I'm looking to get either Dish or Direct TV. What do you guys suggest? Why? How much do you pay? Is TIVO worth it?
Dish Network or Direct TV?
- Thread starter GambiT
- Start date
i have dish network
i signed up for the top 100 channels plan.
my bill is autopay so i forget how much im paying, i think 45 a month.
ive been happy with it. very few problems.
i signed up for the top 100 channels plan.
my bill is autopay so i forget how much im paying, i think 45 a month.
ive been happy with it. very few problems.
I have DirectTV. I believe I pay ~$65-$70 with Starz/Encore and Cinemax.
IMO, there is nothing on TV worth using Tivo for, so I don't have it.
IMO, there is nothing on TV worth using Tivo for, so I don't have it.
I've had Dish for about 16 or so months. Probably in a few days I will be switching to Direct TV for a few reasons:
1) Our main reason...Our 508 (60 hour PVR) has died 3 times in 12 months. Each time they were willing to replace the unit under our "Digital Home" plan, but we are getting sick of the HD failing and only getting refurb units back.
2) TIVO is much better than normal PVR. If you dont know the differences, a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) acts like a digital VCR. Dish network's version of a PVR is just that a digital VCR. If you want to record something, it has to be on that channel and you can't change it. You can only record 1 thing at a time. Plus it is based on time, so if a show gets moved then you end up recording an hour of crap you don't want. Dish is working on the problem, but who knows when they will be moving to a more Name based recording like Tivo.
3)Cost is about the same for both units. You get about the same number of channels for the same price. Dish offers stuff at a lower up front cost, but now they charge money per month just to have their PVR. So it's a no brainer. Pay for the features of Tivo or pay for a digital VCR.
4) DirectTV's TIVO unit has dual recievers. So you can record conflicting things or record something and watch regular TV while it's recording. Very nice in my opinion.
BTW, my monthly bill for 3 recievers on the top 100 (second level of programming at dish) is approx $56 every month. Of course I was grandfathered in before they started charging for PVR access so it would be more if you had the same setup (1 508 and 2 301s)
1) Our main reason...Our 508 (60 hour PVR) has died 3 times in 12 months. Each time they were willing to replace the unit under our "Digital Home" plan, but we are getting sick of the HD failing and only getting refurb units back.
2) TIVO is much better than normal PVR. If you dont know the differences, a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) acts like a digital VCR. Dish network's version of a PVR is just that a digital VCR. If you want to record something, it has to be on that channel and you can't change it. You can only record 1 thing at a time. Plus it is based on time, so if a show gets moved then you end up recording an hour of crap you don't want. Dish is working on the problem, but who knows when they will be moving to a more Name based recording like Tivo.
3)Cost is about the same for both units. You get about the same number of channels for the same price. Dish offers stuff at a lower up front cost, but now they charge money per month just to have their PVR. So it's a no brainer. Pay for the features of Tivo or pay for a digital VCR.
4) DirectTV's TIVO unit has dual recievers. So you can record conflicting things or record something and watch regular TV while it's recording. Very nice in my opinion.
BTW, my monthly bill for 3 recievers on the top 100 (second level of programming at dish) is approx $56 every month. Of course I was grandfathered in before they started charging for PVR access so it would be more if you had the same setup (1 508 and 2 301s)
I switched from Dish to Direct TV two years ago for the DirecTivo (Tivo service is only $5 a month extra.) To me the dual tuners on the DirecTivo seal the deal. My only complaint on my first generation Tivos is the channels change slowly but the newer ones solve that. Direct TV is releasing an HD DirecTivo here shortly, so you can record HD content. Something to consider if you're an HD buff but I think the list price is $1000.
That being said, I had zero complaints with Dish, and actually liked having the national PBS feed (instead of compressed locals on Direct TV!) But a dual tuner Tivo is just too good to pass up. Tivo is like the Ipod of DVR's, much better than the competition.
That being said, I had zero complaints with Dish, and actually liked having the national PBS feed (instead of compressed locals on Direct TV!) But a dual tuner Tivo is just too good to pass up. Tivo is like the Ipod of DVR's, much better than the competition.
UNCjigga
Lifer
- Dec 12, 2000
- 25,693
- 10,425
- 136
HD digital cable...though I feel like we're paying an arm and a leg for it. I wanna switch but its so hard to figure out what to get. DirecTV has good pricing but needs upfront investment in equipment (which may be getting obsolete real fast.) Dish doesn't require the investment but service offerings aren't as good as DirecTVs. Voom gives the most HD content (40 HD channels by February) and its priced very competitively, but its useless for anything else (doesn't even have CNN and other basic cable/sat channels.)
Didn't DirecTV and Dish Network merge???
Didn't DirecTV and Dish Network merge???
Check locally and you may find good deals with no upfront investment (except for Tivo units). I got DirecTV because I friend had gone thru several Dish units the year before. I asked the local electronics store that installed the system, and they said they had an equal number of complaints, and reception quality should be the same for both systems. At the time, the costs/promotions were the same for both Dish and Directv. Dish was cheaper for a 50-channel package. I don't know if the offers vary with geographic region and time of the year, but I had up to 3 receivers free, plus 3 free months of HBO and Cinemax.
Dish gives you everything DirecTV does, they are even giving you a free HDTV receiver if you dont want the PVR.
When Dish didn't charge for the DVR service I thought the overall situation was tipped slightly in their favor for an average user like myself. True, they didn't have Tivo's more advanced functionality, but then again you didn't have to pay a monthly fee and for the average user the ability to pause/rewind live TV and easily setup recordings (as all DVRs are capable of) is an amazing jump forward in its own right. The fact that they don't have more advanced features like Season Pass wasn't compelling enough reason for somebody like myself at the time. But now that DirecTV has DVR units more reasonably priced and now that Dish is charging a DVR fee without offering more advanced features like Tivo I think the balance is slightly tipped in DirecTVs favor.
General pros/cons as I see them (from a non-HD perspective):
DIRECTV:
Pros:
-DirecTivo means DirecTV now has DVRs that are reasonably priced
-DirecTivo has dual tuners
-Tivo's more advanced features
-Has NFL Sunday ticket (not critical to me, but NFL junkies always point to it)
Cons:
-Minimum package is mid-priced 100 channels
DISH NETWORK:
Pros:
-DVRs default record space is roughly 2 times as much as DirecTivo (but latter can be hacked)
-More international channels (not an issue for me personally)
-Offers inexpensive Top 50 package (~$10 cheaper/month than Dish and DirecTV's 100 channel packages.) This was the main selling point for me personally as we only lost about 3 channels we semi-regularly (at best) watched by going with the Top 50 instead of Top 100. We used the $10 we saved to get the Starz Superpack since we like watching movies.
Cons:
-Charges DVR fee similar to Tivo without offering Tivo functionality
-Base DVR does not have dual tuner
-No NFL Sunday Ticket
We're on Dish's Digital Home Plan with 3 TVs; 1 is a 508 PVR (never had any problems with it) and the other 2 are basic 301s. At the time we got in, neither Dish nor DirecTV had any plans worth a flip for buying that much equipment up front. For 3 receivers with the Top 50 package + locals + rental fee + Starz Superpack our total is ~$56.00/month. As long as my 508 holds out we'll stick with Dish for the forseeable future.
General pros/cons as I see them (from a non-HD perspective):
DIRECTV:
Pros:
-DirecTivo means DirecTV now has DVRs that are reasonably priced
-DirecTivo has dual tuners
-Tivo's more advanced features
-Has NFL Sunday ticket (not critical to me, but NFL junkies always point to it)
Cons:
-Minimum package is mid-priced 100 channels
DISH NETWORK:
Pros:
-DVRs default record space is roughly 2 times as much as DirecTivo (but latter can be hacked)
-More international channels (not an issue for me personally)
-Offers inexpensive Top 50 package (~$10 cheaper/month than Dish and DirecTV's 100 channel packages.) This was the main selling point for me personally as we only lost about 3 channels we semi-regularly (at best) watched by going with the Top 50 instead of Top 100. We used the $10 we saved to get the Starz Superpack since we like watching movies.
Cons:
-Charges DVR fee similar to Tivo without offering Tivo functionality
-Base DVR does not have dual tuner
-No NFL Sunday Ticket
We're on Dish's Digital Home Plan with 3 TVs; 1 is a 508 PVR (never had any problems with it) and the other 2 are basic 301s. At the time we got in, neither Dish nor DirecTV had any plans worth a flip for buying that much equipment up front. For 3 receivers with the Top 50 package + locals + rental fee + Starz Superpack our total is ~$56.00/month. As long as my 508 holds out we'll stick with Dish for the forseeable future.
- Oct 28, 1999
- 62,484
- 8,345
- 126
Well, it looks like I'm switching to Dish from Direct. Going to Radio Shack or Sears tonight to do the paperwork actually.
I'm at my year end for my Direct subscription.
Switching to direct will get me:
- Local channels that I can't get through Direct or OTA reception
- An HD tuner for $50 instead of $500
- Cheaper monthly costs
Seems like a nobrainer to me.
I'm at my year end for my Direct subscription.
Switching to direct will get me:
- Local channels that I can't get through Direct or OTA reception
- An HD tuner for $50 instead of $500
- Cheaper monthly costs
Seems like a nobrainer to me.
Hey vi_edit, see what http://www.satelliteguys.us will do for you for a dish deal. I got a free HD receiver (it's MINE, not a lease), free regular receiver, installation, free HBO for 3 months, free HD for 3 months, etc. My bill for the next 3 months is $20 including the Americas Top 100, HD pack, HBO, and 2 receivers.
Keep in mind that if you can get OTA with an existing antenna you might want to think about that instead of Dish Locals, especially if you have an HDTV. Dish Local channel quality is HIDEOUS.
Keep in mind that if you can get OTA with an existing antenna you might want to think about that instead of Dish Locals, especially if you have an HDTV. Dish Local channel quality is HIDEOUS.
Is Digital Cable preferred over satellite systems if it is available in your area?
My son works in Sears electronics and says that it is, but I thought I would get some other opinions as well.
I presently have Comcast & frequently get pissed with them for raising rates.
Satellite rates seem to about the same as cable in this area.
mdcrab
My son works in Sears electronics and says that it is, but I thought I would get some other opinions as well.
I presently have Comcast & frequently get pissed with them for raising rates.
Satellite rates seem to about the same as cable in this area.
mdcrab
I had digital cable for about a year. In my area, only a few channels are digital, most are not, and some channels are really bad. Pricing was what forced me to get Directv, as the local co. wanted $50/month for 50 channels (no movie channels, just the regular crap), while Directv was about $33.
My Adelphia cable just went up again. Was $50 in Sept, went up in Dec and now just went up again to $57 so figured since that is same price as Satellite might as well switch. Bought a DirectTV dish with 2 LNB's and 2 RCA boxes for $49, free install. UPS delivered the box yesterday at 1pm and installer showed up 10 minutes later, had service in both rooms by 3 pm.
blurredvision
Lifer
- Oct 19, 2000
- 17,860
- 4
- 81
Hey guys. Just found this thread by searching, because I am currently torn between Dish and DirecTV. I was originally going to get Dish, a no brainer for me, as it was cheapest. But the only reason I'm switching from cable is because I want the DVR features.
Just wanted to say thanks for steering me away from Dish's DVR. I would've been disappointed in it, but never thought to look into the features. I assumed all DVR's were essentially the same. I'm heading towards a DirecTV now, plus I'll have local channels in April! (Dish already has them for my area).
Just wanted to say thanks for steering me away from Dish's DVR. I would've been disappointed in it, but never thought to look into the features. I assumed all DVR's were essentially the same. I'm heading towards a DirecTV now, plus I'll have local channels in April! (Dish already has them for my area).
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