One of the really good things about both Dish Network and DirecTV is that, unlike their competitors, it is pretty easy to go onto their websites and price out what you want. I suspect the answer to your question will depend greatly on which services you want and don't want.
Dish Network is the weaker of the two options. They recently outlined how much money it would take to bring their system up to reasonable standards should DBS providers be required to provide local must-carry service, like cable companies are required to, and that exposed just how much worse-off Dish Network is versus DirecTV from the standpoint of technical infrastructure. By the same token, this does make it clear that Dish Network is much more likely to be acquired by another company soon, and that could spawn a rash of improvements over the next five years. Time will tell.
Thanks for the heads up, as we have DISH network. My DD works for DIRECT TV, she "swears" its much better. Unfortunatly, their customer service is 17 blocks from my house, my DD "listens in" on the calls the coworkers take, and thier customer service is NOT up to standards.
We had Dish for about 10 years and just switched to Direct.
With the new Direct, our signal is much better, but I have a feeling it is because it (the dish) is on a sturdy pole.
I liked the Dish programming much more. In their Top 250 (if I remember correctly, that was the name of it, about $60 a month) we got Encore and western feed TMC and another premium one western feed (can't remember the other one). That was about 10 movie channels that did not have commercials. Direct does not offer that great programming. I miss my movies.
My DD works for DIRECT TV, she "swears" its much better. Unfortunatly, their customer service is 17 blocks from my house, my DD "listens in" on the calls the coworkers take, and thier customer service is NOT up to standards.
I suspect that their customer service does indeed match the industry standard, even if it doesn't necessarily match the general consumers' preferred standard.
I decided to upgrade and got DirecTV three weeks ago. Went from a 20-year-old 20" TV with rabbit ears to a 61" LCD HDTV. I have not left the house since.
Seriously; I chose DirecTV just because I was more familiar with them. Prices seem comparable between the two companies. I got the HD DVR receiver and total startup cost was $100.
I've had Dish for nearly 10 years and been very happy with. No outages or other issues....
The bad thing, with both companies, is that the best deals are for new customers and existing customers get the shaft.
AT&T Uverse recently started service in our area and once they get a few things (i.e. a multi room DVR) I may be looking into them as I can take advantage of their HD service for much cheaper then I can get from Dish (since I cant get new customer pricing).
Thanks, folks! I just signed up online for Directv installation next week. Got the Plus HD DVR package w/ 3 HD receivers and 1 HD DVR receiver. $422.73 (with tax and $100 credit) Monthly bill is going to be $74.96 for the 1st 12 months. Also getting HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and Starz free for 3 months. After that, I'm just gonna keep HBO and Cinemax....it's what I'm used to. So, does this sound reasonable? I didn't expect to get a steal but I'm satisfied. Hey, DH is payin' for it. I just pay the monthly bill.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts.
Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.