I can't hold myself back anymore. My DirecTiVo (the device sold by DirecTV that used the service designed by TiVo Inc.) just decided to reboot itself. I don't know why, but I'm willing to believe now that DirecTV is responsible. I'm willing to believe that DirecTV is responsible for everything bad about my television service.
Since News Corp. bought a majority of the shares of DirecTV, the company has decided to ignore my interests as a customer and pursue what it believes is its strategic interest. That ain't my strategic interest, so I am now motivated to dump DirecTV much as it feels like it has dumped me.
I have two DirecTiVo devices, which I paid for. And I subscribe to the Platinum service on DirecTV (which includes the TiVo service without additional charge) so that my TiVo devices have as much selection to record from as possible. That means I am one of DirecTV's best customers, spending between $90 and $120 a month on the service, depending on how many pay-per-view movies I buy with my TiVo devices. (TiVo makes buying pay-per-view so ridiculously easy, I now buy movies I never bought before -- sometimes 3-6 movies a month).
1) Today, I got a message from DirecTV telling me that my TiVo recorder hasn't made a daily call for 341 days. It's the same message I've gotten every day for the past 341 days. The reason? DirecTiVos are unable either a) to make a dial-up call over a VoIP connection, which is the only telephone service I have now or b) use the Internet to make their regular programming calls to the TiVo service. The reason that's true is because DirecTV (under News Corp.'s direction) has refused to upgrade the software in DirecTiVos to do these things. And I hate the fact that DirecTV sends me a message telling me its my fault that the device hasn't made the call, when it is their design decisions that created this situation.
2) DirecTV has refused to upgrade the DirecTiVos to be able to do remote programming or program sharing inside a home or several other features that TiVo introduced for all of their other non-DirecTV devices more than a year ago. It pisses me off that DirecTV decided to withhold useful features from me.
3) DirecTV has decided to stop marketing the TiVo labeled devices (like mine) in favor of News Corp.'s own device made by another subsidiary of News Corp., the R15 DirecTV Plus DVR (sexy name that, eh?). I can't find any actual reviews of the new DirecTV device, but I keep wondering -- as one of DirecTV's best customers -- why it decided to ignore my preferences in favor of its own interests in making this switch.
I don't like to be treated that way. So, as soon as I can get the logistics worked out, I am going to abandon DirecTV. Funnily enough, Comcast is making it really easy for me to switch. First, Comcast already provides me with broadband Internet service for $60 a month. I also run my telephone service over that Internet connection, paying Vonage $27 a month to provide unlimited local and long distance service (in the US). So I get Internet access and telephone service (not counting my mobile phone, which is a whole other story) for less than I pay for television from DirecTV.
In theory, I can switch my television service from DirecTV ($90+ a month) to Comcast for some combined price. Service providers appear to be interested in what's referred to as a Triple Play, providing telephone, television and internet service over the same basic connection. I don't want to switch my Vonage service to Comcast (yet). But I do hope that Comcast would be willing to provide me with an incentive to switch my television service from DirecTV. (Of course, Comcast has its own issues: When I go to the automated pricing service on their Web site, it tells me I can't get high speed internet in my zip code, even though I already have that service! On a standalone basis, Comcast says it charges $99.95 a month for its Platinum television service, more than DirecTV.)
I will talk to a service representative at Comcast and find out the truth, which might be that I can get a discount of $10-20 a month for Platinum television for switching. But even if I can't get the same television service for less, I still will be able to get Comcast to provide me with a digital receiver and I can buy a TiVo box from TiVo that has all the latest features that DirecTV refused to give me for $50-100. So I will end up with a better service for about the same cost. And I will be able to get my service from TiVo, which understands making service calls over the internet, providing additional applications on the TiVo device, and providing features like remote programming and in-house sharing of programs!
I will once again be a happy customer and I will take great pleasure in never doing business with DirecTV again! I wonder if anyone at News Corp. understands the dynamics of the digital world: ease of switching, advantages of real useability, and the new world of monopoly-less services. Maybe Rupert Murdoch and his minions are actually vulnerable to real competition and fair play?!
(Disclosures: I am a former director of TiVo, because the firm I was formerly with, New Enterprise Associates, was one of the original investors in the company. I still own more than 5,000 shares of TiVo. And NEA is also a major investor in Vonage, in which I have derivative interest.)
Stewart, I feel your pain. I had similar problems with Dish Network. Comcast had a 'dish buy-back' special about two years ago, where they paid me $400 (as $25/month for 16 months) for my ancient, useless old dish & receiver box. And Comcast has a DVR which is pretty good and costs just a tad more per month than a regular digital box. Oh, and broadband on top of a cable package yields a discount of around $15. All this is Massachusetts data, YMMV. Good luck to you!
Posted by: Tim in Boston, MA | October 27, 2005 at 05:11 PM