I want to buy anew Direct TV receiver. Can I get it from a secondary source?

Question

I am looking to buy a receiver. I'd like to get one as cheap as possible (ebay, etc.). Will just any of them work? I don't want to get stuck with an old one that is useless. I would love to have a DVR. Are they hard to install? Customer service said they would charge me anywhere from $0 to $99 to install so I'd like to try it myself. Any information you could give me would be GREATLY appreciated!

Answer 1

Your best bet is to go through Directv.  I was told by the customer service person that even though you may purchase the receiver through Best Buy or Circuit City you are STILL leasing them, a crook of s**t I know.  If you do not already have Directv service then you will have to install the dish which will take someone trained to install, requires a compass among the tools.  But I would also look into Dish Network also.

Answer 2

I actually did this myself. I bought one off ebay and you want to get one that says in the ad that it is actally not a leased box. Directv will know by the serial number if it is leased or not. If you want DVR service however, you are going to have to run another cable from the satellite dish to the receiver. If you are unfamiliar with doing this yourself, you may want to let someone else hook it up for you, because your dish will have to have at least a 2lnb head on it, more if you are trying to run more than one tv. As far as the receiver goes though, pretty much any of them will work. No point in getting a high def model if you still got an old tv. Hope that helps...