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Why Does Time Warner Charge For DVR Service?
By JLP | October 23, 2007
I just upgraded my cable service to HD cable. To do so, I had to take in my old digital box to the local office and pick up a new HD box. While there the lady asked me if I wanted an HDVR box or just an HD box. Once I found out that they charge $6.95 per month I said no thanks. Then after everything was done, she handed me my box along with the other stuff I needed and as I was about to leave she said, “If you change your mind and decide you want DVR, just call us and we’ll turn it on for you. You don’t have to bring your box in to exchange it.” I asked her what she meant and she said that the box contains the DVR unit.
As I was walking back out to the car I started wondering why they have to charge $6.95 per month to allow people to use the DVR feature? Since the DVR unit is already in the box, it seems crazy that they have to charge more just to use it. Of course I know WHY they charge their customers to use it. It’s just another way cable companies rip us off. I just don’t think the use of the recorder is worth $83 per year.
Okay, I’m done ranting for the day.
Topics: Rant | 29 Comments »
October 23rd, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I disagree. I think it’s completely worth the $83/yr or $6.95/month. It’s an excellent invention and quite useful.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Andrew,
I’m not saying it’s not a cool feature. I just don’t like the fact that they have to charge for it.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:26 pm
They don’t have to charge anything for it. Microsoft doesn’t have to charge anything for a copy of Windows, either. Cost and price have nothing to do with each other.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:28 pm
JLP, I had the DVR feature for a few months before realizing they charged extra for it. When I did realize it, it was too late. Once you’ve viewed TV with this feature, you just can’t go back. Every week, my shows are automatically recorded and I can watch them commercial free. I’ll even watch some shows a half hour after their start time just so I can zoom through all the commercials.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 pm
It’s still a lot cheaper than a Tivo. You pay 12 or 13 bucks a month for tivo service, and plus you have to drop a couple hundred on the unit itself. So the cable/satellite dvrs are really a good deal if there is no up front cost.
Determining if 7 bucks a month if a value or not just comes down to personal preference and what it would be used for. For some people who rarely record anything, it probably isn’t worth it. But for me, I have our drv recording stuff on the history and science channels almost non-stop. I’d never be able to watch half the stuff that I’d want to without it, so 7 bucks a month is a small price to pay.
It does seem kind of silly when they give you a box with the feature and you just can’t use it, but in comparison to other options it is relatively cheap.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:40 pm
Lots of commercial software is set up in a similar way. The software you install actually has “full” capability, but the license you pay for determines the feature set that is actually enabled.
Since DVR is a software service, it makes sense that it would be configured in a similar way. Also, unlike Tivo, most cable-service DVR arrangements store the DVR data on the cable service backend, not in your set-top box.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:57 pm
I don’t know of any cable services that store the DVR recorded shows on the “backend”. Comcast has it’s “On Demand” service but that isn’t the same thing.
Would be nice if that were the case, then there really wouldn’t be a limit to how much you could store. They wouldn’t need to store a copy for every single subscriber, just one copy and then a list of every subscriber that “recorded” that show.
Hell, if that were the case, then they could just store 30 days of everything on every channel and then just let you watch whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted without even having to “record” it.
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I thought we had it bad in Canada – I have a DVR and don’t pay additional monthly fees for it. Mind you it cost $500 to buy it…
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
$83/year is a small price to pay to eliminate commercials. Why shouldn’t they charge for it? Don’t you think someone had to develop this technology. This is definitely CHEAP and not FRUGAL.
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Mary,
Here’s the deal: the DVR is already IN THE BOX. So, I’m being charged for it in one way or another since I rent the box from Time Warner. And, it doesn’t cost Time Warner any more if I use the DVR or not.
Are you callin’ me cheap?
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:52 pm
There’s real value to ‘renting’ the DVR capability. After burning through two TiVos (the hard drives are always spinning so they fail pretty quickly), I switched to the monthly cable DVR service. After two months, that failed too. But they came within a day and replaced it (and they come you your door to replace the unit, which is pretty darn good service when you think about it). Since then we’ve been running good for about six months. I’m resting easy, knowing that I’m covered when it fails again.
I still hate the cable company – but not because of the DVR.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:05 pm
JPL – My version of Quicken installed on my computer has many features that are not turned on because I elected not to pay for them. It should be pretty easy to see why this is. Quicken saves money by only having one version of the software installed on all computers (one version to provide tech support for, one version to apply security updates, etc.). Then, they just charge for the functionality.
It’s cheaper for the cable company to make and support one type of set-top-box, but they don’t force you to pay for functionality you don’t want (even though they provided it). You should be grateful.
October 24th, 2007 at 8:52 am
We use Dish Network and when they first rolled out DVR capabilities, they did not charge for it. That was a couple years ago. However, with newer receivers now come the monthly charges. We just had our old DVR receiver die and learned that there is a very competitive market out there for the older Dish Network DVR receivers, since apparently, they can’t enforce the charges on them. (And yes, we bought one!) You will see lots of eBay listings for “no monthly charge” DVR receivers.
So based on this, yes it is totally optional and presents a competitive advantage (or disadvantage) depending how you look at it.
October 24th, 2007 at 8:53 am
You may be right that it doesn’t cost TW anything to activate the DVR in your box, but then again, you may be wrong. The use of the DVR feature may require TW to pay a license fee to the third party that owns the patent/copyright on that feature. But TW would only have to pay the licence fee if the feature is activated. It is more economical for the manufacturer of the box to incorporate the feature in all the units, but only activate the DVR feature for those who are paying for it. I’m not saying TW isn’t marking it up and making a profit, but it is possible that they charge DVR customers more at least in part because they have to pay a license fee.
October 24th, 2007 at 9:17 am
supply and demand… It doesn’t matter that it’s a good economy for them. Unless you are going to shell out for a DVR, their service is your best opportunity to be able to record, rewind, skip commercials, etc.
In other words, “Why are you willing to pay for DVR service?”
October 24th, 2007 at 10:35 am
Did you really think that you would be able to have a post about getting your new HD cable box, without someone asking the obvious question: What kind of TV did you get!?
After all the discussion I’d be interested to hear which TV you settled on, since it seems you have purchased it by now.
October 24th, 2007 at 10:49 am
David,
LOL! Yeah I got a TV. I haven’t mentioned it for fear of getting crucified by AFM readers!
I bought the Samsung LCD Model# LN-T5271.
October 24th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
You should at least try the DVR out…it is the best piece of technology that I have ever bought. It is well worth the money.
October 24th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Congrats, getting a new HD LCD is exciting. Samsung makes a great TV, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
I’m also going to have to agree with the other people who have recommended getting the DVR. Once you’ve used it for a couple weeks, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it. It makes it so that you can watch TV on your schedule, not the one made by the networks.
October 24th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Samsung is fantastic, that’s what we have. One of the best purchases we ever made was a new HDTV
October 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Jeremy,
Yeah, I do like the TV. I can’t wait until more channels are broadcasting in HD.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I happily pay $13/mo for DVR. It’s that valuable for me.
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:36 pm
The $6.95 was worthwhile, but I just got my new bill and the actual fee is now $19.90 a month. I will have to buy my own unit. I did enjoy the start over feature, but I can record TV on my computer so I cannot justify the extra cost.
I was only paying an extra $6.95. Today TWC said that was introductory for two years– so NOW I have $9.95 for the set top box, and $9.95 for the DVR with features- but the single charge says $19.90 so it is outta here! I hate watching TV on the computer, but I have 70 hours of unwatched recordings on the DVR so I guess I never made full use of the equipment.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:53 pm
You guys are lucky. Cox charges 12.95 a month. I questioned it and I think it is a rip off! You can hook your box to a computer and use a All in Wonder card and record all your shows. You can use Windows Media Center too and do the same thing. If you have a LCD TV you can play back through the TV. You can also buy a DVR on EBay and do the same thing. The cable companies are ripping us off for something that should be free!!!
March 25th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I have a Direct TV HDDVR, but I have the same question. My HDDVR has a built in Hard Drive and this is a store bought item, not leased. If I went out and bought a VCR, could Direct TV charge me to record a program? I am the one that tells the DVR what and when to rtevord something, not the provider.
March 25th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
One more note….
This type of thing goes back to when the phone companies would charge for every outlet you had in your house. They lost this a few years ago, because the source of dial tone was on the line that feeds your house. It didn’t matter how many jacks you had, because you only had ONE dial tone. If you have a DVR with a Hard Drive, the provider doesn’t control what goes on it. Hell, ours even has a CAT5 port in the back that can be used with a router to send from your PC directly to the DVR. Does the provider charge for this, NOT. If you don’t have Premium channels, ie HBO,etc. you will have commercials on your local programs. The provider doesn’t remove them, if they did that would be great and worth the extra, but until that happens, paying a DVR charge is a rip off.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:48 am
IF I RENT A CAR for the weekend, is Hertz/Avis right in charging me extra for using the AC or the radio?
NO!
So why are they charging extra for something the DVR already does.
Reason 1
Because they can and no one stops them
Reason 2
Because they are a bunch of greedy bastards
Reason 3
Because we keep paying for it
Reason 4
Because they are a bunch of greedy bastards
NOTE: My provider charges $8 for rental and $11 for recording ability. They did not have these charges when I got the box, the did not inform me of these charges, the bill just went up one day. I found out yesterday.
August 25th, 2009 at 10:08 am
For $15 a month I feel like I could just tell them I lost the DVR and don’t want a new one so that they’ll stop charging me and not lose any of my features. Like others have said, it’s a hard drive that I control. I’ll pay a $200 fee (or whatever it would be) for “losing” it if it means I don’t have to pay $15 a month forever.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 pm
what a bunh of whiney ‘lil… you get the picture… the dvr/cable box is a pc that is setup with a config file that is controlled by the services you pay for in the server… no pay no service.. I’m sure a lot of you “fine americans” are familiar with your cable box getting shut off due to your dynamic financial missadventures. plain fact, cable/satellite/tivo companies are in fact… COMPANIES! not your friends, not a charity, not your grandma who lets you live in her basement and “splice” into her paid service. This self entitlement that most of you useless pricks seem to demand is ridiculous. cable companies and satellite companies are not burger king, no side of fries and you can’t have it your way. If you had half a synapse left from all your Pay Per View Fights you gladly shell out 50 bux for, or the reality television that has rendered your dwindling comprehension of basic rules of commerce inept, you might realize this “fact”.
I WANT I WANT I WANT
do you really thing technology and its rapid implementation into the consumer market would be a “free” upgrade.. if you want to own a dvr, get a tivo and pay them their $24-$27 dollars a month and quit complaining when someone offers a discounted rate from the norm.