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Tivo user?


hovertical

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We're finally getting out from under our last Directv contract in a couple months and are considering our options.  We're not going to be the "cut the cord" folks so that's out of the question - we're basically stuck with choosing either Cox or investing in a Tivo set up (while still using Cox for the cable card).  We used to have a Tivo years ago when I still lived in Florida and the card was through Verizon Fios and it seemed to work ok and the interface was certainly much more responsive/faster than the standard set top box that Verizon provided. 

 

Anyway, my question is this - does anyone else in here own the most recent Tivo Bolt+?  Are you able to subscribe to and record the games on the seasonal sport packages (we'll be getting the ones for MLB and NHL).  i've found conflicting information online about the ability to actually record and receive those packages when you're using a cable card.  When we lived in Florida we obviously didn't have to buy the MLB Extra Innings package as the games were on local tv so I never had to run across that situation. 

 

It would be drastically cheaper using Tivo as opposed to using Cox for DVR services throughout our house so this is why I'm curious in regards to this particular function. 

 

Directv can go to hell.

 

 

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we looked at cutting the cord but it would just be far too annoying to have instant access to all the different shows the wife and i watch.  Also, I can not stand it when something starts buffering.  We've always opted for the more expensive internet speeds where we've lived and yet we've always had issues where shows, netflix, etc. will start buffering at random times and that shit is just annoying as hell.  Cable is just much more convenient to record and watch shows at any time you wish, plus you dont have to have a vast variety of subscriptions to ensure you get everything you want.  I'm sure it works for some of you but when you can tack on cable service for only $30 more to what you're paying for your internet service it's also the cheaper route overall (price would be quite a bit more if i had to "rent" their dvr, etc. though which is why i'm looking at tivo again). 

 

also, DirecTV can still go to hell - they've been shitty since At&t bought them out.

 

 

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Care to explain? I switched to Directv recently just because it pretty much cut my cable bill in half. I was skeptical but for two years I've definitely got a much lower cable bill so I did it. What do I need to know?

 

It's true that they cut your bill down significantly, particularly during the first year over cable.  The problem is that some of the incentives they offer you when you're signing up (or in our case renewing a contract) can be retracted later on down the road even when you have it in writing.  The wife and I found out about this the hard way last baseball season.

 

When we renewed out 2 year contract this last year we did as we always had and asked for MLB Extra Innings for free for both years of the contract. It hadn't been an issue in any of the previous years and at the time of the renewal the representative also assured us it would continue to not be an issue for our renewal.  I made sure to write down the call reference number, name of the person I spoke to, and also the time/date of the call for future reference. 

 

The first year of the contract, we noticed a much larger than usual bill (it had already come out because you save some extra $$ by signing up for auto-debit) and sure enough they had charged us for the MLB package unlike what they had promised.  I called in to correct the matter and was told that they didn't have any record of me being promised that - so I provided the name, date, time, etc. that I was advised of this and poof, like magic they found it and credited me back for tht season.

 

This past year was a different story.  Same thing happened again where we had a big bill debit off automatically. Even though we were watching the statement like a hawk, they literally added it to the bill the day of the debit so we couldn't try to call in to make sure it wouldn't hit our bank account.  I call back in, do the whole song and dance like the year before where they deny that I was told I would receive it for free, i give them the info and magically they find it and I'm told it will be credited.  The following month goes by and they don't credit it back - so I call back in and do this again and we're told the same thing again, that it will be credited the following month.

 

Month 2 passes and still no credit.  I call in a 3rd time and this time I'm told that "there have been too many credits on your account so you can't receive this per our policy". The only "credits" on my policy were the things that were freely offered to me when I was renewing our usual contract.  I've never been one of those assholes that call in and demand some prorated credit because the service cuts out for a few hours.  I point out the call info where it was promised to me and I was told that she was connecting me to her supervisor to "clarify" the situation.  So I talk to the supervisor in billing and they tell me that the contract does not include any "promotional terms or additional offers of service" and that no, they will not credit me for MLB package for 2016 (even though he said he can see it was promised to me).  I said I wantd to end our contract early then since I was clearly not receiving what was promised to me at the time of the contract renewal and was told no, that if  I opted out of the contract early that I would pay hefty fees since I had almost a year left. 

 

I asked to speak to someone else above him and was flatly told no and "if there isn't anything else I can do for you that we haven't already covered I'm releasing this call".

 

So I end up going to social media and posting this same scenario above and tagging DirecTV and sure enough within an hour someone asked for my information to escalate to some special "social media resolution team".  Two more weeks go by and after working back and forth with this person he agrees to credit the first two single months of MLB (at a prorated rate since we had been promised it would be credited back multiple times) but if I want the remainder of the season I would have to pay for it and that no, I couldn't term my contract early without being charged those fees (which would have been more than the MLB package anyway). 

 

So, the reason why I would never ever go with DirecTV again is that they do like to offer you promotional stuff to lower your bill, etc. but those terms are NOT part of the contract and they have it set up in such a way that they can offer you nearly anything but not be held to those same promotions when it actually comes time to hold up their end of the bargain.  Knowing that, I would never ever sign anything with them again.

 

Fun fact, during the course of my conversation with the guy who was on the social media escalation team I asked another question before we got off the phone just for shits and giggles.  The first question was that since I was told we could not be credited any additional money what would happen if they overcharged us in a month.  In response he advised me that it would have to be an escalated issue again because a regular representative could not override their credit policy even in cases where they clearly overcharged in error. 

 

In addition to their lovely new "Credit policy" we've also noticed a substantial dip in service quality in terms of signal cutting out and horrible response time on their equipment that seemingly coincided with AT&T slapping their logo on the "screensaver" screen (the one that pops up after you've paused something for a certain period of time).  I was in love with DirecTV when we first moved out here to the desert and I even got a friend to drop cable to sign up with them because I thought they were that much better.  Times change though, and this experience was the final straw for me with them.  If you ever want to look into more of what I'm talking about take the time to google some of the "too many credits" policy they have.  There are quite a few people out there that simply just wanted to receive what they were offered when they signed up.

 

 

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Sounds like you aren't a good candidate to cut the cord. The buffering issues you have are likely local network problems. I stream 4k using a not so speed cable connection and never have buffering issues.

 

I also don't have to hunt for tv shows or subscribe to services, because I automate all of my tv shows to download. Same with movies.

 

For sports, I have a psvue subscription. I used to go mlbtv + ota antenna, but my signal is weak and mlbtv is really shitty. psvue has been amazing. 

 

Actually, check out psvue and their channel lineups. It might work for you. 

 

I've lived in Tampa and Phoenix and have had pretty damn solid reliabilty when it comes to doing anything I want to via my actual pc/laptop/tablet.  I have a fairly nice TV set that cost a pretty penny and I have other devices but no matter when I try to watch things on a lot of the streaming services there have always been buffering issues (yep, tried swapping out modem/routers).  My friends have also had the same experience when I'd be at their homes too.  I know a lot of people have zero issues but it's just how it's been for as long as I can remember.  I set up my own cloud where I can download via my pc and transfer to my tv and that works just fine but the actual services like netflix, prime, etc.? - sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  I'm waiting for some cable company to finally set it up so that you can pay a smaller fee and select a block of 20-30 channels since the bulk of what's out there never gets watched.   My current ISP (and the only viable option really) costs $90 a month.  I can tack on the cable service for an extra $30 or so which is pretty cheap considering I currently pay 90 for my internet and another $136 for DirecTV each month (and that's only with HBO added). 

 

 

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