DirecTV or Dish Network??

K

KimDW

Cathlete
We currently have cable tv and are thinking of getting satelite now that we got the tree down in the back yard. Looking at DirecTV and Dish Network (which doesn't offer FitTV). Any comments on either one of these companies? Dish Network is cheaper but I've got to figure out the channel comparison.

Thanks,
Kimbra
 
We have DirecTV and love it. There are so many channels, way more than we really need, but all of my favorites are there, including FitTV. I have no experience with Dish Network.

ETA: Others have mentioned problems with rain storms... and yes, if it's storming really bad, it will go out momentarily. But it's never been a huge problem.
 
I got satellite TV & it was an absolute nightmare. A single drop of rain would fall from the sky & I'd lose the signal. More than half the time I was completely w/o television. I ended up going back to cable & I have to admit their service has been impeccable. I have the digital package with over 1000 channels for less than $100 a month.
 
I have had awesome luck with Direct TV. Wouldn't even consider any other. I live in Calif and even with the rain unless it is severely heavy it rarely goes out. When it does it might be for about 5-10 min just in the heavy rain. I also got the Tivo receiver with my 2nd receiver and I LOVE it....:)...Carole
 
DirecTV here. No problems. Sometimes if there's a storm it goes out for a few minutes.
Now that we've had it for 1 yr.now, our cable co. is trying to get us back w/ awesome deals. So maybe if you let them know you're switching to a dish, they'll give you something worth considering.
FitTv used to be on cable here and then went off for some reason. It devastated a few friends who were working out with it.:-(
Don't have to worry about that w/ DirecTV tho.:7
Kali
 
Here's my story.

We've had the big dish for 14 years and it is perfect. We never lose the signal during storms or the sun-spot issue that the small dishes suffer from in the heat of the summer day afternoons. The programming is also much cheaper.

Okay, along comes the NFL ticket being sold exclusively to DirectTV network and lo and behold we now have a small dish too...yeap, DirectTV.

The small dish is nice because we have three receiver's so we can watch different satelite channels on different T.V.s. With the big dishes you can't do that...you watch one channel at a time.

But, we too suffer from lost signal during rain storms and the afternoon sun spot for about an hour every day in the summer that the sun is shining fully bright. So, I get alot of belly-aching with four kids in the household. Our Dish installer never told us about those 'drawbacks' to owning a small dish.

We do still use our dinosaur big dish and have had very few problems over the years with it. But it is getting harder and harder to find someone to service it since most dealers now only service/install the small dishes.

When I was comparison shopping for small dish service, DISH was cheaper than DirectTV and the equipment (receiver's) were ALOT cheaper. I think we paid $350 for each of our DirectTV receiver's...got nothing free with installation. Of course they had everyone over a barrel since they were the only network system selling access to the NFL Ticket programming and they took full advantage of that by over-charging for their equipment and programming. Btw, each additional receiver will cost you $5 a month for access to the channels...that is on top of your regular monthly service charge for the programming. Our bill is usually $55 a month and we have the secondary package...most of the channels but not the movie channels like HBO, Showtime and Cinemax.

Another thing about the small dishes that I don't like is that you can't pick and choose the programming you want. I don't want all the MTV/VH channels but we have to get them anyway. With our big dish we subscribe to what we actually watch and don't get all that other crap such as mentioned plus all the freakin home shopping channels.
 
I severed all ties with cable. Their monthly bill had doubled over the course of 5 years. For a 'basic' cable connection I was paying $55 a month. After they sent me my March bill with yet another increase, I went to direct TV. They installed in less than a week, had no installation fees, got three months of all the pay stations for free, get lots more channels, better reception, better customer service, and pay less than $45 a month (and that includes my Tivo which I love love love). I only had to buy the Tivo and that was less than $100 after the rebate. I've had no problems so far with the satellite going off line. So far my experience has been very positive. I don't see myself going back to cable.

On the street where I live I would estimate that about half the houses have satellite dishes now. I guess that's a good indication of how we feel about our local cable company!
 
I used to have a cable company that sucked - their programming was awful. Then my building installed satellite (DirecTV) and I jumped on it. LOVE IT!! The only time I have problems is if it's raining and super-windy and then I just get a little snow for a brief moment. Then all is well. The channel options are far superior and of course....NFL Sunday Ticket, my raison d'etre for having satellite and the best thing in TV ever. Given the choice, I would never go back to cable.
 
Pretty darn good service with DirecTV. Not only that, when we called them up after having their service for a couple of years, and told them that the Dish would give us free installation & a lesser rate for all 4 rooms installed, they matched the offer. Yes it was a an extra 20 minutes of our time, but it was worth the hassle, monthly payments & I get it everywhere in my house.

As far as cable, they are notoriously bad with their service. Because of where I live, I can't get DSL so I get broadband. Their customer service is the most pathetic example of customer service I have ever encountered. I have innumerous stories I can tell you guys, but will spare you, & this is only from the last 2 months. But they know I have no other recourse so they obviously don't care.


Marla
 
We had Dish and couldn't wait to get rid of it. It gets all funky in bad weather and if something goes wrong with the equipment, there's a huge service charge to have someone take care of it. And you have to BUY the equipment. Luckily ours was still under warranty when it bit the dust, but if it had happened a month later, we would have had to buy a new receiver.

We have digital cable through the cable company. It's more expensive, but we're much happier with it than we were with the Dish. Besides, you get a break on your cable internet if you have the digital cable.
 
Thanks guys for the replies. I did some research on the internet yesterday and got some good info too.

Thanks,
Kimbra

Marla, I love the cat on the couch picture. So cute.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top