DirecTV HDPC-20 - Use your PC as a DVR
We have a feeling that someone at the MPAA home office is probably freaking out right now; first Sony announces that PS3s will be able to rip Blu-Rays to PSPs, and now DirectTV leaks that they’re going to be releasing a device that allows you to use your PC as a DVR. Known as the HDPC-20, the USB-connected device hooks into your satellite connection and your Windows Vista-powered machine (what’s that? A legitimate reason to upgrade to Vista?) to combine DVR abilities with “certain Windows Media Center applications [for] unique benefits,” like integration with the rest of your media library, searching, and movie jackets.
We’ve been intrigued by the possibilities of media center PCs for a while now, ever since hardware and software started to hit the critical juncture to make that kind of immersive experience not only possible, but worth the investment. The HDPC-20 won’t be for everyone, but it certainly helps make the world of media PCs that much more real.
Labels: Blu-Rays, media PC, USB connected device
posted by HighSpeedSat @ 10:11 PM
2 Comments:
At 7:29 AM,
Anonymous said…
To all the people who have Time Warner or Cox cable and want to move to another provider, plz plz plz don't' go for Directv. Choose Dishtv or stay with the cable companies. But don't get fooled by the flayers you get in mails showing various offers from Directv. I was one of them and after reading my story you'll understand why I'm so pissed off at this company right now. Read on..
I am a new customer to Directv and I got this offer in mail which said $44.99 per month for 12 months. This includes 185 channels including locals and you also get a free wide screen portable dvd player. This I was told was an offer only for new customers, the regular offer being $54.99. When i let the customer service rep know that I'm transferring from Time Warner and when i asked whether there is any other additional offer i can get, the lady told me that she would give me additional $10 rebate for 10 months making it $34.99 for 10 months. I confirmed this many times first month and second month and i was told that my third month's bill would be $34.99.
And now i get my 3rd month bill as $44.99, something I never expected. When i call up the customer service, the lady tells me that there was never any rebate, but there was a cash back offer for 10 months, which supposedly I'm not eligible now. I was like " Are you kidding me ?? " This was the first time they had mentioned to me about cash back offer. And when asked why i wasn't told this before, she just said she was sorry about that and couldn't help me further. I thought may be there's a misunderstanding here and may be this customer rep didn't know shit. So then I asked why wasn't i eligible for the offer which i never heard of and she told that i had contacted a third party and didn't go through their company for the service. Now this totally threw me off, because the mail i got was from Directv and never mentioned anything about third party. I completely lost my temper, which I don't usually, and started yelling at her. Felt like making the customer rep stand before me and smashing her to pulp. But then, what would she do...its the company right ?? Everything looked to be like a big scam and they just robbed $100 from me.
The flayer clearly read in bold letters " CALL NOW 1-888-866-2922 or visit directv.com ". Now do you expect this number to be that of directv or of a third party ?? Well I guess I wasn't that smart to think that this was NOT a directv number, rather of some unknown third party. If you think about it, its a very easy game for them. Advertise lot of good things, give lot of goodies, and make you call a third party ( which u think is directv number ) which would then give you additional rebates and finally when you sign up and don't get your rebate, let you know that it wasn't them who told there's a rebate, but rather direct you to that unknown company which you have no idea about..making it look like they are not guilty at all. All in all a f*#@ed up situation. I seriously wish i had stayed with Time warner or Dish TV and not moved to Directv. Now I cannot even come out of it as I'm in a 1 yr contract.
But this hasn't deterred me. I managed to get through ranks of customer service department and get an escalation of the case. They've given me 1 weeks time to see if they can get me the so called cash back offer. Also I have lodged a complaint at bbb.org website against Directv. I cannot wait till I win this war. I'm trying to spread awareness among everyone I talk to regarding this issue. And I'm making sure nobody signs up for Directv. I no more feel like using their free portable dvd player. I would rather sell it on ebay or craigslist. I sometimes sit and wonder, why I'm taking this way too serious. Its just after all $10 a month extra. But no...it ain't about the money. Its about a promise, and a word given, which when not executed, becomes cheating. And that's not what one expects from big companies which lure customers. There aren't that many cable or satellite dish companies out there. And one certainly doesn't need to be this cheap to be ahead of the game. Such bastards !!
At 5:22 PM,
Anonymous said…
I don't suppose that the words, "grow up" would be very helpful or constructive, so I won't say them.
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