DISH, Direct TV or Cable

[Tdawg87]

This may be a thread somehwere, but haven't looked it up. Thinking about going satellite for my TV of choice. Currently with Comcast (Jackson, MS area). Have heard good and bad about DISH and Direct TV.

I've heard Direct TV is the way to go for sports (NFL Ticket is a big draw for me), which is watched at my house more than anything. I've also heard their customer service sucks. DISH is cost effective, which is always nice. My Comcast never goes out during bad weather or when it is raining, windy or cloudy, which is a complaint that I have heard about DISH and Direct TV.

Need opinions and thoughts on both please.

Thanks in advance.

[ITdrummer]

Tomayto-tomahto
Chevy-Ford-Dodge
Apple-PC

Each of them have their benefits and drawbacks. It's all about what you want more.

[sportdawg]

I like my DirecTV. Never had a problem with customer service. Haven't had many problems with disrupted service - but I am in Shreveport and it hasn't stormed in a while. The sports are much better than with Comcast, but you have to pay $13 extra to get ALL the sports channels - but you can skip Gameplan with that package.

[techman05]

If it helps at all, I have DISH and I will miss the game this weekend.

[HanoverJoe]

Had DISH for a few years, and was overall satisfied with them. Their pricing seems to be a little lower than DirecTV if you find a package with the channels you like to watch. Eventually switched to DirecTV because of the NFL Sunday Ticket, however they increase their pricing every year for the NFL package, which I dropped this year. Otherwise not a lot of difference in the two. Both of them, like cable, play the "package game" in that they scatter the channels that most of us want to watch and require you to buy their most expensive packages to get the ones you really want. Several years ago Congress (or FCC?) was considering action to allow consumers an a la carte option, but apparently the satellite and cable industry lobby found some campaign contributions to donate to our federal politicians, and everything quietly died down. The signal outages from storms are usually very brief with both DISH and DirecTV, both are preferable to cable in my experience, and you should be satisfied with either one. However, the cable companies are a good option for high speed internet.

[JAB]

If it helps at all, I have DISH and I will miss the game this weekend.

I have the smallest package on Dish (Top 120 Plan) and I watched the game! It was on 445. Nothing but a Dish logo until game time and when the game was over it went back to the logo.

I like Dish. But I am not a NFL guy so I have no desire for the NFL Ticket.
I use to pay an extra $5 a month for the "sports package" but I found I didn't need it to watch most of the games I wante to watch.
What I really like about Dish is the Dual receiver. Two TV's working off one receiver. Means I can record in one room and watch in either room. Also I can record 2 things at one time (And I can still be watching two DVR shows while they are recording). Also, I don't think they have raised their rates in about 6 years, maybe longer. Also, I know that the equipment with Dish is not yours. If it wears out or you break it you call them up and they replace it. They have replaced one remote and one receiver free of charge since I have been their customer (around 8-10 years now I think). Had a neighbor once that complained how he had to sign a new contract to get his receiver replaced with Direct TV.

But last week I called Direct to see what kind of deal they were giving since my 2 year contract was up with Dish (we moved Oct 2009 and signed a new contract). They wanted me to pay almost $600 ($199 per TV, but the first one was free with a 2 year contract) in equipment to be able watch a recorded show on any TV (like their advertising shows). While they were offering a "Deal" for 12 months of a two year contract it would have savedme only $1 a month(My fee of $6 for the DVR on Dish is $28 on Direct which I think is where most of the money was made up). Then after the first 12 months I would be paying $30 per month more than what I am paying now.

So I called Dish and asked them what deals they had for me since my contract was up. They said for a new 2 year contract I could get all brand new HD equipment. But since I only have one HD tv I really don't want that. So they said they would give my $10 a month off my bill for the next 12 months with NO CONTRACT. Just for staying with them. I liked that deal.

The price is right, the equipment is theirs, and the service is great. I'm staying with Dish until Direct (or someone else) can give me a better deal for what I want.

[DocMarvin362]

No matter what you decide.... get a DVR. Well worth it

[JAB]

No matter what you decide.... get a DVR. Well worth it

YES! THIS! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!

Also, talk to your family and friends after you decide which way to go and find out who has what. Almost everyone will give a $50 rebate to the person that "refers" you. Save someone you love/like $50 and hopefully they can return the favor later.

[Built4Speed]

No matter what you decide.... get a DVR. Well worth it

Could not possibly agree more.

Back on the original question: I've had Direct for about 4 years and haven't been dissatisfied. Customer service has always been top notch for me. Can't say the same about Comcast or Suddenlink. Only issue I've had with Direct is that I had an HD DVR box completely die on me about 6 months ago. Lost more shows than I'd care to remember. But it's hardware, it happens. Yeah, the signal can get disrupted, but I've had both pole-mount (Champ, it's all yours) and roof-mount dishes, and the pole-mount seems to lose signal far easier than roof-mounted dishes. Stability factor, I'm guessing.

No intentions of switching from Direct any time soon. However, if they pull FX from the channel listings, they're going to hear it from me. Don't you dare take The League away from me.

[Tdawg87]

No matter what you decide.... get a DVR. Well worth it

Oh yeah, I have that with my Comcast cable.

Decided to go with Direct TV. Gonna save nearly $400 the first year, just in my monthly bill. After that, two year contract, which I wasn't crazy about, the monthly rate is about $5 cheaper than Comcast, which isn't that much, but I will be getting more channels....DIRECT TV has a better sports package....NFL Sunday Ticket was the deciding factor for me and I get it for free. Overall, getting more for the $ with Direct TV than my current Comcast cable package >>>more HD channels.

[GonzoDawg]

I was a pioneer subscriber with Directv way back in 1996. Stayed with them for years and loved them. I moved a couple of times and finally went with Suddenlink in Bossier and was very happy with the service. We moved to Benton and Suddenlink was no longer an option so we went with Dish so we could bundle the service with our phone. The service has not been as good as what I experienced with Directv and the DVR that JAB seems to love is a pain the in buttocks from my perspective. The dual receiver has to be set to record on the opposite tv of the one you are watching or you have to cancel your recording to watch live tv. Or if you have two shows set to record at the same time you cannot watch a third show live without canceling one of the recordings. This was not a problem with the Suddenlink DVR. I'm considering switching back to Directv but if U-Verse were to become an option I would switch to it.

[dawgcrazy]

Dish has been pretty decent for us. Rain fade is not a huge issue...it does happen occasionally, but we're always watching on the DVR anyway (and I agree with the comments above on the DVR -- I won't go without a DVR, but the dish DVR is sub-par...much worse than our old Tivo).

It's been nice catching a few of the away games on TV this year...which I think you can do on both Dish and Direct. I've never had direct, but I looked into it when we got dish, and the cost was a little too much for what you get. I don't watch too much NFL, though...so Sunday ticket wasn't a selling point for me.

[JAB]

We moved to Benton and Suddenlink was no longer an option so we went with Dish so we could bundle the service with our phone.

What phone service are you with. I couldn't find anyone that would bundle with Dish. Everyone bundles with Direct.

The service has not been as good as what I experienced with Directv and the DVR that JAB seems to love is a pain the in buttocks from my perspective. The dual receiver has to be set to record on the opposite tv of the one you are watching or you have to cancel your recording to watch live tv. Or if you have two shows set to record at the same time you cannot watch a third show live without canceling one of the recordings. This was not a problem with the Suddenlink DVR.

We hardley ever watch live TV unless it's sports and what comes on on Sat afternoons that you are DVRing? (Project Runway?) The worst thing about the Dish DVR is you can only watch what you have recorded in two rooms connected to that receiver.

Question for you about Suddenlink (since I could get it if I wanted) how many things can you record at one time and still be able to watch live TV?

[Tdawg87]

I was a pioneer subscriber with Directv way back in 1996. Stayed with them for years and loved them. I moved a couple of times and finally went with Suddenlink in Bossier and was very happy with the service. We moved to Benton and Suddenlink was no longer an option so we went with Dish so we could bundle the service with our phone. The service has not been as good as what I experienced with Directv and the DVR that JAB seems to love is a pain the in buttocks from my perspective. The dual receiver has to be set to record on the opposite tv of the one you are watching or you have to cancel your recording to watch live tv. Or if you have two shows set to record at the same time you cannot watch a third show live without canceling one of the recordings. This was not a problem with the Suddenlink DVR. I'm considering switching back to Directv but if U-Verse were to become an option I would switch to it.

I have that problem with Comcast. If I have two programs to record at the same time, I have to watch one of them...I'm like....what is the POINT. Not the reason I'm switching, but just a little bit of what I have to deal with in regard to Comcast. I do think I will stay with the Comcast internet service, however, which I think I can even though I won't be a cable tv subscriber.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Direct TV