Rent or own your DVR?

exalted512

We're thinking about either upgrading our current cable service or switching over to satellite.

For you guys with DVRs...are you renting them from your carrier, own them outright? Benefits of either?
-Cody

pitdogg2

most all DVR's have a fee this is do to Tivo lawsuits. My Dish DVR does not have a fee because it was Grandfathered in after the lawsuits. If I upgrade to a different DVR or HD box i will have a fee. I have owned all my Dish boxes and that is why it was Grandfathered in. To clear up confusion I bought my gear from Dish not second hand I do not think Dish will sell them anymore but i could be wrong.

Jstas

I'm renting from the carrier. I have Comcast (FiOS is not available in my area yet). The nice thing about it is that it's integrated with the service and that makes it's easier to set things up to record. Especially if it's a PPV thing. No programming of fancy channels in a TiVo, just select the PPV program, order and set the DVR to record.

Also, billing is on the same bill and part of the service. I don't have to send out two bills, one for cable, one for TiVo. or anything.

nguyendot

I have Cox, and they only lease their boxes, there is no purchase option. They'd be outlandishly expensive anyways.

Joe08867

I own my DVR from DirecTv. Bought it at BB a few years ago. There is still a service fee but it covers replacement for free. Still unsure how that works but it works since I had to replace mine a month or so ago.

I think you have to buy DVR's from DirecTv directly now and I don't think they rent them.

bklynNupe

exalted512 wrote: »

We're thinking about either upgrading our current cable service or switching over to satellite.

For you guys with DVRs...are you renting them from your carrier, own them outright? Benefits of either?
-Cody

https://www3.tivo.com/store/premiere.do?WT.ac=tivohome_shophome

You might want to try Tivo, in less than two months it has been one of my best buys for 2010.

I got the two year agreement for $20 dollars a month, my cable company was charging me almost as much for their crappy dvr. Also, movie rentals through amazon, netflix and blockbuster. Our rentals are now 2 dollars rather than the 4 dollars that my cable company was charging. In the end we are paying $6 dollars more but it is well worth it.

mdaudioguy

Joe08867 wrote: »

I own my DVR from DirecTv. Bought it at BB a few years ago. There is still a service fee but it covers replacement for free. Still unsure how that works but it works since I had to replace mine a month or so ago.

I think you have to buy DVR's from DirecTv directly now and I don't think they rent them.

Check into that. I understood when I got mine just recently, that there's no other option, but to lease a new box from Directv. AND, they require a 2 year commitment, or you owe them money. AND, if at any time you cancel, you must return the equipment.

Willow

We rent we have had to replace our box 2 times so if it had been bought we would be paying lots. Not to mention that if and when a better box comes out we can just swap.

swegyptian

You can buy the boxes from Dish or Direct, but you would still pay the same box and DVR charges every month. There is basically no advantage to owning them, so it's rare that people bother anymore. Dish will lease you six tuners, and Direct will lease you up to four, but beyond that you need to start buying boxes for your house. Again the monthly is the same for the current deals.

pitdogg2

Joe08867 wrote: »

I own my DVR from DirecTv. Bought it at BB a few years ago. There is still a service fee but it covers replacement for free. Still unsure how that works but it works since I had to replace mine a month or so ago.

I think you have to buy DVR's from DirecTv directly now and I don't think they rent them.

You had better check into weather you own that or not. I know a few folks who thought the same thing and then something happen and they dropped DirecTV and then found a charge on their credit card for the receiver they failed to return. From what i know when you buy the receivers at the retailer you are paying for the service not the equiptment.

AsSiMiLaTeD

TiVo FTW!

Seriously though, I have Time Warner and always had issues with their DVR boxes, same thing when it was Comcast. I switched to TiVo a while back, did a lifetime subscription on both boxes and have not looked back. In the short run it's more expensive, but it's cheaper in the long run.

The $0/$20 a month deal on the Premiere boxes is a good deal right now.

Ultimately, you're not going to save much money by going the TiVo route, and may end up paying an extra couple bucks a month, but it's soooooooo worth it to have a box that works so well and has all the extra streaming features (netflix, amazon, hulu, home media server, etc)

Joe08867

pitdogg2 wrote: »

You had better check into weather you own that or not. I know a few folks who thought the same thing and then something happen and they dropped DirecTV and then found a charge on their credit card for the receiver they failed to return. From what i know when you buy the receivers at the retailer you are paying for the service not the equiptment.

I will check into it. Not that it matters. If you drop Directv the box shuts down. It is only usable when getting an open signal from there system. Found out when I forgot to pay bill.

maximillian

I still only have 2 separate SD Tivo boxes. It's a pain to have them control my cable box via the IR dongle thingy. However, both boxes have lifetime subscriptions. My Dad has Dish DVR. The user interface is far superior on the Tivo than the Dish DVR.

I don't have a huge push to the newer Tivo's with HD content. I have a Wii for Netflix so that is not a problem either. Someday I will upgrade and will miss the lifetime subscriptions.

bklynNupe

I also like the Tivo suggested recordings. I currently have several hours of recommend programs in my queue. The suggestions are pretty accurate one you start to rate your programs.

steveinaz

ALL equipment is owned by DirecTV, wether or not you realize it. Even equipment you buy yourself, such as upgrading a standard STB to the HD STB. I know, first hand. I'm pretty sure Dish is the same way.

thuffman03

Rent mine off of my cable provider. Think they charge 8.99 a month. Would have to look at my bill.

pitdogg2

steveinaz wrote: »

ALL equipment is owned by DirecTV, wether or not you realize it. Even equipment you buy yourself, such as upgrading a standard STB to the HD STB. I know, first hand. I'm pretty sure Dish is the same way.

No Dish is not the same I own mine bought from dish back when there was an advantage to owning the equiptment,there is no advantage to owning now unless you buy used then you must be VERY careful that the last owner didn't have unpaid bills with Dish. The one advantage to owning the boxes is that you can shut it off completly(after your 24mo agreement) and then call them to turn you back on. If you do not own then you would have to send all boxes,LNB's and such back to them and start all over with the 12 or 24mo agreement.