I thought I'd pass this along for those of you who're interested. I emailed DirecTV to try to find out what's happening with their HD TiVo service. Below is what their response was and what I wrote to them. In short, it was a non answer.
My email: Details: I currently have a DirecTV system with a triple LNB dish and integrated TiVo unit (Philips DVR). I'm planning on upgrading to HDTV this summer but am suffering sticker shock on the price ($999) of the HD TiVo unit (HR10250).
My question is will this unit work with the new satellites you're launching this year that will start using mpeg4? If not, will it be upgradeable? If not, will you offer some credit/buyback plan to replace the unit with a new one that will be compatible?
Any helpful information will be appreciated.
Thanks, Jeff
Their response: Dear Jeff,
Thanks for writing. Earlier this year DIRECTV made several announcements from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) about new technology and high definition local channels. I understand your concerns about how this new technology and programming will affect you and while I do not have specifics at this time, we are working out all of the details for the new technology and equipment. We will be able to provide more information soon so please stay tuned to DIRECTV.com for the latest information and news about our services.
Sincerely,
Joseph DIRECTV Customer Service
TV Psychic
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Translation:
We at DIRECTV plan on sticking it to our customer base with as little notice as possible. We encourage all the Yahoos out there who have money to burn to spend an extra $1000 on the new HD-TIVO receiver/recorder as soon as possible. When we begin the transition to the MPEG4 format we plan on sticking it to ALL our customers with new installation fees, fees for new access cards, account transfer fees, additional programming fees, outrageous equipment deposits, expensive receivers with a shelf life of less than two years and other fees, expenses and costs we haven't even considered yet. No upgraders, no credits, nothing but heartache and grief. In other words business as usual, we do appreciate your patronage and hope you continue to waste, err I mean spend, your money with us. We at DIRECTV understand you do have other choices but believe you are too stupid to take your business elsewhere.