Last month I was paying Time Warner $90/month for their digital service minus the Variety Tier (Nick, Noggin, misc kids channels, and G4), 3 boxes, DVR service, and HBO. I thought that was bad enough. This month my bill was $190. Yes, $190 for one month. There was an error on the bill, so they knocked it down $75, but the rep told me that my bill was going up to $120 for the same service regardless, and I saw on my statement that the receiver and remote fees are going up next month. I tried to negotiate the price down, but the best he was willing to do for me was $100/month, and only if I dropped HBO. No thanks.

I finally bit the bullet and called Directv. What's different from cable? How does the on-demand stuff work? I don't have a home phone, so no phone line. Is that going to be a problem?

They're coming to install on Jan 26. Can't wait!

More HD.
More Sports.
More channel offerings (except for the premiums).
Better DVR (although my last one was a piece of crap).
Slower channel changing.
Bad weather drop-outs.

I don't use the OD because it's basically a downloading type deal. That's where cable is superior. Cable is instant on-demand.

Not very well. It is the only thing in which cable has an advantage.

Only if you want to watch PPV. I never have a phone line hooked up.

If the installer does a good job, you shouldn't get any weather dropouts. The only weather dropouts I get are when snow or ice builds up too much on the dish, in which case I just go out wipe the dish off with a broom.

I haven't figured out how to do the On Demand stuff either.

I just switched over as well, since I'm moving and I can finally get a dish on the roof.

If you're a AAA member, you can get 10 bucks a month off for 2 years, but you may need to cancel and redo your registration. For 240 bucks, it's worth it.

I also went with only one HD-DVR, since it was a free upgrade. 199 to get a second one just didn't seem like a good deal, considering you're only leasing it, and with the new DirecTIVO hopefully coming out soon. Guess it's back to IR Blasters on my existing SD Tivos.

I also have an old SD DirecTIVO... is that something that I can hook up myself? I realize it requires two inputs, I wonder if the installer will run two lines for me in one room.

Your DVR has to have an internet connection. After you hook it up, either reboot your DVR or wait until the next day. Then tune to channel 1000, or the specific channel in the 1000s for the network that you want. Neither the selection of programs nor the interface are good at all.

Whether you can hook it up or not depends on how old the access card is. Just tell the installer that you have it and where you want it, and he should take care of you. He can run two lines to the room.

We recently switched to DirectTV after having cable forever and I am really disappointed with their On Demand. When I first "plugged in", I thought I was in the wrong section. I was like "this is IT?"

Why do you guys think that it is so bad? It's not like On Demand is a new thing. Comcast has had it for years now.

Well I do. There's not much to do for my set-up. It's sitting on a balcony and aimed properly. If it pours, it pours and drops out.

I'd check your signal strength during sunny days and see how high it is. Maybe your dish aim needs to be fine tuned a bit.

I have - 95+.

I have the Choice Extra package with no premium channels, 2 DVR's, 1 regular box and I pay roughly $73 a month. Well worth it.

If you choose to add a premium package like HBO or Showtime it's going to be between $12-14 a month extra. Skinemax only has 3 channels and is $12 a month and that IMO is a ripoff.

I think no phonel line might be a problem for your DVR. It needs to dial into Directv to download and update itself a few times a week.

You don't need a phone line for your DVR. It gets the guide data off the satellite.

Then why does it need to dial into Directv for? What data is it receiving off the phone line? I know it uses it for pay per view movies.

You're 13 weeks too late!









YOu missed the unedited, commercial free season of Friday Night Lights!
Oh well.. now you'll have to watch it on NBC.. with commercials and scenes cut.

All kidding aside, welcome to Directv.. I think you'll enjoy it.

Oh excellent. I'll call about the AAA promo. Hopefully they can add that on without having to redo my registration.

I also went with just one HD-DVR. We have two HDTVs, so I have the one HD DVR, a regular HD box (had to pay $99 for that one), and a standard def box for our tv in the bedroom.

They were not able to add it on to mine. They made me cancel my initial order and reorder, since the AAA number is a different number. Because of that, I STILL can't log into the site because both the canceled order and my new order have the same email address. Ugh. Here's the promotion, btw:

http://www.aaa.com/aaa/215/discounts...ectv/index.htm

Like I said before, though, worth the hassle for 240 bucks, and the period is exactly the time of your contract anyway.

It says not valid with other promotions, but it also states that it IS valid with the nationally advertised promotion. This means in addition to your free upgrade to HD-DVR receiver (I think that promotion is still applicable, depending on the tier you signed up for), you should be able to get a free HD receiver as well, so you can save the 100 bucks too.

I had a DirecTivo 5 years or so ago before I switched back to cable (they made you pay hundreds for a new HD dish and boxes if you wanted to watch HD back then), and it called in for data over the phone line. I've heard things have changed quite a bit, but that's been my biggest concern.

I also got 3 months free of HBO, Showtime, and Starz. I'm digging that. I'll be able to watch a season of Flight of the Conchords and hopefully catch up on this season's Dexter for free. I've really missed having the Starz Encore stations as well.

The plan I signed up for is the Choice Xtra Plus HD DVR, plus the 3 movie channels for 3 months, plus 2 additional receivers, and I'm only paying $59/month. Half my current TW bill, a ton of additional channels, and 3 premiums for 3 months. I couldn't be happier.

I'd say this is a cause for celebration. Party at Kirsten's house?

Unfortunately, Dexter's 3rd season concluded a few weeks ago and is not re-airing. I actually signed up for a Showtime special ($7 a month for 3 months) specifically to catch Dexter and Californication.

I don't have HD yet, so I'm not sure if Dexter is available on the on-demand service.

Nice, I'll give them a call this evening. I'm guessing I won't be able to use the $50 referral credit that one of my coworkers gave me, and he's going to be a bit annoyed about that, but $240 + free $99 HD box > $50.

I don't know. I've never had my receivers plugged into a phone line, but you are right - it serves a PPV function, but you don't even need it for that. You can order PPV online.

The phone line thing is mainly for PPV and that stuff. But you can log onto your account online or call to place an order. Not terribly inconvenient. I haven't had a land line in like 6 years, and since I never use PPV anyway, it's not a problem for me.

Congrats on the switch, BTW.