Is Dish Network any good?

[Maverick2002]

I'm considering switching cable providers. I'm using Time Warner right now and although I love the upper tier internet, the cable has issues when loading channels above the 200 range and other slowdowns (though a lot has been fixed since I complained again and again and got my cable box changed).

My cable is currently $40/month. With Dish Network I can get the same setup for $15/month for a year, then $35-40/month for the next year. It requires a 2 year contract. Seems like a no-brainer to me. I've never had satellite cable before and am wondering about the service during storms. I live in the midwest and we do get a decent amount of storms, though rarely anything resembling Florida.

I read the fine print and it looks like there aren't any hidden installation/teardown fees. On top of that I can get it installed in several rooms, though I'm not sure if I get charged extra for extra cable boxes (I'll keep them around in storage in case one breaks). I also don't know what the policy is if one does break - with Time Warner I just get a replacement.

Anyone use Dish Network?

 

[zerocool84]

I have dish network and while I live in LA and don't get any super crazy storms like you guys do over there it's still great in rain and wind. It's cheaper than directv which is the main reason why I chose it.

 

[nakedfrog]

I only lose service a few times per year due to weather.

 

[Maverick2002]

What about the quality and hidden fees? That is, things I mentioned about the equipment? One thing that pisses me off is Time Warner likes to charge small bits that aren't mentioned, such as $0.83/month for the remote. Ok it's not much, but still it's the principal of the thing. I don't even use their remote, but I can't give it back and have the cost taken off either.

 

[nakedfrog]

You lease the boxes, so I would have to assume they replace them if there's an issue. Quality is likely better than cable, but YMMV. I think it's $5-6 per box.

 

[dabuddha]

Fuck dishnetwork. They claim to have a clause in their contract which gives them the right to change the amount charged anytime they want to and theres nothing the customer can do about it (aka can't cancel the account w/o fees because they changed the terms)

 

[Amused]

I like DirecTV because it has more HD movie and normal channels than Dish last time I checked.

 

[UsandThem]

Their customer service sucks. I am on my second VIP612 receiver and it is going out on me as well (all within 13 months). It reboots and locks up all the time. When I record a show, the show will be broken into 8 parts (due to the rebooting). Just Google VIP612 problems.

I pay the extra monthly fee for insurance, however they still charge you and additional $29.00 for coming out/replacing the box.

I called to cancel my service and they tried to get me to extend my contract for another 2 years and if I did so they would upgrade me to a VIP722. They claim it is much more stable unit. However, I am not going to take a chance and get stuck with another crappy unit for another two years.

Apparently Directv is releasing a TIVO based DVR early next year. I am going to just deal with my crappy Dish DVR for now and jump ship when the new TIVO box is released.

 

[Maverick2002]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
You lease the boxes, so I would have to assume they replace them if there's an issue. Quality is likely better than cable, but YMMV. I think it's $5-6 per box.

Is that a per-month fee?

 

[El Guaraguao]

I loathe Dish network only when it rains. It also seems to rain when something you want to watch is on.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: UsandThem
Their customer service sucks. I am on my second VIP612 receiver and it is going out on me as well (all within 13 months). It reboots and locks up all the time. When I record a show, the show will be broken into 8 parts (due to the rebooting). Just Google VIP612 problems.

I can say that my 622 hasn't had any problems like that in the past 2-3 years.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
You lease the boxes, so I would have to assume they replace them if there's an issue. Quality is likely better than cable, but YMMV. I think it's $5-6 per box.

Is that a per-month fee?

Yeah. I only have one box, so I don't know how it works with multiples.

 

[lokiju]

When I had DirecTv it did cut out in storms and it ALWAYS seemed to storm right at night time prime time when all my shows would be recording

Just because of that I'm not sure I'd ever again get another satellite based service.

 

[Amused]

Yeah, I get storm interruptions a few times a year here in the Midwest. But it's worth it for so many more HD channels than cable.

 

[nsafreak]

I have Dish Network service (twice, actually) and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Like any pay tv service there are folks that have had no issues and there are folks that have had numerous issues. Personally I have not had any major issues with the service. Once I had my DVR box lock up on me for some unknown reason but a quick reboot fixed it and that's really about it. So I'm going to do a quick pro & con list for you for a quick comparison:

Pros:

- Dish is currently the only satellite provider that has receivers that can provide service to two rooms at once with individual programming on each (this also includes DVR model receivers)
- Dish currently has the top HD DVR available out on the market, the 722k. It is far better than anything that Time Warner has I can guarantee you. I have used Tivos, DirecTV DVRs (I think my sister has the latest one, forget the model number), Motorola HD DVRs and the Dish unit definitely beats them. The Tivo DVR may be a point of contention but to me that unit seems to react slowly to remote commands and the menus aren't as intuitive
- Dish has a very nice HD signal. Now whether or not it is better than what Time Warner is providing will be hard to say. I have seen some very good cable signals and some very poor ones, usually its an improvement at the least it'll be equal to what you're receiving with cable most of the time
- Dish is typically a better bang for the buck. I was paying over $90 for what I had with Comcast I'm getting with Dish for $30 less

Cons

- I personally haven't had to deal with customer service in a while but some folks state it isn't always that great. I have heard however that they have been making improvements as of late
- Any TV that you want to have independent programming on will need to be hooked into a receiver (although a fair number of their receivers can accomodate 2 TVs)

Other Facts & Fees

These fees may or may not apply to you, it purely depends on the setup you choose to go with and some are optional

- $5.99 monthly fee for each dual tuner receiver beyond the first that is not hooked into a phone line or hooked up to a network connection (622,722,722k,211,222,222k all have ethernet connections)
- $5 monthly fee for each SD receiver beyond the first receiver and $7 monthly fee for each HD receiver beyond the first receiver
- $40 (optional) one time fee for activation of external hard drive storage option for 622,722,722k receivers. These receivers do have large hard drives inside them however (722k which most new installs get has a 750 gigabyte hard drive) so you may not need it
- $40 (optional) one time activation fee for external hard drive option for 211k receiver, this basically turns the unit into a single tuner HD DVR
- $30 (optional) one time fee to get the OTA tuner for the 222k & 722k receivers. This will allow you to do a total of 4 recordings at once with the 722k (two satellite and OTA) should you elect to get this module. Most folks are fine with the locals provided over satellite but some people want the additional tuners. The 622 and 722 have a single tuner OTA built into the receiver
- You will be leasing the receivers however there are some things to be aware of. The labor on your install is only covered for 180 days from the original install date. If anything happens after that point in time and a technician has to roll it is a $99 fee or $29 if you have the $5.99 a month warranty
- Any service call itself is warrantied for 90 days so if a technician has to come out again within 90 days of a previous service call it should be done at no charge
- As long as the dish is peaked properly it should be pretty hard to disrupt the signal. In the 5 years I have had Dish I can only recall one long term service outage (it was a bit over an hour) and that was due to extremely heavy cloud cover and snow. Generally rain & snow themselves do not disrupt the signal it is when there is heavy cloud cover

I also have pretty detailed knowledge about their products so feel free to PM me and ask me any questions that you have if you know what kind of setup you're looking at or at least the number & types of TVs you're looking to hook up with the service.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I only lose service a few times per year due to weather.

That's the only significant difference for me. I've used TWC, Optimum, Dish Network, and DirecTV, and satellite problems during storms for Dish and DirecTV are the only things that make me prefer cable.

 

[tyler811]

If it is storming within a 10 mile radius then you have no signal.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
I only lose service a few times per year due to weather.

That's the only significant difference for me. I've used TWC, Optimum, Dish Network, and DirecTV, and satellite problems during storms for Dish and DirecTV are the only things that make me prefer cable.

If you are having constant problems when it rains then you should call them to readjust the dish.

 

[Uppsala9496]

I've had DISH for about 7 years now. Live in the Chicago 'burbs. Sure, it goes out when a nasty storm rolls through, but it isn't for an extended period of time.
Better than Comcast that seems to go out when it is 78* and sunny.

 

[HomerSapien]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
Fuck dishnetwork. They claim to have a clause in their contract which gives them the right to change the amount charged anytime they want to and theres nothing the customer can do about it (aka can't cancel the account w/o fees because they changed the terms)

Ditto. Unfortunately direct tv has as many horror stories and the only phone, tv, internet deals are with dish in my area. Cable has them, but the HD is terrible and the packages are very expensive.

I have Dish Turbo HD Bronze. It is okay. For the price I subscribed, cable and direct tv did not have anything close.

Unfortunately, I cannot get a signal strength above 70 even though there are 0 trees or obstacles in the line of site. The local channels frequently go out and it is a guarantee it will go it if the NBA game is in the last minute, the baseball game is in the bottom of the ninth or 4th and 1 with 10 seconds left and down by a td. Other people in my area have not had them for months.

Oh and increasing the monthly rate 2 months into their special. If you order, do not talk to the customer service rep. Escalate it as far as you can if you want an honest answer. The fine print that says your rate will increase is hidden in the installers paper work that is presented as they did the install correct. Fortunately, my complaining about this got me a discount for 6 months and HBO, but it was sneaky.

For the receiver, I have the VIP712 (HD DVR). It constantly tries to connect and by pay per view channels as if the remote has been hijacked, the channel starts flipping, and the unit will turn on at 2 in the morning for no reason. My neighbors use cable, but it still could be cross talk with other uhf devices in the area.

 

[Fritzo]

I like it way better than cable. Better resolution (HD is 1080i - 1080p in some cases), more channels for the money, and multiroom DVR rocks.

I lose signal during VERY heavy storms about 2-3 times a year, and it's never more than 10 minutes. OTA works in these cases though. Other things that can affect signal are high trees, heavy fog, or anything that blocks line of sight to about 20 degrees off the horizon.