DirecTV not activating used DTiVos?

[Razorboy68]

A friend built me a hacked Series 2 TiVo with HMO , but when I called DTV to activate, they said "Sorry! As of 3/2006, we will no longer activate DTiVos not currently part of your contract." The rep then offered to sell me a (groan!) D15.

Is this for real, or did I just get a lazy rep????

HELP!

p.s. If this is DTV's response to modders (with legit DTV service) I'll be saying "Buh-bye" for good as soon as my current contract ends. Lousy Ruppert Murdoch!

[eastwind]

TiVo's contract with DTV will be over soon. That's why DTV's moving to the D15 (sic). The boxes aren't running TiVo software and DTV isn't paying TiVo any money for the subscribers who're using them.

ew

[jasch]

I tought it was because as of 3/3006 DTV moved to a leased-only plan... BTW, I activated my HR10-250 fine 3 days ago...

[pentium101]

A friend built me a hacked Series 2 TiVo with HMO , but when I called DTV to activate, they said "Sorry! As of 3/2006, we will no longer activate DTiVos not currently part of your contract." The rep then offered to sell me a (groan!) D15.Are they not activating the Tivo pvr service or won't they even allow the unit to be used only as a receiver? :confused:

[ronrico51]

DTV is definitely supporting dtivos, at least for the near future. They just finished giving away a bunch of non-RID dtivos under a program called dvr4me or some such thing. They had a giveaway on their website, all you had to do was fill in an online form, a free tivo arrived via fedex in a few days. $15 shipping was all I paid. Installation was free (this was for existing subs). I was able to activate the hdvr2 they sent me (about 3 weeks ago), though I did have to call twice. Some of the newer CSRs don't know how to handle non-RID machines, but the experienced ones do. Now I have 3 lovely hacked dtivos, all non-RID, all working great.

[AlphaWolf]

Heh I hope this isn't true. I just damaged the power supply on one of my S2 units when I was being a bit rough while unplugging it. I think I can fix it ok, but if I can't then I'll need to buy a new barebones unit from weaknees or something.

BTW ronrico51, did they require you to renew your contract when you got that new S2?

[captain_video]

DTV requires a 2-year extension for any new advanced receiver activated on an account. The only possible exceptions are if you are reactivating a DTivo that had been previously active on the account or if you are replacing an older receiver or DTivo because the original hardware died. You may be able to sweet talk a CSR into letting you activate a new receiver if you can come up with a good excuse for doing so, but that's a long shot at best. Even if the CSR doesn't mention anything about an extension on your commitment you can bet it will show up on your next DTV bill.

[jasch]

I purchased a HR10-250 for $550 from weaknees last month, and when I activated the unit, it shows on my statement as 'leased receiver'...

[mstbone67a]

If you call retention when trying to activate the dvr this will help if they are playing hard.

[vu2vu]

I just wonder how DirecTV expects to enforce their programming "commitment".

When I created my account, I declined giving them my social security number and was told there would be a deposit taken from my credit card and credit issued for $10 each month until the balance was down to $0.

Of course the charge never got placed on my account. When I activated another reciever they didn't mention any extension to my contract, but one magically appeared on my monthly statement.

I am not a lawyer but from what I understand the only two contracts that can be legally binding are oral and written. They don't have either from me.

DTV requires a 2-year extension for any new advanced receiver activated on an account. The only possible exceptions are if you are reactivating a DTivo that had been previously active on the account or if you are replacing an older receiver or DTivo because the original hardware died. You may be able to sweet talk a CSR into letting you activate a new receiver if you can come up with a good excuse for doing so, but that's a long shot at best. Even if the CSR doesn't mention anything about an extension on your commitment you can bet it will show up on your next DTV bill.

[sidestream84]

I got an S2 DTivo on e-bay and used it to replace a normal receiver less than 2 months ago (so past that 03/2006 date), but not without more trouble than I expected...

The first two representatives would do it but said it would cause a 2 year contract, which I aruged about a little (they're not going to provide installation for me (of the second tuner line), if it breaks, they won't replace it, and I fully paid for the unit already), but they said that was policy... When I begrudgingly agreed and got transferred to access card (I think) department, I asked the woman who changed it from leased to owned on my account if the 2 year contract was really true for fully owned units, and she said no... I even asked "so it says I'm not in a contract now, and it's not going to pop up on me (*surprise*) on the next bill", and she said no... I'm not in contract. (I still need to wait for one more bill to know for sure).

[dogbreath]

Things must have changed lately; I just activated an old HDVR2 that I bought from ebay and used a card from an old DSR6000. Had absolutely no problems.

[captain_video]

Check your next billing statement. You'll find that you have a 2-year commitment regardless of whether the CSR ever mentioned it.

FYI - This is included in the description of the DirecTV plus DVR:
Get a Free Lease Upgrade to a DIRECTV Plus® DVR after $99 instant rebate when you order online at DIRECTV.com.
Two-year programming commitment and activation of DVR service ($5.99/mo.) required.
I am not a lawyer but from what I understand the only two contracts that can be legally binding are oral and written. They don't have either from me.
As long as the conditions are stipulated in writing somewhere on the DTV website then it is a binding contract when you activate any advanced DTV receiver. I haven't checked the HD receiver and DVR descriptions on DTV's website but I'm inclined to think you'll find this same stipulation there as well.