I am hoping this is of some interest to someone here; kind of payback for the fun I've been having lately with the Axioms and the Message Board.
I was notified last week that we will be getting local channels via DirecTv satellite in April. Right now I have HD sat for the HT, but we are getting basic cable for the locals. The TV in the den is only hooked to the cable. With the notification, I went to Circuit City on Sunday to see what another receiver was going to cost me.
A basic non-HD, channel switching revceiver was $99 and an HD receiver topped out at $700. I wrote down some model numbers and went home to do the requisite research. By dumb luck, I stumbled across
this thread on the AVS Forum.
Simply put, they have a deal for $399 that includes a new installation or, for current customers, an upgrade to HD satellite. This includes an HD Receiver, a 3 LNB oval sat dish and, in some cases, an OTA antenna.
There is a remarkable twist to this FOR CURRENT CUSTOMERS ONLY (newbies don't get the full bene). Apparently, if you are a current customer and call the "Customer Retention Anaylst", there is a 1-800 number in the thread, good things are available.
If you have been a customer for at least the last 2 years AND spend, on average more than $40-$45 per month, they will give you the deal, including installation, the receiver, sat dish and OTA antenna (they ship the hardware to you) and charge your credit card for the $399 + shipping + tax. (My total came to about $460). They will then put credits on your DirecTv account in an amount that gets you to $99 TOTAL (in my case, that's $361). The credits run off each month to pay your bill. Again, this includes installation and hooking up the second TV.
In some instances, they also provide other credits. I asked for the 6 mos. of free Showtime, (which I already have), and they gave me that credit as well.
Net is that for $99, I will be getting a HD receiver (Hughes or Samsung) rather than an entry level box and they will run the second cable and hook me up. Since I already have the 3 LNB dish, I will have an extra to keep in the basement. Since he won't need to crawl around putting up a dish, I'm pretty sure I can get the installer to set me up such that I would be able to receive the sat in all of my rooms. I wired the entire house for cable when it was being built, so the sat can be plugged into that network.
If you meet the criteria and either want to upgrade to HD or add a second TV, it might be worth a look. The thread is pretty extensive, but details emerge throughout and it's worth 30 minutes if you can take advantage of it.
After reading it last night, I called, said I'd like to discuss the $99 HD deal. He asked my name, checked my record and said "OK, you qualify, here are the details". I was done and the installation was scheduled for Saturday in 15 minutes.
I really hope someone finds this useful.
PLEASE NOTE - I have typed this up very quickly (this work stuff keeps getting in the way). The details are in the thread and there are more nuances/details than I have provided here. You'll need to read that thread.
Ray
