Has anyone signed up for a new account recently with DirecTV and/or called them to add a new/additional receiver to their account? To make it interesting (reply via PM if you'd like) anyone from Canada?

Have a few questions I'd like info on, such as the convenience of calling (long hold for instance?) time to activate, current issues when you don't have a land-line (cell and voip only), already have the some equipment set up from previous owner, etc...

Bruno

I recently signed up in the beginning of 2004. [disclaimer]I'm in the U.S. not Canada, so I can't speak for local service and/or installations.[/disclaimer]

My local cable CO. was Comcast - they are what prompted me to move. For basic (analog) cable they were charging me in excess of $55.00/mo. I told myself that if it hit $60 I was dropping them. Needless to say, my first bill of '04 stated that they "needed" to raise prices on their digital cable by $5.00/mo. Since I didn't have their digital package and my bill STILL went up - I called and cancelled.

The equipment: During that time DirecTV was offering, through local retailers, a dish and 3 rooms with free equipment and free installation. I tried one local retailer but they wouldn't touch my house because it's over 2 stories. Plus I wanted a triple-LNB dish (so I had the upgrade option if I ever wanted DirecTivo and/or a HD signal) and they would only give dual. I finally went to Circuit City and they gave me the right equipment and didn't care about the height of my house (this was later found to be irrelevant anyway.)

The installation: They came on a Saturday as I requested which was cool because I didn't have much time to take off for such things. In a matter of 2 hours I was up and running (of course my house's wiring is all home-run so things went a little easier than most.) So for around $50.00/mo. I got a cheaper bill and more channels plus a MUCH better picture compared to the analog cable.

Also, although my receiver is triple-LNB DirecTV installers are only required to run the two wires from the dish into the house. If you want DirecTivo you Need that extra line. Their policy is to charge an extra $50.00 to run that extra line. My installer ran it for free! Yes, I did give a healthy tip.

The upgrade: A few weeks later I found that the receivers I got as part of the package didn't work very well with my ReplayTV. In short I needed to use the IR Blaster to relay the channel changes etc. Every time I wanted to change the channel it took at least 7 seconds (doesn't seem like a lot until you're sitting there waiting.)

Now the ReplayTV can actually connect to some Satellite receivers via the 'low speed data/serial port' eliminating the need for the IR Blaster. My receiver was not compalible. So I found one on e-bay that was and bought it. At the same time I decided to add another room to the system so it all worked out.

The Service: Before I got the receiver I called their customer support to find out what the proceedure was. I was on hold for less than a minute. They told me that when I got it I would need to call them with the serial number of the new receiver so they could issue a new activation card - $20.00. Then I would have to augment the service to include a new room/receiver - $5.00/mo.

When I got the new receiver I called and got the card shipped overnight. The next day I got the card and called again and it was activated while on the phone.

Later that day I realized that one of the other receivers was no longer working. I called their support again and they told me that it must've been a mistake on their end while activating the new receiver. They resolved the issue and reactivated while I was on the phone.

A few months later I called and added the sports package. No hold time, the channels were added within 5 minutes.

In case you couldn't tell I couldn't be happier with their service. Now, I've only had to call 4 or 5 times but I've never had a long hold time or a reason to get upset at them.
YES, during bad storms/weather I do lose the picture but I haven't ever lost it for more than a few minutes.

The only problem I have is the 2 year commitment - which I'm sure has some wiggle room.

Let me just add to this (don't know if Dishnetwork is in Canada), that I've been a customer for Dishnetwork for over 4 years and I'm about to drop them for DirectTV. Their customer service has been terrible and they've cut my service 4 times in the last six months (once which was admittedly my fault due to getting my bills mixed up and not paying them), three times due to their accounting errors which it took them forever to correct. They also would hardly ever listen to me, and it was only when I asked to cancel my service that they finally fixed the problem. So I'm going to cancel anyway, but I'm making sure I have the $99 for the DVR from DirectTV before I do. Not that I know anything about DirectTV's customer service, but it has to be better than DishNetwork.

Thanks for your story... I'm already sold on DirecTV. Have the equipment, card and all. The dish has been up for months. DirecTV aren't licenced to sell into Canada so I have to "pretend" I live in the US (which isn't a problem since I have access to a US address). I was very curious whether they would (re)activate an older card or if they made you buy a new one. By older, I mean one of the type that's still in use today, not one of the realy old ones for which they no longer broadcast a stream/keys for. I also don't have a phone line to connect to any of the receivers - which can be gotten around on the unit by using network and/or patch. Just hope this doesn't present a problem for activation. Do have a US phone number that rings at my house though (voip).

Running 2 cables instead of one is painless - especially if you use the RG-6U stuff for sale at my local electronics store. 2 RG-6 conductors stuck together with a ground wire as well. Like a wider (but flat) cable. Very nice. They should have had this when I did all my wiring! Right now I also have a multi-switch set up, so I could in fact have 8 receivers all over my house. I'll likely activate 2 and then upgrade to 3 or 4 if I find I need to record from more than one room often enough.

Bruno

Tangentially related...

I'm moving in a few weeks, and my new place will be much more DirecTV-friendly than my current apartment. That, along with the fact that only DirecTV has the NFL Sunday Ticket package, has me considering the idea of jumping on the DirecTV bandwagon.

So, questions for those who are more enlightened:

1. What are the best DirecTV deals going now? From what I can tell, you can buy from directv.com or from a number of other online retailers. The best deal I've seen on directv.com is a free 3-room system and $29.99/month for 6 months of the 125 channels + local package. Are better deals to be had from the 3rd party retailers?

2. I understand there is a slightly bigger oval dish for DirecTV that is needed for some services. I know it's required for HDTV broadcasts (I'm not on HDTV yet) but I also read somewhere that it's required to pick up local channels. True? If so, the above deal is just for a regular dish, so I'd have to look elsewhere.

3. I have two ReplayTVs, and am not willing to give them up for a DirecTiVo or similar. So I need a DirecTV receiver that has serial input so I can control it with my ReplayTV. Do all DTV receivers have serial input? Most of them?

4. Any particular brands of receiver I should look for? Other than brand name, what are the things that differentiate the various DTV receivers?

5. Any reason I should let them install for me? I am sure I can handle installation myself, but are there any advantages to letting them do it?

That's it for now. Hopefully I can figure all this out before I get out there so I don't have to miss my football games.

3. I have two ReplayTVs, and am not willing to give them up for a DirecTiVo or similar. So I need a DirecTV receiver that has serial input so I can control it with my ReplayTV. Do all DTV receivers have serial input? Most of them?

I am a ReplayTV owner who just recently had DirecTV installed. I was given Hughes SD-HBH receivers (no serial port) by the installer. I hadn't thought to ask for one that had serial control when I made the appointment, but I'm not disappointed. The IR Blaster does the job just fine. But consider that I don't watch live TV ever, and so I never experience the channel change delay.

On the other hand, a friend of mine who had DirecTV installed a few months ago received DirecTV branded model D10 receivers. These do have serial control, and it was recently that ReplayTV sent out a software update to support DirecTV's newer serial command set (called Serial APG). Before the update was released, he was using an adaptor designed by another ReplayTV owner for serial control.

So if you set out to choose a receiver that has a serial port, you should have no worries. But if you get your equipment from your installer and it doesn't, I'd still say give IR control a chance before replacing the receiver.

Thanks, guys.

robricc:

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IVery few new receivers have serial ports. And, aparently, some new RCA models with a serial port aren't yet compatible with ReplayTV.

Damn. Am I better off hitting EBay or similar and getting older models, then? I think the ReplayTV FAQ has a list of models that are RTV-friendly, but I was hoping newer models were as well. I'll do some digging on those Hughes models.

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"Standard installation" means drilling through outside walls wherever you want a receiver hooked up. If you have 4 receivers in your house, you will have 4 new holes in it...

Er, yeah, that's not happening. This is a townhouse, but I'm renting it. Guess I'll be doing a self install.

mcomb:

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(they need to face slightly different directions and I don't have line of site for the oval)

Really? Does the DirecTV site give you an idea of what that is? When I put in my ZIP code and it gave me azimuth and elevation, it didn't ask what kind of dish I'd be using.

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Reconsider! DirecTiVo is a very good thing Dunno the answer to your actual question

Yeah, but ReplayTV is not negotiable. I'm not giving away commercial advance or DVArchive, despite the DirecTivo's other niceties.

I'm wondering what the chances are that I call DirecTV and they actually know whether the receiver(s) they send me have serial or not.

Zero, I'm afraid. They can't really give you any details about the specific brands or models of equipment that an installer might show up with. Installation is done by someone "local" who is licensed. So if you call DirecTV and get everything set up, they call someone within a certain distance from you to come do the job.

However if you go straight to a local installer as I did, you might be able to get some information on different receivers and their features, and perhaps even request that they bring one or more of a certain model they may carry that is to your liking.

But if you're planning to do the job yourself, you can buy whichever model you prefer.

Can't you also go buy the equipment and then call direct tv and have the installer sent out.

I'd like to confirm that you can buy all your own equipment, call DirecTV, tell them you don't need anyone coming out, and then set everything up yourself. Is that correct? Can anyone also confirm that they don't ask for your social security number (obviously I don't have one)?

Bruno

I'm not sure about the social security number. My memory is getting fuzzy on this, but I seem to recall that they did ask.

The phone line is no big deal! It's just used to order movies and pay-per-view stuff. I only have 1 receiver using a phone line and all work fine.