----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
There is no such thing as basic TiVo service with DirecTv. You pay a $5.99 a
month TiVo fee that covers all your TiVos. I have 5, 3 HD and 2 SD. You have
full DirecTv TiVo usage.
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Healy" <
[email protected]>
To: "HDTV Magazine" <
[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: New Direct TV MPEG-4 services and hardware.
> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>
>
> Larry,
>
> Is the Basic Tivo service with this box sufficient or did you pay the
> extra
> $12.99/month for the full service? Thanks
>
> On 8/7/05 2:32 PM, "Larry Baumann" <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>
>> FYI ...
>> I have taken the plunge....
>> Purchased a new HR10-250 on eBay for $498 (just over $500 with
>> shipping), paid DirecTV for installation (I think it was something like
>> $40+commit to 12 months subscription of at least Total Choice package).
>> In this case I got a second dish on the garage since there wasn't an
>> acceptable way to get the second coax from the multiswitch in the attic
>> to the first floor family room, so I'm using the in-wall coax just for
>> the OTA anteana in the attic and have new dual coax from the new dish
>> into the HR10-250.
>> I'm betting DirecTV will take care of their subscribers one way or
>> another through any migration of equipment that may come.
>> I am happy......
>> --Larry
>>
>>
>> Erik Gaderlund wrote:
>>
>>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>>
>>> At 02:01 PM -0700 08/04/05, Bob Mankin wrote:
>>>
>>>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>>>
>>>> Richard, a couple of key facts for your consideration:
>>>>
>>>> -- HD Tivo customers make up <.25% of D* total customer base. It was
>>>> 25k
>>>> users last Q and I'm estimating an addition of 5k this Q. As a group,
>>>> you're
>>>> still not a huge force. If you listen to the DTV earnings conference
>>>> call
>>>> from just this morning, you can hear the CEO state how he doesn't
>>>> think HDTV
>>>> is mainstream yet. I guess he's just going to wait for it to get
>>>> "mainstream" before getting serious and by then the RBOCs will have
>>>> rolled
>>>> out their services and his job will just get that much more difficult.
>>>
>>>
>>> Though I have noticed that D* at least recognizes that TiVo
>>> subscribers to tend to last longer than others, so hopefully that will
>>> help the 'HD owners. I've been thinking of getting one, but, am
>>> heistant due to the changeover. One thing that would help is since
>>> ATSC (OTA) will still be MPEG2, will one be able to continue to use an
>>> HD TiVo with and antenna, and will it still be updated? I have read
>>> that they are not upgradeable to MPEG-4, but, as a dependable and easy
>>> OTA PVR I'd be willing to go for one (seen them used for under $600).
>>>
>>>> -- Comcast has been installing HD DVRs for only a few months and
>>>> currently
>>>> has 1.5 million subs compared to 35-40k(estimate) at DTV. D* has been
>>>> at it
>>>> much longer, but has only a small percentage of the subs. You think
>>>> their
>>>> STB pricing/ownership model might be to blame?
>>>
>>>
>>> My problem is that the local Comcast has a more expensive and smaller
>>> offering of channels than D* (minus equipment costs and image
>>> quality). But, that TiVo signed a deal with some of the cable
>>> companies to furnish PVR is intriguing.
>>>
>>>> -- D* is going to a leasing model in early '06. It was not specifically
>>>> stated that the new HD DVR box would be part of that, but comments
>>>> made by
>>>> the CEO suggest he clearly understands the subs being lost to cable
>>>> because
>>>> of the zero cost upfront compared to the $600 or whatever it is today
>>>> with
>>>> D*. So who's to say they don't just give you a lower cost option than
>>>> new
>>>> subs to move over to a lease? Voom made the mistake of having
>>>> customers buy,
>>>> then switching to a lease option. I guess D* has a short memory on
>>>> how may
>>>> were ticked off by that. Or maybe they just don't care.
>>>
>>>
>>> I've heard rumors of 'free PVR' for a 2-year commitment.
>>>
>>>> D* has years and years of history of customer dissatisfaction behind
>>>> them.
>>>> Either they recognize the seriousness of the looming change in the
>>>> market
>>>> environment of TV and change their ways.....or they continue with
>>>> their old
>>>> habits and alienate existing customers. As a group, you HD Tivo
>>>> owners make
>>>> up a number less than what D* is losing in customer churn in 1 weeks
>>>> time.
>>>> If they lost you all overnight(highly unlikely), it wouldn't be the
>>>> end of
>>>> the world for them. But to replace all of your hardware at no cost to
>>>> you,
>>>> could potentially be a $40-$50 million CAPEX expense. Remember, it will
>>>> require a truck roll in many cases in addition to the hardware. Wall
>>>> St. and
>>>> the stockholders would Bar-B-Que the entire Board of Directors for
>>>> such an
>>>> expense for so few customers.
>>>
>>>
>>> And the cable companies are shining examples of customer
>>> satifaction;) Maybe if the satellite guys get more competitive with
>>> cable we'll see some real competition, it does seem that the recent
>>> inroads of the sats have spooked the cable companies a bit.
>>>
>>> erik g
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Bob
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: HDTV Magazine On
>>>>> Behalf Of
>>>>> Richard and Carrie Bray
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 12:14 PM
>>>>> To: HDTV Magazine
>>>>> Subject: Re: New Direct TV MPEG-4 services and hardware.
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- HDTV Magazine Tips List -----
>>>>>
>>>>> The HD Tivo is manufactured by D* (they contract out the actual
>>>>> effort to
>>>>> a
>>>>> plant in Mexico). The future NDS designs to be utilized by D* will
>>>>> follow
>>>>> the same process. The PVR used by Sky Digital in the UK was
>>>>> designed by
>>>>
>>>>> NDS
>>>>
>>>>> but manufactured by another company. Murdoch controls both D* and
>>>>> Sky;
>>>>> and
>>>>> I believe I've read that he owns a major chunk of NDS. The switch
>>>>> to NDS
>>>>> makes sense if you follow the "Murdoch money".
>>>>>
>>>>> Regarding earlier comments on problems with providing "free" swap
>>>>> for HD
>>>>> Tivo: D* has a group of users paying around $100/month with
>>>>> basically no
>>>>> additional expenses for D* (i.e., expenses don't significantly
>>>>> increase
>>>>> with
>>>>> additional dishes/STB's). These users have recently paid approx.
>>>>> $1k for
>>>>> their HD Tivo's which D* will soon make obsolete. D* can (1) tell
>>>>> them
>>>>> "tough luck, buy a replacement", and lose a bunch of customers; or
>>>>> (2)
>>>>> give
>>>>> them a free replacement (which is "paid for" in five or six months of
>>>>> premiums) if they sign a contract for a guaranteed additional year of
>>>>> service. I know what I would recommend if I were doing strategic
>>>>> planning
>>>>> for D*.
>>>>>
>>>>> R.L. Bray
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>> From: "Bob Mankin" <
[email protected]>
>>>>> To: "HDTV Magazine" <
[email protected]>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 04, 2005 1:30 PM
>>>>> Subject: Re: New Direct TV MPEG-4 services and hardware.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> To unsubscribe please click:
[email protected]
>>>>
>>>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>>>> same day) send an email to:
>>>>
[email protected]
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> To unsubscribe please click:
[email protected]
>>>
>>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>>> same day) send an email to:
>>>
[email protected]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe please click:
[email protected]
>>
>> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that
>> same
>> day) send an email to:
>>
[email protected]
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe please click:
[email protected]
>
> To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same
> day) send an email to:
>
[email protected]
>
To unsubscribe please click:
[email protected]
To receive the digest mode (one email a day made from all posted that same day) send an email to:
[email protected] 
. It's the principal of