The only reason we selected DirecTV and the only reason we've stuck with it as long as we have was the NFL ticket. The NFL ticket was our only real option for watching our home team when we are not in the local market. But our experience has consisted of one technical headache after another followed by incredibly poor customer support.
Our first hurdle happened at the initial install about three years ago. We had two standalone TiVo's networked together, but the DirecTV sattelite receivers didn't respond very well to TiVo signals sent to change the channel. To work at all, we'd have to use their flimsy IR blasters, which seemed to introduce quite a bit of lag to changing the channel. I'd read about other receivers that worked better with our TiVo setup, so I went out and purchased them. Once they were installed, everything worked just fine.
Then DirecTV downloaded a firmware update to our receivers that broke the connection between the TiVo and the receiver. I called customer support and they said they couldn't roll back the firmware update. Nor could they give me any date on when the next firware revision would come out. Nor could they say whether the next revision would fix the issue they'd introduced. Their solution? Buy their DirecTV TiVos. Never mind that the DirecTV TiVos couldn't be networked together. Nevermind that I'd paid and worked hard to get an initial solution working that they had subsequently broken. The fact that DirecTV and TiVo had recently had a nasty falling out didn't mollify the cynic in me either.
Flash forward to the HD experience. We needed the newer 5 LNB dish installed for HD service. After the installer showed up hours late, I asked him to take the wires in under our eves and down through the attic.instead, he drilled a hole straight through our exterior wall. And used nails instead of screws to attach the cable faceplate to the wall. Still, we had a pretty HD picture when he left. Only a few days later, however, the picture disappeared for our HD channels and we just got "searching for satellite..." messages. We had a big NFL game we wanted to record that weekend, so I called for a service visit to fix the issue. They said they couldn't get out to our house until the next week. Frustrated, I told them to just go ahead and cancel our HD service if that was the case.
They didn't cancel our HD service, though I didn't realize it at the time since my billing had gotten messed up and I wasn't receiving bills in the mail. I'd talked to a friend about getting Over the Air (OTA) HD programming, so I went out and purchased a nice antenna and set it up. The picture quality was great and I was able to hook the antenna up to the DirecTV HD DVR and record all the local channels just fine. I was reasonably happy.
Then I finally got the billing issue fixed and realized I was still being charged for HD programming. I called customer service again and told them the situation. Getting them to refund the charges was like pulling teeth, but they finally agreed to refund a portion of it and canceled the HD programming. To my surprise and dismay, they also shut down the ability of the HD DVR to record OTA HD programming. Never mind that I had purchased the OTA solution because their HD solution was not working. According to their Customer Service department, if they offered local HD channels through DirecTV, then purchasing their programming was my only choice. Otherwise, they would shut down the DVR's ability to process HD signals at all.in fact, even programs I had recorded OTA *before* canceling their HD service were no longer viewable. To me, that just seemed downright spiteful!
I purposed to get rid of DirecTV once and for all, but needed to get a replacement in place. Having experienced OTA viewing where I could see 90% of what I wanted FOR FREE, I decided I no longer wanted my viewing to be subject to the whim of some disconnected, money-grubbing corporation. So, I used a PC, DVR software, digital tuners that can connect directly to a home network, and a media extender to create my own DVR solution. When I got it in place, I called to cancel my DirecTV service. The cancellation department at DirecTV said I had not completed a two year agreement. Why was there another two year agreement when I had been with DirecTV for over three years? The HD programming package I'd ordered from them required it. You know, the one that never actually worked. Unbelievable. On top of that, the nice lady told me that my agreement authorized her to dip directly into my checking account (using my debit card that they had on file) to take the rest of the charges on the contract without even billing me. Fine, I said. Do your worst. I'm free at last, and I'm never looking back.
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