speedkilz88 said:
Thats not what I was talking about. Dishnetwork has receivers that have two separate tuners which allow you to hook up two tvs to one receiver so you can watch different channels. My brother has one dual tuner with pvr on his living room and bedroom and a regular dual tuner receiver hooked up to two tvs in his kids rooms. That way he only has to pay an additional fee on one extra receiver. I don't know if directv does this yet, but would think they would need to compete.
I might be way off here, but DirecTV doesn't need to do much to "compete" with ANY service (DISH or cable). DTV has stepped up to the plate in a big way to outperform all other avenues of television. Cable and DISH were completely up in arms when DirecTV outbid them both (again) for NFL Sunday Ticket (I believe the bid was in the multi billion dollar range for the next 6-7 years). They have the lock on TIVO (which for anyone whose ever used another DVR after using TIVO knows that it's just plain inferior), They were the first to offer the NFL channel (at no additional charge, mind you) and are in the process of adding HD local channels at an alarming rate. The HD package is expanding by 5-6 more channels by the end of the year (and anyone who has watched the NBA playoofs in HD on TNT or ESPN, or the Discovery HD channel will tell you with extreme delight what an amazing television experience it is).
Not to dump on anyone who is still tied to the ol' cord, but if you are still using cable (unless you absolutely have no other option) you are living in the dark ages and being gouged for it. I compared package prices for the same set up I have with DirecTV with my local cable company, and I would be paying close to $170.00 a month for all the channels I get from DTV for @ $120.00. Now, mind you I have all the premium channels, sports package, Playboy channel, locals, and the HD package (toss in Sunday Ticket) and it's a no brainer. That price includes one HD TIVO in the Living room, one TIVO in the our bedroom, one TIVO in the kids' TV room, and another receiver in our daughter's bedroom, it also includes insurance to cover any damages incurred by lightning, wind, etc.
When I told that to the cable rep over the phone and asked what they could do to match, there was about a 3 second pause and finally the guy said "There is no way I can come close to matching that for that price" (even though I had no intention of switching in the first place just wanted to win an arguement with a friend, who also, by the way, is still living in the dark ages).
To top it off, when you are a DirecTV customer you get "attaboys" from the company after being a loyal customer for a couple of years. Case in point: When I ordered my HD TIVO and the extra one for the kids' TV room I called a CSR and told them to connect me a retention representative (remember this for all of you who have DirecTV and don't know this little trick. A retention rep has a lot more pull and discretion than a regular customer service guy) I told them that I wanted to get an HD TIVO and the package , but wasn't sure if I could afford to swing the extra charge on my bill. "No problem" she says "here's what I can do, I will send you a form for a $200.00 (original sales price $649.00) rebate on the purchase of the HD Tivo (will record 250 hours of standard definition programming or 30 hours of HD programming), we'll give you the other Tivo (70 hours of recording time) for the price of shipping ($14.95), I'll credit your account $100.00 and we'll give you $6.00 off the price of your premium package channels for the next six months (50%off X 3) and you can have the HD package for free for the next six months and well waive the installation fee ($99.00). Will that help?" Uhhhhhhhhhh.......yeah. GREAT! Lo and behold I sent the rebate form back in about three weeks ago, got my check last week ($200.00 cha ching) , and to top it off, I got another $100.00 check from DirecTV the following day. I called and asked if the extra $100.00 check was some kind of mistake, the rep told me it was just a simple thank you from DirecTV for being a loyal customer and for making another two year commitment to DirecTV (been a customer since 99).
Man, you could only DREAM of getting that kind of treatment from DISH or cable. Sorry guys, but if you're with anyone but DirecTV you're totally missing the boat.
SS
: No way I'm hooking up that land-line now.
