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so I have directv and my wife wants another dvr. the problem I have is that when you get new equipment, they want to lock you into another 2 year contract. I love not being under contract, I can call them up and threaten to cancel and get discounts. they claim that they would give me discounts even if I was under contract, but I don't trust them on that. so anyway, is there a way for me to just buy my own dvr that will work (without adding any complicated steps or reducing the user friendliness of the system) with the directv service?
You would need to use their equipment. Technically if you had a second receiver (non-DVR) you might be able to hook a separate TiVo to it.
In reality you should just go with the new 2yr contract. You could negotiate the cost of the DVR down to free which is a $200 savings.
the only way id consider a 2 year contract is if they guarantee the price for that 2 year period. I believe they only want to guarantee it for the first year. but I don't recall that detail for sure, ill call them up and check.
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I have one HD Receiver with DVR function in the LR. The two bedrooms have receivers that aren't HD, only SD and they don't record. The TV's hook up to the boxes with the red/yellow/white cords, so I'm not sure where you'd attach an external recorder's yellow/red/white cords to the box or the TV, or if it would work from the DVR remote or the TV remote. I'm sure it could be done, but you'd probably need someone technical to help you out....
I have one HD Receiver with DVR function in the LR. The two bedrooms have receivers that aren't HD, only SD and they don't record. The TV's hook up to the boxes with the red/yellow/white cords, so I'm not sure where you'd attach an external recorder's yellow/red/white cords to the box or the TV, or if it would work from the DVR remote or the TV remote. I'm sure it could be done, but you'd probably need someone technical to help you out....
A separate DVR would have inputs to match the outputs of the receiver. You would hook the reciever output to the DVR input and then the DVR output to the TV.
It doesnt really make financial sense to do that though. Directv raises their price about $5/yr. Over the course of 2yrs that is $120. You can offset that by negotiating the DVR fee ($200) down to $0.
A separate DVR would have inputs to match the outputs of the receiver. You would hook the reciever output to the DVR input and then the DVR output to the TV.
It doesnt really make financial sense to do that though. Directv raises their price about $5/yr. Over the course of 2yrs that is $120. You can offset that by negotiating the DVR fee ($200) down to $0.
TiVo DVRs start at $199 and then charge $19.99/mo
First, you have to ask Direct if that is disabled. The cable people where I lived before had done that so if you got their dvr you couldn't hook the signel into anything but their dvr. Dish doesn't. But you have to ask first. The antenna coupling may or may not be available on the dvr, and if you hook that up it means you always have to have that on to watch tv.
Then you run it to your dvr and you should be able to record, but as others have said, cost and convience aren't that promising.
I run mine to a standalone dvr which doesn't have a harddrive, but can copy off their dvr, and the standalone has enhansed picture and sound for older shows. All the sound is hooked into a speaker system but the tv itself.
If its to archive and the plugs aren't disabled, then its practical. If its to record your better off with a two room system. I've found Dish very helpful and accomidating when I changed things, especially after the initial contract. Hopefully Directtv is as well.
Back in the day, I used to have a thing from Archos that was somewhere in between an iPod and a tablet before tablets got really popular. Anyway, it used to have a separate component that would allow me to DVR things directly onto it and then I could plug the device into any TV later and play it directly off of it. Not sure if anything like that still exists.
so i cant get a "genie" & a "mini genie" to have whole home dvr service. the cost would be $99 + $49 for install so up front of $150. he said it would add $3 monthly to my bill. that seems like a pretty good deal, i need to find out if that $3 rate jumps at some point in time.
now, it would put me in a 2 year agreement. but he said that in order to remain compiant in the 2 year agreement, i only need to keep 1 tv active with the minimum service. so that may still give me the leverage i like to have when i call them. i regularly call them for discounts and they give them to me, thats why im so worried about being stuck in a contract.
so any thoughts on that deal? at which point in this deal do they try to screw me? there is always a point where they raise the rates and hope you dont notice.
so i cant get a "genie" & a "mini genie" to have whole home dvr service. the cost would be $99 + $49 for install so up front of $150. he said it would add $3 monthly to my bill. that seems like a pretty good deal, i need to find out if that $3 rate jumps at some point in time.
now, it would put me in a 2 year agreement. but he said that in order to remain compiant in the 2 year agreement, i only need to keep 1 tv active with the minimum service. so that may still give me the leverage i like to have when i call them. i regularly call them for discounts and they give them to me, thats why im so worried about being stuck in a contract.
so any thoughts on that deal? at which point in this deal do they try to screw me? there is always a point where they raise the rates and hope you dont notice.
That additional $3 is the Whole Home DVR fee. That has never gone up. You dont mention how many receivers you currently have. Directv will charge you $6/mo for every receiver past the first one. If you only have one receiver (or DVR) now your new set up will be 2 receivers so there will be a $6 charge as well.
The $150 up front for a Genie is a hell of a deal. I dont have one because it would push me over the max number of tuners (a lesson for another day)
Nothing that they have offered you will go up in price. The fee for the genie is a one time thing. The $3 like I said has never gone up (suppose it could at some point). The only thing that changes is the programming fees and they go up every year in Feb. In 13 years my monthly fee for my programming has gone up $30 or roughly $2-$3/yr.
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