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DIRECTV TiVo Terms and Conditions
Information about the agreement that you must sign to get new DIRECTV hardware
People often ask why we require a signed contract before we can
ship DIRECTV hardware. This page explains the situation in more
detail.
The contract is actually very short, and covers two main issues: Ensuring that
you will activate the access card that we send to you, and obtaining your understanding
that DIRECTV will require you to remain a DIRECTV customer at least for two
more years.
The reason we require the agreement is quite simple. DIRECTV heavily subsidizes
certain DIRECTV-specific hardware and they therefore lose money on every sale.
By subsidizing hardware, DIRECTV assumes that their customers would rather pay
slightly higher monthly fees than have to make a huge upfront investment in
DIRECTV hardware. In exchange for this subsidy, DIRECTV requires its hardware
buyers to remain customers for at least two years, which enables DIRECTV to
recoup this subsidy.
If a customer fails to activate the hardware within a certain
period of time and keep it activated for two years, DIRECTV will
attempt to recover their subsidy. A signed agreement makes the collection
process much easier.
Although DIRECTV's means for selling hardware is somewhat unique,
it is the same method that other companies (such as cell phone providers)
use to sell equipment. As with DIRECTV, cell-phone companies often
give free cell phones with one-year service agreements. And the
exact same logic applies.
If you are an existing DIRECTV customer, this contract does not commit you
to other programming or packages. It does not state that you will be charged
your monthly fee twice. If you are adding a receiver to your account (rather
than replacing a receiver already in use) DIRECTV may charge an additional $4.99/month
for that receiver. Also, if you are adding your first DirecTiVo to the account,
they may charge you up to $5.99/month for the DVR service (this is waived with
some programming packages).
If you have more questions, please re-read the contract. It is online
here. If you need more info, please email
us.
BACK TO DIRECTV/TIVO PURCHASE PAGE
*DirecTV DVRs and Series3 TiVos (in HD) record digital broadcast streams and all compression is determined by the broadcaster, so hours stated are estimates assuming average compression. Standard Definition TiVo DVR and TiVo Upgrade Kit capacities are stated at Basic Quality. All capacities may vary due to hard drive models used. Capacities are guaranteed to be within 5% larger
or smaller of stated size. Email with any questions. 
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