Dish or Direct TV--plus other thoughts on Satellite

[buckethead1978]

Moving and the new house is not serviced by Time Warner so there is no cable. I have to switch to satellite and I am not looking forward to it (creature of habit).

So, any thoughts on Dish vs DirectTV? Anything to avoid? To ask for?

Main TV needs will be one in the basement, one on the main level, and one in the master. Plan at the moment is to just make the kids use Netflix, Amazon.

I don't like the idea of TV's being tied to each other. With that said, I have pretty much zero experience with satellite.

 

[LadyCat92]

Unlike when we were kids, tvs really aren't tied together so much anymore with satellite. I switched from TWC to Direct a couple of years ago. I looked at both Dish and Directv and once I built out the package I wanted for sports, movie channels, etc., I went with Direct as the price was better. With the genie, you can have 1 main and 4 children meaning you can have 5 tvs watching 5 different things, so you're covered. The things that suck is that Directv does not have an agreement with WatchESPN so you have no alternate way to get a UK game if a previous game goes long.

The one thing that Dish has that Directv does is that Direct has partial ownership of slingtv, so they have slingbox embedded in the Hopper, allowing you watch it while away from the house.

Don't know if you can do it on Dish, but with Direct, you can drop your satellite into single def, so if heavy snow or a heavy thunderstorm is rolling through, you can flip over to single def and continue to watch, whereas the high def signal may fade for a few minutes.

 

[Beavis606]

Originally posted by LadyCat92:
The things that suck is that Directv does not have an agreement with WatchESPN so you have no alternate way to get a UK game if a previous game goes long.

They actually do. They reached an agreement in Dec., although you couldn't use it until just recently.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

Satellites aren't 10 feet in diameter any more either Buckethead 😜
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[JonathanW]

Time Warner sucks!!!! You'll be happy you were forced to switch.
I've not had Dish, but it's probably fine.
I did have DirecTv for about 10 years, and liked it. Switched to U-verse nearly 2 years ago to save $ (packaging tv & internet).

 

[ukalumni00]

Had Dish for several years and switched to Directv. Honestly, both are fine. When I switched I felt Dish was behind the times with their technology, but they came out with the Hopper which I have heard is pretty good. Directv countered with their Genie. I have had issues with both companies when it comes to weather and the signal going out. Do not think either one is better than the other in that area. Maybe the Directv one does not go out as much but still does at times.

Customer service wise, Dish seemed to be a little better but I have not had anything significant I had to deal with either one on.

JMO, can't go wrong with either system. I would probably point you more towards Directv if you like Sports packages. I believe Dish still does not offer the NFL Ticket.

 

[cat_in_the_hat]

I think either would give you a very good experience. I used to have Insight before it was purchased by TWC. I switched to Dish probably 10 years ago. It has been excellent. I recently upgraded the equipment to the Hopper. The Hopper is outstanding. It has the sling box technology built into it and I can control the equipment and watch any channel on my smart phone. That really comes in handy when you have to be somewhere when UK is playing. I just watch the game on my phone. So far it has worked flawlessly. Your TVs aren't tied together in the since that they all have to be on the same channel. I have three TVs and they can all watch different programming at the same time. I have never had Direct, but I would imagine the experience would be good as well. Satellite TV will go out during heavy rains or heavy snows, but I have found it to be more reliable than Insight was. In terms of pricing, I think generally Dish is less expensive once the introductory pricing expires.

 

[ukalum]

Originally posted by buckethead1978:
Moving and the new house is not serviced by Time Warner so there is no cable. I have to switch to satellite and I am not looking forward to it (creature of habit).

So, any thoughts on Dish vs DirectTV? Anything to avoid? To ask for?

Main TV needs will be one in the basement, one on the main level, and one in the master. Plan at the moment is to just make the kids use Netflix, Amazon.

I don't like the idea of TV's being tied to each other. With that said, I have pretty much zero experience with satellite.

How will you get internet?

 

[Ron Mehico]

I've had dish for 4 years now. Think it is great, good price, rarely if ever lose service (I'm in Ohio so not the greatest weather). I'm sure DirecTV is pretty comparable, if one was significantly worse than it would have gone out of business by now. Much much better than cable, you won't go back.

 

[ymmot31]

Originally posted by TruBluCatFan:
Satellites aren't 10 feet in diameter any more either Buckethead 😜

Posted from Rivals Mobile

I wish they were. Satellite dish viewing was crazy back in those days, especially before the scrambled signals.

 

[Beavis606]

Originally posted by ukalum:

Originally posted by buckethead1978:
Moving and the new house is not serviced by Time Warner so there is no cable. I have to switch to satellite and I am not looking forward to it (creature of habit).

So, any thoughts on Dish vs DirectTV? Anything to avoid? To ask for?

Main TV needs will be one in the basement, one on the main level, and one in the master. Plan at the moment is to just make the kids use Netflix, Amazon.

I don't like the idea of TV's being tied to each other. With that said, I have pretty much zero experience with satellite.

How will you get internet?

Steal wireless signal from in-laws who live next door.

 

[Kaizer Sosay]

A) You need to move further away from your in-laws. Much, much further. Adequate buffer zone > free internet access.

B) I have been a DirecTV customer for about 14 years. Happy with the product and the customer service. Would recommend.