I wish i could get rid of dishes. I have to have them at our cottage and would much rather have cable. Trying to get service with dish/directtv is much like the problem you are having with charter. Getting service in a timely fashion is non existent. Storms constantly test its ability to receive signal, i cant get local channels in HD due to needing a different location for the sat dish (and not having it due to trees) the contract crap sucks.

 

I have Fast Access bundled with my local/long distance phone service. I pay about $105 for both.

I think by itself the fast access is $42.95/month

 

I've been a Dish Network customer since 2000 and have had very few issues. I've looked at DirectTV but they offer very similar programming and pricing so I didn't see any valid reason to switch. However, I believe Dish Network has better equipment, especially the DVR's and they more HD content.

 

I understand that Dish and DirecTV HD channels don't look as good as cable. Due to compression and bit-rates.

How do they look?

 

Does MPEG-4 narrow this gap some?

 

The problem with Comcast is that they've compressed their channels more in the last few months. There's a huge thread about it over at avsforum. The PQ quality is about level now.

 

Ok, how about Time Warner vs. DirecTV?


With all digital coming next year, won't cable win out????

 

Dropped TWC for DirecTV about a month ago...couldn't be happier. Now, in a couple of years when my contract is up, who knows...have to see what the rates are with TWC and what DTV will do to keep me.

As for who will win, DTV isn't going anywhere. And right now, they have a hell of a lot more HD channels than TWC...damn near everything I watch is HD.

 

Yea, but it's compressed as shit! That's my issue.


That....and I love the TWC internet.

 

I love my DirecTV HD.. It's compressed but I don't see anything wrong with the picture.. everything looks good to me! I still have Comcast Cable internet..

 

Same here...the picture looks great to me.

 

I've had it for a couple of weeks now, and I absolutely love it! The picture is amazing even on my non-HD sets much better than cable looked.

And on my LED DLP Sammy the HD picture seems to look A LOT better than HD cable ever did; (I guess it helps that the DVR is using HDMI, but still) Also I'm addicted to this HD DVR, I'm constantly pausing/rewinding so I don't miss anything. I think I'm almost obsessed with it now.

I can also set recordings from the internet. So if I'm at work and realize I forgot to schedule a recording, I can just log onto my DirectTV account and set it there. That is

I also have NFL Sunday ticket so looking foward to the upcoming season!

 

Is that one of the features that requires a landline?

 

No, I think you're thinking about OnDemand, that does require the DVR to be connected to your router.

However to schedule recordings from the net, you can do it anywhere in the world. I'm not sure how it works, but I think when you schedule a recording from your DirectTV account on the web, a signal is sent to your dish which in turn goes to your DVR to set the recording. No landline needed for that.

 

Thinking of making the switch from Cox Cable to satellite. The HD on Cox sux, and I am tired of it. The local channels they provide in HD are not in HD, and the limited number of HD channels is pissing me off. I never watch SD anymore, but Due to the limited content on HD for COx, I am forced to do so just to see certain shows... I don't watch a ton of sports, but I like getting a few NFL games on the weekends, and would love it if they are in HD.

Downside is that I have a phone/high speed Internet /cable bundle AND my HOA fees cover $45/month of basic cable through Cox, which I can't opt out of...

I am in Arizona so rain fade isn't a huge issue for me. Thoughts?

 

^^ Well I guess it will all come down to cost.

Good HD > SD or bad HD.

I know the local cable co out my way has a horrible HD line-up and bad HD quality.
AT&T uverse in my area also has a weak channel line-up and poor HD quality.

I've been with DTV for 8 years now...so far so good.

 

The HD DVR does not need a phone line anymore; if you hook it up via ethernet it will do "IP Call Back" on PayPerView purchases and the OnDemand stuff will download via the net.. and the HD DVR will search the network for Windows Media Servers and play the content from it


also.. Comcast HD.. I think Comcast's advertising re: HD is BS; they have "over 800 HD offerings"; that doesn't mean that they have 800 HD channels, it just means they have 800 items in HD right now, that could be 15 HD channels and 785 Movies/Shows/etc. in HD.. kinda BS if you ask me!

 

Just a quick question.....A long time ago I had DTV. At that time I needed a phone line plugged into the DTV box. Now with DVR & HD, do you still need a phone line? I don't have a land line any longer & won't be getting one.

 

That shit is borderline fraud. I have like in the low 30's for channels and 0 HD On Demand stuff since I'm ex-Adelphia. They haven't bothered giving me the access for HD on Demand.

 

Nope. Actually, that was my first question when I called to sign up. The only thing you need a landline for is to order On Demand stuff and to have your caller ID show up on the TV when someone calls.

EDIT: seems that according to fleshy, you can access those features without a landline. So I guess you can do everything and not have a landline. But if your question was very basic, in that do you need a landline just to have service, the answer is no.

 

I have COX cable and I swear the quality of the HD signal has dropped noticeably in the last few weeks.

 

I just went through building up what I can get from TurboHD from the Dish network and from Qwest and both services are significantly cheaper than Comcrap

 

We have two DirecTV boxes.

1st is HDDVR in the family room is not getting a signal. Just checked the dish and its clear.

2nd on is HDR in the master and its working fine.

WTF?

 

What model DVR to do have??? How many inputs??? Reboot the thing. Seems to fix issues for me, more times than not.

I have three HDDVRs and they all seem to have a mind of their own.

Check this forum. Lots of issues with these boxes.

http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay....ysprune=&f=112

 

Self-ownage. Forgot about the little red button - up and running.

Thanks for the reminder Scrib.

 

ain't no thang

 

Yeah...these DVRs have a mind of their own. More times than not, a reboot will fix things, but I always keep my insurance policy w/D* b/c it simplifies the whole thing when these boxes die. D* just ships me another one and I have it within 2 days. Besides, we have 5 of these HDDVRs in the house....

 

Holy 's batman!

 

Yeah their protection policy is worth it. It's only $5/month and stuff will break. I already replaced a remote within 3 mos.

 

I know We dig the HDTV picture and it just makes sense to get the DVR to go with them. Perhaps this is why D* just throws stuff at us every time I call in

 

Resurrecting an old thread, need some input.

I've decided that I don't want cable so I'm looking at either Direct TV or Dish Network. What do you guys have and which service is better?

 

I've had DirecTV for a little over a year. I love it. Have had very little interruptions in service. I have one HD DVR (HR23) and a SD box for the bedroom. HD is great. They'll soon be rolling out multi-room viewing for DVR stuff, as long as you have at least two DVRs. Haven't tried ordering anything or using any 'on demand' type things since I haven't hooked them up to the internet, but you can order through your iPhone app now. No phone line needed anymore, you can just hook your ethernet cable up to it to order movies, etc. They just launched a satellite a month or so ago that will provide even more HD content.

If you like sports, you'll love the special channels set up fro stuff like Wimbledon, the Austrailian Open, and other sports where there's multiple channels dedicated to it - you get a channel where you can watch up to 8 matches/games at once and have scores. They call them mix channels. You also get mix channels for news and regular sports, again 8 at a time. And you also can order Sunday Ticket, which if you're a football fan I'm sure you know all about.

The operators bend over backwards to give you deals and credits for you to keep services like premium channels. You're locked into a two year contract, which is the only possible downside to it I can think of.

Go here to figure out where the dish will need to be pointed. The installer will do a basic install for free - anything else comes out of your pocket. I already had a pole for Dish from the previous owner, so they just set it up on that. On the house, etc will cost you. Don't try to buy receivers online from third parties - any receiver that enters into a lease from a residential account automatically becomes the property of DTV. Just hit up the website and pick what you want and the installer will bring out what you need.

Any other questions you can think of, just ask. And if you decide to go with them, I can PM you my account number and we both get a $100 credit ($10 for 10 months).

 

Comcast has been very good in the Jacksonville area. I have heard people like DTV around here, and I was interested in that. Only thing I hate is the contract.

I recently called Comcast to see if there was anything that I could do to reduce my $120 monthly bill (with HD and DVR), and they took $30 a month off without any trouble for six months. Saving $180 is better than nothing!

 

Cochese pretty much nailed it regarding D* (avsforum abbreviation ). I've had them over a year. Their service for me has been good since I have the protection plan. The only thing is that the initial cost is kind of high to get fully set up. You need a box in each room and usually the first HD DVR is free while for a regular DVR you'll pay $100 per or $200 for an HD DVR. Definitely negotiate.

As for On Demand. I've gone through the list of TV Series available and the selection really sucks. They can't touch Comcast's VOD. The other thing is that D*'s VOD requires an internet connection. I have a cable jack where I plug my modem too and then run an ethernet from my router to the box. The boxes don't have wireless cards so if you had to go wireless you either have to get a bridge or powerline adapter. More $ to drop.

The box is better than Comcast in everyway except it doesn't show the time on the actual face of it. More memory, ability to record First Run rather than all, record via website, etc.

I'd hold off a few months and see exactly what new channels D* gets. If you like E!, AMC, HBO (we only get the main east and west channels in HD), and some other channels, they don't have them in HD yet. Last I read the satellite is in orbit and they're doing tests on it. Dish's HD selection is superior to D*at the moment.

One last thing, when you get the install done, don't let that fucker leave until you have high ratings on certain satellite positions. I wasn't there for mine and for every cloud my HD signal would crap. I called D* and they sent out a guy who then adjusted it and now even in rainy south FL, I rarely lose signal.

 

I had DTV for a year and a half and loved it. The only reason I cancelled is because I don't really watch TV anymore. I didn't see the need to spend $75 a month for something I didn't use. If I ever pay for TV again, I'll get DTV.

And don't let the contract scare you; it's $20 a month for however many months you have left on it to cancel (I had six months left, so I paid $120 to cancel versus $450 to have and not watch). And like Cochese said, they'll offer you deals to stay. They offered me a pretty damn good one not to cancel ($30/month with HD).

 

Hmm, thanks for the advice everyone. I'll have to see what deals are available. From what I've read online Charter cable sucks a big fat one so satellite will have to do.

 

I'm leaving DTV next month, getting FOIS, DTV just raised rates again, yet they are dropping channels because they think their customers shouldn't have to pay so much for them. The dropped Versus and raised rates, they are behind on HD channels, they have to launch a new satellite every few years to keep up.

During the past three snow storms service has gone out, getting tired of that. They keep adding bullshit to the boxes that delay the remote from working, every time I put it on a sports channel a window will pop up for scores and news, if you clear it out, it won't come back when you press the red button. They also have this feature on the Weather Channel, it never works. I'm tried on having to press a single button three times to get the box to do something, it's not the remote, it's like that on both of my HD boxes. /rant

 

Thanks for the rant Jup. I was kind of leaning towards Dish even before I read your post. Dish seems to have a better deal but I want to make sure they have decent HD availability. Anybody have service with Dish?

 

Just a little more, when DTV started they were the anti cable company, they have become what the fought against when they started, a cable company. I've had them for nine years, they are better than Cox.

 

You need to reset your boxes. They're known to get slow when it hasn't been reset in awhile.