Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler OFF TOPIC - DirecTv HD Offer

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

Ray
Seems like you should be getting the 2004 Voracious poster of the year award...

Yes, I signed up for the HD DirecTV deal yesterday. Unforutnately, if you are under 2 years of service, it'll cost $199. OK, w/ me since they are upgrading my dish and giving me a rcvr w/ it. Hopefully I can convince the installer to help me run the wires to my wiring panel.

I did this in prep for the HD DirecTivo coming in April. Also, it appears the HD receiver (both standard and HD Tivo) will support DVI, which is supported by my plasma.

More detail on the AVS Forum.

HD DirecTivo

On reflection, that's a pretty good observation. I've had such a good experience with the folks at Axiom, the speakers and the information on the board that I've been trying to give some of it back. Probably ought to let somebody else get a word in edgewise I suppose.

What is a OTA antenna? Is that what you need to get your local channels?

OTA = over the air. Lets you pick up local channels. Just an every day antenna, but it is designed to attach to the sat dish.

OTA is used when an HD station is not available on cable or satellite. Local stations sometimes provide an HD signal OTA.

Ray, I can't pretend to speak for any but myself, but, as for me, your addition to the forum has been a welcome one. Keep 'em comin'.

There's an awful lot of nice people on this forum who have been very helpful to new folks like me (for which I am most grateful. THANK YOU ALL), and you seem to fit in just fine.

I'm confused. I know what else is new!!

I have a triple LNB dish, but I do not have an HD receiver. I want to get the HD with Tivo when it comes out. Can someone explain to me what benefit this deal is to me? After installing the new speakers and learning how to set everythng up, my brain is fried. I come to work to get a break!!!

John

John,

I don't know if you read the thread I referenced, but there may be some additional detail in there for you. I skimmed it to pick out the info specific to my needs.

However, my feeble memory tells me that there are a few pieces that may be of interest there for you:
1) At the very least, you would get a HD reciever. Depending on your history with DirecTV, this would cost you $99, $199 or $399. A decent HD receiver would cost at least $399 at Circuit City.

2) When the installer comes out & finds you already have the 3 LNB dish installed, he will still hook up the HD receiver. Since you would now have a surplus receiver, I'd guess he would run another line from the dish and hook you up on a second TV with that surplus unit. The 3 LNB dish lets you watch different channels with different receivers.

3) I remember seeing something in the thread about a receiver/Tivo combo. While they don't offer that unit with the package, I think (don't hold me to this) there is something in the thread where they let you buy a receiver/Tivo and credit your account to some extent.

4) I also remember credits involving 6 months of HBO and/or Showtime and some # of months for this upgrade the HD package.

Seriously - comb through that thread for detail and give them a call. I'm sure there are other bits that I haven't mentioned. A little time might let you upgrade to HD and save a little money in the process.

Ray

jskip
the advantage of the deal is you get an HD Receiver w/ the package. As ray said, you already have triple LNB so one thought is to have the installer run the additional cables you need if you don't have all 4 run already. This'll prep you for HD DirecTivo in April. Then you can buy that ($999 MSRP but you can get preorder deals) and then sell your standalone HD DirecTV receiver. Those are going for >$200 on ebay right now.