Digital cable vs Dish technology - Anyone here make use of PVR devices?

[Arkitech]

I've been contemplating switching over from digital cable to a dish, but unfortunately I know very little about dish networks and their service. So for the people who have experienced both:

Which one has the better picture quality and reception?

Which one has the most channels?

Which one is more affordable?

Has anyone ever experienced frequent downtime with their dishes?



One of the reasons I'm interested in the dish is because when used with the right type of pvr (Tivo) the user can record 2 different channels at once. Thats a really cool feature when you're trying to resolve a schedule conflict.


For the pvr experts out there, are there any pvr devices that can send shows through a home network? I'd like to be able to connect a pvr to my pc for archiving my favorite shows.



thanks for any info

 

[Aves]

My vote would be to go with DirecTV and get a DirecTiVo so that you could do two shows at once and it has ~30 hours of what is considered high quality recording space because the DirecTV stream is already compressed and the PVR doesn't have to do it.

As far as transferring shows to your PC, if you had a video card with capture like GF4 with VIVO then it wouldn't really matter which you go with since you'd just be running the RCA outputs into the PC.

 

[iamwiz82]

I chose DirecTV with UltimateTV because the price was right. I am currently on their football package special which allows me to get every channel DirecTV offers(over 180, i think). I pay $49.99(NFL Sunday Ticket) plus $9.95 a month (UltimateTV) and the Premium Package is free for 4 months. After 4 months, i will be going to the Total Choice Plus(125 channels plus locals) for $39.99 plus the $9.99 for the UltimateTV.

I find the reception to be very good to excellent, depending on the channel. Low budget channels such as Sundance do have some little glitches every once in awhile, but that is their fault and not the satellite.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: aves2k
My vote would be to go with DirecTV and get a DirecTiVo so that you could do two shows at once.

Although I'm a ReplayTV fanboi, I agree. You can't beat a DirecTivo.

An excellent PVR resource is where most the PVR guru's hang out, AVSForum.com

 

[FlashG]

BellSouth recommended the Dish Network to all of their customers when they got out of the business (old BellSouth Entertainment). The only problem is that they don't carry the local channels in my area. I use AT&T cable for that at about $7 and change per month.

Performance wise the Disc Network is the best and AT&T the worst. We have the 2nd best service they offer (No Showtime) and it costs me about $107 per month for 5 converters and remotes. It is costly but the reception is and programming is mostly excellent. They offer different packages for Sports and Entertainment and coverage is great.

We do have reception outages during heavy rainstorms but we had worse with BS Entertainment. AT&T's normal reception is hardly better than Rabbit Ears with snow and bad sound. FYI, I can't to use an outside antenna because of local restrictions and lightening concerns in the Jacksonville Fla area.


I Hope this helps you out.

 

[CPA]

Originally posted by: aves2k
My vote would be to go with DirecTV and get a DirecTiVo so that you could do two shows at once and it has ~30 hours of what is considered high quality recording space because the DirecTV stream is already compressed and the PVR doesn't have to do it.

As far as transferring shows to your PC, if you had a video card with capture like GF4 with VIVO then it wouldn't really matter which you go with since you'd just be running the RCA outputs into the PC.

I would just add the at DirecTV is the ONLY outfit that you can purchase the NFL Ticket through. For me, that was enough to go with DirecTV.

Arkitech, I use the setup you described (with the exception of the computer hookup), though you do have to purchase the additional feed (in order to record one show and watch another), but it only costs about $5 extra a month.

 

[PlatinumGold]

I went from Comcast Digital to Dish. I found Dish to be better overall. HOWEVER, i'm at the end of my 1 year contract and Comcast is offering me a dish buy back, where they take my dish and take $25.00 / month of my comcast digital subscription ALSO, i would get an additional $6/ month taken of my comcast Internet access.

All in all, i think i'm going back to comcast.

 

[nord1899]

I've got Dish Network with a JVC PVR (TiVo like, but not TiVo Brand). I very rarely have downtime and I get 35 hours of recording time. To get the PVR, I paid an extra $100 ($150 instead of $50) at installation, but I pay nothing extra per month. I have America's Choice 150 (150 channels) for $46 a month. I have no real interest in the movie channels, don't feel like paying $15 to get 10 channels which just rotate what they show.

I don't think there is much difference in quality between Dish or DirecTV. So I would suggest looking at which one has the channels you must have at a price you want. Dish had Fox Sports World at a cheaper package than DirecTV so thats what I got. A friend had to have YES network, which is only on DirecTV so thats what he got.

 

[Arkitech]

hmmmm interesting comments

I currently pay about 75 bucks for my ATT digital cable service. I receive about 5 hbo and showtime stations and then I recieve all of the other smaller movie networks. In fact the only movie stations I don't recieve are the ones on Cinemax. My bill also includes the use of 2 cable boxes.

If I switched to a dish I'm hoping I would'nt have to pay more for the same setup. In the next few months I'll be adding at least 3 more TVs to my household so I'll need a total of 5 boxes. How much extra is it to add another TV to the dish service?