Dish Network or Direct TV ?

[Behshad]

I currently have Dish Network and pleased with their services. Just wondering if any of you out there has Direct Tv and how you like it .
I know Direct TV offers competitive pricing and overall an equal experiment. they both offer HD DVR recievers and different ways to program your DVR,,,
but it seems like Dish has more HD channels out there. Plus with the new VIP 922 coming out next month with built in sling player, you can watch, record and control all your channels from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet , even through an iPhone!

[Suzanne]

We use Direct TV and really like it. Our service only goes out on rare occasions if it storms badly in certain areas around us. I don't like that Dish seems to have more HD channels though. I've been bugging Direct TV for a year now to get at least the Travel Channel in HD but still nothing. I think there are a few more that Dish has in HD that Direct TV doesn't yet but here's hoping.

[Ehwmatt]

I'm still stuck on digital cable with crappy Time Warner, I'm simply too afraid with all the shitty weather around here to take a stab with satellite.

[Behshad]

I'm still stuck on digital cable with crappy Time Warner, I'm simply too afraid with all the shitty weather around here to take a stab with satellite.

Matt, as you know I also live in Ohio and share the same weather as you do ,,,,The last 7 years Ive had dish network, Ive lost signal less than 10 times total,,,,and usually its back up within few minutes... Its not as bad as you may think...

[Ehwmatt]

I'm still stuck on digital cable with crappy Time Warner, I'm simply too afraid with all the shitty weather around here to take a stab with satellite.

Matt, as you know I also live in Ohio and share the same weather as you do ,,,,The last 7 years Ive had dish network, Ive lost signal less than 10 times total,,,,and usually its back up within few minutes... Its not as bad as you may think...

I know it's not like going out every time the wind blows, but I just would hate to lose reception during a huge football game in mid-winter or whatever. That one time would suck so bad.

[Behshad]

I'm still stuck on digital cable with crappy Time Warner, I'm simply too afraid with all the shitty weather around here to take a stab with satellite.

Matt, as you know I also live in Ohio and share the same weather as you do ,,,,The last 7 years Ive had dish network, Ive lost signal less than 10 times total,,,,and usually its back up within few minutes... Its not as bad as you may think...

I know it's not like going out every time the wind blows, but I just would hate to lose reception during a huge football game in mid-winter or whatever. That one time would suck so bad.

Usually if the signal goes out though, all you have to do is reset the recieve and within couple of minutes its back to normal again.....
The main advantage with Dish/Direct TV I think its the packages available,,, all the HD,,,,, and the sport packages ( like the new NFL RED ZONE ),,,,
but then again , if youre happy with your cable , why change ?

If anyone has Verizon FIOS, please share with us about your experiment

[Ehwmatt]

I'm still stuck on digital cable with crappy Time Warner, I'm simply too afraid with all the shitty weather around here to take a stab with satellite.

Matt, as you know I also live in Ohio and share the same weather as you do ,,,,The last 7 years Ive had dish network, Ive lost signal less than 10 times total,,,,and usually its back up within few minutes... Its not as bad as you may think...

I know it's not like going out every time the wind blows, but I just would hate to lose reception during a huge football game in mid-winter or whatever. That one time would suck so bad.

Usually if the signal goes out though, all you have to do is reset the recieve and within couple of minutes its back to normal again.....
The main advantage with Dish/Direct TV I think its the packages available,,, all the HD,,,,, and the sport packages ( like the new NFL RED ZONE ),,,,
but then again , if youre happy with your cable , why change ?

If anyone has Verizon FIOS, please share with us about your experiment

I am not happy with cable, but I prolly don't need dish now. I would LOVE to have dish coverage as far as the packages. Someday I will... I'm gonna be in an apartment for the next 3 years and I prolly just don't need it yet. My friend just bought a house and bought a nice projector and 108 inch screen, he has dish in his basement and let me tell you, sports are simply incredible on that setup. Too bad he bought a house way out in LaGrange in the boonies, it's like 45 minutes from me. I'd be there every weekend if not

[ScarabGator]

depends on whether you can get local channels or not.

[stevew2]

I currently have Dish Network and pleased with their services. Just wondering if any of you out there has Direct Tv and how you like it .
I know Direct TV offers competitive pricing and overall an equal experiment. they both offer HD DVR recievers and different ways to program your DVR,,,
but it seems like Dish has more HD channels out there. Plus with the new VIP 922 coming out next month with built in sling player, you can watch, record and control all your channels from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet , even through an iPhone!

I have direct tv i like it, paying about $55.00 what does dish cost ?

[Behshad]

I currently have Dish Network and pleased with their services. Just wondering if any of you out there has Direct Tv and how you like it .
I know Direct TV offers competitive pricing and overall an equal experiment. they both offer HD DVR recievers and different ways to program your DVR,,,
but it seems like Dish has more HD channels out there. Plus with the new VIP 922 coming out next month with built in sling player, you can watch, record and control all your channels from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet , even through an iPhone!

I have direct tv i like it, paying about $55.00 what does dish cost ?

Im paying $65/m . I got the Top 250 channels plus the HD package and the locals, 2 recievers(one HD DVR) .

[Ehwmatt]

I currently have Dish Network and pleased with their services. Just wondering if any of you out there has Direct Tv and how you like it .
I know Direct TV offers competitive pricing and overall an equal experiment. they both offer HD DVR recievers and different ways to program your DVR,,,
but it seems like Dish has more HD channels out there. Plus with the new VIP 922 coming out next month with built in sling player, you can watch, record and control all your channels from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet , even through an iPhone!

I have direct tv i like it, paying about $55.00 what does dish cost ?

Im paying $65/m . I got the Top 250 channels plus the HD package and the locals, 2 recievers(one HD DVR) .

That's it?

What about Internet... do you get it through the dish as well or do you have a separate cable line

[Behshad]

I currently have Dish Network and pleased with their services. Just wondering if any of you out there has Direct Tv and how you like it .
I know Direct TV offers competitive pricing and overall an equal experiment. they both offer HD DVR recievers and different ways to program your DVR,,,
but it seems like Dish has more HD channels out there. Plus with the new VIP 922 coming out next month with built in sling player, you can watch, record and control all your channels from anywhere in the world as long as you have access to the internet , even through an iPhone!

I have direct tv i like it, paying about $55.00 what does dish cost ?

Im paying $65/m . I got the Top 250 channels plus the HD package and the locals, 2 recievers(one HD DVR) .

That's it?

What about Internet... do you get it through the dish as well or do you have a separate cable line

I get my internet through Verison (DSL) cause the internet through sat. is way too pricey ( $59/m for 1MB, where I pay $35/m for 3MB through Verizon)....
Also, the package I have would be about $10 more if I didnt have auto pay on it...

[epresley]

Dish.

[stevew2]

Dish.

speaking of Dish

[strangegrey]

I've had Directv for about 5 years. I briefly dropped it for Fios...but went back to Directv within 6 months. In my opinion, it shits all over fios and cable...

as for dish network. My parents had it up in their neck of the woods for years...and I thought it sucked. Their interface is shit compared to the DirecTV one. They've always been behind Directv with respect to things like channel lineup, number of hd channels, etc.

[Sarah]

Too cheap for cable checking in. My roommates don't want it and I don't want to buy it on my own, plus Time Warner owns us and they're fairly horrible, but we don't really have a place to put a satellite in an apartment, either.

Usually for me, having cable just means I put music videos on as background while I'm online anyway. But I do miss that.

[yak]

Dish? Did somebody mention Dish?

[Behshad]

I've had Directv for about 5 years. I briefly dropped it for Fios...but went back to Directv within 6 months. In my opinion, it shits all over fios and cable...

as for dish network. My parents had it up in their neck of the woods for years...and I thought it sucked. Their interface is shit compared to the DirecTV one. They've always been behind Directv with respect to things like channel lineup, number of hd channels, etc.

Dish Network was always a step behind Direct TV when it came to interface & options , up until 07/08.
Their Vip622 & 722 are using a newer and more user friendly interface.
If you get a chance to check out Vip 922 (coming out next month ). With Full HD menu and interface plus wifi capable Which allows you to watch any of your channels on your pc at work , on your laptop and even on your iPhone , live.

tell us more about FIOS and your likes / dislikes.

[strangegrey]

I've had Directv for about 5 years. I briefly dropped it for Fios...but went back to Directv within 6 months. In my opinion, it shits all over fios and cable...

as for dish network. My parents had it up in their neck of the woods for years...and I thought it sucked. Their interface is shit compared to the DirecTV one. They've always been behind Directv with respect to things like channel lineup, number of hd channels, etc.

Dish Network was always a step behind Direct TV when it came to interface & options , up until 07/08.
Their Vip622 & 722 are using a newer and more user friendly interface.
If you get a chance to check out Vip 922 (coming out next month ). With Full HD menu and interface plus wifi capable Which allows you to watch any of your channels on your pc at work , on your laptop and even on your iPhone , live.

tell us more about FIOS and your likes / dislikes.

When Directv comes out with the Tivo HD DVR in Q1 of 2010, the gap will be huge. The Tivo interface is the best interface ever made for tv....

as far as FIOS, the complaints I had was that the DVR sucked. It missed recordings....very difficult to control. The multi-room feature was misrepresented by verizon (you can't watch HD programs in other rooms)

The current DTV one is 100X better....even if it isn't a tivo interface.

[Behshad]

I've had Directv for about 5 years. I briefly dropped it for Fios...but went back to Directv within 6 months. In my opinion, it shits all over fios and cable...

as for dish network. My parents had it up in their neck of the woods for years...and I thought it sucked. Their interface is shit compared to the DirecTV one. They've always been behind Directv with respect to things like channel lineup, number of hd channels, etc.

Dish Network was always a step behind Direct TV when it came to interface & options , up until 07/08.
Their Vip622 & 722 are using a newer and more user friendly interface.
If you get a chance to check out Vip 922 (coming out next month ). With Full HD menu and interface plus wifi capable Which allows you to watch any of your channels on your pc at work , on your laptop and even on your iPhone , live.

tell us more about FIOS and your likes / dislikes.

When Directv comes out with the Tivo HD DVR in Q1 of 2010, the gap will be huge. The Tivo interface is the best interface ever made for tv....

as far as FIOS, the complaints I had was that the DVR sucked. It missed recordings....very difficult to control. The multi-room feature was misrepresented by verizon (you can't watch HD programs in other rooms)

The current DTV one is 100X better....even if it isn't a tivo interface.

Now THAT'S something I would like to get more info about,,,, Tell me more about it !!!!


Here's a video about VIP922 http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/01/09/di ... and-video/

[Enigma869]

When Directv comes out with the Tivo HD DVR in Q1 of 2010, the gap will be huge. The Tivo interface is the best interface ever made for tv....

I agree with Frank. I had DirecTV for 10 years and dumped their ass the second they dumped Tivo a couple of years ago. DirecTV's DVR blows as badly as every cable company's DVR. Tivo is soooooooooooooooo far ahead of the competition that the competition isn't even worth mentioning. I will say that the second DirecTV brings Tivo back, I'll be a paying customer once again, because I still can't stand not having the NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV is your only option for that!

[RedWingFan]

When Directv comes out with the Tivo HD DVR in Q1 of 2010, the gap will be huge. The Tivo interface is the best interface ever made for tv....

I agree with Frank. I had DirecTV for 10 years and dumped their ass the second they dumped Tivo a couple of years ago. DirecTV's DVR blows as badly as every cable company's DVR. Tivo is soooooooooooooooo far ahead of the competition that the competition isn't even worth mentioning. I will say that the second DirecTV brings Tivo back, I'll be a paying customer once again, because I still can't stand not having the NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV is your only option for that!

I have DirecTv and love it. I have 1 HD receiver and 2 standard receivers. I also have a separate DVR/DVD burner hooked to one of the standard boxes. I've always been hesitant to get a DVR through DirectTv. Is there any way to copy off of the thing or must you lose all your recording if you ever cancel?

As far as NFL Sunday Ticket goes. In the middle of last season I was so pissed at the sorry Raiders and Jamawful, I called DirecTv to cancel Sunday Ticket. The lady said, "You can't cancel in the middle of the season, you have to wait til the end of the year."

So I did, Early January called and cancelled. Then this June I get my statement and it has "NFL Sunday Ticket" on there. I called to complain and have it taken off. The regular price is $44.99 for 6 months plus another $99 for the Superfan package that I had, for a total of about $370.

She said, "well I can keep it on for you for $5 off a month." I said, "No, that's okay take it off". She said, "I can keep it on for you for $10 off a month." I said, "No that's okay, just go ahead and take it off." She then said, "I can keep it on for you for $15 off a month." Very tempted now, but I still held out and said, "No, that's okay just take it off".
She finally said, "Well I can keep it on for you for $20 off a month, plus I'll throw in the Super fan at no charge."
I wanted to see if she would keep lowering the price so I said, "No, that's okay"....Then she said, "Okay, well I'll go ahead and remove that..." I said, "Excuse me did you say the Super fan for free"?

So I ended up getting $370 worth of programming for $150. Which makes sense. DirecTv has already forked the money over to the NFL. Better for them to lose $220 instead of $370!

[Behshad]

When Directv comes out with the Tivo HD DVR in Q1 of 2010, the gap will be huge. The Tivo interface is the best interface ever made for tv....

I agree with Frank. I had DirecTV for 10 years and dumped their ass the second they dumped Tivo a couple of years ago. DirecTV's DVR blows as badly as every cable company's DVR. Tivo is soooooooooooooooo far ahead of the competition that the competition isn't even worth mentioning. I will say that the second DirecTV brings Tivo back, I'll be a paying customer once again, because I still can't stand not having the NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV is your only option for that!

I have DirecTv and love it. I have 1 HD receiver and 2 standard receivers. I also have a separate DVR/DVD burner hooked to one of the standard boxes. I've always been hesitant to get a DVR through DirectTv. Is there any way to copy off of the thing or must you lose all your recording if you ever cancel?

As far as NFL Sunday Ticket goes. In the middle of last season I was so pissed at the sorry Raiders and Jamawful, I called DirecTv to cancel Sunday Ticket. The lady said, "You can't cancel in the middle of the season, you have to wait til the end of the year."

So I did, Early January called and cancelled. Then this June I get my statement and it has "NFL Sunday Ticket" on there. I called to complain and have it taken off. The regular price is $44.99 for 6 months plus another $99 for the Superfan package that I had, for a total of about $370.

She said, "well I can keep it on for you for $5 off a month." I said, "No, that's okay take it off". She said, "I can keep it on for you for $10 off a month." I said, "No that's okay, just go ahead and take it off." She then said, "I can keep it on for you for $15 off a month." Very tempted now, but I still held out and said, "No, that's okay just take it off".
She finally said, "Well I can keep it on for you for $20 off a month, plus I'll throw in the Super fan at no charge."
I wanted to see if she would keep lowering the price so I said, "No, that's okay"....Then she said, "Okay, well I'll go ahead and remove that..." I said, "Excuse me did you say the Super fan for free"?

So I ended up getting $370 worth of programming for $150. Which makes sense. DirecTv has already forked the money over to the NFL. Better for them to lose $220 instead of $370!

So you're as annoying in real life as you are here at MR ?!

Just kidding. Hey I'm the same way. Every 6 months or so I call Dish to tell them I wanna cancel and switch to DTV and they "talk me into staying" by throwing in a movie package for free for a year.
That's the least they can do .
In a perfect world , they'd led us choose our own channels and pay like $2 per channel. Or even $50 for 20 channels YOU get to pick , not the 80% crap they're forcing down our throats.
Damn those who didn't think of "freedom of channels" when they wrote the constitution :lol.

[RedWingFan]

So you're as annoying in real life as you are here at MR ?!

Just kidding. Hey I'm the same way. Every 6 months or so I call Dish to tell them I wanna cancel and switch to DTV and they "talk me into staying" by throwing in a movie package for free for a year.
That's the least they can do .
In a perfect world , they'd led us choose our own channels and pay like $2 per channel. Or even $50 for 20 channels YOU get to pick , not the 80% crap they're forcing down our throats.
Damn those who didn't think of "freedom of channels" when they wrote the constitution :lol.

Hey, I'm just grateful that we have choices other than...comcast or rabbit ears like the olden days!
Are you able to get the content off your DVR? Or would you just lose it if you switched?

[Behshad]

You can transfer it to a hard drive. But that doesn't do any good since the format is supported by the reciever only. So it's basically to back up ur stuff

The new VIP 922 is supposed to be using an Mpeg format where u can transfer your recorded stuff even over wifi. And view them on a pc ,,,,

[Lula]

She said, "well I can keep it on for you for $5 off a month." I said, "No, that's okay take it off". She said, "I can keep it on for you for $10 off a month." I said, "No that's okay, just go ahead and take it off." She then said, "I can keep it on for you for $15 off a month." Very tempted now, but I still held out and said, "No, that's okay just take it off".
She finally said, "Well I can keep it on for you for $20 off a month, plus I'll throw in the Super fan at no charge."
I wanted to see if she would keep lowering the price so I said, "No, that's okay"....Then she said, "Okay, well I'll go ahead and remove that..." I said, "Excuse me did you say the Super fan for free"?

So I ended up getting $370 worth of programming for $150. Which makes sense. DirecTv has already forked the money over to the NFL. Better for them to lose $220 instead of $370!

time warner slave here and hate it!

[RedWingFan]

She said, "well I can keep it on for you for $5 off a month." I said, "No, that's okay take it off". She said, "I can keep it on for you for $10 off a month." I said, "No that's okay, just go ahead and take it off." She then said, "I can keep it on for you for $15 off a month." Very tempted now, but I still held out and said, "No, that's okay just take it off".
She finally said, "Well I can keep it on for you for $20 off a month, plus I'll throw in the Super fan at no charge."
I wanted to see if she would keep lowering the price so I said, "No, that's okay"....Then she said, "Okay, well I'll go ahead and remove that..." I said, "Excuse me did you say the Super fan for free"?

So I ended up getting $370 worth of programming for $150. Which makes sense. DirecTv has already forked the money over to the NFL. Better for them to lose $220 instead of $370!

time warner slave here and hate it!

Yeah, I feel for ya. I remember the days of Comcast jacking up their prices what seemed every damn month with nowhere else to turn!!! I bolted for DirecTv as soon as that was available.

[PDiddy75]

I have Direct Tv and wouldnt think of having anything else for the price. Also, with living in Texas right now, the NFL Ticket comes in handy so I never miss a Bears game now! They always have <b>real</b> specials too. For instance, I have HBO, Starz, Cinemax PLUS the NFL ticket, all local channels and 120 more additional channels all for only $70.00 a month!!!! YUP! Thats with 10 bucks more a month for HD channels.
Alright, Im beginning to feel I work for them, so I will quit. lol

[RedWingFan]

I have Direct Tv and wouldnt think of having anything else for the price. Also, with living in Texas right now, the NFL Ticket comes in handy so I never miss a Bears game now! They always have <b>real</b> specials too. For instance, I have HBO, Starz, Cinemax PLUS the NFL ticket, all local channels and 120 more additional channels all for only $70.00 a month!!!! YUP! Thats with 10 bucks more a month for HD channels.
Alright, Im beginning to feel I work for them, so I will quit. lol

You must be blowing somebody!!!

[la michelona]

I have AT&T Uverse. Waaaay better than Dish, which went out every time it rained.