Any satelite experts ( current subscribers) here? .... Your opinions please

[DeviousTrap]

Ok, well cable rates are going up so I think this would be a good time to switch to satelite. Since, I am more or less clueless about this I would be glad if anyone could explain the following to me....
First DiecTV or DishNetwork? Which is better and why?
Any good deals around? Whats the cheapest package for 3 TVs (would really like tivo but could live without it)?

 

[FoBoT]

i just hooked up dish

3 tv's , one has DVR , TOP 120 package, no premium channels, no contract

$51.39 is my first month bill

 

[DeviousTrap]

Any packages offering 3 rooms for under $45? I need it to beat cable prices

 

[DeviousTrap]

No one else has satelite?

 

[PlatinumGold]

i have dish tv and their tech support stinks. they nickel and dime you to death. they charged me postage to ship me a component of theirs that was covered under warranty and went bad. they charged me to send the technician out to diagnosis the part under warranty.

dish tv sucks.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Dish > Directv. I had Directv for about 6 hours before I said fvck it and went back to Dish. Worst customer service I've ever experienced. Ever.

Dish has been great though. I've had them for about 4 years total. I will admit though, that I haven't had any problems or had to call Dish for about a year and a half so their customer service might have gone down hill, though I doubt it.

Prices and programing are pretty much equal from what I've seen. Although, Directv does have NFL Sunday Ticket which Dish doesn't. However, I have heard that Dish will most likely get it when Directv's contract runs out (this year?) so who knows. YMMV on all of this of course.

 

[Ly2n]

Have had directv for a few years now and it has been great. We did take 6 months off and tried cable (got a good deal and free installation of cable internet. Went back to directv right after the 6 months. I have not had any trouble with the directv costumer service so far. We wanted to upgrade our dish, and was able to do so with no cost to us. We then added a tivo so we got 2 receivers and then a tivo and the total cost was $99. New costumers can some times get a better deal, so look around. New costumers should be able to get at least 2 rooms free, add a tivo for about $99 and you have the three rooms that you need. We did have to sign up for a one year commitment, but when they raised their prices last month (about $2.00 for the plan that we have) they will not raise our prices until our commitment runs out.
I may be totally wrong here, but didn't I hear that directv had extended their contract for the NFL sunday ticket for a few more years. Maybe last fall?

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Ly2n

I may be totally wrong here, but didn't I hear that directv had extended their contract for the NFL sunday ticket for a few more years. Maybe last fall?

Jesus I hope not I think it was earlier this year that I heard it was about to expire. I hope that was correct info. I live for football but I'll put up my old UHF antenna before I go back to DirecTV.

 

[Ly2n]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: Ly2n

I may be totally wrong here, but didn't I hear that directv had extended their contract for the NFL sunday ticket for a few more years. Maybe last fall?

Jesus I hope not I think it was earlier this year that I heard it was about to expire. I hope that was correct info. I live for football but I'll put up my old UHF antenna before I go back to DirecTV.

I got the year wrong, but Directv has the sunday ticket untill 2007. They signed an 5 year extension in 2002. you can read about it Here

 

[nsafreak]

I work for Dish Network (no, not as a CSR I'm in a different part of the company) and here's what I would recommend. Frankly I'm a big fan of our Digital Home Advantage plan, yes you just lease the equipment but there are some price breaks. Ideal configuration for 3 rooms would be as follows:

One Dish 522 receiver (DVR in 2 rooms)
One Dish 311 receiver (base model receiver)
America's Top 120

Pricing (not including things like tax, PPVs & the 522 MUST be hooked into a phone line)

AT120 with locals: $39.99 a month
Additional receiver fee: $4.99 a month (3 TVs but only ONE additional receiver fee is what's cool about the 522, only applies if you have it hooked into a phone line though)
DVR fee: $4.98 a month
Grand total (not including tax etc.): $49.96 or if you go with a 322 instead of a 522 (no DVR functions but still serves two rooms) $44.98

You can of course go lower than that by $10 if you choose to go the America's Top 60 route but a lot of people seem to go with the Top 120 nowadays. Also keep in mind that with the Digital Home Advantage plan there is no commitment you just have to return the equipment if you disconnect the service.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Ly2n

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl

Originally posted by: Ly2n

I may be totally wrong here, but didn't I hear that directv had extended their contract for the NFL sunday ticket for a few more years. Maybe last fall?

Jesus I hope not I think it was earlier this year that I heard it was about to expire. I hope that was correct info. I live for football but I'll put up my old UHF antenna before I go back to DirecTV.

I got the year wrong, but Directv has the sunday ticket untill 2007. They signed an 5 year extension in 2002. you can read about it Here

<Cartman> Godammit! :| </Cartman>

 

[nsafreak]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
i have dish tv and their tech support stinks. they nickel and dime you to death. they charged me postage to ship me a component of theirs that was covered under warranty and went bad. they charged me to send the technician out to diagnosis the part under warranty.

dish tv sucks.

You have a right to that opinion I suppose. But tell me do you know of any company that will send out a technician for free unless you're under some kind of warranty plan? Remember the labor is covered for 90 days of the initial install, the equipment is covered for a year. It costs Dish Network money to send out a technician to each household so they can't exactly just eat the cost if they want to have a profit. I have friends that have had to get their cable fixed & guess what they had to pay for the technician to come out. Same thing goes for DirecTV customers unless they have some kind of extended warranty plan. So while we're on that subject we do have a warranty program available for our customers. Sure it's $5.99 a month but it does save you money in the long run. If you choose not to sign up for it that would be your choice.

 

[KarenMarie]

directv 4+ years.

Dish Newtowrk was in some legal hassle that stopped customers getting MTV, NICK and a few other channels. Dunno if htey sorted that or not.

Three tv's two recievers, local and some extra channels... I pay $45.00 per month.

 

[NutBucket]

I dunno if you'll pull out 3 tv's for under $45. As it is now Total Choice Plus w/ locals is $42.99 a month. Each additional receiver is $5. TIVO is $5 (but that's constant even if you have two of them).

 

[MrCodeDude]

We currently have one reciever, Top 120 plan and pay $39.99

I'm thinking we should cancel the plan and go the Top 60 Plus (only reason we have 120 is for FOX Sports Net) w/ a DVR Reciever and Local Channels. That's still $40/month though..

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: nsafreak

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
i have dish tv and their tech support stinks. they nickel and dime you to death. they charged me postage to ship me a component of theirs that was covered under warranty and went bad. they charged me to send the technician out to diagnosis the part under warranty.

dish tv sucks.

You have a right to that opinion I suppose. But tell me do you know of any company that will send out a technician for free unless you're under some kind of warranty plan? Remember the labor is covered for 90 days of the initial install, the equipment is covered for a year. It costs Dish Network money to send out a technician to each household so they can't exactly just eat the cost if they want to have a profit. I have friends that have had to get their cable fixed & guess what they had to pay for the technician to come out. Same thing goes for DirecTV customers unless they have some kind of extended warranty plan. So while we're on that subject we do have a warranty program available for our customers. Sure it's $5.99 a month but it does save you money in the long run. If you choose not to sign up for it that would be your choice.

i'm not going to put a full accounting in this thread, but here is a link to the thread where i complained about dish. DishTV Sucks.

 

[CPA]

Directv has NFL Ticket. Dish Network does not. Therefore,

Directv > Dish Network

 

[nsafreak]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: nsafreak

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
i have dish tv and their tech support stinks. they nickel and dime you to death. they charged me postage to ship me a component of theirs that was covered under warranty and went bad. they charged me to send the technician out to diagnosis the part under warranty.

dish tv sucks.

You have a right to that opinion I suppose. But tell me do you know of any company that will send out a technician for free unless you're under some kind of warranty plan? Remember the labor is covered for 90 days of the initial install, the equipment is covered for a year. It costs Dish Network money to send out a technician to each household so they can't exactly just eat the cost if they want to have a profit. I have friends that have had to get their cable fixed & guess what they had to pay for the technician to come out. Same thing goes for DirecTV customers unless they have some kind of extended warranty plan. So while we're on that subject we do have a warranty program available for our customers. Sure it's $5.99 a month but it does save you money in the long run. If you choose not to sign up for it that would be your choice.

i'm not going to put a full accounting in this thread, but here is a link to the thread where i complained about dish. DishTV Sucks.

If you have documentation on your account showing that you called in frequently typically people are given time without service credit for the time they did not have service. Insofar as the SW64 switch is concerned it's not so much the number of dishes but the number of satellite locations. Since you're looking at three satellite locations, 2 with the Dish 500 (main dish) and one with the secondary dish, you need to have this switch. If you're still having problems with this switch though it might be a good idea to upgrade it if at all possible. If you have DishPro LNBFs and DishPro receivers (model 301 and up) then you could go for a DishPro 34 switch which seems to have less issues.