all that.

Frank

Ben

iTrader: (33)

I think even the ones you get from bestbuy are still considered leased equipment. A lesson Direct learned from Dish

magnamx-5

iTrader: (7)

No i don't think so the ones you buy there for 300+$ are yours they do that when people have no credit and still want, programing. Hence they buy the equipment and get raped by the high prices Ben if you want ala carte pricing go to Cband, oh wait that was an option once but for years they have been watering down the signal and loosing channels. I wich i could at least still use my big ole honking dish with my dishnetwork LNB's i would actualy have some good reception then And anyone who has the 411 on FTA lemme know i definetly wanna try it but my searches only turn up turn key products for more $ than i wana put out.

Ben

iTrader: (33)

I both regular mail and e-mailed the letter I wrote. Here is the form letter reply I received to the e-mailed version:
Dear Mr. Berusch,

Thanks for writing about your billing concerns. I am grateful that your letter was brought to my attention and I appreciate your perseverance in settling this matter. As one of our valued customers, your satisfaction is one of our primary concerns. I'm more than happy to assist you.

As you know, the HD channels you are looking for are part of the DIRECTV HD EXTRA PACK, an additional package for HD channels with no standard definition counterpart. You were receiving a free preview of this package through Saturday, December 15.

To add this package for just $4.99/month, just sign into your account at directv.com/mydirectv and click on "Change Programming" under the "My Account" section in the navigation bar on the left. As you have availed of the special bonus to customers who added this package, the DIRECTV HD EXTRA PACK would be free for the first three months to all customers who add it from now through February 25, 2008.

With our expanded HD line up you can enjoy up to 60 new HD channels with your HD ACCESS fee. The HD ACCESS fee allows you to see all the HD simulcasts of your favorite channels.

Now that we've expanded HD programming, DIRECTV has made a few adjustments to its current packaging tiers. While most of our HD channels are also broadcast in standard definition (and available in the HD Access package), there are some networks that show only HD programming. These channels are now part of the DIRECTV HD EXTRA PACK, which offers unique channels not available in any other package.

The DIRECTV HD EXTRA PACK includes MGM HD, and Smithsonian HD, which are only available on DIRECTV, as well as HDNet Movies, MHD and Universal HD. We feel like this package is a great option for customers who want to see additional HD programming.

Moving forward, we’ve updated your receiver with new improvements. Lighter menu colors will give more contrast and text is easier to read. I'm sorry that our new receiver interface doesn't suit your preference. However, we're still looking for better ways that we can improve this. Also, I have made sure to forward your comments and suggestions to the appropriate department for consideration and I want to thank you for you feedback. We appreciate when our customers take the time to share ideas and suggestions with us as this is how we improve our service.

Your programming commitment ends on 10/04/08. We appreciate your business and we want to keep you as a customer. You are very important to us and we look forward to serving you for years to come.

In case you need any assistance with your DIRECTV equipment or programming, we’ve set up a special phone line with a PIN number you can use to reach our team directly. Please call us at 800-824-9081 between 6:05 am and 1:00 am ET daily. When the system asks for a Personal ID Number (PIN), enter 1341 (this PIN is good for five days). We’re looking forward to talking to you!

Thank you for your patience and understanding and for providing us with the opportunity to be of service to you.

Sincerely,

Noel B.
Employee ID 100135478
DIRECTV Customer Service

What really kills me is now some of the channels in the HD package were just a "free preview". Funny how that was never mentioned EVER before.

My reply

Tremiata

iTrader: (1)

I have experience with a few of the pc packages like knoppmyth, mediaportal, mythdora, sage, beyondtv, etc. I also use FTA but never got around to linking the two. Now I use a (FTA) viewsat pro which allows you to link up to an external hd for dvr functions. This particular model is not HD but Viewsat does make an 9000HD model. FTA is nice but its not always up.

Knoppmyth was the most complete solution for a media pc but debian linux was sometimes difficult as I use redhat/fedora more. Mediaportal is free but doesnt do as much functionally as the myth packages.

ArtieParty

iTrader: (1)

try www.al7bar.tk thats the site i use and like. then for updated code files i use www.pctuneup.net

al7bar has a lot of info on it, but can be down at times when everyone is trying to get on all at once to get the new codes.

scfreshy

iTrader: (2)

I had time warner cable and it was terrible. The cable was always going out and the customer service did not help at all. Just recently switched to DTV and I love it. Lotsa HD channels and so far very good service. I didn't even know they removed any..? Which ones did they take out?
EDIT:Nvm saw above post.

-Andrew

teknikscian

iTrader: (3)

call the BBB if youre really serious about it and serious about getting out of your contract. Ive gotten out of a cell phone contract twice, thanks to the BBB. both times the service provider was not doing their job, providing me with quality service.

the BBB can help if you really want to switch cable providers. just have to make sure you have proof that they were in the wrong, as you obviously do, and youre good to go.

Ben

iTrader: (33)

I never did receive any type of response from DirecTV RE: the high def package issue. So I sent letters to 4 different VPs last week. Not expecting anything there though.

Decided it's high time I got the HD DVR. Called em up to order it early this week, and they wanted $50 more than what it costs at Best Buy. Uhm, no. I politely declined, and told the guy on the phone I'd pick up the unit locally this weekend. Probably not coincidentally, this morning I received an email from DirecTV pertaining to an offer for $100 off the upgrade cost of a HD DVR. So I called them up to take advantage... And the guy on the phone tried to pull a fast one on me by marking the box up $100, then "putting it on sale" for me by taking the $100 back off... AKA the same price it was earlier in the week and still $50 more than getting the thing locally.

Douchers.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

wow. usually i can get them to bend over with stuff. i haven't tried to get the hd dvr yet, but i'll be waiting for this douchery.


btw, which was the model with the eSATA and optical spdif ports?

Ben

iTrader: (33)

hr20 hr21
only thing that sucks about the esata is that it doesn't add capacity to the original drive; it replaces it.

fmowry

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, I added a 750 GB free agent. Nice not having to open the box to add capacity and then run a bunch of Unix scripts. Turn off, plug in, turn on, bingo.

Another bad thing is an external drive is married to that box. You can't fill it up with shows, then loan it to a friend with an HR20 or HR21.

Frank

y8s

iTrader: (8)

is it just one drive or what? I dont care about loaning to friends. i care about being selfish and hoarding ****.

plus with places like woot.com selling 500 gig drives for $79 all the time...