# DirecTV Titanium Package



## VOYAGER950 (May 13, 2007)

Has anyone signed up yet for DirecTV's new "Titanium Package"? I am interested and want to know how your experience with the D** went?


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

i haven't, i can't see how anyone could spend $7,500 or $625 a month just for TV service, it would be nice to have everything but there are just so many ours in a day


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I'm inclined to think the person who would get Titanium is not the person who would be reading this forum and apt to post a reply.

Perhaps one of our participants who works at DirecTV can find out if there are any Titanium customers (not who they are, just if there are) and let us know.

Carl


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

Many think the inception of the Titanium plan is more for legal reasons, it gives a price tag to those stealing signal. But I'm sure somebody has it.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

yes there are Titanium customers. D* has actually start taking orders on it for now. I think that they actually got more titanium customers than they originally planned. They said they quit taking the orders to focus on the existing Titanium customers. They get the best of the best service and support from what D* has to offer.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

For 7500.00 they should get stock options too.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

VOYAGER950 said:


> Has anyone signed up yet for DirecTV's new "Titanium Package"? I am interested and want to know how your experience with the D** went?


Well believe it or not.I do remember some posts on this forum by subscribers that state they do have this package.

And as for the naysayers I would just say"Jealous"?.I would think so!.


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

I would imagine most A list celebrities, high rolling pro athletes' and CEO's wouldn't think twice about this type of service. Pocket change to them.


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## markrubi (Oct 12, 2006)

My question is this. There are certain channels I can't get based upon my zip code here in the bible belt. If I were to become a Titanium sub would I get those channels? After all you get all the D* has to offer right?


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

markrubi said:


> My question is this. There are certain channels I can't get based upon my zip code here in the bible belt. If I were to become a Titanium sub would I get those channels? After all you get all the D* has to offer right?


No...

As legally, because of your local laws, you can not receive them.
By getting Titanium, you only get what you are legally able to receive.


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## Mertzen (Dec 8, 2006)

Some of the special project guys in our HSP have installed Titaniums. Think 12 HD DVRs in a mansion.


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

Mertzen said:


> Think 12 HD DVRs in a mansion.


Think 12 HD-DVR's during a CE!! Yowzahs!! :eek2: That's some tired fingers!!


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

I actually know someone that subscribes to Titanium. He also owns the largest house in the surrounding 5 or 6 towns, and has something like 20 DirecTV receivers. There are flat screen TVs with dedicated receivers in places like the maid's bathroom.

He, his wife and child, and their staff live in 12,000 sq.ft. house on 6 acres of land, with swimming pool, tennis courts and 8 car garage.

He's in mergers and acquistions.


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

Titan25 said:


> I actually know someone that subscribes to Titanium. He also owns the largest house in the surrounding 5 or 6 towns, and has something like 20 DirecTV receivers. There are flat screen TVs with dedicated receivers in places like the maid's bathroom.
> 
> He, his wife and child, and their staff live in 12,000 sq.ft. house on 6 acres of land, with swimming pool, tennis courts and 8 car garage.
> 
> He's in mergers and acquistions.


maybe i could merge into his family


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## ProfLonghair (Sep 26, 2006)

syphix said:


> Think 12 HD-DVR's during a CE!! Yowzahs!! :eek2: That's some tired fingers!!


If you can afford Titanium, you can afford to hire people for CEs


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## uncrules (Dec 20, 2005)

Titan25 said:


> I actually know someone that subscribes to Titanium. He also owns the largest house in the surrounding 5 or 6 towns, and has something like 20 DirecTV receivers. There are flat screen TVs with dedicated receivers in places like the maid's bathroom.
> 
> He, his wife and child, and their staff live in 12,000 sq.ft. house on 6 acres of land, with swimming pool, tennis courts and 8 car garage.
> 
> He's in mergers and acquistions.


You don't need to be telling my business!    :lol:


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## Mark20 (Dec 25, 2006)

braven said:


> I would imagine most A list celebrities, high rolling pro athletes' and CEO's wouldn't think twice about this type of service. Pocket change to them.


Of course the CEO's would charge it to the company and the pro athelites and celeb's would have it put into their contracts.

Mergers and acqusitions, I'm in the wrong line of work.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

markrubi said:


> My question is this. There are certain channels I can't get based upon my zip code here in the bible belt. If I were to become a Titanium sub would I get those channels? After all you get all the D* has to offer right?


As Earl said; all local, sports, dns, adult channel blackouts still apply to titanium just as they do to other customers with the various programming packages.


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## aramus8 (Nov 21, 2006)

If you keep calling, do you think eventually you'll get a CSR who'll let you have the Titanium package for less than $7500?:lol:


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

aramus8 said:


> If you keep calling, do you think eventually you'll get a CSR who'll let you have the Titanium package for less than $7500?


No.

As right now the Titanium package is totally sold out, and there is already a waiting list for it.

Also from what was explained to me, the Titanium has a fixed price of $7500 for the first year, then goes up to $10,000 after that.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> For 7500.00 they should get stock options too.


Good support is probably worth more.


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> No.
> 
> As right now the Titanium package is totally sold out, and there is already a waiting list for it.
> 
> Also from what was explained to me, the Titanium has a fixed price of $7500 for the first year, then goes up to $10,000 after that.


Wow!! :eek2: The people that can afford that must have more money than they know what to do with. But, I am willing to take any donations if they are willing.


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## rrrick8 (Mar 20, 2007)

I knew quite a few people who had the early version of Titanium. But they were canceled about three years ago now.


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## Scott B. (Jan 22, 2007)

"As right now the Titanium package is totally sold out, and there is already a waiting list for it." Quoted by Earl

How can a service be totally sold out. I would think that they have not ran out of receivers. The rest is a service.


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## myselfalso (Jan 26, 2006)

Well, it's pretty simple. They set a quota for how many homes...err...mansions...they are willing to supply to. Lets say 1,000. So they get 1,000 requests. 

That's how they're sold out.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

johnyram said:


> How can a service be totally sold out. I would think that they have not ran out of receivers. The rest is a service.


Part of that service is a dedicated team of CSRs on duty 24/7 to assist you. They need to make sure that they have enough CSRs to handle the Titanium customer base.


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> Part of that service is a dedicated team of CSRs on duty 24/7 to assist you. They need to make sure that they have enough CSRs to handle the Titanium customer base.


Understandable. And I wonder if part of the cost of titanium is paying the PPV fees on all the PPV. For example, I would imagine, the people putting on a Boxing Match would need to be reimbursed their usual subscriber fee for all Titatium customers. I wonder if the same is true for every PPV movie?


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

rrrick8 said:


> I knew quite a few people who had the early version of Titanium. But they were canceled about three years ago now.


i thought they just launched the service last year


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

And if you are really rolling in money., you can add Titanium to a second home for $5,000 ( seperate account not mirrored off of primary address).


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## blueoyster (May 3, 2007)

I must be the poorest schmuck in this forum.I don't even have a HD T.V. yet!


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## markrubi (Oct 12, 2006)

cb7214 said:


> i thought they just launched the service last year


I'm sure they were referencing those with the "special" access cards.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

blueoyster said:


> I must be the poorest schmuck in this forum.I don't even have a HD T.V. yet!


Don't feel too bad.I don't have one either!.Reasonrices and I'm still in love with my 50"Square Screen SD RPTV!.


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

Jeremy W said:



> Part of that service is a dedicated team of CSRs on duty 24/7 to assist you. They need to make sure that they have enough CSRs to handle the Titanium customer base.


I think another reason for the limited number of subscriptions (and probably the bigger reason than CSR's in the office) is the package comes with timely "white-glove" technician service calls to your house when you have problems.


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## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

I suppose that makes sense.

I know if I was paying $7500/yr I'd be expecting some phenomenal support and service in return.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

cavihitts said:


> And if you are really rolling in money., you can add Titanium to a second home for $5,000 ( seperate account not mirrored off of primary address).


I wonder how many rich people would be willing to supply me with Titanium if I told them that they could piggyback me for 33.3% off!


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Supervolcano said:


> I think another reason for the limited number of subscriptions (and probably the bigger reason than CSR's in the office) is the package comes with timely "white-glove" technician service calls to your house when you have problems.


Ah, yes. Part of the deal is that you can smack those technicians around to take out your frustration with DirecTV as well. It's not a bad deal. :lol:


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## Satelliteracer (Dec 6, 2006)

carl6 said:


> I'm inclined to think the person who would get Titanium is not the person who would be reading this forum and apt to post a reply.
> 
> Perhaps one of our participants who works at DirecTV can find out if there are any Titanium customers (not who they are, just if there are) and let us know.
> 
> Carl


Yes there are customers that have it. It's the type of thing where someone can order that service and never have to worry again. Basically all the programming, I believe 10 HD DVRs, all mirroring fees included, etc.


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## employee3 (Aug 15, 2006)

For $7500...

"I don't want their support, I want their s*** to work"



HarleyD said:


> I suppose that makes sense.
> 
> I know if I was paying $7500/yr I'd be expecting some phenomenal support and service in return.


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## braven (Apr 9, 2007)

+1 LOL



employee3 said:


> For $7500...
> 
> "I don't want their support, I want their s*** to work"


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

for $7,500 or $10,000 a year i would expect Mr Murdoch to come and personally handle my issues :lol:


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## Elephanthead (Feb 3, 2007)

If you spend 10k a month in property taxes and 2000 for utilities, I don't see how 700 for directv is expensive. Wouldn't it be cheaper for them to just pay for the porn as they watch it?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

cb7214 said:


> for $7,500 or $10,000 a year i would expect Mr Murdoch to come and personally handle my issues :lol:


I wouldn't. He would just tell you all about what a "turd bird" DirecTV is, without actually fixing anything. Not that he'd even know how to fix it in the first place...


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## HarleyD (Aug 31, 2006)

employee3 said:


> For $7500...
> 
> "I don't want their support, I want their s*** to work"


That's naive. Everything can fail, no matter how expensive it is.

Satellite dishes get blown out of alignment, no matter how big or fancy the house it sits on may be.

Rolls Royces break down on occasion.

Drains get plugged up in multi-million dollar mansions.

Paying a lot of money for something is far from a guarantee that you will never, ever have trouble with it.

The difference here is that when there is a problem, I would expect that a Titanium subscriber would have a technician on site that day (rightly so) where you or I could wait days (or longer) .


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## Kevin Dupuy (Nov 29, 2006)

HarleyD said:


> That's naive. Everything can fail, no matter how expensive it is.
> 
> Satellite dishes get blown out of alignment, no matter how big or fancy the house it sits on may be.
> 
> ...


<Start fancy rich person accent>
"My dish blew out of alignment? Encase it a d*** glass box!"
<End fancy rich person accent> (no offense to any rich people. Don't sue me.)


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## finaldiet (Jun 13, 2006)

Jhon69 said:


> Don't feel too bad.I don't have one either!.Reasonrices and I'm still in love with my 50"Square Screen SD RPTV!.


C'mon guys! No HD? I bought a 32" LCD for my grandsugars when they visit for $599. There are good deals out there and I can barely watch SD anymore. Also have an HR20 for them to record their own programs, which I use when they're not here. Wife has her own HR20,sooooo,no conflicts!


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Jeremy W said:


> I wouldn't. He would just tell you all about what a "turd bird" DirecTV is, without actually fixing anything. Not that he'd even know how to fix it in the first place...


Rupuert is so far removed from DirecTV, it's not funny! It's an investment. He probably has little input. Now with Malone owning it, he might have input.. Multiple layers of managers.


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## cavihitts (Mar 11, 2007)

Titanium will become available again in September. There are now just over 240 Titanium accounts.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

cb7214 said:


> i haven't, i can't see how anyone could spend $7,500 or $625 a month just for TV service


Um, you're forgetting that it includes:

Subscription to ON DIRECTV™ Magazine


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

:nono: Yeah, that sure makes it work the additional $500 a month it would cost me!:nono: 

Carl


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## shelland (Jul 10, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> Part of that service is a dedicated team of CSRs on duty 24/7 to assist you.


Don't we all get that?


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Supervolcano said:


> I think another reason for the limited number of subscriptions (and probably the bigger reason than CSR's in the office) is the package comes with timely "white-glove" technician service calls to your house when you have problems.


Why did they run out of white gloves?


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## Inches (Jan 5, 2005)

MrKlaatu said:


> Um, you're forgetting that it includes:
> 
> Subscription to ON DIRECTV™ Magazine


That makes it worth while...


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## cuibap (Sep 14, 2006)

I just got my Titanium account approved today. Now I have to find money to buy HDTVs from Walmarts for it :lol: :flaiming

Which >60" is good for less than $2000? :lol:


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## mtnsackett (Aug 22, 2007)

Well as with all Vip's everything has a price and when money talks bull shi# walks and they get what they want. they dont get better service just move to the head of the line, and get asap service calls


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## naijai (Aug 19, 2006)

mtnsackett said:


> Well as with all Vip's everything has a price and when money talks bull shi# walks and they get what they want. they dont get better service just move to the head of the line, and get asap service calls


Thats what you think


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## vfr781rider (Jan 14, 2007)

cuibap said:


> I just got my Titanium account approved today. Now I have to find money to buy HDTVs from Walmarts for it :lol: :flaiming
> 
> Which >60" is good for less than $2000? :lol:


Don't laugh too hard. I've seen the 60" SXRD advertised for $1999. That's hard to beat.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

mtnsackett said:


> Well as with all Vip's everything has a price and when money talks bull shi# walks and they get what they want. they dont get better service just move to the head of the line, and get asap service calls


And you know that how?

As I can guarantee you... those that have written the "check" for $7,500 they most certainly do get special treatment.

And that include getting ASAP service calls, and the head of the line.


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## Inches (Jan 5, 2005)

Earl Bonovich said:


> And you know that how?
> 
> As I can guarantee you... those that have written the "check" for $7,500 they most certainly do get special treatment.
> 
> And that include getting ASAP service calls, and the head of the line.


Can this package be used in a commercial establishment??


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

blueoyster said:


> I must be the poorest schmuck in this forum.I don't even have a HD T.V. yet!


Don't feel bad. Last year after I got my HDTV I was talking about it with a guy at work who had a 57" HDTV for a couple year at the time. The owner of the company walks into the break room and joins in the conversation asking what type of HDTVs we have and sizes and all this other stuff. I asked the owner what he has, his response, I don't have one yet. The guy is a multimillionaire, living in the wealthiest section of Western NY, has about 7 different cars that I know of but no HD sets at home. From what I understand he now has a smaller plasma at his place in Montana, but no hi def source is connected.

I'm really not sure how much the owner of the company values TV, but he's a huge sports guy, and while he's not a tech geek, he has a lot of cool gadgets, so between that and God knows the amount of money he has, I would have expected him to have a few in his house.


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## hankfreeman (Apr 9, 2007)

I have been a titanium subscriber for almost a year. While I dont exactly know if it was worth the 7500. I did get 10 new Hr20-700's, every station, all sports and ppv's included, next day installs, new dishes on my roof, extra cable runs to rooms in my house, etc. It is basically everything and anything you can think of. The first year was worth it because of the free equipment. Tough to see how the next year will be worth it. But with VOD coming out, and that being free as well. Maybe it will turn out to be not that bad. I also have 2 other friends with Titanium that also love it. They sent me a bottle of Cristal as a referral gift when i got my buddy to join. Not too bad.

btw, I unfortunately missed the CE or I would have been all over the VOD... 

-Hank


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## MLock (Aug 2, 2007)

For 7500 dollars, they should come out today and manually install the CE for you if you ask...


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## EaglePC (Apr 15, 2007)

For 7500 dollars would you get all the hd that the engineers are testing on ch 9800 and up ?


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## Doug Brott (Jul 12, 2006)

EaglePC said:


> For 7500 dollars would you get all the hd that the engineers are testing on ch 9800 and up ?


No .. hence the "testing" part.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

EaglePC said:


> For 7500 dollars would you get all the hd that the engineers are testing on ch 9800 and up ?


As Doug said...

No


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Inches said:


> Can this package be used in a commercial establishment??


No, it can not...it is for residential installations only.


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## EaglePC (Apr 15, 2007)

thanks boy i was going to end up in the nut house if i paid 7500.00


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## rmartinj (Jan 29, 2007)

Earl Bonovich said:


> No.
> 
> As right now the Titanium package is totally sold out, and there is already a waiting list for it.
> 
> Also from what was explained to me, the Titanium has a fixed price of $7500 for the first year, then goes up to $10,000 after that.


If Direct tv could charge A lifetime fee like $8000.00 would be nice........Or even $10000.00 I would consider.:eek2:

Ralph


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

braven said:


> I would imagine most A list celebrities, high rolling pro athletes' and CEO's wouldn't think twice about this type of service. Pocket change to them.


Yes, Yes, and No. CEO's WOULD think twice about this and would like not buy it. CEO's and other self-made millionaires-billionaires got there by not throwing money away on stuff they don't need. Athletes and Celebs, on the other hand, generally go from little or no money to big money almost overnight (I'm not discounting the endless hours spent on the ice/court/field from age 2 in order to get there, but the fact is, a big money contract for entertainment can have the feeling of being a windfall, whereas a big money take in business truly feels earned by long hours and years of work.)

If I had Bill Gates kind of money, I wouldn't spend it on this package. There just aren't enough hours in the day to make use of it.


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## timmac (Jul 26, 2007)

Do you really believe the guy pays 7500 dollars for TV? Come on now.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Well it turns out that if you're a moderator at a DIRECTV user site.... 

well it turns out you get no discount or free Titanium package at all. I was going to string you all along but thought better of it at the last minute.


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## markman07 (Dec 22, 2005)

I just want to know how I can become HankFreeman's friend? :-D


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

islesfan said:


> Yes, Yes, and No. CEO's WOULD think twice about this and would like not buy it. CEO's and other self-made millionaires-billionaires got there by not throwing money away on stuff they don't need. Athletes and Celebs, on the other hand, generally go from little or no money to big money almost overnight (I'm not discounting the endless hours spent on the ice/court/field from age 2 in order to get there, but the fact is, a big money contract for entertainment can have the feeling of being a windfall, whereas a big money take in business truly feels earned by long hours and years of work.)
> 
> If I had Bill Gates kind of money, I wouldn't spend it on this package. There just aren't enough hours in the day to make use of it.


Bill Gates used to fly coach and drive an old car (Chrysler or Dodge if I remember). It wasn't until his security people and the Microsoft board of directors demanded he change his ways that he started flying private jets and having a driver.


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## jeffshoaf (Jun 17, 2006)

Ken S said:


> Bill Gates used to fly coach and drive an old car (Chrysler or Dodge if I remember). It wasn't until his security people and the Microsoft board of directors demanded he change his ways that he started flying private jets and having a driver.


Bill Gates also bought a Porsche 959 that wasn't legal on the road in the USA (Porsche sold all they made and didn't see the need to do the crash testing). The last I heard, he was trying to crash test it via computer simulation but the Feds weren't being agreeable.

I did a little research just now via Google; there's both stories and denials that Billy pushed for a special law that allows certain specialty "show" cars to be driven on public roads a limited number of miles per year (2500) as long as some pretty specific limitations are met. Regardless...

So Mr. Gates wasn't as against frivolous spending as some might think...


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## barryb (Aug 27, 2007)

I got to see that car get a few "upgrades" by Canepa Design, here in my home town.


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## cekowalski (Aug 19, 2007)

I'm kinda surprised by this. If I were Bill Gates, I think I'd still be doing some basic math, like how much it would cost me to subscribe to everything in 10 rooms and pay for each PPV that I actually wanted to watch. I agree with what someone else said earlier -- millionaires are typically made by being frugal and careful with money, not wasteful. How to become a millionaire? Don't pay more than you have to for things you need/want.

$625 a month ($7500/yr) woud equal a LOT of PPV's. Isn't the next tier down like $110 a month (with 10 receivers maybe $160)? Let's say you order 1 ppv per night at $5 apiece. That gets you to $310 a month for content.

So $315 a month for what basically amounts to an insurance policy in the event your system goes out? For $1800 every 6 months, I'm guessing you could dangle a big carrot out there and get someone to show up in a hurry.

What am I missing?


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

cekowalski said:


> I'm kinda surprised by this. If I were Bill Gates, I think I'd still be doing some basic math, like how much it would cost me to subscribe to everything in 10 rooms and pay for each PPV that I actually wanted to watch. I agree with what someone else said earlier -- millionaires are typically made by being frugal and careful with money, not wasteful. How to become a millionaire? Don't pay more than you have to for things you need/want.
> 
> $625 a month ($7500/yr) woud equal a LOT of PPV's. Isn't the next tier down like $110 a month (with 10 receivers maybe $160)? Let's say you order 1 ppv per night at $5 apiece. That gets you to $310 a month for content.
> 
> ...


You're missing that $7500 / year is cheap to some people for the convience of just watching what ever is on on what ever channel they want. You're missing that DirecTV has to pay $X per viewer for some pay-per-view events, like sports stuff or soap opera wrestling - weather the premier subscriber watches it or not. But mostly, it's the ability to watch what you want, when you want.


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## soccercoach61 (Sep 24, 2006)

For $7,500/year, I'd hope those white gloves came on the hands of a super model who's sole purpose was to provide you with all the "technical support" you need...

:lol:


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## AlbertZeroK (Jan 28, 2006)

soccercoach61 said:


> For $7,500/year, I'd hope those white gloves came on the hands of a super model who's sole purpose was to provide you with all the "technical support" you need...
> 
> :lol:


A super model? Nah... for $7,500 / year you might be able to get Mr Kitty though!


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## iucpa (Aug 31, 2006)

ProfLonghair said:


> If you can afford Titanium, you can afford to hire people for CEs


Sorry to be the dummy, but I want to play too!


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

iucpa said:


> Sorry to be the dummy, but I want to play too!


Read and learn: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=90847


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## cekowalski (Aug 19, 2007)

AlbertZeroK said:


> You're missing that $7500 / year is cheap to some people for the convience of just watching what ever is on on what ever channel they want. You're missing that DirecTV has to pay $X per viewer for some pay-per-view events, like sports stuff or soap opera wrestling - weather the premier subscriber watches it or not. But mostly, it's the ability to watch what you want, when you want.


You're right about me missing the convenience factor, if that's what the $315 extra a month is buying. I should probably add another $50 a month ($600 per year) for the sports packages and special events to the "content" value (i.e. what you'd pay if you bought everything separately). So it might be down to $265 a month to avoid having to hit "order" on the remote. Still seems like that would be too big a price for most people, even millionaires.

I agree that DirecTV's costs are higher in this situation, but I take no issue with what's being charged -- charge as much as you can get away with, I say, that's how pricing works (competition and demand keep that in check). But, I know that all pricing on cable/satellite content is negotiable, and while it's traditionally based on the number of subs, it doesn't have to be. I worked on a billing system for a company that owned several networks, years ago. If what that company did with its pricing structure (to the cable MSO's) was any indication, there's a big financial reason that CNN is still on channel 202. Everything is negotiable...

Anyway, my thought here is that DirecTV isn't just treating the Titanium subs as though they order every single PPV for every viewing. That would probably exceed the $7500 per year, all on its own. There's bound to have been some negotiating there -- if I were Paramount, I'd gladly charge DirecTV for just a few viewings of a movie, per Titanium household, in lieu of being dropped from the Titanium package and forcing people to "choose" my movie. "Renting" every movie 2-3 times, especially those rated low in the Titanium demographic, has to be more profitable to the studio than only getting paid for actual viewings.

Like I said, I take issue neither with DirecTV nor the Titanium subscribers. I am just surprised the conveniences are worth that kind of money -- even in the luxury market. It's fascinating... and I guess I am just wondering if there's more content in the package, or some bigger conveniences I haven't thought of.

Ok, I admit it -- if I really got EVERYTHING, I might consider it, especially the part about the supermodels!


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## cekowalski (Aug 19, 2007)

One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.

So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

cekowalski said:


> One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.
> 
> So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.


I think the bar owner probably did something sneaky, like "move" his service address with D*.

As far as the Titanium package goes, let us not forget family members, parties, overnight visitors of the subscriber. I'm sure the millionaires have many more visitors and throw many more parties than most of us. Imagine visiting Bill Gate's house and having to "order" a PPV! It should just "be there" for Bill Gates...


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

jeffshoaf said:


> Bill Gates also bought a Porsche 959 that wasn't legal on the road in the USA (Porsche sold all they made and didn't see the need to do the crash testing). The last I heard, he was trying to crash test it via computer simulation but the Feds weren't being agreeable.
> 
> I did a little research just now via Google; there's both stories and denials that Billy pushed for a special law that allows certain specialty "show" cars to be driven on public roads a limited number of miles per year (2500) as long as some pretty specific limitations are met. Regardless...
> 
> So Mr. Gates wasn't as against frivolous spending as some might think...


He got married...that'll change anyone


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## d max82 (May 23, 2007)

Dont forget about the $14 for an hour and a half for channels in the 590's


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## jimb726 (Jan 9, 2007)

d max82 said:


> Dont forget about the $14 for an hour and a half for channels in the 590's


Yeah whats up with that? I dont understand why they dont offer subs to those. If they are on 24 hours a day why not be able to subscribe to them, or anything other than pboy. Oh and I am asking that question for a friend.:lol:


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

cekowalski said:


> One thing I still wonder about is the sports blackouts. I heard from a bar manager that his establishment paid for a "blackout override" of some kind, and that he was sure he could get a game that I couldn't. It certainly worked -- my GamePlan had my game blacked out, but I went down there (just a few miles away) and watched it. It could've been a DirecTV mistake, of course -- the game wasn't on any local channel, so the blackout defied all my understanding of how it works -- but he seemed to think it was because the bar had paid for the privelege.
> 
> So, is that definitive, there is no override for sports blackouts on Titanium? Is that different for commercial customers? The Titanium pricing actually seems more in line with what I'd expect commercial establishments to pay, anyway ... so it kind of sounds like a "commercial service for residential customers" package to me. I'm sure the content providers don't care how many people are watching, one or one hundred... as long as you pay the toll.


We have a pizza place in Reno that markets itself as authentic NY (I don't want to get them in trouble, so no names here), and they have all the NY channels via DirecTV (not just the national nets and rsn's, but Ch 11, Ch 13, etc.)


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

cekowalski said:


> it might be down to $265 a month to avoid having to hit "order" on the remote.


Actually, you still have to "order" the PPV in order to watch it. You just don't get billed for it. So you don't even get that convenience!


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## mx6bfast (Nov 8, 2006)

Do Titanium customer's also get HD Lite? :grin:


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## cekowalski (Aug 19, 2007)

paulman182 said:


> I think the bar owner probably did something sneaky, like "move" his service address with D*.


It was a corporate chain (he was a manager, not owner), so I doubt that more than I would if it were a privately owned deal (it wasn't a franchise -- literally a corporate store). I honestly think this was a blackout screwup -- I've heard D* does that alot.



islesfan said:


> We have a pizza place in Reno that markets itself as authentic NY (I don't want to get them in trouble, so no names here), and they have all the NY channels via DirecTV (not just the national nets and rsn's, but Ch 11, Ch 13, etc.)


I wonder how that works... I have carried a receiver from Atlanta to Denver, and before I switched my address, I fired it up to see what I got. The Atlanta locals weren't there, even though I was authortized for them. Unless 11, 13, etc. aren't on spotbeam, seems like D* couldn't really get those stations to Reno... so "moving" seems unlikely there, too.

I'd be surprised if there weren't some amount of money you could offer D* (and ultimately, the local station) to get them to allow you to pick up distant stations and override blackouts, for this very reason. I could see how D* would only offer this to the top tier customers, e.g. commercial customers, though.

Where's the forum for the commercial subs around here... there must be some folks out there who own or operate a commercial endeavor with D*.... (ok, I'm off to search now).


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## 66stang351 (Aug 10, 2006)

cekowalski said:


> I wonder how that works... I have carried a receiver from Atlanta to Denver, and before I switched my address, I fired it up to see what I got. The Atlanta locals weren't there, even though I was authortized for them. Unless 11, 13, etc. aren't on spotbeam, seems like D* couldn't really get those stations to Reno... so "moving" seems unlikely there, too.


The Big Four from LA and NY are on national transponders. I have taken my system with an LA address and had some but not all locals when I set it up in Virginia. Basically the channels you see in the 380s are the same we see down in the 2-69 range. Those 8 channels are not spotbeamed and can be watched either on the 380s or in their location down in 2-69.


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## soccercoach61 (Sep 24, 2006)

jimb726 said:


> Yeah whats up with that? I dont understand why they dont offer subs to those. If they are on 24 hours a day why not be able to subscribe to them, or anything other than pboy. Oh and I am asking that question for a friend.:lol:


A friend told me that you can get three hours on all six channels for 14.99... but you have to provide your own white glove treatment. :lol:


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