Direct TV or Dish Network

[Zydebearsmom]

I am in the market for satelite service which one do you reccommened?

 

[DawnM]

I like Direct over Dish. We had Direct for 12 years and just cancelled to go to over the air only TV.

 

[cbombard]

We have been with Dish for over 10 years.. We went with Dish for the lower price.. But not sure if they have done it yet.. but Direct TV is re-contracting with Tivo for their DVR. Almost worth it.. the software (in my opinion) for Dish's DVR is horrible.. functional.. but barely..


No complaints though with DISH..

 

[disneychrista]

If you or your family is BIG on sports then you will want to go with Direct so you can get their season pass for sports (extra charge). Otherwise look at the packages that each offers and pick the one that best suits you & your budget.

 

[DawnM]

They have been saying this for over 2 years. When we re-signed up with DTV in Oct. of '08 we were told we may want to only get one of the DVRs as they were going to be coming out with the Tivo version in Jan or Feb. or '09. It STILL hasn't happened!

I will believe it when I see it.

Dawn

We have been with Dish for over 10 years.. We went with Dish for the lower price.. But not sure if they have done it yet.. but Direct TV is re-contracting with Tivo for their DVR. Almost worth it.. the software (in my opinion) for Dish's DVR is horrible.. functional.. but barely..


No complaints though with DISH..

 

[RAD]

The DIRECTV version of the Tivo box coming out (THR22) is nothing like the current Tivo boxes, the software is limited in the feature set compared to the regular Tivo units.

It's normally recommended that you compare what channels are available on each service and see which one has the channels you want. Dish has more national HD channels, like BBC America, CNN Headline News and others while DIRECTV has more sports channels and premium movie channels then Dish. Also when looking at prices, if you know someone with DIRECTV ask them for a referral, both of you get $10/month credit on your bills for 10 months, just make sure that if you do it that you follow the instructions to the letter. If you have AAA check with them also, some folks have said there's a nice AAA deal available. DIRECTV also has bundled pricing available with a number of telco's, like AT&T and Verizon so you should check that out also.

You might also want to check out www.dbstalk.com (for DIRECTV info) and www.satelliteguys.us (for Dish info) for more on these provides.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

We have only ever had regular cable and now DirecTV for the last 6 years or so. I chose DTV because of the 3 ppl I knew who used DISH 2 of them hated it and one of them wasn't a big fan of it either. They had numerous complaints. The main one being you don't get near as many good channels with Dish as you do with DirecTV. But if you are willing to pay a large monthly bill (like we do) you can get every channel they have to offer on either service, Dish or Direct. We also pay a monthly fee for HD DVR boxes and we pay $5 extra per month for the 5 different boxes we have. Every bedroom and the living room all have their own boxes. We could save $50 a month by turning off all the premium channels but what fun would that be if I had to watch Dexter on the computer instead of on Showtime on Sunday nights. I also watch a lot of made for HBO movies and series. HBO and SHOWTIME both have really good original programming. I can't imagine living without my DTV and all my channels. I am very thankful we can afford it because it is our major form of entertainment. However our bill runs about $155 a month. (I think)

 

[Dax]

I just signed up for DirectTV in July, and I it. The service has been great and the channel line up is awesome. I got a really great deal to for signing up, and the channels they offered were 10x better than Dish..

If you would like a referral code, let me know, and I can help you save $10 a month.

 

[RAD]

If you do decide to go with DIRECTV I highly recommend that if you have HD TV's you get the Whole Home DVR option and as many HD DVR's and HD receivers that you can afford. First for WHDVR it allows you to view something recording on a HD DVR on another HD DVR or a standard HD receiver, something you can't do with SD receivers. And if you record a lot then I recommend at least two HD DVR's which gives you four tuners to record at the same time from.

Second, DIRECTV (and Dish for that matter) make their best deals for new customers, once you've signed on the dotted line you're hooked for that two year commitment and they really don't have to offer you any deals, so get them while you can.

 

[dreams91]

If you do decide to go with DIRECTV I highly recommend that if you have HD TV's you get the Whole Home DVR option and as many HD DVR's and HD receivers that you can afford. First for WHDVR it allows you to view something recording on a HD DVR on another HD DVR or a standard HD receiver, something you can't do with SD receivers. And if you record a lot then I recommend at least two HD DVR's which gives you four tuners to record at the same time from.

Second, DIRECTV (and Dish for that matter) make their best deals for new customers, once you've signed on the dotted line you're hooked for that two year commitment and they really don't have to offer you any deals, so get them while you can.

For this reason I love direct. Whole home dvr. We had dish and nothing but problems. I also agree u need to getba referral from someone so you can both save $10 off your bill for 10 months. We had dish for 4 years and direct now for 2. No problems so far. I would go back to cable before going back tobdish.

 

[Maddies Mama]

Direct over Dish any day. Dish is cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

 

[dkostel]

I have had Dish for 8 years and haven't had a single problem. The DVR is usable but I agree it can't hold a candle to TIVO.

 

[shopn24seven]

I have DISH, after having FIOS. I hate not having free ON DEMAND.
Just saying.
Moving soon and looking for diffferent tv viewing options.

 

[anne thomas]

HATE HATE HATE Direct TV........... they promised local channels, which I paid for and never did get, after rebates were over they offered no other specials until I told them I was going to discontinue...so I dropped DTV to just the basics. I now have Dish and all my local channels...and every premium channel and I pay 20.00 less than with DTV with only Starz and Showtime. I love love love Dish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

I so do not like Dish. We have it now and we had DIRECTV before we moved. Dish is not user friendly at all. I really really do not like it. Everything you do on the dvr takes forever. Even the search for shows is cumbersome, and you can only search for one week out. Trying to convince my dh to switch, but he's all for cheaper. Bah!

 

[sam_gordon]

Both will have people who love them and hate. User interface preference comes down to the individual users. As has been mentioned, look at the channel lineups/price points. Figure out what channels you MUST have (for example, since I have smaller children, I need Nick & Disney, I like FX, History, Discovery, etc) and what you'll pay to get the channels you want.

All that being said, I've been a Dish customer for 12 years now and have been happy with them. I don't have a problem with the DVR service, but that might be because I haven't used Tivo or anything else to compare it to. My DD(13) learned on her own how to use the DVR to record her shows

 

[amylevan]

We have Dish and have no problems. And since they have bought blockbuster they are now offering a netflix-like program. (on 1 bill - none of the silly netflix/quickster billing...)

My parents have Direct so that they can get the baseball package. Since they are baseball nuts and live outside their favorite team area, it's a must for them and they love it.

So bottom line, people can and are happy with both. Compare channels and price and go for whichever fits your needs.