DirecTV or Dish - Choose for me

ATOT choose:

  • DirecTV

  • Dish

  • I'm that asshole that posted just to say I don't pay for cable


Results are only viewable after voting.

Jeeebus

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
9,181
901
126
No more Fios now that we're down in FL. Can't even get Comcrap at our new house. Choice is pretty much U-Verse (not happy with HD quality), some local cable co. that went to the same business school as Shylock, and satellite.

As far as I can tell, the programming is roughly equal and the prices are not that far off from each other (with Dish being a little cheaper seemingly).

ATOT, give me your wisdom (which I'm going to completely ignore anyway).
 

Demo24

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
8,356
9
81
Can't you also stream channels live through the internet with Dish? If so I'd probably choose that in case there was something I wanted to watch when a storm comes through.
 

rivan

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2003
9,677
3
81
I just switched to Dish from DirecTV.

Receiver interface is worse, especially for setting up DVR stuff. From there, though, the receivers (the one I have, anyway) are better; they come with powerline networking free to connect to the internet for streaming (again, the interface for this looks pretty bad), and support 2 TVs (recorded stuff will play on either).

Dish is FAR less expensive for the stuff I watch.
 

DougK62

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2001
8,035
6
81
The DTV interface is really slow to use and Dish is cheaper for what I want.
 

FDF12389

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2005
5,234
7
76
Direct TV. Anything besides dish, I'll share my story.

I switched from Cable to Dish, I was told they would bring a tripod for the dish, since the landlord was on vacation, the were supposed to bring a dual DVR, and two HD receivers. Installation of the two upper rooms was supposed to be free. They told me HBO and Showtime were free for 12 months.

When the installer came he had none of the equiptment I odered, he had a single DVR and two SD recievers. After calling another truck he was able to get the HD reciever but not the dual DVR, he said we could swap that for a dual later. He did not bring a tripod, we had to call the landlord, who we couldnt get a hold of. Finnaly he started on the install without consent. Turns out the Dish he put up only has three lines, so to this day (5 Mo) later we still do not have are dual DVR. They charged me $135.00 per upstaires room for install.

After they refused to add the dual DVR, I asked that one of the recievers be moved from one room to another, since that room was supposed to have service from the second DVR feed. They came out and switched it, while that installer was there he noticed a ground wire was not hooked up, the first installer drilled a one inch hole(Deep) into our siding and stuck the end of the wire in there with some tacky glue, the second installer fixes this.

Fast forward to when I get my first bill, I see 135 X2 for the upstairs rooms, 100 dollars for the second installer coming out, 15 for changing rooms, and 50 for fixing the ground wire, or "Bringing wiring to code" on my bill. After spending over four hours on the phone that day, writing down rep #s for 16 CS reps that were BLATENTLY rude to me, saying things like "You do know what a contract is right sir?" "We have a low tolorence for cheap customers trying to pull things over on us" "Do you know how to read sir? Are you blind" I got nowhere, I found the corporate number and started a new phone quest the next day, I was able to get about half the fees waived.

The next monday I got my lawyer involved, he wasnt getting a resolution either. Finally I called the office and tried to use company clout(at the time I worked for a large newspaper). I starting this call with "Hi, my name is FDF12389 and I'm a employee of {Newspaper}, my Employee ID is XXXX, and my department number is XXXX. I am recording this conversation and any or all dialog may be referenced in a publication." I was transfered so someone else who was very articulate, much more so than anyone I had talked to, I explained the situation calmly from the begining and he gave my account full credit.

Fast forward three months, remember free Showtime and HBO for a year, well it was only for three months. Called Corporate CS, after hours all I got was "The original rep may have lied to me, however it is my job to verify the contract".

To this day i still do not have the free HD service they advertise, I do not have HBO or showtime. I do not have the dual DVR. My cancellation fee is about 300 dollars.

Google "Dish network customer support." Also research why Dish network has been fined millions for shady contracts and misleading customers.
 
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ScottFern

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
3,629
2
76
I just got DirecTV hooked up and I am pretty happy with it. The HD picture quality is the best I have seen over Comcast and Uverse.

However, I need to run CAT5 cable to the different receivers for the whole home DVR to work. With Uverse it just worked over the coax which was nice.

DirecTV is missing AMC HD, E! HD, and G4 HD. Other than that I am quite happy with it.
 

weadjust

Senior member
Mar 28, 2004
636
0
71
I have Directv and have no complaints. Dish dropped FX, Nat Geo, and Fox Sports regional channels today. I would be pissed if I missed my college football games this weekend. Seems like dish is always in a dispute with different channels.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.c...rts-channels-blocked-in-dish-network-dispute/

October 1, 2010, 8:55 am
Fox Sports Channels Blocked in Dish Network Dispute
By BRIAN STELTER

Dish Network subscribers woke up Friday to find that FX, National Geographic Channel and Fox’s regional sports networks had disappeared.

The subscribers are caught in the middle of a dispute between Dish and the News Corporation over the fees that are paid to carry the channels.

The two companies can’t even agree about what happened at the stroke of midnight Friday morning, when the channels vanished from Dish’s system. In dueling statements, Fox Networks claimed that Dish “decided to no longer carry Fox Networks cable programming,” while Dish claimed that Fox Networks was “blocking” access to the channels.

Dish Network says it has about 14 million subscribers.

Threats of losing access to popular channels are now commonplace when companies negotiate new TV contracts.

Early Friday morning, Fox said, “The proposal we’ve offered Dish is fair and in line with the tremendous value we provide. We regret the inconvenience to our viewers, but Dish has asserted its subscribers do not value our channels and has made a decision to go forward without them.”

A few hours later, Dish said in its own statement that Fox was demanding an “unprecedented rate increase of more than 50 percent.”

Fox has a total of 19 regional sports networks. During the impasse Dish said that it would make the NFL Network, Big Ten Network, and many other regional sports channels available “to all affected customers at no additional charge.”

As is common in these disputes, the two sides have set up Web sites to rally support. Fox’s site is called GetWhatIPaidFor.com. Dish has a series of sites, including FoxShakedownDish.com and JoinTheFightAgainstFox.com.

The current spat between Dish and News Corporation does not affect Fox television stations, but the contracts with stations owned by Fox expire in a month, according to Multichannel News.
 

FDF12389

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2005
5,234
7
76
Dish in trouble for ignoring federal do not call list, and falsifying reports
http://wizbangblue.com/2009/03/26/dish-network-might-face-record-fines-for-breaking-federal-laws.php

Dish having to pay 400M to Tivo for patent violations
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...-to-fork-over-another-200-million-to-tivo.ars

Older article, but still a good read.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/2788823/detail.html

For the life of me I cannot figure out why Direct TV has lower customer satisfaction numbers, I've never had a problem with Direct TV. Overall I just cant get over how unethical Dish really is.
 

swanysto

Golden Member
May 8, 2005
1,949
9
81
I have DirecTV and I like it a lot, the picture quality was far better than the Comcast service I had prior. Don't know much about Dish, but everyone in my apartment suggested DirecTV.
 

erikistired

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2000
9,739
0
0
my brother got u-verse, it's been an unholy pain in the ass and they don't seem to be interested in fixing his problems.

i was thinking of dumping comcast for dish or directv, and i couldn't choose either. i just ended up sticking with comcast. is the local cable company that bad?
 

FDF12389

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2005
5,234
7
76
I tried cancelling dish, they want me to pay them to do so, I requested to suspend my service until this is resolved, denied as well. They offerend me 5 bucks off my bill this month.
 

hclarkjr

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,375
0
0
I tried cancelling dish, they want me to pay them to do so, I requested to suspend my service until this is resolved, denied as well. They offerend me 5 bucks off my bill this month.
if you are still under contract then that is why they want you to pay them. i took that option in july and am glad i did it. i had 5 months left and paid $42 to get out of contract with them.
 

AstroManLuca

Lifer
Jun 24, 2004
15,628
5
81
I'm that asshole that posted just to say I don't pay for cable

Yep.

Although if I were to pay for TV, it would be DirecTV because I like football and they have the best NFL coverage.
 

FDF12389

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2005
5,234
7
76
if you are still under contract then that is why they want you to pay them. i took that option in july and am glad i did it. i had 5 months left and paid $42 to get out of contract with them.

I watch sports and FX, almost exclusively. This service change greatly impacts me, I expect a hell of a lot more than five dollars. This is my chance to finally shake them, Monday morning I will be filing to take them to small claims court. I'm hoping they just let me walk.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,162
126
Direct TV. Anything besides dish, I'll share my story.

I switched from Cable to Dish, I was told they would bring a tripod for the dish, since the landlord was on vacation, the were supposed to bring a dual DVR, and two HD receivers. Installation of the two upper rooms was supposed to be free. They told me HBO and Showtime were free for 12 months.

When the installer came he had none of the equiptment I odered, he had a single DVR and two SD recievers. After calling another truck he was able to get the HD reciever but not the dual DVR, he said we could swap that for a dual later. He did not bring a tripod, we had to call the landlord, who we couldnt get a hold of. Finnaly he started on the install without consent. Turns out the Dish he put up only has three lines, so to this day (5 Mo) later we still do not have are dual DVR. They charged me $135.00 per upstaires room for install.

After they refused to add the dual DVR, I asked that one of the recievers be moved from one room to another, since that room was supposed to have service from the second DVR feed. They came out and switched it, while that installer was there he noticed a ground wire was not hooked up, the first installer drilled a one inch hole(Deep) into our siding and stuck the end of the wire in there with some tacky glue, the second installer fixes this.

Fast forward to when I get my first bill, I see 135 X2 for the upstairs rooms, 100 dollars for the second installer coming out, 15 for changing rooms, and 50 for fixing the ground wire, or "Bringing wiring to code" on my bill. After spending over four hours on the phone that day, writing down rep #s for 16 CS reps that were BLATENTLY rude to me, saying things like "You do know what a contract is right sir?" "We have a low tolorence for cheap customers trying to pull things over on us" "Do you know how to read sir? Are you blind" I got nowhere, I found the corporate number and started a new phone quest the next day, I was able to get about half the fees waived.

The next monday I got my lawyer involved, he wasnt getting a resolution either. Finally I called the office and tried to use company clout(at the time I worked for a large newspaper). I starting this call with "Hi, my name is FDF12389 and I'm a employee of {Newspaper}, my Employee ID is XXXX, and my department number is XXXX. I am recording this conversation and any or all dialog may be referenced in a publication." I was transfered so someone else who was very articulate, much more so than anyone I had talked to, I explained the situation calmly from the begining and he gave my account full credit.

Fast forward three months, remember free Showtime and HBO for a year, well it was only for three months. Called Corporate CS, after hours all I got was "The original rep may have lied to me, however it is my job to verify the contract".

To this day i still do not have the free HD service they advertise, I do not have HBO or showtime. I do not have the dual DVR. My cancellation fee is about 300 dollars.

Google "Dish network customer support." Also research why Dish network has been fined millions for shady contracts and misleading customers.


I just had a very similar experience with DirecTV. You have to know what you're buying.

Besides, I think it's plastered all over their website about 3 months of free HBO and Showtime. The installer thing kind of sucked---not sure what happened there.

Dish's equipment is far superior to DirecTv's...I'll never leave them :)
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,162
126
Dish in trouble for ignoring federal do not call list, and falsifying reports
http://wizbangblue.com/2009/03/26/dish-network-might-face-record-fines-for-breaking-federal-laws.php

Dish having to pay 400M to Tivo for patent violations
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...-to-fork-over-another-200-million-to-tivo.ars

Older article, but still a good read.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/2788823/detail.html

For the life of me I cannot figure out why Direct TV has lower customer satisfaction numbers, I've never had a problem with Direct TV. Overall I just cant get over how unethical Dish really is.

The Tivo ruling was overturned, so nothing there.