Hopper Time
Watching the boob tube... so many options.
Back in the day you had over the air .. then came cable TV with MTV (actual music videos!) and HBO as one of its premium services. There were VHS rental outlets. Then flipped over to DVD's. About the only thing left of that is the Red Boxes out in the retail world. I think Netflix will still ship you DVDs.. but .. guessing their bread and butter is the streaming piece of the business. Today if you want service you're over the air (lots of channels if near a big city?), Cable, Satellite .. or .. Streaming services.
We moved to Texas back in '95 out in the 'country' (i..e. nothing right around the corner and outside city limits) and the first thing you realize is .. no cable. Eventually that would be no cable AND no fast internet! With a TV antenna sitting on a tower next to the house 30' in the air, reception from Dallas sucked so .. Satellite is the only real option. Chose DirecTV out the gate. After a few years I wanted to upgrade to a new receiver I guess, and when I called Customer Service I got the run around. If memory serves me correctly, Dish Network had a feature I wanted or a better price point and DirecTV over the phone was no help. They wanted more money. So, to compare I called Dish Network who immediately got me under contract for a better scenario. I called DirecTV after the install to cancel which led me to my first realization of the industry. They will do almost anything not to lose a customer. I soon find my self talking to someone in the "customer retention' department. They wanted to know why I hadn't spoken to them, before canceling. They could have gotten me the free equipment upgrades. The adjusted pricing. Well, that'd have been nice to know except I had no idea they existed until this call. Lesson learned. Whenever you want to move away from a service to another ... TV , Phone, Satellite radio .. etc.. and are willing to stay if they fix the problem... there is a department somewhere that will do everything in their power to keep you on board. Trick is figuring out whom they are .. what department that is. I'd probably be with DirecTV today had I known that. That was 20 years ago....
All in all, I've been content with our choice of Dish Network, but over the years I've had to justify the option upgrades for DVRs , buy or lease, Premium Channels, etc. I'd noticed a few years ago seeing someone's DirecTV that my interface was archaic. But I was used to it! We have a place in Galveston with Comcast and it's XFINITY service. It's interface is awesome with great features. Again, reminded me that my interface was archaic with Dish. But I was used to it! It's funny how we get set in our ways. We've dealt with a few cable issues .. receiver issues .. over the years .. so I didn't want to screw with a setup that was currently working 100% and provided me everything I needed. I mean I could record 2 channels and watch 1 .. SIMULTANEOUSLY! wooohooo! But I had a receiver for each TV and that meant 2 diff' DVRs which .. caused a small problem. My fav' programs were on the downstairs TV, mama's on the upstairs TV. No DVR in the bedrooms. But it worked!
Well, for quite some time now mama' has been asking "why don't we get a new system .. get us a Hopper!" pretty much every time the commercial aired. I drug my feet... a LONG time. Recently, I've been fooling around with the Amazon Fire-stick(s). Gave us a lot of options and any of the TVs they were plugged into. Hell, I've got several of them I was using. One of it's cool features is the voice activated remote. Well, the new Dish Network systems have the audio remote as well. The Hopper system had the ability to get past my 2 recording limit. Still, I drug my feet. Well, two days ago I had to cancel Dish services for one of our rental homes which is harder than you think. Well, it's easy but you have to push back on the folks on the phone because they are doing everything they can to keep you and will redirect you ... " the retention department!" .. if necessary. Anyways, got through that and asked her if she did upgrades as well. Mentioned I was considering a new system. Her first words were .. " I can save you money!"
Now, I didn't believe it. My guard was up. My pen and paper are out. She starts going over things and throwing numbers my way. I'm asking about options. Now, the twist I have is I have a system in my RV with a permanent antennae on the roof and a complete system out in the gym with it's own antenna due to distance from the house. I just didn't want these screwed up in the process. After we worked through all the nuances ... I was saving money. Turns out I forgot one of the rules that we should all be aware of. After you've had a service for 2+ years with folks like these, a phone call can get you a new contract price. Otherwise you are a victim of .. I'll call it .... Price Creep. Every year.. a few bucks here or few bucks there. I found I was paying about 25% more than I probably should have .. because I simply didn't ask. One of my questions this time was "what about AFTER the initial year?". $10 hike I'm promised ( we'll see how that works?). But she on the phone, and my Installer that afternoon assured me, call back at the 2 year point and get the new price adjustments. Worst case, be prepared to threaten to move to their competitor, play the game .. and .. get the adjustments. Worst case.... you jump ship and get the latest and greatest. Now in all fairness that sounds great.. BUT.. .I hate to have to relearn all the BS changes that come with the competitor's systems.. .so .. I'll just threaten .. for now?
So I'm signed up. We've got to get someone out here ...... I've got my calendar open thinking "this is going to be fun" due to my work and play schedule ( yes, sometimes they are over the same dates!). My shock was when I hear " is this afternoon okay?" Well, hell yes! Sure enough 2 hours later a Dish Network truck rolls down the driveway, a mature guy in his late 20s is the service tech and the best part .... he knows his shit. Still, it takes him several hours vs the 1 hour they all thought to get it all working. Which is why I initially didn't want them to come out. Over the years, we've had some weird problems that always seemed to tie back to the cabling. I've seen guys get their asses kicked by it them. Even had one guy ten years ago walk off the job and leave my attic open and one room INOP. Next day some other guy showed up to finish the job. I'm a computer guy.. an RF guy .. a cable guy .. ( USAF Training ) .. and I was always snickering inside, watching these guys troubleshoot the problems. They never mark their cables and they waste a stupid amount of time running around in circles. But not today. I've got one that has a clue. And, he's finding problem after problem. Few hours later he's rebuilt just about every connector, replaces most of the barrels that connect new and old cabling .. and he's setting up the system. He's setting up remotes for attached devices . He's done. As he's headed out the door, I shake his and I handed him a few bucks; told him to have a couple cold ones on me . The look on his face told me he rarely if ever, gets a tip.
On the TV screens are the new Interface. I'm in the 21st century finally! The Hopper 3 is now located in my upper living room with several "Joeys" at the other TVs, mostly cabled but one is wireless. I opted for the high end Hopper that can record 16 channels simultaneously (because I need this?) .. and can view up to 5 simultaneously ( that would be hard to accomplish). But, I'm 100% modern. I could go get another wireless Joey and set a TV on the back porch (temp or permanent). I can finally watch a lot of On Demand options. They've integrated other services ( Netflix, YouTube, etc) within the receivers (didn't need it but .. hey .. more is better). Yes.. I'm happy. I'm sure I'd be 100% happy if I was on the latest cable or DirecTV service as well. I'm just content it's all working as advertised, latest features, and cost is back down where it should be (well.. would be nicer if it was under triple digit mark )
Now .. if could solve my Internet issues. Remember .... "country living?" . yeah.. No Fiber. No Super Duper' High Speed cable. I've gone from dial up to satellite to ... DSL over the last 23 years. And I'm at the end of the line, far from the switch so on a perfect day .. I'm smoking at 7Meg a sec! OMG! It's just enough to watch broadband TV .. barely. I get reminded how primitive it is when we head to Galveston and I'm pushing 125megs down and 25 up. So I wait .. patiently. I'm reminded if you want the 'country life' you've got to put up with the B.S. that goes along with it. But hey .. things are looking up. We recently got a Dollar General 4 miles down the road. Living Large!
Back in the day you had over the air .. then came cable TV with MTV (actual music videos!) and HBO as one of its premium services. There were VHS rental outlets. Then flipped over to DVD's. About the only thing left of that is the Red Boxes out in the retail world. I think Netflix will still ship you DVDs.. but .. guessing their bread and butter is the streaming piece of the business. Today if you want service you're over the air (lots of channels if near a big city?), Cable, Satellite .. or .. Streaming services.
We moved to Texas back in '95 out in the 'country' (i..e. nothing right around the corner and outside city limits) and the first thing you realize is .. no cable. Eventually that would be no cable AND no fast internet! With a TV antenna sitting on a tower next to the house 30' in the air, reception from Dallas sucked so .. Satellite is the only real option. Chose DirecTV out the gate. After a few years I wanted to upgrade to a new receiver I guess, and when I called Customer Service I got the run around. If memory serves me correctly, Dish Network had a feature I wanted or a better price point and DirecTV over the phone was no help. They wanted more money. So, to compare I called Dish Network who immediately got me under contract for a better scenario. I called DirecTV after the install to cancel which led me to my first realization of the industry. They will do almost anything not to lose a customer. I soon find my self talking to someone in the "customer retention' department. They wanted to know why I hadn't spoken to them, before canceling. They could have gotten me the free equipment upgrades. The adjusted pricing. Well, that'd have been nice to know except I had no idea they existed until this call. Lesson learned. Whenever you want to move away from a service to another ... TV , Phone, Satellite radio .. etc.. and are willing to stay if they fix the problem... there is a department somewhere that will do everything in their power to keep you on board. Trick is figuring out whom they are .. what department that is. I'd probably be with DirecTV today had I known that. That was 20 years ago....
All in all, I've been content with our choice of Dish Network, but over the years I've had to justify the option upgrades for DVRs , buy or lease, Premium Channels, etc. I'd noticed a few years ago seeing someone's DirecTV that my interface was archaic. But I was used to it! We have a place in Galveston with Comcast and it's XFINITY service. It's interface is awesome with great features. Again, reminded me that my interface was archaic with Dish. But I was used to it! It's funny how we get set in our ways. We've dealt with a few cable issues .. receiver issues .. over the years .. so I didn't want to screw with a setup that was currently working 100% and provided me everything I needed. I mean I could record 2 channels and watch 1 .. SIMULTANEOUSLY! wooohooo! But I had a receiver for each TV and that meant 2 diff' DVRs which .. caused a small problem. My fav' programs were on the downstairs TV, mama's on the upstairs TV. No DVR in the bedrooms. But it worked!
Well, for quite some time now mama' has been asking "why don't we get a new system .. get us a Hopper!" pretty much every time the commercial aired. I drug my feet... a LONG time. Recently, I've been fooling around with the Amazon Fire-stick(s). Gave us a lot of options and any of the TVs they were plugged into. Hell, I've got several of them I was using. One of it's cool features is the voice activated remote. Well, the new Dish Network systems have the audio remote as well. The Hopper system had the ability to get past my 2 recording limit. Still, I drug my feet. Well, two days ago I had to cancel Dish services for one of our rental homes which is harder than you think. Well, it's easy but you have to push back on the folks on the phone because they are doing everything they can to keep you and will redirect you ... " the retention department!" .. if necessary. Anyways, got through that and asked her if she did upgrades as well. Mentioned I was considering a new system. Her first words were .. " I can save you money!"
Now, I didn't believe it. My guard was up. My pen and paper are out. She starts going over things and throwing numbers my way. I'm asking about options. Now, the twist I have is I have a system in my RV with a permanent antennae on the roof and a complete system out in the gym with it's own antenna due to distance from the house. I just didn't want these screwed up in the process. After we worked through all the nuances ... I was saving money. Turns out I forgot one of the rules that we should all be aware of. After you've had a service for 2+ years with folks like these, a phone call can get you a new contract price. Otherwise you are a victim of .. I'll call it .... Price Creep. Every year.. a few bucks here or few bucks there. I found I was paying about 25% more than I probably should have .. because I simply didn't ask. One of my questions this time was "what about AFTER the initial year?". $10 hike I'm promised ( we'll see how that works?). But she on the phone, and my Installer that afternoon assured me, call back at the 2 year point and get the new price adjustments. Worst case, be prepared to threaten to move to their competitor, play the game .. and .. get the adjustments. Worst case.... you jump ship and get the latest and greatest. Now in all fairness that sounds great.. BUT.. .I hate to have to relearn all the BS changes that come with the competitor's systems.. .so .. I'll just threaten .. for now?
So I'm signed up. We've got to get someone out here ...... I've got my calendar open thinking "this is going to be fun" due to my work and play schedule ( yes, sometimes they are over the same dates!). My shock was when I hear " is this afternoon okay?" Well, hell yes! Sure enough 2 hours later a Dish Network truck rolls down the driveway, a mature guy in his late 20s is the service tech and the best part .... he knows his shit. Still, it takes him several hours vs the 1 hour they all thought to get it all working. Which is why I initially didn't want them to come out. Over the years, we've had some weird problems that always seemed to tie back to the cabling. I've seen guys get their asses kicked by it them. Even had one guy ten years ago walk off the job and leave my attic open and one room INOP. Next day some other guy showed up to finish the job. I'm a computer guy.. an RF guy .. a cable guy .. ( USAF Training ) .. and I was always snickering inside, watching these guys troubleshoot the problems. They never mark their cables and they waste a stupid amount of time running around in circles. But not today. I've got one that has a clue. And, he's finding problem after problem. Few hours later he's rebuilt just about every connector, replaces most of the barrels that connect new and old cabling .. and he's setting up the system. He's setting up remotes for attached devices . He's done. As he's headed out the door, I shake his and I handed him a few bucks; told him to have a couple cold ones on me . The look on his face told me he rarely if ever, gets a tip.
On the TV screens are the new Interface. I'm in the 21st century finally! The Hopper 3 is now located in my upper living room with several "Joeys" at the other TVs, mostly cabled but one is wireless. I opted for the high end Hopper that can record 16 channels simultaneously (because I need this?) .. and can view up to 5 simultaneously ( that would be hard to accomplish). But, I'm 100% modern. I could go get another wireless Joey and set a TV on the back porch (temp or permanent). I can finally watch a lot of On Demand options. They've integrated other services ( Netflix, YouTube, etc) within the receivers (didn't need it but .. hey .. more is better). Yes.. I'm happy. I'm sure I'd be 100% happy if I was on the latest cable or DirecTV service as well. I'm just content it's all working as advertised, latest features, and cost is back down where it should be (well.. would be nicer if it was under triple digit mark )
Now .. if could solve my Internet issues. Remember .... "country living?" . yeah.. No Fiber. No Super Duper' High Speed cable. I've gone from dial up to satellite to ... DSL over the last 23 years. And I'm at the end of the line, far from the switch so on a perfect day .. I'm smoking at 7Meg a sec! OMG! It's just enough to watch broadband TV .. barely. I get reminded how primitive it is when we head to Galveston and I'm pushing 125megs down and 25 up. So I wait .. patiently. I'm reminded if you want the 'country life' you've got to put up with the B.S. that goes along with it. But hey .. things are looking up. We recently got a Dollar General 4 miles down the road. Living Large!
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