# Sadly, I am saying good bye to DirecTV after 14 years



## Strejcek (Sep 28, 2006)

It's not that I really wanted to, but like everything else lately, it has come down to a matter of finances and more "bang for the buck." I was the first person in my city to get FIOS installed and I only went with the phone and internet at that time. There was nothing more that FIOS offered, at that time, that DirecTV did not offer, so I stayed with DirecTV. Another reason I stayed with DirecTV, the CE program here was really kicking off into full swing and I was very pleased to be a participant and enjoyed being one of the first people in the nation to test the 5 channel SWM.

I recently downgraded my programming package with DirecTV because it just got too expensive; that coupled with the DVR fees, the extra fees for Smithsonian TV, MGM, Universal, etc, the future fee for multi-room viewing, it was just getting to be too much. I remember a day, not too long ago, where you could get every channel DirecTV offered for less than $80 a month. Unfortunately I understand that the rates need to go up because DirecTV has an overhead that most other cable companies do not; satellites, their maintenance, and their launch.

Last Thursday, I pulled the trigger and had FIOS TV installed. I went ahead and purchased two Tivo premiere DVRs, one of those an XL, because of all the negative press Verizon's DVRs received. I am very pleased I went with the Tivo boxes; you don't realize how much you actually miss Tivo until you get reacquainted with it.

The FIOS picture is out of this world; the SD picture is DVD quality and the HD picture is mind blowing, far superior to DirecTV in every way. I would have never thought that until I compared the two. Watching V in HD on DirecTV vs watching V in HD on FIOS, all I can say is the DirecTV picture looked soft and blurry compared to FIOS, and yes both boxes were hooked up to my TV using HDMI. Not only is the picture better, but I'm getting almost 30 more channels, most of those HD, for less money. Where I was spending $185 for phone, internet, and DirecTV, I'll now be spending right around $150, a price locked in for two years. That sure makes budgeting more simple.

If the new DirecTivo box is anything like the premiere boxes, all I can say is you guys are in for a real treat, especially if the HD menus all get implemented and the bugs worked out. The HD GUI is beautiful and I cannot wait until Tivo gets all of the menus in HD.

To all of my friends here on DBS Talk, I would like to say that, although I will no longer be a DirecTV customer, I will still be around *slap* HDTVSportsfan. I would like to especially thank Earl Bonovich, Doug Brott, Tom Robertson, and all of the other moderators, and CE echelons that have worked tirelessly here on the forum helping to make the DirecTV products as good as they are. Earl and Doug, thank you for allowing me to beta test the SWM and the Linksys WET610n. Boy it sure is going to be weird not staying up till midnight on a weekend night to download a CE release; I'm going to miss it.

No go and watch some TV! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, "Feel the Heat Rays!"


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## afulkerson (Jan 14, 2007)

Sorry to see you go.


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## Strejcek (Sep 28, 2006)

afulkerson said:


> Sorry to see you go.


I'll still be lurking  I'm not that easy to get rid of :lol:


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Good luck man! It's only TV, after all... I'd do the same if FIOS was available and presented a compelling cost savings.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

more money for donuts now


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## HDTVsportsfan (Nov 29, 2005)

houskamp said:


> more money for donuts now


:lol: You beat me to it. I figured the increased costs cut into his donut budget.

Sorry to see ya go buddy. Make sure you stop by every now and again, especially in chat so I can /kick your butt out.


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

There are those you don't notice when the leave.
There are those you are happy that they leave.
And then, there are those who you hate to see leave, but can understand the decision.
Strejack, you are in that last group. Times are tough, you have to make decisions. I hope it turns out the best for you. Besides, it's not like you won't be back from time to time.

Oh, and what are these "rays" you speak of?


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Lots of luck Im glad you will still lurk at DBSTalk


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## HDTVsportsfan (Nov 29, 2005)

Newshawk said:


> ......
> Oh, and what are these "rays" you speak of?


The ones that the Yankees will soon be overtaking and not looking back.


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## narrod (Jul 26, 2007)

Makes sense. Unfortunately, living in an AT&T service area, FIOS is not an option. uServe will be rolling out soon and, after 11 years, my DirecTv days are numbered.


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

Cost of Tivo Premiere & Premiere XL = $798

$12.95/box service = $621.60

total = $1419.60

$35 service savings over two years = $840.00

Over two years, you'll be spending *$579.60 MORE* (or $24.15/month...roughly the price of the TiVo service) than had you stayed with DirecTV. How is that a savings?


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Sorry to see you go, but understand. Unfortunately we don't have Fios or Uverse available here, and probably never will, so D* it is.

Good luck.


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## celticpride (Sep 6, 2006)

I also finally left directv after 16 years for verizon fios what they say about fios tv is true! i was blown away by the quality of the HD on channels like FX,TNT,,HGTV,etc.etc,. I will be buying 2 tivo premieres soon one will be the tivo xl for the living room (150 hours of HD recording space!). the only drawback to the verizon box is recording space(i keep losing movies i recorded) also i no longer have the audio dropouts that i had with D* the past year or so. other than that the directv dvr is much easier to use than the fios dvr.I"m still kind of in shock that i left D* the main reason i left was for verizons picture quality ,lower price and mostly to get TIVO again.:grin:


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

syphix said:


> Cost of Tivo Premiere & Premiere XL = $798
> 
> $12.95/box service = $621.60
> 
> ...


Yes, I was about to post the same thing.

Additionally, I've been comparing FIOS' picture quality to D*'s for several years now (at least weekly) and I just don't see that difference. I saw a difference a few years ago, but not since D* went to MPEG4.

But as long as the OP thinks he's saving money and getting a better picture, and is happy, that's all that matters.


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## psweig (Feb 4, 2006)

You were always one of my favorites in the chat room. Live long and prosper


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## dirtyblueshirt (Dec 7, 2008)

Good luck, and enjoy your FiOS, "the only true alternative to DirecTV"


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## vbedford (Jul 25, 2008)

It's that much more?


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

Strejcek, no worries its only TV. take care buddy and i'll see ya in chat some time.


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

Makes sense. Fios doesn't re-compress, DirecTV has to since they use MPEG-4. I've always wondered how they can offer such cheap bundles, it makes me envious of areas that have Fios. Their amortized cost per sub of fiber is a heck of a lot higher than DirecTV's satellites, but they can offer triple-play. U-Verse on the other hand, it's pretty bad.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

narrod said:


> Makes sense. Unfortunately, living in an AT&T service area, FIOS is not an option. uServe will be rolling out soon and, after 11 years, my DirecTv days are numbered.


u-verse line up sucks as you need U-300 + sports pack to get the same stuff as directv choice xtra.

U-300 does have the full Stars + showtime as part of it's price.

U-200 You do not have to have the movies pack but is missing a few non movie channels that U-300 has.

So U-300 $82.00/mo + 10 HD + 10 sports = $102 + $7 per tv -7 tv one.

VS about $63.99 + 20 for HD + DVR + MVR = $84 + $5 per tv - $5 tv 1.

U-200 does not have
CBS College Sports Network HD - need U-450 or sports
Fox Business Network HD 
Hallmark Movie Channel HD 
Investigation Discovery HD 
ION Life 
NASA TV
NHL Network HD - need U-450 or sports
Outdoor Channel HD - need U-450 or sports
PBS Kids Sprout
Planet Green HD
qubo 
TVG Network - need U-450 or sports
VH1 Soul

Why do you need to BUY STARS and SHOWTIME to get so many non movie channels?

ALSO NO MLB NETWORK AT ALL!


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

Sorry to see you go brother... Good luck with FIOS and stay safe!

- Merg


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## seern (Jan 13, 2007)

I was just looking on Amazon and the TiVo XL is $499. A lot of money for 150 hours of hd recording and there is still the monthly fee to TiVo on top of the cost of Fios or cable.


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

JoeTheDragon said:


> u-verse line up sucks as you need U-300 + sports pack to get the same stuff as directv choice xtra.
> 
> U-300 does have the full Stars + showtime as part of it's price.
> 
> ...


The biggest issue with U-Verse is that the picture quality just sucks. It's way overcompressed.



seern said:


> I was just looking on Amazon and the TiVo XL is $499. A lot of money for 150 hours of hd recording and there is still the monthly fee to TiVo on top of the cost of Fios or cable.


TiVo has lifetime for $399. The boxes are $700 or $900 when you include service. If you already have TiVo, they are $600 or $800 with MSD.

Or you could get an MCE box with the Ceton tuner, which is pretty expensive, but, like TiVo, doesn't have monthly fees, and is also scalable with extenders, and you can add as much storage as you want. If you want 10TB, go for it.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Why is it that whenever someone cancels DirecTV they feel the need to post some rambling thread about it? Not trying to bash anyone but it seems like there is 1 or 2 threads like this every week. Do people do this every time they cancel any type of service or subscription? 

I know I chose to click on the thread so don't start with the canned responses.


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## wesmills (Apr 7, 2003)

syphix said:


> Cost of Tivo Premiere & Premiere XL = $798
> 
> $12.95/box service = $621.60
> 
> ...


I would point out a couple of flaws in your numbers: Only the first box is $12.95. The second is $9.95. So 24 @ 12.95 = 310.80. 24 @ 9.95 = 238.80, total service 549.60. (He could spend $698 and get TiVo lifetime on both boxes) In addition, MRV is included with a TiVo, so that saves the service fee, but you do have to network it yourself instead of having DECA or MoCA built in.

Ultimately, it comes down to who you want to pay, and how much. If Verizon offered FS Houston in HD (or at all, really), I'd be set. Instead, I pick up the Astros on XM.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

SPACEMAKER said:


> Why is it that whenever someone cancels DirecTV they feel the need to post some rambling thread about it? Not trying to bash anyone but it seems like there is 1 or 2 threads like this every week. Do people do this every time they cancel any type of service or subscription?
> 
> I know I chose to click on the thread so don't start with the canned responses.


It's a mixture of saying bye to people on the site, sharing a new experience which they are happy about, and closing the door on something they enjoyed.


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## VLaslow (Aug 16, 2006)

And, why not say "Goodbye?" After 3 or 4 years the people you interact with become real friends.


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

wesmills said:


> I would point out a couple of flaws in your numbers: Only the first box is $12.95. The second is $9.95. So 24 @ 12.95 = 310.80. 24 @ 9.95 = 238.80, total service 549.60. (He could spend $698 and get TiVo lifetime on both boxes) In addition, MRV is included with a TiVo, so that saves the service fee, but you do have to network it yourself instead of having DECA or MoCA built in.
> 
> Ultimately, it comes down to who you want to pay, and how much. If Verizon offered FS Houston in HD (or at all, really), I'd be set. Instead, I pick up the Astros on XM.


Average of $350/box for Lifetime, the amortization period is 4 years, that's $7.29/mo/box, or $14.58/mo, the upside being that you get them for free after the amortization period is up. Add in the cost of the actual box, which is $300/box, that's $650/box, or $13.54/mo/box, or $27.08/mo total, again free starting month 49, not including electricity (since any DVR would use that in some amount).

Of course, that really begs the question; at $1300 for two locations, why not build an MCE box with the Quad Ceton board, two dual Clear-QAM cards, and an extender, save the couple bucks a month on cable card #2, and have twice as many tuners?


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## Ed Campbell (Feb 17, 2006)

Skype works fine for our extended family. No landline for years. Comcast is our only choice for Internet access with any kind of speed.

DirecTV walked in the door 16 years ago as the only access we had to real choice in TV channels - and that's worth something to us after all this time. Even Comcast didn't discover our community until they bought TCI and I showed them that TCI had pre-cabled our few roads w/fibre - and never hooked us up to town.

Yes, FIOS sounds great for TV from the few folks I know who have it. But, like so many of us who choose NOT to live in a major city - no chance of FIOS hitting my community in a decade or so.

On balance, I ain't moving.

The comaraderie of folks sharing interests and experiences - especially the thoughtful and helpful measures, encouragement, suggestions - passed between folks at a legitimate forum like this one is worth more than the alternatives ever could be.

Strejcek has been a stalwart here. A good neighbor. There is nothing more to say other than Thanks for being a good neighbor.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

Shades228 said:


> It's a mixture of saying bye to people on the site, sharing a new experience which they are happy about, and closing the door on something they enjoyed.


Different strokes for different folks, I guess.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

In many ways D* is not a great value. Of course neither is cable. E* can be a good value in certain circumstances...FIOS is just outstanding in picture quality, channel choices, and price....if you can get it.

D* has been suffering the competition of late down over 100k subscriptions compared to last year...I think if they expect to stay in the game the need to find a way to bring prices down....

I would definitely like D* to allow you to EXCLUDE sports programming at a significant savings. I don't give a rats behind about most sports on TV so maybe if they can offer up a few alternative packages I might stay after next year.


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## Clark143 (Mar 18, 2007)

For whatever reason, It seems to be the threads I always read. I'm just interested in learning why they would leave D*. 

Helps me keep my options open! Not that I have any other option outside of D*, Dish and TWC. And I see the TWC truck out in my subdivision about every other week fixing something, so I'm gonna pass on that one. 

Verizon home telephone service is offered here, but it's being sold off to some rural company here soon. No good offerings on internet or telephone and they sell D* for their TV.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

dubber deux said:


> D* has been suffering the competition of late down over 100k subscriptions compared to last year...


Do you have a source for your stats?

Likewise, do you have the stats for the other multichannel ops? I suspect they're all down since we're just coming out of a recession... seems like a biased post from a long-time DIRECTV critic.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> ..
> D* has been suffering the competition of late down over 100k subscriptions compared to last year...I think if they expect to stay in the game the need to find a way to bring prices down....


Yeah, Directv is realllllly suffering.  I bet other companies wished they suffered like this:


> *DIRECTV Revenues Grow 14% to $5.61 Billion*
> 
> * Increase primarily due to strong ARPU growth of 6.4% at DIRECTV U.S. and 9.5% at DIRECTV Latin America
> * Results also driven by 321,000 net subscriber additions at DIRECTV, including record first quarter net additions of 221,000 at DIRECTV Latin America
> ...


Source: http://investor.directv.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=467215


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

They may not be suffering too much at this moment but read on.......

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230341046092382.html

I'd tend to trust the WSJ opinion more than the horses mouth on this one.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> They may not be suffering too much at this moment but read on.......
> 
> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703338004575230341046092382.html
> 
> I'd tend to trust the WSJ opinion more than the horses mouth on this one.


You linked to the WSJ...a subscription is required. Good thinkin'.


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

This particular article I linked to came right up in its entirety for me WITHOUT a subscription.

Quite a few will be available without a subscription.

Simply google ...WSJ DirecTV shareholders should watch for static

Perhaps another source will have it in its entirety.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

You might not be subscribed, but you obviously have registered so have happy cookies.

Cheers,
Tom


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## MikeR7 (Jun 17, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> This particular article I linked to came right up in its entirety for me WITHOUT a subscription.
> 
> Quite a few will be available without a subscription.
> 
> ...


"DirecTV's first-quarter U.S. net subscriber additions dropped to 100,000 from 460,000, the lowest growth in at least five years."

They didn't lose subscribers, they just didn't gain as many as in the first quarter of last year. The company is super healthy.


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Strejcek said:


> It's not that I really wanted to, but like everything else lately, it has come down to a matter of finances and more "bang for the buck."
> ...
> To all of my friends here on DBS Talk, I would like to say that, although I will no longer be a DirecTV customer, I will still be around *slap* HDTVSportsfan. I would like to especially thank Earl Bonovich, Doug Brott, Tom Robertson, and all of the other moderators, and CE echelons that have worked tirelessly here on the forum helping to make the DirecTV products as good as they are. Earl and Doug, thank you for allowing me to beta test the SWM and the Linksys WET610n. Boy it sure is going to be weird not staying up till midnight on a weekend night to download a CE release; I'm going to miss it.
> 
> No go and watch some TV! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, "Feel the Heat Rays!"


Strejcek, I understand. And I am glad you said "c'ya". I hope to see you here, glad you were here, and glad you're gonna be back some more.

Lastly, it has been a pleasure working with you. Keep up the great work.

Cheers,
Tom


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## Groundhog45 (Nov 10, 2005)

Best of luck to you, Strejcek. We'll miss seeing you around here.

FIOS is not available here. Time Warner and uVerse are not what I want so I'll stay with DirecTV for the foreseeable future. 

Drop in to say howdy when you can.


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## Satelliteracer (Dec 6, 2006)

dubber deux said:


> In many ways D* is not a great value. Of course neither is cable. E* can be a good value in certain circumstances...FIOS is just outstanding in picture quality, channel choices, and price....if you can get it.
> 
> D* has been suffering the competition of late down over 100k subscriptions compared to last year...I think if they expect to stay in the game the need to find a way to bring prices down....
> 
> I would definitely like D* to allow you to EXCLUDE sports programming at a significant savings. I don't give a rats behind about most sports on TV so maybe if they can offer up a few alternative packages I might stay after next year.


FIOS is a great value in the first year or so, then the piper comes. They have also announced they will no longer buildout any more areas. It's costing them enormous amounts of capital to run fiber all over the place and for only 2 million subscribers.

It's a wonderful product, great promotional pricing, but it only lasts for a little over a year.

As stated in this thread, D* isn't for everyone and neither are other services. They all have their pros and cons.

As for the comparison of subs added this year vs last, I wouldn't read too much into that. The ability to grab subscribers is often a result of deep discounting and profitability sacrifices. Look at all the subs E* has added the last few quarters while their financials have taken a hit in the process. It's all a matter of what the objective is, subs...margins...profitability....etc. Different times of a company's life will require different objectives to be met and sought after.


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## WERA689 (Oct 15, 2006)

I and my cats wish you all the best, Strejcek. I'm glad you'll still be around from time to time....hopefully more than not. In any case, be well, my friend.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

MikeR7 said:


> "DirecTV's first-quarter U.S. net subscriber additions dropped to 100,000 from 460,000, the lowest growth in at least five years."
> 
> They didn't lose subscribers, they just didn't gain as many as in the first quarter of last year. The company is super healthy.


Last year they even stated they grew too fast in that quarter and it reduced cash on hand. That's when they stated they would be tightening credit and retention offers. Who knows what the actual goal was for gross subs for Q1 but I doubt they're too unhappy with the results. It's a happy medium of signing up more subs and keeping ones that you have. Too much of one or the other changes the cash flow rapidly. Dish had the same problem once they finally started gaining subs again. They had lost some for so long that it started to hurt their cash flow and the new sub acquisitions bit into that as well.

Even if DirecTV became static in numbers their stock would still go up each quarter. With the amount of cash flow they generate it's still a great stock. Unless something dramatic happened it's still a pretty bullet proof stock at this time.


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## hitokage (Jan 19, 2010)

syphix said:


> Cost of Tivo Premiere & Premiere XL = $798





syphix said:


> How is that a savings?


That isn't savings, but it is money that would probably be spent the same way when (if?) the new TiVo box for DirecTV is released. It is also only a one time cost though assuming the boxes are kept indefinitely - i.e. keeping an HR20 versus upgrading to the latest and greatest the HR24.



Satelliteracer said:


> FIOS is a great value in the first year or so, then the piper comes. They have also announced they will no longer buildout any more areas.


In 2010 - next year and after is to be determined. The excuse for this year is they have already met the build-out goal, but is more likely due to market conditions.


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## Strejcek (Sep 28, 2006)

Shades228 said:


> It's a mixture of saying bye to people on the site, sharing a new experience which they are happy about, and closing the door on something they enjoyed.


I couldn't have said that any better. It is also a way of saying thank you for opportunities had that others made happen. In my case, I had the opportunity to beta test the 5 channel SWM and the Linksys WET610N wireless bridge for multi-room viewing as well as a couple of other things. There were individuals here at DBSTalk that had a hand in providing me with those opportunities. Therefore, I felt it was necessary (and just the right thing) to say Thank You.

If there are folks out there that hate "saying good bye threads", here's an idea: don't read them. I've been here for a number of years and one thing that can be said about me: I have never bashed anybody for anything or anything said. I have always tried to help others the best I could. I really hate when people get on here and do nothing but bash a thread or comments. If you have nothing constructive to say, say nothing at all. I've always said and believe "be part of the solution not part of the problem."

Enough of my rant, although I think I've earned the right to at least one rant . On the down side, The Rays stunk it up yesterday, but on the bright side, so did the Yanks.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Satelliteracer said:


> FIOS is a great value in the first year or so, then the piper comes. They have also announced they will no longer buildout any more areas. It's costing them enormous amounts of capital to run fiber all over the place and for only 2 million subscribers.
> 
> It's a wonderful product, great promotional pricing, but it only lasts for a little over a year.
> 
> ...


No offense, but if I read one more post like this, I'm going to lose it. First off, yes, Verizon offers some very minor promos (free hardware for 6 months, e.g.) but that's not where the savings come in. Those prices that you get for service are NOT new customer deals. They're the savings you get for bundling. What does that mean? That means that an existing subscriber can, when their contract is about to expire, re-up with a new contract. Granted, you'll pay per the current slate of bundled offerings, but you get the same price as any new subscriber. Or you can stick with your service outside of contract. I know lots of people who do that, and in most cases (depending on your contract) Verizon doesn't really touch your price. They CAN - basically they're just not guaranteeing that price anymore (once your contract is up), which means that you would be subject to price increases, but I know lots of people who are no longer under contract paying exactly what they paid when they were under contract.

I've been a FiOS TV customer for 2 1/2 years, and I've been bundling in with them for just as long. Every time my contract is about to expire, I just re-up, and I get the current price (again, this is no different than what new subscribers would be paying). I'm not picking on you, but one mistake that folks on this forum make is to assume that the price deals you get with a service like FiOS are new subscriber promos. Aside from the little one-off deals (free hardware for 6 months... $60 gift card... free HBO for three months), they're not. They're discounts you get just for bundling... and they apply to both old and new customers.


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## FHSPSU67 (Jan 12, 2007)

Strejcek:
Just found out about you're movin' on. Best of luck to you and don't be a stranger


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## Tom Robertson (Nov 15, 2005)

Strejcek said:


> I couldn't have said that any better. It is also a way of saying thank you for opportunities had that others made happen. In my case, I had the opportunity to beta test the 5 channel SWM and the Linksys WET610N wireless bridge for multi-room viewing as well as a couple of other things. There were individuals here at DBSTalk that had a hand in providing me with those opportunities. Therefore, I felt it was necessary (and just the right thing) to say Thank You.
> 
> If there are folks out there that hate "saying good bye threads", here's an idea: don't read them. I've been here for a number of years and one thing that can be said about me: I have never bashed anybody for anything or anything said. I have always tried to help others the best I could. I really hate when people get on here and do nothing but bash a thread or comments. If you have nothing constructive to say, say nothing at all. I've always said and believe "be part of the solution not part of the problem."
> 
> Enough of my rant, although I think I've earned the right to at least one rant . On the down side, The Rays stunk it up yesterday, but on the bright side, so did the Yanks.


<mod note>Everyone has the right to rant every so often. This doesn't strike me as one...</mod note>

This is not your typical "good-bye" thread. This is a "good-bye friends" thread. Very different. You're not ax grinding, you're sayin' "I'll c'ya 'round."

As an aside, I don't mind the ax grinding thread, everyone has that right.

And I like "I'll c'ya 'round" threads. Gives a chance to say "thank you" for your being here and "good on ya" for a deal that fits your current situation better.

So Officer Strecjek, you are welcome anytime. :welcome_s

Cheers,
Tom


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## jaywdetroit (Sep 21, 2006)

Strejcek said:


> ....
> 
> If the new DirecTivo box is anything like the premiere boxes, all I can say is you guys are in for a real treat, especially if the HD menus all get implemented and the bugs worked out. The HD GUI is beautiful and I cannot wait until Tivo gets all of the menus in HD.
> 
> ...


I could not agree with you more! I just switched to Comcast with the new Tivo. Like you, I had forgotten how great Tivo was! It really does make a big difference...

and it's cheaper!!!

Here's my experience...
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=176777


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## Newshawk (Sep 3, 2004)

HDTVsportsfan said:


> The ones that the Yankees will soon be overtaking and not looking back.


Ah, I see... the ones that will fall to my Phils in the fall. :lol:


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## pfp (Apr 28, 2009)

SPACEMAKER said:


> Why is it that whenever someone cancels DirecTV they feel the need to post some rambling thread about it? Not trying to bash anyone but it seems like there is 1 or 2 threads like this every week. Do people do this every time they cancel any type of service or subscription?
> 
> I know I chose to click on the thread so don't start with the canned responses.


I for one appreciate threads like this. I don't see it so much as a :down: to DirecTV as an :up: to replacing any overpriced pay TV with alternate solutions. I'm on the fence with this decision myself and reading others experiences with it are helpful for me.


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## Satelliteracer (Dec 6, 2006)

jpl said:


> No offense, but if I read one more post like this, I'm going to lose it. First off, yes, Verizon offers some very minor promos (free hardware for 6 months, e.g.) but that's not where the savings come in. Those prices that you get for service are NOT new customer deals. They're the savings you get for bundling. What does that mean? That means that an existing subscriber can, when their contract is about to expire, re-up with a new contract. Granted, you'll pay per the current slate of bundled offerings, but you get the same price as any new subscriber. Or you can stick with your service outside of contract. I know lots of people who do that, and in most cases (depending on your contract) Verizon doesn't really touch your price. They CAN - basically they're just not guaranteeing that price anymore (once your contract is up), which means that you would be subject to price increases, but I know lots of people who are no longer under contract paying exactly what they paid when they were under contract.
> 
> I've been a FiOS TV customer for 2 1/2 years, and I've been bundling in with them for just as long. Every time my contract is about to expire, I just re-up, and I get the current price (again, this is no different than what new subscribers would be paying). I'm not picking on you, but one mistake that folks on this forum make is to assume that the price deals you get with a service like FiOS are new subscriber promos. Aside from the little one-off deals (free hardware for 6 months... $60 gift card... free HBO for three months), they're not. They're discounts you get just for bundling... and they apply to both old and new customers.


JPL, they have a ton of new customer discounts that ease out over two years. I'm looking at about 5 different ones right now on my desk in various parts of the country. All there in the fine print.


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## Satelliteracer (Dec 6, 2006)

Case in point this morning, DISH added 200K+ subs, but took a big hit in earnings. It comes down to what a company is attempting to do. There is a great cost in adding subscribers so just because a company adds less than the previous quarter, this doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing. In fact, many would argue quite to the contrary. Today DTV stock hit a 10 year high for example.

The other part of the paradigm here is the size of the base and the inertia it causes. The larger the base, churn will push down many gains. Even if churn is an industry leading 1.5%, if the base is huge then 1.5% is going to thwart many additional subscribers in net terms. In other words, it's a lot easier to have net growth when a base of subscribers is smaller than larger.


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## tfederov (Nov 18, 2005)

Anyone that is for putting the *slap* on HDTVSportsfan and that ugly Yankee avatar is more than welcome to stick around. 

Good luck with the fios!


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Satelliteracer said:


> JPL, they have a ton of new customer discounts that ease out over two years. I'm looking at about 5 different ones right now on my desk in various parts of the country. All there in the fine print.


Like what? I JUST went through this myself, actually. I just moved to a new house, and Verizon treats relocations like new accounts. Meaning I just got resigned up with the equivalent packages that a new customer gets (I got treated like a new customer). The new customer promo deals that I got:

- Free hardware for 6 months
- $60 gift card
- Free HBO/Cinemax for 3 months

That's it. Everything else (bundled price) is the same as what it would have been if I renewed my contract at my old address instead.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

I have Fios sitting side by side with DirecTV. (Moved from Comcast for internet and some TV into a Fios bundle and saved money on internet and phone enough to justify some HD TV from them.)

While Fios is a good alternative to DirecTV for many, it still doesn't quite cut it for the sports nut. The out of market sports falls flat. They have EI and CI and NBA but only one channel is in HD for each of them and they don't even have MASN2 in HD in MASN's home territory. And no NFL except for Red Zone.

As for the PQ, I don't see any improvement over what Comcast had (lots more HD than Comcast but only a small handful of non-premium HD channels over what DirecTV has).
I am watching DirecTV and Fios side by side and I do not see the great SD quality everyone claims. No where near the DVD quality that Strejcek mentioned in his first post. In fact, if you don't put the settings right, you wind up with mosquito noise (my first look at BBCA was far worse than what DirecTV does).

As for the DirecTV HD being soft...Well, I'd have to say that something is wrong with Strejcek's setup if he thinks that. 

But, it makes sense for many. Especially right now if you are a movie nut. Fios has way more premium movie channels in HD (hopefully DirecTV will catch up with D12). There is no way I would go Fios only as long as I have DirecTV access.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Bigg said:


> Makes sense. Fios doesn't re-compress, DirecTV has to since they use MPEG-4. I've always wondered how they can offer such cheap bundles, it makes me envious of areas that have Fios. Their amortized cost per sub of fiber is a heck of a lot higher than DirecTV's satellites, but they can offer triple-play. U-Verse on the other hand, it's pretty bad.[/QUOTE
> 
> U-verse STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

SPACEMAKER said:


> Why is it that whenever someone cancels DirecTV they feel the need to post some rambling thread about it? Not trying to bash anyone but it seems like there is 1 or 2 threads like this every week. Do people do this every time they cancel any type of service or subscription?
> 
> I know I chose to click on the thread so don't start with the canned responses.


I heard that! They don't know people here. "i'll miss you buddy" is nonsense!


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

> U-verse STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!


Amen. I hate U-verse and all their stupid HD channels that D* doesn't have, like:

TruTV
Discovery Kids
Turner Classic Movies
HLN
E
ESPNU
G4
History International
Lifetime
Lifetime Movie
Outdoor
Shorts
Style
Travel
TV One
9 Cinemax
8 Encore
12 HBO
3 TMC
4 Sho


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## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

Bigg said:


> Makes sense. Fios doesn't re-compress...


Verizon uses MPEG-2 and programing is already compressed prior to being transmitted by Fios. They simply don't perform any transcoding beyond that. Do you know what bitrates are utilized for various channels via Fios? I'd wager that the bitrates being used by both DirecTV and Verizon are much closer than you might expect.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Hoosier205 said:


> Verizon uses MPEG-2 and programing is already compressed prior to being transmitted by Fios. They simply don't perform any transcoding beyond that. Do you know what bitrates are utilized for various channels via Fios? I'd wager that the bitrates being used by both DirecTV and Verizon are much closer than you might expect.


Did HBO ever go MPEG4 as they said they were going to? If so, then Fios is transcoding from MPEG4 to MPEG2 (unless HBO is providing both).


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

MikeR7 said:


> "DirecTV's first-quarter U.S. net subscriber additions dropped to 100,000 from 460,000, the lowest growth in at least five years."
> 
> They didn't lose subscribers, they just didn't gain as many as in the first quarter of last year. The company is super healthy.


It's downright amazing that DirecTV and Dish both added customers in an overall shrinking market. Meanwhile, Comcast was just bleeding customers, although they did increase triple play customers through CDV, which increased ARPU, although I don't know what happened to their overall revenue.

DirecTV wants a stable, high-ARPU base, Dish is an aggressive competitor that will do anything to add subs. Two different mentalities, probably better for both, since they compete 80% but not completely.



Hoosier205 said:


> Verizon uses MPEG-2 and programing is already compressed prior to being transmitted by Fios. They simply don't perform any transcoding beyond that. Do you know what bitrates are utilized for various channels via Fios? I'd wager that the bitrates being used by both DirecTV and Verizon are much closer than you might expect.


Yes, Verizon is passing through the 19mbit MPEG-2 stream they are provided. The content providers uplink those, as they are the original HDTV bitrate, which was intended to fill one OTA channel (6mhz) or 1/2 of a QAM cable channel (3mhz). Now OTA re-compresses in order to have subchannels, and Comcast triple-channels their national channels on QAM, about 12.5mbit, and dumps two physical OTA channels plus all their subchannels on a single QAM channel.

DirecTV, Dish, and U-Verse all re-compress that stream into MPEG-4. Even if DirecTV uses the "equivalent" bitrate (about 10-12mbps) in MPEG-4, it still loses quality, because any transcode, especially close to real-time will lose quality.

Fios's bundling is so good because they can offer all three services, DirecTV has to partner with AT&T or Verizon in order to do that same thing. Comcast's Triple-play could absolutely smoke DirecTV if they spent the money necessary to have the same channel capacity and quality as DirecTV, and improved the end user experience (i.e. got a halfway functional DVR with MRV).


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

I stand somewhat corrected. It looks like Verizon did add better promo rates for new customers (e.g. you can get a better price on a bundle than other customers if you're a new customer). But one question with this: which provider doesn't? DirecTV does too. My point still stands, though - the discount you get for bundling is there whether you're an old customer or a new one. Initially they didn't have different rates for brand-new customers. They do now mainly because they're trying to increase their penetration rates in existing markets.

Also, the fact that they totally stopped roll-out isn't entirely true, either. Yes, they've stopped petitioning for new video franchises, but they're still in the process of building out to meet their existing franchise agreements (e.g. if you live in NYC, they're still rolling out). Is that halting permanent? I seriously doubt it. Their goal is to get to 40% penetration rate in existing markets (which will be helped, interestingly enough, by their divesting of 3 FiOS markets to Frontier - all three of which have extremely low penetration rates). Once there, I believe they'll resume rolling out - there's also some information to indicate that they're pushing this ploy to get federal money as part of the broadband government plan.


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## Satelliteracer (Dec 6, 2006)

I have no doubt Verizon will continue to roll out FIOS. My apologies if it was interpreted as if they were done forever. They are spending a colossal amount of money, however, in build out costs which is why a number of analysts are wondering what the long term play is. Their wireless cash cow allows them to discount to the hilt like they are doing, but that how long will that go on for?

Personally, I like their product a lot. It's a fine product as are many other services (DISH, U-Verse, etc). Each product has it's pros and cons. I'm a sports junkie which is why I subscribed to D* more than a decade ago. I can get phone and internet cheap enough and don't have to give up on the sports that I want.

Different folks view things in different ways, all depends on what is important to them.


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## houskamp (Sep 14, 2006)

competition is good in any case..


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

Satelliteracer said:


> I have no doubt Verizon will continue to roll out FIOS. My apologies if it was interpreted as if they were done forever. They are spending a colossal amount of money, however, in build out costs which is why a number of analysts are wondering what the long term play is. Their wireless cash cow allows them to discount to the hilt like they are doing, but that how long will that go on for?
> 
> Personally, I like their product a lot. It's a fine product as are many other services (DISH, U-Verse, etc). Each product has it's pros and cons. I'm a sports junkie which is why I subscribed to D* more than a decade ago. I can get phone and internet cheap enough and don't have to give up on the sports that I want.
> 
> Different folks view things in different ways, all depends on what is important to them.


The reality is that whoever has the most bandwidth will do the best in the long term. Verizon's investment absolutely makes sense when looking at the long term, it's good on the carrot end (more bandwidth= better product) and the stick end (do it or Comcast will triple-play them out of business).

The problem is that Wall Street has the attention of a 5-year-old and like ROI's in the single digits of years, not in decades like Fios will. Fios is a long-term strategy, U-Verse is a short-term strategy. Fios will eventually be IPTV not QAM-256, but when it does, it will be sharing 2.4gbps over 32 homes, not capping out at 32mbps for one house. And fiber has tons of capacity to add more bandwidth as needed, copper, eh, doesn't.


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Do you have a source for your stats?
> 
> Likewise, do you have the stats for the other multichannel ops? I suspect they're all down since we're just coming out of a recession... seems like a biased post from a long-time DIRECTV critic.












This is a graph of net new subscribers per quarter. These are the numbers that DirecTV and Dish release each quarter in their earnings statements. I made it into a graph, that I update each quarter, as it makes it easier to see trends.


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## Grydlok (Mar 31, 2007)

tonyd79 said:


> Did HBO ever go MPEG4 as they said they were going to? If so, then Fios is transcoding from MPEG4 to MPEG2 (unless HBO is providing both).


Yes they did and Verizon take the Mpeg4 feed and transcode it to Mpeg2.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

Goodbye's, promotional pricing, quarterly results, Tivo, and Dubber complaining about the economy. I think this thread is a great summary of everthing going on. Someone just post about MRV and slowness and we're golden!


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## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

Shades228 said:


> Goodbye's, promotional pricing, quarterly results, Tivo, and Dubber complaining about the economy. I think this thread is a great summary of everthing going on. Someone just post about MRV and slowness and we're golden!


OMG the HR21 is soooo slow to change channels. I can't even watch MRV it is so sluggish. :grin:

Sorry to see you go, but please come back often and say hey.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

BattleZone said:


> This is a graph of net new subscribers per quarter. These are the numbers that DirecTV and Dish release each quarter in their earnings statements. I made it into a graph, that I update each quarter, as it makes it easier to see trends.


Thanks for that.

So the post I quoted was indeed not accurate at all. In fact, DIRECTV is adding subs, not losing subs. In fact, they haven't lost a net sub in the 4 years you have tracked in that graph.


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## Bigg (Feb 27, 2010)

tcusta00 said:


> Thanks for that.
> 
> So the post I quoted was indeed not accurate at all. In fact, DIRECTV is adding subs, not losing subs. In fact, they haven't lost a net sub in the 4 years you have tracked in that graph.


I'm not sure they have just about ever. It seems like just a few years ago they were around 12/13 million, now they are like 19 million. That, and the worse Comcast gets, the more the SL5's multiply. The nice houses have the SL5's, and the run-down ones have the P3's. No joke, what they are saying about the quality of customers and ARPU going up in recent years can be confirmed driving around.


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## cebbigh (Feb 27, 2005)

Strejcek said:


> It's not that I really wanted to, but like everything else lately, it has come down to a matter of finances and more "bang for the buck." I was the first person in my city to get FIOS installed and I only went with the phone and internet at that time. There was nothing more that FIOS offered, at that time, that DirecTV did not offer, so I stayed with DirecTV. Another reason I stayed with DirecTV, the CE program here was really kicking off into full swing and I was very pleased to be a participant and enjoyed being one of the first people in the nation to test the 5 channel SWM.
> 
> I recently downgraded my programming package with DirecTV because it just got too expensive; that coupled with the DVR fees, the extra fees for Smithsonian TV, MGM, Universal, etc, the future fee for multi-room viewing, it was just getting to be too much. I remember a day, not too long ago, where you could get every channel DirecTV offered for less than $80 a month. Unfortunately I understand that the rates need to go up because DirecTV has an overhead that most other cable companies do not; satellites, their maintenance, and their launch.
> 
> ...


I had Fios before I moved. Agree with the PQ especially on SD. The only downside was the Motorola box. Tivo HD option made up for that.

Enjoy your Fios!


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