Posted on 03/02/2010 7:49:55 PM PST by taxcutisapayraise
I right clicked on the link you provided above, opened the main page and started reading. Then here they came.......
I have Dish simply because they didn’t want a deposit. The one box for two TV’s gizmo kind of sucks - the main cable box/TV after installation after about a month will not change the higher channels mostly in the afternoon and higher channels saying searching for satellite. If I turn on TV #2 the channel will pop up. Or - if I continuously turn on - off the TV and box for about 20 times the channel will come in - very weird!
The 800 # the local installer gave me is always a long wait - so I went to the online chat with them and they gave me the old boot the box solution which I had already done. Then I e-mailed them with two questions, this being one of them, which they said would be forwarded to correct department, never heard back.
However, I griped about them on Twitter and they popped into my line asking if they could help. Gave me a web page with various box #’s and typical questions and problems with fixes. He wanted me to DM my phone # so he could help but I declined - I’m pretty sure it is Dish as they have hundreds of thousands of followers but still felt a bit uneasy so I declined that. I haven’t tried it yet - no time, but hoping the solution is there.
I don’t have HD so I can’t answer that except I do work at a house that has Dish HD, the picture is great and most of the channels I watch have HD with them.
That’s my two cents FWIW :)
I have Direct Satellite and am very pleased with the clarity of the pic. Sometimes loose pic if it is poring the rain, I mean it has to be really bad rain.
My contract was up with Direct and had thought about going Dish because of price. I called Direct and told them I was planning to switch and if they wanted to keep as as a customer, what would they offer. They lowered their price to what I considered feasible and, I kept their service, with -out a new contract.
Regardless of which you choose be sure to keep a copy of your contract, you may need it for further contract info.
Cable for Internet & TV if you can stand the price.
I had Dish and now have Direct TV.
Dish forced me to keep a phone line connected or charge me more per month.
Dish would not give me service without my SSN.
Dish would go out more during rain storms than Direct.
Dish remote ran down batteries every month. I’ve had Direct TV for a year and never had to change the batteries yet.
Direct TV channels come up faster upon changing.
I pay $32.71 per month. Granted that is first 12 months, write me next month for what it changes to.
Direct TV did not require SSN and I don’t have to have a phone line connected for best price.
chec AT cox DOT net
I have had DirecTV since it first came out and am happy with it.
I am going to drop Sunday Ticket this year, all the good games are blacked out.
We’ve had Direct TV for 3 years and are very satisfied. No problems with the company, contract, or signal trouble even during storms. We are in The Puget Sound area of Wa.
I used to have outages if it so much as clouded over. However, a tech moved my DiSHes a couple of years ago, and I now only lose the signal in the most ferocious thunderstorms. Unlike cable, the picture always comes back.
Any time I have had an issue, the DiSH Customer Service has always been great.
Dish if you want HD, Direct if you want sports.
I went to dish, which isnt as good. directv owns the patent on tivo, so if you have two tv's with dish, you can only record one show if watching both, while on direct you can record two. second, i agree that direct holds it signal better in the rain. they also had more sports channels (free) available.
So bottom line i think direct is better, but they treat you like they know it and don't respect their customers.
WOW!! You're quite the pioneer since DirecTV was launched in 1994. LOL
I used to work for a DirecTV equipment distributor back in the 90's. I had DirecTV service in one form or another from 1995. I purchased it at first and then was able to finagle a "showroom" (read: free) package through work. I kept that until it was cut off in 2000 or 2001.
I then went to Dish Network for a few several years but in 2007 I wanted an equipment refresh so I could get a DVR and my local channels and Dish gave me a complete run-around. I talked to a dozen or so people there and every single one of them told me that I had to pay for the new equipment. "You were given the best deal at the time you joined" was a common phrase. Since DirecTV would do all of this for free I made the switch and haven't looked back. When I went to HD later on is was easy peasy with DirecTV.
One thing that is functionally different between the two is the equipment. When you get a 4 room package from DirecTV you get 4 receivers. This is important to me because I take one to the boat with me in the summer and live on 3 at home. With Dish Network, the standard recievers are dual units, meaning you only get two in a 4 room setup. This might not be an issue for you but it is for me.
Also, if you have concerns with rain fade on either service you should talk to an installer that does commercial work. They can get a larger dish that will have more signal strength and thus less rain fade (not that I've ever felt the need to do that myself). If you live in an area that snows make sure the dish is installed where you can get at it because wet heavy snow WILL stick to the dish and cut out your signal. Sweeping it off is easy unless the dish is on the roof, 30 feet off the ground.
I still have the old 8ft mesh antenna that we had before DirecTV. What fun it used to be to try and keep that puppy locked on one of the satellites during a storm..LOL We had it converted about 12 years ago to receive DirecTV, but it would only pick up one satellite at a time, so we nixed it when they started using multiples. However, it was hardly ever affected by rain/clouds.
It seems like the HD broadcasts are more affected by rain/clouds. We have had a lot more outages since we switched to HD compared to what we used to have with the smaller oval dish with a dual LNB.
Hughes was the company (parent: GM) that owned the satellites. RCA had the exclusive on the consumer recievers at launch time and when that expired, other companies joined in. Hughes Network Systems released their own product and we were one of the original distributors for that, along with thier DirecPC internet product which gave way to DirecWay and now HughesNet. I loved my DirecPC back when everyone else was using 56K modems. LOL
Your issue with outages on the HD stuff could be related to a marginal installation. You can go into your setup menu and view signal strength readings for all transponders on all satellites. Any that are in the 80's and below are much more likely to drop out during heavy rain. Are your other channels more susseptible to outages now that you went to HD? The whole dish gets replaced to you're starting from scratch as far as dish alignment goes.
Yes they are. We have two receivers that are HD, and two which are not. They all go down at the same time. We do have a new dish with (I think) 3 LNBs, and yes some of my transponders have less than 80. Time for a realignment?
We have a major tree problem, so it's mounted on a fireplace with a 10/12 pitch on the roof (two story). Not user friendly.
Simple fact that the better the dish is aligned, the less likely you are to have outages. 80's and 70's on a good day means many more outages than an install where high 90's is the norm.
“(Vanity) Which do you recommend: Dish or Direct TV”
Direct tv but I have no experience with Dish Network.
Yeah, don’t use either.
You’ll lose the signal when it rains
I have DTV and have not had signal issues except for when my dish froze over.
Same here - exactly.
Much prefer Direct. No loss of signal and the guide features are much better than Dish.
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