DISH or DirectTV?

[MotionMan]

I am sick of paying so much for cable (Time Warner). I am thinking of going with satellite. I do not subscribe to movie channels or pay for many extras (Variety Tier and HD).

DISH or DirectTV? Which one should I choose and why?

Is NFL Network available on both?

MotionMan

 

[SpunkyJones]

I stay with Directv for the Sunday Ticket.

 

[amdhunter]

Netflix + Hulu + Usenet + High Speed Internet + OTA = What you should have.

 

[MotionMan]

I stay with Directv for the Sunday Ticket.

That would be nice, but I think paying for Sunday Ticket would eliminate any savings I would get from switching from cable.

Can you get the Red Zone on either network?

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

Netflix + Hulu + Usenet + High Speed Internet + OTA = What you should have.

That is not going to fly at my house, at least for now.

MotionMan

 

[PottedMeat]

That would be nice, but I think paying for Sunday Ticket would eliminate any savings I would get from switching from cable.

Can you get the Red Zone on either network?

MotionMan

There's a 'Red Zone' channel on Dish after ESPN or NFL. I don't know if it's active right now.

 

[MotionMan]

Bump for more thoughts.

Is satellite actually cheaper than cable?

MotionMan

 

[Newbian]

Bump for more thoughts.

Is satellite actually cheaper than cable?

MotionMan

No clue since it's based on what you are paying for and the plan you get.

But in most of these threads people seem to prefer Dish over directTV except for sports as direct has more but can get very expensive for it..

 

[BoomerD]

Bump for more thoughts.

Is satellite actually cheaper than cable?

MotionMan

IIRC, we were paying about $50/month for DishHD w/o any premium channels before we switched to Uverse. We get a few more channels with Uverse than with Dish, but I gotta say, the picture quality and overall service isn't as good. Lots of "technical issues" with Uverse that we didn't have with Dish. (screen freezes, stutters, gremlins in the motorola box)

We're looking at going back to ComCrap for the first time in over a decade. Comcast has "3rd party vendors" who are offering a decent package called "Alchemy" which bundles 240+ channels including HBO/Starz & Encore plus tons of other channels; it includes unlimited local & long distance phone service with 12 calling features, and 16/2 internet...for $89.99. (I think there's a $5 charge for the modem and $7.50 for the 2nd tv) It should save us about $20/month over our current Uverse package, and (hopefully) we'll get better service and PQ.

Dish's PQ was tons better than Uverse. I'm kind of sorry we switched. The packages we had with Dish aren't available any longer. (but, we saved about $30/month by making the switch to Uverse, and we have been cutting expenses where we can.)

 

[zerocool84]

Netflix + Hulu + Usenet + High Speed Internet + OTA = What you should have.

Some people prefer to watch sports and watch them live. Can't do that without cable.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Dish has the better HD DVR if that's what you're looking at.

 

[GeekDrew]

Dish has the better HD DVR if that's what you're looking at.

That's very much a matter of opinion. I love my DirecTV HD DVR, and hate Dish's.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

That's very much a matter of opinion. I love my DirecTV HD DVR, and hate Dish's.

My ViP722 can record 3 HD channels at the same time while watching another HD recording. I'm not trying to start a fight. Just saying why I love my Dish HD DVR.

 

[GeekDrew]

My ViP722 can record 3 HD channels at the same time while watching another HD recording. I'm not trying to start a fight. Just saying why I love my Dish HD DVR.

*shrug* It's more the UI than anything, that bothers me. And the way their DVRs connect to multiple TVs. I've yet to see a non-lagging Dish receiver -- are they decent now? I frequently record 2 channels at once, watch a recording, and am streaming a recording to a different receiver.

 

[zerocool84]

*shrug* It's more the UI than anything, that bothers me. And the way their DVRs connect to multiple TVs. I've yet to see a non-lagging Dish receiver -- are they decent now? I frequently record 2 channels at once, watch a recording, and am streaming a recording to a different receiver.

Well Dish's have always been rated higher. I had Dish for years but moved to FiOS recently. I liked Dish's DVR much better.

 

[Vette73]

Directtv for NFL (agreement and you have to pay a extra on top of other fees)

Dish for everything else.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Bump for more thoughts.

Is satellite actually cheaper than cable?

MotionMan

No, not if you compare apples-to-apples.

Call TWC and ask for retention....tell them you're going to switch to Direct, and they'll offer you a deal.

 

[rudder]

Bump for more thoughts.

Is satellite actually cheaper than cable?

MotionMan

Not really.. but depends on which cable company offers service in your area. Satellite charges $5 for each additional TV box. That adds up. Then there is the $10 HD fee (dish doesn't have that). My bill is $78 month after tax. If it were up to me I would watch OTA channels. The only thing I would miss would be monday night football.

Personal experience... directv sucks. The channel lineup is the same lame lineup as any other company. However... their customer service sucks donkey balls. They added premium channels mistakenly to my account last February. I call every two months to tell them to take them off my account. Oh yeh... I get double billed for those channels. So I call... get credit (which directv owes me about $150 now).. and the circle continues. I do get free premium channels this way... but it is a pain in the ass.

 

[IcePickFreak]

Have had Directv for about 10 years with no issue. I did try Uverse out just to try something else, but hooked my Directv back up after two weeks - never cancelled it, was just seeing if the 'grass was greener'. I agree with Boomer that Uverses PQ is poor and their are a lot of little issues. And while this is obviously going to vary for you, the installers AT&T sent for the Uverse install were completely incompetent. I wasn't able to be here when they were here all three times in two weeks because of work. They went so far as to screw with the wiring from my receiver to TV, like disconnect the HDMI cable and put in a component cable, and then not even hooking that up right - WTF? They also just cut the old coax right at the jacks and then ran their own, poorly I might add.

That said, haven't had any experience with Dish, and honestly I haven't even seen anyone with it in a good long time, at least 5 years. I should have checked them out instead of Uverse in hindsight. I'm plenty happy with Directv though so I haven't wanted to revist the disaster I had with AT&T when I wanted to compare the competition last time. I kinda have the "If it's not broke..." mentality about it now.

 

[MotionMan]

Still can't decide.

MotionMan

 

[Wingznut]

If you want to know what's cheaper, each provider's website (or perhaps a phone call) will answer that question.

As been suggested, calling your current provider and getting them to offer you a retention deal, will most certainly be your best deal.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Currently have DirecTV, had Dish. Dish had crappy customer service and refused to cut me a deal when I upgraded to HD - until after I canceled and switched to DirecTV. However... DirecTV is far more sensitive to weather issues than Dish rainstorms that Dish had no problem handling causes brief outages with DirecTV.

As much as I enjoy sports, I would prefer to do OTA, but the g/f won't have it. As of the time I switched, NFL Network was not on Dish.

 

[Anubis]

I am sick of paying so much for cable (Time Warner). I am thinking of going with satellite. I do not subscribe to movie channels or pay for many extras (Variety Tier and HD).

DISH or DirectTV? Which one should I choose and why?

Is NFL Network available on both?

MotionMan

its pretty much Direct TV if you really love the NFL

Dish for everything else as people have said, I should be making the call in the next few weeks

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2095857

 

[blurredvision]

I prefer DirecTV over Dish. I have DirecTV in my home and have used Dish extensively at my dad's house. I have no decent reason, I guess I just like the DVR UI better, but maybe it's because I'm used to it.

OP, if you decide to go with DirecTV, care to put me down as a referral? We'll both save $100 or whatever it is these days. Just shoot me a PM and I'll send you my account number pronto.

 

[JHoNNy1OoO]

My contract with DirecTV is up in March and I'm looking to jump ship unless they could bring down my bill to $50 from the $96 that it's currently at with 2 receivers (1 SD and 1 HD/DVR). I watch a handful of channels ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, Comedy, SpikeTV, and locals in HD, with ESPN being on 80% of the time. Prices have skyrocketed the past couple of years and I'm just not going to be part of it anymore.