TiVo Community Forums Archives - New Pricing Special for Direct TV users?

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New Pricing Special for Direct TV users?
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Posted by: psychonate

After shopping around for a good deal I finally found a good deal on a SAT-T60, $160 New with Access Card and all the goodies . Anyway back to the point of this post, I was talking to the Direct TV rep last night when activating my unit about pricing and contracts and stuff. So he stops me and says sir I am not really supposed to say anything but they are changing the whole TIVO pricing. He went to tell me that they are dropping the cost to $4.99 a month, free if you get the Total Choice Premier, and they are no longer going to offer the Lifetime Subscription option. He said that if I wanted to get the lifetime subscription I would have to sign up for it before the 25th…. So ya I got some thinking to do. So with what he said I was wondering if this new pricing structure is only for Direct TV/Tivo customers or Tivo as whole? :D

Posted by: unixadm

This is for DirectTiVo customers only.

Because these are combo boxes, DirectTV has subsidized some of the cost of the hardware in the past, and now, will be subsidizing the cost of the software (service). It's a good deal that TiVo made with DirectTV....will help push TiVo out to new customers, and will help DirectTV lock customers into year contracts and Premiere packages.

This has been discussed in a bunch of threads a few weeks ago in the DirectTV with TiVo forum.

Posted by: spartanstew

quote:
Originally posted by unixadm
This has been discussed in a bunch of threads a few weeks ago in the DirectTV with TiVo forum.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...ghlight=pricing

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...ghlight=pricing

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...ghlight=pricing

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...ghlight=pricing

Stew

Posted by: DBCooper

quote:
Originally posted by psychonate ... I was talking to the Direct TV rep last night when activating my unit about pricing and contracts and stuff. So he stops me and says sir I am not really supposed to say anything but ...[/B]

Imagine that! He let the cat outta the bag!

Did you bite?

Posted by: rogo

I don't believe DirecTV is subsidizing the cost of the service. It is dramatically cheaper to provide Tivo service on DirecTV than it is on random cable systems with standalone Tivos. Because DirecTV now sets the price for the service instead of Tivo, the price reflects DirecTV's low cost of providing that service.

Mark

Posted by: jblake

The pricing changes reflect the fact that DirecTV provides guide data, and, soon in the future it is likely that Tivo service authorizations will come from the satellite, meaning the Tivo side will never dial into tivo.

Posted by: srs5694

Part of the TiVo business model has been built on the hope for the ability to sell aggregate subscriber viewing data. AFAIK, TiVo's not yet sold anything, but part of the reason for the daily calls is to collect that data. Thus, unless they've given up on this plan, at least for DirecTiVos, there'd still be a need for an occasional daily call. ("Need," in this context, isn't a technical requirement, just a business one.)

Posted by: lew

The pricing model is also dictated by the fees charged by the competition: DISH doesn't charge a monthly fee and TimeWarner is charging $5 /month (including equipment). Keep in mind the program guide is being transmitted. There is very little incremental cost for DTivo.

Posted by: jblake

If Tivo is selling my viewing habits (which I don't necessarily mind if it will make TV better) then they better not be charging me for that. If that were the only reason my Tivo was calling in, they better not charge me for the call. The only call the DirecTivo's really HAVE to make to be functional as a Tivo AND Directv reciever are the monthly calls to DirecTV to upload any possible PPV data.

Posted by: srs5694

There's also software updates. Granted, a TiVo doesn't need software updates, in the sense that it'd be theoretically possible for a TiVo to run software that's years out of date; however, keeping a limited number of software versions in circulation can simplify TiVo's (the company's) job.

Posted by: Joe Siegler

Since a DirecTiVo box is also a DirecTV receiver as well, wouldn't there need to be info transferred that would have been transferred on a "conventional" DirecTV receiver?

Ch 201 always talks about "Keep your DirecTV receiver hookd up to a land based phone line". I would assume that whatever reason it would have for calling home would still need to be there in a TiVo box, so that info is probably sent along, as well.

Posted by: jblake

it makes a separate phone call to directv, which runs a 1-800 number for their recievers to call in ppv data. there is no charge for that and is totally independent of tivo's actions

Posted by: Joe Siegler

Really? When does it do that? Do you have proof of that? I've had a DirecTiVo for a year now, and in my time with it, I've never seen my receiver do this, and I've never read about it making a seperate call for DirecTV stuff ever. I was ALWAYS under the impression that the DirecTV data gets sent with the same phone call to TiVo, and I presumed the data gets sent over to DirecTV from there.

Can soemone else back this up?

Posted by: jblake

How do you think non tivo recorders upload PPV data? They certainly don't call Directv. When your tivo calls Tivo, its actually calling UUNet's internet services and logs onto the internet. It then contacts an internet server and sends and recieves all its data over the internet, the same internet this website is connected to and the same one you get your email from.

When the Directv side calls, it calls Directv's 1-800 number to their call center. It does not get on the internet it talks directly with Directv's central computer and uploads PPV data and the central computer also gets the phone number from caller ID to make sure the reciever is in the right house.

I don't have any proof so to say, but it is the way it happens and I'm sure someone will reply and confirm this. Also, there is no way to see it happening, because there is nowhere in the menus that show when the last successful DirecTV call was made. You COULD order a PPV, and not plug it up for a month and then you wouldn't be billed for that PPV. Eventually it won't let you order a PPV again, and then, plug it up and leave it. Then, eventually you'll be able to order PPV again and that will be your 'proof'

Posted by: Uther

quote:
Originally posted by Joe Siegler
Can soemone else back this up?

Yep. Seperate call for DTV about once a month to upload PPV data.

Posted by: srs5694

Conventional wisdom is that they're separate calls, but I don't have any references to back that up. I do have anecdotal and inconclusive evidence, though: I ordered a PPV a while back, and it's still listed in the DirecTiVo's list of recent PPV purchases, despite the fact that the TiVo's called in several times since then. If I understand how this works (which I may not), that PPV listing disappears once it's registered with DirecTV. If so, then the fact that it's still there is evidence that the calls are decoupled, or at least that the DirecTV side of the call doesn't happen on a daily basis.

Posted by: Joe Siegler

I still have some PPV's on there from last April, and I know it's called in many many times since then. :)

Posted by: srs5694

Ah, I thought I'd read somewhere that the PPVs disappear from the list once the DirecTV unit has called them in. I don't recall where I heard that, though, and I've only had DirecTV for about a month, so I can't really speak from personal experience. If your PPVs from April have actually been billed, then I'd say I was misinformed.

Posted by: Uther

The PPV history is stored on the access card. I don't know if they are ever deleted, or if old ones are deleted when the card runs out of space, or what.

Posted by: spanishannouncetable

quote:
Originally posted by Uther
The PPV history is stored on the access card. I don't know if they are ever deleted, or if old ones are deleted when the card runs out of space, or what.

The card will store 25 (I think) PPV buys, even after they have been billed.
After 25, the older buys "scroll off" the card. It works as a sort of PPV history file.

Dish Network cards store the PPVs until they are billed, then they disappear; at least, that's what appears to happen on my parents' 301. They've had it for a year and gotten every WWE PPV since it was installed, but it has no PPV history, just the most recent one purchased, which disappears before the next PPV.