# upgrade to tivo



## castanedao (Oct 27, 2003)

i currently have d*tv and i wanted to upgrade and get tivo. i have several ???'s. question is do i have to sign another 1 year contract if i buy another receiver? and if so would i be better off just getting a receiver from ebay? and will my old card work with this new receiver. most of the receivers i saw online were without cards. and the ones with cards are much more expensive. i currently have two receivers and both have the one with the football player and i have seen some other ones that have the arrows on it? thanks any advice and knoweldge will be appreciated?


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## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

:welcome_s to DBSTalk, castanedao. That's a good question.

If you purchase any new receiver from DirecTV, you are required to maintain Total Choice or above continuously for one full year. The new receivers come with either a P4 or P5 card. However, because the 40GB models are being closed out, you can get an excellent deal on a DirecTivo.

OTOH, if you purchase a receiver off e-bay, then there is no commitment, however DirecTV will not activate the receiver with the old card. They will send you a new card.

What's behind these policies? Well, cards prior to P4 have been hacked into and modified to receive programming without paying for it. The card was more valuable than the receiver itself, and there were reports of pirates purchasing the receivers cheap from Wal-Mart just for the data cards, and dumping the receivers.

Oh, did I mention that talking about hacking into DBS receivers in order to receive programming without paying for it is against the board rules? Of course, since we are all legitimate subscribers and pay for the programming, we shouldn't have any worries.

Just waiting until DirecTV issues the "GAME OVER" message for the older cards. !Devil_lol


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

The best deal for existing customers is directly from Directv's web site. Use FFDVR for the code and you will get a $99.00 price with free installation and if needed a free multiswitch. Yes you will need a 1 YR. contract but if you want a TiVo you are probably planning on continuing to subscribe. Check with Directv but I think even if you add a used receiver to your existing account you will have to commit to a year contract.


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## harvey_g (Nov 3, 2003)

When you say "with free installation" does that mean they will run the cables from the dish to the tivo receiver at a new location? Will they change the dish to a multi-satellite previously purchased by me?


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## yomama (Nov 3, 2003)

Well I am a newbie here...I just ordered my DirectTV package from Orbit consisting of Philips Tivo and an additional Dolby receiver. Pretty good deal for $49.95..all I have to do is fax my order back, BUT the issue i have right now is their need for the SS# AND a drivers liscense #....is this really needed...it may be a show stopper for me if they insist.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

yomama said:


> Well I am a newbie here...I just ordered my DirectTV package from Orbit consisting of Philips Tivo and an additional Dolby receiver. Pretty good deal for $49.95..all I have to do is fax my order back, BUT the issue i have right now is their need for the SS# AND a drivers liscense #....is this really needed...it may be a show stopper for me if they insist.


DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR SSN!!! There is no real reason why they should have it and don't let them give you a line about doing a credit check. Are you using a credit card? That's all they really need.


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## yomama (Nov 3, 2003)

Well I just got off the phone with the CSR @ Orbit http://www.digitalsat.com/index.asp
and they were sticking to their requirement of both the DL# and SS# ....not for credit check, but in case I dont keep my year commitment and I cancel my credit card, then they have a way to track me down, as they are giving me the equipment worth several hundred $$. He said he would cancel my order but it may take 6 mos for me not to show up on Direct's books as a customer as they already issued an account # and I could not order as a new customer from someone else. Anyone here get their equipment from Orbit ?


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

yomama said:


> Well I just got off the phone with the CSR @ Orbit http://www.digitalsat.com/index.asp
> and they were sticking to their requirement of both the DL# and SS# ....not for credit check, but in case I dont keep my year commitment and I cancel my credit card, then they have a way to track me down, as they are giving me the equipment worth several hundred $$. He said he would cancel my order but it may take 6 mos for me not to show up on Direct's books as a customer as they already issued an account # and I could not order as a new customer from someone else. Anyone here get their equipment from Orbit ?


Boy, what a bunch of crap. You're DL# or CC# should be enough. You might have to suck this one up since you have already started the process. I can't believe what some of these companies are getting away with.

Of course, the CSR may be feeding you a line just to keep you as a customer. Call back and ask to talk to a manager.


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## yomama (Nov 3, 2003)

Chris Blount said:


> Boy, what a bunch of crap. You're DL# or CC# should be enough. You might have to suck this one up since you have already started the process. I can't believe what some of these companies are getting away with.
> 
> Of course, the CSR may be feeding you a line just to keep you as a customer. Call back and ask to talk to a manager.


I actually talked to the CS supervisor...they gave me his extension when I was asking so many questions...took 4 calls tho since 11am to get him on the phone. :nono2:

I guess I'll roll the dice on this and go for it. I was a bit upset to read in another post that the caller ID feature doesnt work on Tivo units :shrug:


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

yomama said:


> I guess I'll roll the dice on this and go for it.


The good news is that you shouldn't have any problems. Most of the time giving out your SSN for something like this won't compromise your privacy but like you said, it's a roll of the dice.

I know what you mean about the caller ID. It's one feature I have really liked on my Dish receivers along with the 300X scan speeds (I believe DirecTivos only scan at 60X but someone correct me if I'm wrong). But, it's not a deal breaker though. We have caller ID boxes all over our house. Having it pop-up on the screen is simply a luxury I can live without.

BTW: I know Mark already did this but I would also like to welcome you to DBSTalk!


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## DBSPaul (Mar 26, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> I know what you mean about the caller ID. It's one feature I have really liked on my Dish receivers along with the 300X scan speeds (I believe DirecTivos only scan at 60X but someone correct me if I'm wrong). But, it's not a deal breaker though. We have caller ID boxes all over our house. Having it pop-up on the screen is simply a luxury I can live without.


I know this doesn't help much, but I hacked my SA TiVo to do the CallerID on screen thing, and after about 3 nights turned it off. It helps that our cordless phone changes the ring if the number calling is one that is stored in memory, and since >50% of the calls to the house are "OUT OF AREA", I let the answering machine take those. If the ringer changes, I pause (or not) and answer the phone.

As to the 300x scan speeds - I have 3 words for you: "skip to tick". There is a button on the remote that will jump you to the next "tick" in the green bar when you are ffwd'ing or rewinding. Typically this is every 15 minutes. So if you want to jump large amounts in a show (say a 4 hour something or the other), start fast forwarding and hit skip to tick the appropriate # of times.

I know, it's a different way of thinking about it, but after installing and using my wife's parents 508, I like the TiVo way better. But then again, I grew up on TiVo so I'm biased.. :grin:


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