DirecTV Television Service
Bringing TV to Areas With No Cable Service

If you like to watch TV, but have no cable access where you live, then DirecTV television service may be your best option.

You'll receive basically the same channels as you would with cable, only more of them, and more in English.

DirecTV has several options, including monthly plans (Pospago) and a new pay as you go plan (Prepago).

If you're only going to be here in Cuenca for a short while, or only live here for a few months of the year, the Prepago plan is ideal for you.

Pospago Monthly Plans

The basic package is the Familiar (Family) plan for $26.00 a month (plus tax). This package includes:

• Digital video and sound.
• Interactive menus with on-screen program information.
• Blocking by time, age (e.g., under 18) or channel.
• A search function to find programming by show name, an actor's name, or keyword.
• A universal remote control that will work with the DirecTV box, plus your TV, VCR/DVR (digital video recorder) and DVD player.
• A total of 105 channels, including:
• 6 national (Ecuadorian) channels, all in Spanish.
• 63 international channels, most in Spanish with several in English. These include 19 variety channels, 8 kids channels, 10 movie channels, 5 sports channels and 23 culture channels.
• 30 audio channels.
• 6 radio stations.

For an extra $5 a month, you can have Familiar Plus, which gives you a digital video recorder (DVR) to record programs.

Preferencial

For an extra $8 per month (plus tax), the Preferencial plan gives you an additional 31 international channels, including another 9 variety channels, one more kids channel, two more movie channels, 6 more sports channels, and 13 more culture channels.

Preferencial Plus gives you the DVR for an extra $5 per month.

High Definition (HD) Plans

You can also add high definition channels to your package for $3 a month, including:

• FoxHD
• DirecTV HD
• HD Theater
• Space HD
• ESPN HD
• Fox Sports HD

Or you can purchase one of several HD plans, including the following:

• Familiar HD HBO ($46 per month), which gives you 121 channels, including 6 HBO channels, 4 Max channels, with all the high definition channels mentioned above.
• Familiar HD MovieCity ($44 per month), which gives you 120 channels, including 9 City channels plus the HD channels noted above.
• Familiar HD Full ($56 per month), which gives you 130 channels, combining the HBO, Max and City channels and all the other HD channels.
• Preferencial HD HBO ($54 per month), which gives you 150 channels, including all the HBO and Max channels noted above, and the HD package channels.
• Preferencial HD MovieCity ($52 per month), which gives you 149 channels, including all the City channels noted above and the basic HD channels.
• Preferencial HD Full ($64 per month), which gives you 159 channels, including all the HBO, Max and City channels noted above, plus the basic HD channels.

Movie Packages

If you don't want all the TV channels, you can have just a movie package from DirecTV. Choose from:

• The HBO Package for $10 a month, which gives all the HBO and Max channels noted above. The HD version is $12 a month.
• The MovieCity Pack, including all the City channels mentioned above, for $8 per month. For HD, the price is $10 a month.

Sports Packages

There are several sports packages available:

• NFL Sunday Ticket™, which is one channel for the football season. Unless the plan has changed recently, the playoffs are extra over and above the $99 package cost. Watch 10 games every Sunday. A half season is $50.
• NBA Pass™, one channel for the season, for $50. The early bird price is $40. A half season is $30. Watch two games every day, more than 330 in the season.
• MLB™, three channels of baseball for $10 a month, which will come out to $70 each season, including the playoffs. You can watch up to 4 games per day, 500 games over the season.

Adult Channels and Packages

Playboy, Venus, Hustler and XTSY are available in packages or as individual channels.

Games

If you or your kids like playing games, the Game Lounge channel is available for $5 a month.

Pay Per View

DirecTV Cinema shows recently released movies in HD over 7 channels for $3.57 per movie, which is added to your monthly bill.

NFL PPV is also available for $8.50 for the weekend.

Prepago DirecTV

If you don't want service for a few months each year, or for a week or more each month, the Prepago plan may be what you want to use. You receive 77 channels, including 6 national channels and 35 international ones, plus 30 audio channels and 6 radio stations.

The cost is just $.70 (70 cents) per day, which you can pay for by cell phone, or at a payment location. Locations in Cuenca include Fybeca pharmacies (buying and recharging the plan), SanaSana pharmacies (recharging only), and Comandato (buying and recharging). Comandato is located at Gran Colombia -44 and Borrero. The minimum amount you can purchase is $5.

The Decoder Box

DirecTV scrambles its satellite signal, so you need a device to decode it. In Spanish, that's a decodificador. Until now, you had to buy it, but there's a new option to include it in your monthly plan fee.

You'll have to do the numbers to determine whether buying the box is cheaper in the long run than adding a monthly cost to your fee. DirecTV must want people to take this option, because they're offering a 50% discount on the HBO Max movie package, plus a 25%, 15% or 10% discount on the Preferencial package, depending on which decoder box you rent.

Decodificador Digital

This is the bottom-of-the-line box, with no digital video recorder built in. So if you want to record programs and have live rewind and fast forward, this box isn't for you.

The cost is $15 with a credit card. It's $33.60 with an Ecuadorian bank debit card.

The rental price (the price when it's included in your monthly plan) is $43 plus tax, which includes the Preferencial package and HBO Max. However, there's a one-time subscription and installation fee of $10 plus tax with your credit card, $25 plus tax with your debit card.

By our calculation, you'll save $35 plus tax (roughly $39.20 total) for the first year if you pay the installation fee with the credit card. After that, it will save you $30 plus tax per year.

Decodificador Plus

Plus is the bottom-level box with a DVR (which lets you record up to 100 hours of shows). The cost is $56 with your credit card, or $84 with your debit card.

The monthly plan costs $46.40 plus tax, plus $56 (credit card) or $84 (debit card) for the subscription and installation (which is the exact same price as buying the box).

Our calculations indicate that you the monthly plan will cost you an extra $10.80 plus tax over the first year (plus you don't get to keep the box). The second and continuing years will cost you the same $10.80 plus tax more with the monthly plan.

Decodificador HD

The HD box allows you to watch shows in HD, and provides a DVR for recording shows (up to 400 hours of them), and having live rewind and fast forward.

This box costs $84 plus tax with a credit card. It costs $112 with a debit card.

The monthly plan costs $47.78 plus tax, plus $84 (credit card) or $112 (debit card) for the subscription and installation (again, the exact price of purchasing the box).

We calculate that the monthly plan will cost you $27 and change (plus tax) during the first year, and about the same amount each year after that (plus no box when you're done).

Rent or Buy

As with any rental system in North America, DirecTV wants to make extra money off you (we're surprised it took them this long). If you plan to only live here for one year, the rental might be a deal for you, unless you know you can sell the box when you leave and recoup that investment. The lowest end box is definitely a deal on the monthly plan.

But if you plan on being here for two or more years and want a higher end box, buy it and save some money.

The DirecTV flyer we received says we'll save $200.92 per year with the HD plan, $142.20 with the Plus plan, and $120.56 with the Digital (bottom end) plan. If you can find the difference between our numbers and DirecTV's numbers, let us know and we'll gladly change them here.

Contacting DirecTV

There are several ways to contact DirecTV, including by email, web form and telephone. Many of their staff speak English, so if the one contacting you doesn't, ask for someone who does.

• The website is www.directv.com.ec.
• If you're not already a client, you can call 1800 888000 Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. You can also use online chat by clicking here. Or use this form to subscribe. Or visit the DirecTV office at Remigio Crespo 21-53, on the corner of Agustin Cueva.
• If you're already a client, you can call 02-3979100 Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.; on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. Or contact them using this form.
• If you need to upgrade your service once you have it, you can also contact them at migraciones@directv.com.ec. (That's not an address published on the site. A neighbor in Cotacachi obtained it for us, after he had problems with his service.)

Payment Methods

Payment is by direct debit from an Ecuadorian financial institution. You can also pay by credit card. You must set up either payment form in a DirecTV office or the office of an authorized distributor, or in your home if a salesperson visits you.

The contract period is for at least one year.

Summary

The DirecTV television service offers almost too many options. But that also means that there's an option that's right for you, whether it's a Pospago monthly plan or a Prepago pay as you go plan.

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