# HD Tivo letter from DTV



## B Smooth (Jan 7, 2000)

Did anyone else get a letter from DTV saying in effect....

Congratulations you can now upgrade to a new box for free (zzzz)

And oh by the way, if you want to get local channels or NFL HD games you will need a new box.

Will I really need a new box to see NFL superpack games? With 6.3 coming, I really want to keep my HD Tivo.


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## pdawg17 (Mar 1, 2003)

B Smooth said:


> Did anyone else get a letter from DTV saying in effect....
> 
> Congratulations you can now upgrade to a new box for free (zzzz)
> 
> ...


Can you scan the letter or something to take a look? I haven't gotten that letter...was it in an envelope, postcard, or otherwise?


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## annenoe (Oct 19, 2003)

B Smooth said:


> Did anyone else get a letter from DTV saying in effect....
> 
> Congratulations you can now upgrade to a new box for free (zzzz)
> 
> ...


That sure sounds like it'll be broadcast in mpeg-4 which you won't be able to see with your tivo box.


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## B Smooth (Jan 7, 2000)

funny, just as I was scanning the email, I got an automated phone message urging me to set up an appointment for swap out.


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## jdk (Mar 15, 2001)

I don't see anything in the letter talking about a DVR...


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## richardL (Jan 7, 2005)

Interesting that it mentions ch81, 83 etc. and that you need the new receiver for those. That would imply the national feeds are going to convert to MP4, which seems very unlikely.


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## Rowsdower (Dec 11, 2002)

richardL said:


> Interesting that it mentions ch81, 83 etc. and that you need the new receiver for those. That would imply the national feeds are going to convert to MP4, which seems very unlikely.


I interpreted that as a poorly worded attempt to reference the channels that are being replaced.


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## tbb1226 (Sep 16, 2004)

There are lots of dubious statements in this letter. First off, there's the issue of West DNS channels being removed from the MPEG2 satellites, which, as richardL pointed out, is not imminent.

The same applies to NFL ST HD games, unless things have changed since I signed up for SuperFan in April. At that time, I was informed in an email from DirecTV that the NFL HD games would all be available to me with my (non-MPEG4) HD TiVo. And, before you pull out the "DirecTV CSRs don't know anything" mantra, this was a mass e-mail, offering me the SuperFan package free if I signed up before May 1. They had every opportunity to make sure that the copy in this email was accurate.

The other thing I don't accept as true is the statement that the technician would "dispose of the old [receiver] as it will no longer be functional." Something's very odd about that, IMO. It begs the question, what brand / model receiver does this guy have that DirecTV so eager to replace? They are not replacing everyone's non-MPEG4 receiver for free. I would think that, if this is legitimate, at least everyone who has that model would receive a letter like this.


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## srt (Jan 27, 2006)

Today I received a glossy envelope with a channel line up card and a 1/3 sheet info page that says across the top A new receiver. a new channel lineup. life keeps getting better.
then: Congratulations. You now have a new direct tv dvr, another great way..... ,and ends with:, We hope your new channel lineup goes perfectly with your directtv dvr.
The date on the bottom of the page says 2006, so it's at least 7 months new.
But all my gear is the same old stuff...?
I do get la feed hd networks and a couple weeks ago an installer I bumped into at a local corner store said that we would soon be getting 5 lnb dishes in town. Something is up.


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## bonscott87 (Oct 3, 2000)

Yes something is up. They are quickly converting people using the L.A. HD distants to MPEG 4 because the West Coast HD distants in MPEG2 are on the fast track to being shut down. Been the plan for about a year now. Quite a large thread on AVS if more details are needed.


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## srt (Jan 27, 2006)

Well I couldn't stand it and called, er, held on hold for the expected side-step. The csr said a little later this fall I should have new receiver. With tivo, but with a different interface. Also said that the letter should not have been sent, yet. I did get in my q about my owned equipment (said I would not have a monthly lease fee) and that the new equipment will have a free exchange policy, except the dish, wiring, etc.
Whatever! I still love my hd and tivo. It is a tremendous improvement over the local family owned rebroadcast ota fuzzy ghosts I used to watch.
Fwiw, all you guys with gripes about the dtv service or whatever ought to try a month or so 'out there" you wouldn't sing the blues thereafter


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## cheer (Nov 13, 2005)

srt said:


> Well I couldn't stand it and called, er, held on hold for the expected side-step. The csr said a little later this fall I should have new receiver. With tivo, but with a different interface.


Well that's sure wrong...won't be "with Tivo."


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

srt said:


> With tivo, but with a different interface.


TiVo *is* the interface.

That makes as much sense as saying "with air, but in a vacuum."


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## srt (Jan 27, 2006)

Dang, she bamboozled me. Oh well, if I can record, pause and select what I want to watch later I'll have to be satisfied with what they give me.


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## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

So you can upgrade to a new MPEG4 non-recording receiver? Oooh what a deal


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## srt (Jan 27, 2006)

I forgot, this is a tivo forum *shamefully*
I guess after the forced upgrade I will slink off to another board....
Please understand, the hr10-250 is my first and only sat reciever and I think it's great. I suppose later in life I will think back on these days as "the good ol'days" when tivo rocked and d*tv suxt. :up:
p.s. i re-read your post, it does not make sense to me. If it is a dvr and not tivo it still records


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## Kamakzie (Jan 8, 2004)

I guess the letter you got was premature because the new MPEG4 DVR isn't even out yet. So they could only offer you a single tuner non-DVR receiver right now.


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## srt (Jan 27, 2006)

you are correct, the csr said it was premature. I really do not know what I'll do in the long term. This unit is great, if their pending system lacks picture quality or useful features I would not want to go back to cable, I don't imagine direct tv has anything as good?I don't know how to post a pic, but I could send you a pic of the letter. I found it interesting.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

thanks goodness i'm not into football. I'd hate having to watch every game in HD live without tivo.


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## cforrest (Jan 19, 2003)

Sounds like your locals are available in Mpeg-4 and if you have LA DNS they are going to be shut off. Why they continue to BS people with NFLST and say you won't get HD games with Superfan unless you upgrade is beyond me. You'll only lose HD games your local networks are showing, that's it. From D*'s website the following:

To access DIRECTV HD programming, a triple-LNB Multi-Satellite dish, along with a DIRECTV HD Receiver and HD television equipment is required. In some markets, a five-LNB Dish and H20 model DIRECTV Receiver are needed to receive HD local networks delivered by DIRECTV.


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## JohnDG (Oct 28, 2004)

Also note that you do not HAVE to swap. Worst case is that the HD TiVo will continue to work as a 200 hour SD TiVo until 2010, in addition to getting current HD national channels until at least some time in 2007. This assumes no OTA.

I'm most curious about what kind of deal we can get to add a new HD DVR to our current setup.

jdg


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## daperlman (Jan 25, 2002)

JohnDG said:


> Also note that you do not HAVE to swap. Worst case is that the HD TiVo will continue to work as a 200 hour SD TiVo until 2010, in addition to getting current HD national channels until at least some time in 2007. This assumes no OTA.
> 
> jdg


Well if superfan (HD out of market games) is moving from 90's to 80's (which are MPEG 4) that is an immediate problem, I would probably not want NFL ticket anymore, certainly I would cancel superfan


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

i'm sure the nfl sunday ticket games that are broadcast in HD will stay mpeg2 this season. i mean there is no way directv will have everyone upgraded by september and if they only made hd games available to people with mpeg4 equipment not only would that leave out a TON of people but it they would piss alot of people off and potentially lose alot of customers


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

ok, i spoke with two different people in the technical department of dtv and they both told me nfl hd games will be broadcast in mpeg2. both told me since the entire country wont be upgraded to mpeg4 by september when nfl games start, that they certainly would not only present hd games in mpeg4 to a select number of cusomers.


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## daperlman (Jan 25, 2002)

gregftlaud said:


> ok, i spoke with two different people in the technical department of dtv and they both told me nfl hd games will be broadcast in mpeg2. both told me since the entire country wont be upgraded to mpeg4 by september when nfl games start, that they certainly would not only present hd games in mpeg4 to a select number of cusomers.


Good work Watson  
Now there is now excuse not to be fat and drunk Sept - Jan


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

i mean actually me making that phone call wasnt really necessary if you think about it in common sense. do people on here actually think dtv is going to be finished with their mpeg4 upgrade by september? and if not, will they allienate that many customers by not allowing them to get nfl games in hd with their current setup for those markets not upgraded at that time? i think not.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

they are propably preparing for the future.

What do you expect them to say-

"please cal us today to swap you to our new equipment as in 12 months we plan to shut down the west cost MPEG2 networks and in 2007 ST HD will also move to MPEG4. We know you probably dont want to swap right yet and be bothered with our first generation dishes and beta testing our STB's but we dont want everyone calling at the last minute next year so please do us a favor and be a gunnea pig for your area and swap now."

they are trying to create a reason to switch people over gradually over the next months or year(s). People dont like change so unless you give them a reason they will all wait till the last minute. Giving concrete reasons will make people who dont peruse here or AVS or the other sat tv forums a a reason to start the conversion now that will take them some time.

They dont say "you must change by sept 1, 2006 to keep seeing <hd channels>" They just say to keep recieving in the future.

How else would they proceed to start swapping the hundreds of thousands of people with mpeg2 HD to mpeg4? (I guess they could give us actually reasons like actually putting up new content in mpeg4- but lets not get nutty-LOL)


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

like i said u just have to think about it all with common sense.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

gregftlaud said:


> like i said u just have to think about it all with common sense.


'zactly


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

are all the forced swapouts owned? I bet some old timers are upset at paying $$ for theirs now it's being taken away


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## bonscott87 (Oct 3, 2000)

There aren't any "forced" swap outs right now so who knows.

Personally I wouldn't be ticked off, I would have gotten my use out of it. I wasn't upset when my old Sony receiver from 1996 that I paid over $600 had to be replaced a few years later because it couldn't see the *brand new* 119 satellite or any of the programming on it. Just the way it goes.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

newsposter said:


> are all the forced swapouts owned? I bet some old timers are upset at paying $$ for theirs now it's being taken away


question would be if there are forced swapouts if the new box is owned or leased.

Shall be interesting when the time comes that they force the issue if they take your property and give you a leased box for it.

I suspect there will NEVER be a forced swapout so it's kind of irrelevent though. Some time in 2008 or 2009 they might say all current MPEG2 HD is being shut down and if you want to get MPEG4 HD then you need to take advantage of their generous offer. But I doubt they will ever require you to use a new box- it would force them to either give you a new box to own or get caught taking your property. The MPEG2 HD boxes will continue to receive OTA and SD MPEG2 for quite a long time, HD from the sats might be dead, but the boxes will never get turned off.


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

they arent gonna force me to or willingly swap out until they get that new hd dvr out. i didnt pay 999 bucks for nothing. i also have a samsung sir ts360 hd receiver in my bedroom so i'm not doing anything until they have all the hardware ready to go to swapout for exactly what i need. if they tell me otherwise they can shove it.


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

Response (Myra) 07/21/2006 05:52 PM 
Dear Mr. Hatfield,

Thanks for asking about HD equipment. I'm sorry for any confusion you may have regarding this issue. I understand your concern about how our transition to MPEG-4 transmission will affect any MPEG-2 equipment you may have. Let me reassure you that customers will be able to use their MPEG-2 equipment for NFL Superfan.

NFL SUNDAY TICKET games broadcast in HD are included in the optional NFL SUNDAY TICKET SuperFan package from DIRECTV. To purchase this add-on SuperFan package, you must first subscribe to the NFL SUNDAY TICKET package.

The optional SuperFan subscription includes over 100 NFL games in HD as well as exciting new channels available only to SuperFan subscribers. (Actual number of games varies by market due to blackouts and other conditions. Games broadcast by your local FOX or CBS affiliate will not be available in the channel 704-733 range of NFL SUNDAY TICKET.) Please visit our web site at http://www.directvsports.com/Subscriptions/NFLSundayTicket/SuperFan/ for more information.

Some NFL games broadcast locally in HD by FOX, CBS and ABC may be available via an off-air antenna. Other options for viewing NFL games in HD from DIRECTV:
* The DIRECTV HD package includes the ESPN Sunday Night Game in HD.

At this time, our current HD programming will continue to be broadcast using the MPEG-2 standard; MPEG-4 technology will be used only to provide local HD programming in select cities.

Thanks again for writing and stay tuned to DIRECTV.com for the latest news and information about our service

Sincerely,

Myra
DIRECTV Customer Service


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

um...i'm positive i read here or over on avs that people are having boxes sent to them via signed fedex and they must use them. Also, that it's a surprise they are arriving. When i have time i'll try to find the thread.


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## bonscott87 (Oct 3, 2000)

newsposter said:


> um...i'm positive i read here or over on avs that people are having boxes sent to them via signed fedex and they must use them. Also, that it's a surprise they are arriving. When i have time i'll try to find the thread.


I believe that has to do with the upcoming shutdown of the L.A. HD for West Coast distants in MPEG2. They are trying to convert all those that use them to MPEG4.


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## gq91355 (Apr 21, 2003)

bonscott87 said:


> I believe that has to do with the upcoming shutdown of the L.A. HD for West Coast distants in MPEG2. They are trying to convert all those that use them to MPEG4.


What about residents in the Los Angeles area with the HR10-250 and the locals package? Are we just going to instantly lose those channels one day soon (i.e. Ch 81,83,87,89)?


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## tbb1226 (Sep 16, 2004)

There hasn't been any "official" timetable announced for doing that. I am convinced that the "upcoming shutdown" of LA and NY HD locals in MPEG2 is likely to be a long time from now.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

likley quite some time, but they have to start moving people to mpeg4 at some point and that point appears to be here. 

How long does it take to move a couple hundred thousand subs, that's the magic question. 

Figure someplace upwards of 600,000 HD subs with only MPEG2 boxes- that was the number of HD subs they reported when they started MPEG4- likley there's been a bunch more added with MPEG2 only type boxes as they depleted stock. I believe they reached something like half the us population with some amount MPEG2 HD big 4 from NY or LA useing the Owned and Operated waivers they negotiated. So a quick guess would say that half the MPEG2 HD subs are in western time zones. And that Half of those could get at least one of the big 4 from LA with the negotiated waivers. So they could have someplace in the ballpark of 150-200,000 subs that are have at least one MPEG2 network feed from LA. They need to move every single one of those subs to MPEG4 (mostly to get the people off LA in into LIL HD, but also LA from old to new, and LA DNS from new to old.) 

That's not the sort of thing that the announce today will occur Sept 1 and everyone needs to change now. It will take some so they need to start at some point moving people. They haven't threatened that its iminent only that at some mystical date in the future you ewill need an mpeg4 dish. Some people in markets already served by MPEG4 that date is right around the corner. Other poeple in LA or in DNS situatons that might not be for months and months or even maybe years.


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## m_jraj (Oct 23, 2002)

I thought this was a dead issue, but I just received a glossy envelope with 2 glossy inserts - One tri-fold entitled "More time watching channels. Less time memorizing them." with a channel lineup. The other is a glossy 1/3 page letter that begins "Congratulations. You now have a new DIRECTV Interactive Receiver..."

I own 3 Tivo HD DVRs and have made no recent hardware changes/requests. I do not own an interactive receiver. Any ideas?


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## gregftlaud (Jun 16, 2004)

dtv is just screwing up. plain and simple. ignore it.


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## Mark W (Dec 6, 2001)

I tend to agree that it's a screw up, but it would help if you told us what the rest of it said.


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## m_jraj (Oct 23, 2002)

"To show our appreciation of your decision, we've enclosed a complimentary channel lineup to help make this easier to find all your favorites.

<two sentences about benefits of interactive receiver>

Thanks again for choosing Directv. We hope your channel lineup goes perfectly with your Directv receiver.

Sincerely,

Kathy Thomson
Senior VP, Customer Loyalty"


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## oompaloompa77 (Oct 4, 2006)

I was wondering if anyone has received the letter for the HR20 swap offer (I believe $99). If you have could you post it. I really would like to know what it says and looks like. Getting a hard time from DTV to get the upgrade.


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