Parents are considering switching to Directv from cable. Do they really want it?

[Jeff7]

That's about it.
They presently have the extended lineup + cable Internet from a small cable provider that serves a few cities.


So I figure I'll get some user reviews here on Directv.
Do things like rainstorms and thunderstorms screw with reception?
How often is the service interrupted for whatever reason?
How easy is installation?
Can shows still be recorded normally with a VHS VCR?

 

[Amused]

1. Yes, a very bad rain/snowstorm will mess with reception briefly.
2. Rarely
3. Fairly easy since professional installation is free
4. No. Just get the DVR. Who uses a VCR anymore anyhow?

DirecTV is far better than most cable systems. Especially if yuou have an HDTV.

 

[spaceman]

its great until you need SERVICE

 

[imported_weadjust]

I switched from Comcast to Directv about a year ago. Directv is whole lot better than my comcast. A lot more HD channels. PM and I will email you a referal code for $100 off your monthly bill ($10 a month for 10 months) for new directv customers.

 

[xalos]

I'm not a fan and I've had Directv for about a year. There is some stations that seem to never come in. (FX and something my wife watches) I called Directv a few times and they
had me do crap and it's never worked. I'm sure if I cared more they would send someone out. But, I'm not home in the afternoon much and I don't want to take a day out for one channel.

There HD quality isn't as good as Time Warner cable and if your parents have a nice TV they will see the difference. But, I can't get any cable where I live now so I'm stuck. Plus, theyre more expensive than Time Warner. My channels are about the same and I pay $80 for DirecTV. When I was with Time Warner my bill was $130 and I had Nets, VoIP phone, and cable. So, unless they have a glaring issue with their cable provider and want something else and DirecTV is their only option. I'd do it. But, if it's just minimal issues, feature differences and there is no cost savings.... I'd stay w/ cable.

 

[CFster]

1. Extremely rarely unless the dish is aimed incorrectly.
2. Never except for above mentioned rare occurances.
3. Pretty easy - they did it for me.
4. DVR.

DirecTV has a lot more HD channels than most other providers.

List here.

 

[DrPizza]

why are you telling him that he can't record with a VCR? It shouldn't be a problem.

 

[CFster]

I'm not.

But why would you want to when a DVR is available? Especially for HD.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Amused
1. Yes, a very bad rain/snowstorm will mess with reception briefly.
2. Rarely
3. Fairly easy since professional installation is free
4. No. Just get the DVR. Who uses a VCR anymore anyhow?

DirecTV is far better than most cable systems. Especially if yuou have an HDTV.

My parents.

I don't want them to get a DVR, because I don't want to have to spend 5hrs on the phone each day talking them through the programming procedure.


HDTV - I don't think they're in need of that. They've got a Sony Trinitron tube CRT. It might be a 32" screen, but probably not even that. I doubt they'd be able to tell the difference between one HD signal vs another. They're still using a standard definition signal, and think the quality of slowest-speed VHS is quite adequate.
My mom's mainly interested in Directv because it might get some other non-ESPN channels with baseball games.
She hates ESPN in general.
1) The annoucners cannot shut the hell up for more than 15 µs.
2) They seem to show more of the announcers sitting in the booth bullshitting about trivial....bullshit, than they show of the game in progress.

My dad was looking into Directv in the first place though because....well, I don't know why. Maybe just because their current provider, like many cable companies, kind of sucks. Once, we started getting sound out of just one audio channel, which was kind of distracting, to hear sound on only one side. The service tech came in, checked the signal with his magic device, and said nothing was wrong, so it must be the TV. Nope, two other TVs in the house did the same thing. He held to his diagnosis, and said that he had other calls to take care of, so he was leaving.

And the picture gets kind of snowy sometimes, at least that I would notice. Again, the cable company's magic little diagnostics machine showed no problem. So, they left without doing anything, despite seeing the poor picture quality.


As with most cable providers though, it's a local monopoly. No other choices within at least 10 miles.

 

[CFster]

DVRs aren't all that difficult to use.

And depending on the model or provider, you can set certain programs to record automatically. For example I have my DVR set to record Saving Grace, but only the new episodes, not the repeats. It's smart enough to do that. Then I can turn on my TV and have a list of programs I can watch when I want to watch them. It really frees up my schedule.

I think it's the best thing since sliced bread, but that's just me.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: DrPizza


why are you telling him that he can't record with a VCR? It shouldn't be a problem.

More modern VCRs will give you a copyright notice and refuse to record. Mine was made in 2005 and about half the cable channels are protected including all the premiums.

 

[drinkmorejava]

From what I've seen, Comcast HD compression is pretty bad, but DirectTV is even worse.

 

[xanis]

Do things like rainstorms and thunderstorms screw with reception?

Yes. If it's worse than a typical rain shower, there's a good chance you'll lose reception.

How often is the service interrupted for whatever reason?

Not that often IIRC. Except for interruptions due to weather, it was pretty good.

How easy is installation?

Seemed pretty easy. Didn't take any longer than a cable setup.

Can shows still be recorded normally with a VHS VCR?

Yes.

 

[vi edit]

How many TV's do they have? The thing I hated (and reason I dropped) satellite service was that you needed to pay a $5 fee for every TV in the home. Plus most of the TV's needed their own box to pull in channels unless you have one of the nifty two tv tuners.

Cable's just a lot more convenient an includes local channels(that are likely HD) for no extra fees.

Satellite is cheaper on paper, but watch the nickel and diming that usually happens.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
More modern VCRs will give you a copyright notice and refuse to record. Mine was made in 2005 and about half the cable channels are protected including all the premiums.

Wow, never knew that. I learned something today. It no longer matters for me, but s:thumbsup:till.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: CFster
DVRs aren't all that difficult to use.

I know.

But it's something new, and it will cause problems.

Let's just say, for some people, when they attempt to use technology, about 99.44% of their neurons suddenly stop functioning entirely.

I think just recording a show won't be a problem. Using stuff like timeshifting, or setting it up to automatically record stuff - I'd be getting a phone call for tech support.

Originally posted by: vi edit
How many TV's do they have?

Two TVs.

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
More modern VCRs will give you a copyright notice and refuse to record. Mine was made in 2005 and about half the cable channels are protected including all the premiums.

Wow, never knew that. I learned something today. It no longer matters for me, but s:thumbsup:till.

Same here. I've never encountered a copyright notice when trying to record anything on TV.

 

[lxskllr]

Their internet bill will probably go up if they don't have TV with it.

 

[Linflas]

I've had DirecTV since 1997 and have been very happy with it. About the VCR, where are they getting tapes? I thought I read in the news that the last manufacturer quit making them a few months back.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Their internet bill will probably go up if they don't have TV with it.

Yup, it will, and I've said that to them already.

Originally posted by: Linflas
I've had DirecTV since 1997 and have been very happy with it. About the VCR, where are they getting tapes? I thought I read in the news that the last manufacturer quit making them a few months back.

They've got quite a few spare ones sitting around.
And some packs still sealed.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
More modern VCRs will give you a copyright notice and refuse to record. Mine was made in 2005 and about half the cable channels are protected including all the premiums.

Wow, never knew that. I learned something today. It no longer matters for me, but s:thumbsup:till.

Its an LG VCR/DVDRW combo. Funny thing is I hardly ever use it since I know Im going to run into a hassle. Its mostly just for playing DVDs.

I can understand the premiums doing this, but the other channels use watermarks to indicate broadcast content so I dont see why they have to disable recording. I think this was done to promote PVRs and collect the associated monthly fees.

Oh well.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
My mom's mainly interested in Directv because it might get some other non-ESPN channels with baseball games.
She hates ESPN in general.
1) The annoucners cannot shut the hell up for more than 15 µs.
2) They seem to show more of the announcers sitting in the booth bullshitting about trivial....bullshit, than they show of the game in progress.

If she's eyeing a sports pack with dozens of regional Fox sports channels and thinking there will be a bonanza of pro sports there, it doesn't work that way. They black out all pro sports (MLB, NBA, NHL) on out-of-market sports channels. To get some of those regional broadcasts, you have to subscribe to MLB Extra Innings, which is available on cable as well as dish.

Also if you're in a really small market, you may not be able to get local channels with a dish. That's something to look into.

 

[n yusef]

DirecTV was $17 a month cheaper than Cable for my parents, so they switched about six months ago. They have SD service with no DVR. I can't tell a difference in quality.

 

[ScottFern]

I was under the impression that their HD service was one of the least compressed, meaning it was one of the clearest......I have had Comcast and AT&T Uverse personally and for both their was heavy compression and most HD channels came out looking barely better than SD.......

I thought the new MPEG4 satellites DirecTV sent up into orbit helped with the compression?