# Sam's Club Promo



## Lawrencevillega (Sep 3, 2009)

I'm making the switch from C'Cast to D**TV. 
Couple newbie questions if anyone can help me.
(1) HD/DVR, (2) SD box. 
1st 5 months $90
includes- Premier, NFL ticket and Super Fan.

6-12 mos Maintain above plan-$130 vs.Customize to Plus HD/DVR w/ HBO-$91
Waived installation fees, No Equipment Fees. 
Just S&H fee of $19.95

Since I generally appreciate knowing what is about to screw me, can anyone tell me where the pit falls may be?
I had Dish Network bout 8 years ago in diff. state. I disconnected it after a month and paid them their minimum charge for 2 years. Picture was horrible, and they couldn't fix it. 

What are some things I can ask the Installer. I read little on here about the model of HD/DVR box. Is there a certain one I should be looking for?
Sales Guy said there may be a charge for install of 2nd cable for DVR. Any1 Familiar with this?
I would appreciate any info you all could pass along. 
Thanks
GA


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

Welcome, this is the first I have heard of Sams Club(Walmart) getting into the Directv game. By your post count I know you may have troubles posting the link, but can you direct us to the promo in another way?


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## Lawrencevillega (Sep 3, 2009)

Not sure if it is available for call in. 
You have to be a Sam's Club Member and I did it at Kiosk they had set up. 
The guy said the promo just started yesterday I think. 
Hopefully this will all be a positive experience. Can't stand C'Cast and their Monopoly ways. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with Dish and am hesitant about how this will turn out.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

I know there are DirecTV display tables in the Sam's Clubs around me. But since I have DirecTV, I don't really pay them much mind.


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## Lawrencevillega (Sep 3, 2009)

I realize that the Sales Guy and the Installer are completely separate companies. The only thing that connects them is the Work Order. 
There are things I should ask the Installer prior to him coming out. eg. Model of Box.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

The only thing I see off-hand is that you are paying $90 for 5 months of Premium, ST, & SF. I believe one of the current new sub offers out there is for Premium and ST for $60 for the first 5 months. With SF at $99, that puts your offer at $50 more. Don't get me wrong, you still are getting a good deal for the money.

As for the comment about an installation charge for the second cable for the DVR, that shouldn't be an issue. The standard professional installation includes running all cables necessary to get your installation working, which would mean 2 cables if you have a DVR. The one caveat though is that they might not perform the installation exactly the way you want it. The free install generally means they will run the cable on the outside of the house and in through an exterior wall if the room where the install is taking place is not readily accessible for cable runs (e.g. wall fishes needed).

As for the box, for all purposes they are essentially the same. Some of the features/differences are as follows:

HR20 - 320GB HDD, OTA tuner built-in, only one active ethernet jack
HR21 - 320GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in
HR22 - 500GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in
HR23 - 500GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in, BBC's not required

If you need OTA support and do not get an HR20, you can get an AM21 OTA unit which is an USB device that plugs into the receiver. Some people state that the AM21 unit works better than the HR20's built-in tuner.

HTH,
Merg


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

I received a Sams Club insert in the newspaper today. They are offering a free membership upgrade, if you sign up for DirecTV. The Sams Club Plus membership give you up to $300 in eValue offers, $100 Travel Appreciation Certificate and service plans up to 75% less then competitors.


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

When the installer arrives, spend a few minutes discussing the details of the installation with him. Walk/talk through everything that is going to happen and how it is going to happen (where he plans to put the dish, how the coax will be routed, etc.). Make sure you are both in agreement with what work will be done and how it will be done.

Have the area where the receivers are supposed to go clean and accessible.

Installers get paid crap in most cases (by the job, not the hour). If your installer does a great job, consider tipping (certainly optional). If you ask/expect him to do anything beyond the basic free installation, it is chargeable.

As to DirecTV itself, with HD, I think you will be happy.


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## gipper (Sep 2, 2009)

RACJ2 said:


> I received a Sams Club insert in the newspaper today. They are offering a free membership upgrade, if you sign up for DirecTV. The Sams Club Plus membership give you up to $300 in eValue offers, $100 Travel Appreciation Certificate and service plans up to 75% less then competitors.


sounds like a bunch of fluff.  Where's the beef!


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

gipper said:


> sounds like a bunch of fluff. Where's the beef!


Aisle 15.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

RACJ2 said:


> I received a Sams Club insert in the newspaper today. They are offering a free membership upgrade, if you sign up for DirecTV. The Sams Club Plus membership give you up to $300 in eValue offers, $100 Travel Appreciation Certificate and service plans up to 75% less then competitors.


Yeah, I saw that insert and was amazed since Sam's Club has ALWAYS been a pusher of DISH Network satellite TV.

Yesterday, I visited Sam's Club and noticed that the DISH Network stuff was still there. I asked the guy manning the satellite TV/cellphone kiosk and he told me he hadn't heard anything about DirecTV.

Seems kind of stupid to run a Sam's Club/DirecTV promo in the local newspaper and then put on the dunce hat at the local club.....


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## XrayDoc88 (Aug 29, 2009)

> HR20 - 320GB HDD, OTA tuner built-in, only one active ethernet jack
> HR21 - 320GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in
> HR22 - 500GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in
> HR23 - 500GB HDD, no OTA tuner built-in, BBC's not required


What are BBC's?


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

XrayDoc88 said:


> What are BBC's?


I'm sure there is an excellent post somewhere here on DBSTalk that explains it very well, but I couldn't find it in a quick search. Anyhow, the BBC is that little gray box on a pigtail of cable attached to that back of most HD receivers. It is used to "de-stack" satellite signals. This is necessary because the tuners in the receivers are only capable of tuning to a given range of bandwidth, but range is not large enough to carry all the signals coming down from the satellites. To overcome this, the LNB's on the dish actually "stack" some of their signals onto a higher range of bandwidth that's outside of the range of the tuners. When a tuner needs frequencies in that higher range, it sends a signal to the BBC which then re-maps (or de-stacks) the signals in that higher frequency range to the lower range that the tuner can handle.

Note that all HD receivers need BBC's unless they are connected to a SWM. SWM stands for "single-wire mutliswitch" and it's a special way of delivering the signal to the receivers that only requires one wire even for dual-tuner DVR's. Th only HD receiver (so far) hat does not need BBC's is the HR23. It uses "wideband" tuners have the ability to tune to those higher frequencies with no need for de-stacking.


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## XrayDoc88 (Aug 29, 2009)

So if signed up today as a new customer with DirecTV would I likely get new equipment such as the HR23 and the new SWM dish? Or does all the older leased equipment get sent back out when someone cancels their service? I'd really like the latest and greatest!


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

XrayDoc88 said:


> So if signed up today as a new customer with DirecTV would I likely get new equipment such as the HR23 and the new SWM dish? Or does all the older leased equipment get sent back out when someone cancels their service? I'd really like the latest and greatest!


For SWM information read http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=162731

Equipment you will get what they have on the truck and it can be reconditioned as it is leased. Latest and greatest can vary based on what you want and people's opinion.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

XrayDoc88 said:


> What are BBC's?


BroadBand Converters.

The HD (MPEG4) signals are "piggybacked" on the coax cable with the SD (MPEG2) signals. The little BBC boxes "convert" the frequencies of the HD stuff so the receiver can decode it.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

XrayDoc88 said:


> So if signed up today as a new customer with DirecTV would I likely get new equipment such as the HR23 and the new SWM dish? Or does all the older leased equipment get sent back out when someone cancels their service? I'd really like the latest and greatest!


You will get whatever equipment the installer has on the truck. A number of new customers posted messages on this system saying they got an old reconditioned HR20 and weren't pleased about it.

You will probably get a new dish since DirecTV (unlike DISH network) doesn't require the return of the dish after cancellation. But it most likely WON'T be an SWM dish unless you order LOTS of receivers and HD.


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## XrayDoc88 (Aug 29, 2009)

OK, here's a crazy thought. What if I bought some or even all of the SWM equipment in advance, such as the dish. I see those range between about $114 -$150. Do you think you could force (or gently encourage) an installer to install your equipment instead of what's on the truck? I don't want to spend more than necessary, but I also hate playing this Russian roulette game of what's on the truck. Surely there must be some way to get the equipment you want installed?


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

XrayDoc88 said:


> OK, here's a crazy thought. What if I bought some or even all of the SWM equipment in advance, such as the dish. I see those range between about $114 -$150. Do you think you could force (or gently encourage) an installer to install your equipment instead of what's on the truck? I don't want to spend more than necessary, but I also hate playing this Russian roulette game of what's on the truck. Surely there must be some way to get the equipment you want installed?


This very well may work. Many others have had success doing this.


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## Shades228 (Mar 18, 2008)

XrayDoc88 said:


> OK, here's a crazy thought. What if I bought some or even all of the SWM equipment in advance, such as the dish. I see those range between about $114 -$150. Do you think you could force (or gently encourage) an installer to install your equipment instead of what's on the truck? I don't want to spend more than necessary, but I also hate playing this Russian roulette game of what's on the truck. Surely there must be some way to get the equipment you want installed?


Only guaranteed way to get the equipment you want is to get it yourself at a cost after you get the free stuff or go through a dealer and hope they have what you want.


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## scrybigtv (Jan 25, 2008)

Don't know if this is par for the course, but when I changed to D* about a year and a half ago, the installer (an independent retailer/installer) brought me all new equipment from his stock. That included a brand new HR21-700 and three new SD receivers.

When I had to replace my dead HD DVR a few months ago, D* shipped me a reconditioned HR21-100. I was okay with both transactions.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

scrybigtv said:


> Don't know if this is par for the course, but when I changed to D* about a year and a half ago, the installer (an independent retailer/installer) brought me all new equipment from his stock. That included a brand new HR21-700 and three new SD receivers.


Was this an independent installer that you paid directly, or was it just an HSP installer that D* sent who was not a D* employee? If it was an independent that you paid yourself, that may be the reason you got all new receivers. New customers who go through D* and use their installers (either company owned or HSP) get "luck of the draw".


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## scrybigtv (Jan 25, 2008)

rudeney said:


> Was this an independent installer that you paid directly, or was it just an HSP installer that D* sent who was not a D* employee? If it was an independent that you paid yourself, that may be the reason you got all new receivers. New customers who go through D* and use their installers (either company owned or HSP) get "luck of the draw".


Yes, I did pay the installer/retailer. I contacted him during construction of a new addition to our home. He came in and did all the wiring (I would call it more than standard wiring/installation). He also installed the rooftop mounted dish. Later, after the construction was complete, he came back to determine just how many and what type receivers I wanted.

I remember him saying that he would have to check his stock before he would know exactly when the final installation would take place. He returned in a few days with all new equipment and activated the service.


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## xmetalx (Jun 3, 2009)

scrybigtv said:


> Yes, I did pay the installer/retailer. I contacted him during construction of a new addition to our home. He came in and did all the wiring (I would call it more than standard wiring/installation). He also installed the rooftop mounted dish. Later, after the construction was complete, he came back to determine just how many and what type receivers I wanted.
> 
> I remember him saying that he would have to check his stock before he would know exactly when the final installation would take place. He returned in a few days with all new equipment and activated the service.


Yep, I'd be willing to bet that he was indeed a private retailer/installer. Not all of the D* techs out there are connected to the normal HSP's.


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