Give me the dish on Dish and DirectTV

[SC Minnie]

We are looking at cutting the cable but still want to watch shows as they air. DH is looking into Dish and DirectTV. We are happy with the service of our cable but trying to save money. On the surface it looks like we could save money but what are they not telling us.

Please give me the good, the bad, and the ugly---

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I have been with Dish for years, but I don't feel like I save much, if anything. They have good service and have been responsive when I have had issues. The Hopper/Joey setup works well for us. You can get less expensive packages, but I find I need the 200 channel level to get all of the channels that we want (I think BBC and DisneyHD are the channels pushing us to this level).

 

[HM]

If you get the same things you are getting on Cable now, you'll likely end up paying a similar amount with satellite. You may save for the first year with a come-on deal, but it will go up the next year.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We had DISH for a few years and I really liked it. I especially liked the DVR system as opposed to Comcast's On Demand (which is what we have now). However, we lost our signal anytime the weather was bad. Once we had the DISH guy come out and he said we should talk to the neighbor about trimming her trees. And during a particularly bad snow week (when we were stuck inside a lot and wanted to watch TV) we lost service. My husband wanted to climb up on the roof and clean off the dish. The loss of service because of wind/snow was a bigger deal for him than me and why we ultimately switched to cable, but I prefer DISH and am now ready to cut the cable all together.

I agree with the others above; your savings is mostly in year one.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

We thought of doing the same but still needed internet and land line service, which was only available through our current supplier (Comcast). Once I un-bundle and pay for those separately and then pay for the dish, it ended up costing just as much.

 

[davper]

May I suggest an HD antennae and streaming service like Hulu and/or netflix.

An HD antennae will get you all your local stations and then some for free after buying antennae. Go here for a list of channels in your area...http://antennaweb.org/

You will still need to have internet service from your cable company for the following and a smart device lick a stick streaming media player or smart TV:
Hulu - Watch current episodes of your favorite TV episodes
Netflix - watch movies and some TV
Amazon Prime - same as Netflix

I have all of the above.

My cable bill with internet was 180 a month. Now it is 90 a month plus ~15 for the 2 streaming services. I don't count Amazon because I already have that for the shipping. The streaming is a bonus.

It will not be a 100% replacement for everything you watch. Original content on Showtime is unavailable to me because they are obligated to the cable companies. But for most, you should be all set.

And if you are still holding onto a landline, try vonage or ooma. They are no longer land lines anyway. Telephone service from your cable company is nothing but an over priced IP phone.

 

[SC Minnie]

We thought of doing the same but still needed internet and land line service, which was only available through our current supplier (Comcast). Once I un-bundle and pay for those separately and then pay for the dish, it ended up costing just as much.

We a bundle too. The only cable we can get it through our local phone company. We still have a landline due to how our security system is set up. We looked at changing that but those rates are higher than what we currently pay plus the landline. We would actually be paying more money.

I'll look into the HD antennae. We already stream Netflix.

 

[CocoTravels]

I've had both. Both will give you a great deal for the first contract year. They will then raise your cost (a lot!) for the second year of your contract. I am canceling mine as soon as my contract is up and I'll be strictly Hulu and Netflix with an HD antenna for local channels.

 

[dlavender]

Make sure you get a quote on everything you want, from how many tv's you have, HD, main receiver fee - everything! Also, make sure you google promotions for those two. I think DirecTV has a $200 gift card promotion, and Dish has a $50 one. You have to get it upfront, as they wont retroactively apply it.

 

[laurafergie]

I've had both. Both will give you a great deal for the first contract year. They will then raise your cost (a lot!) for the second year of your contract. I am canceling mine as soon as my contract is up and I'll be strictly Hulu and Netflix with an HD antenna for local channels.

This is us too. They raised it $30 the 2nd year and said too bad, you're still under contract. We have done the HD Antenna/No Cable just Netflix etc before and it was fine. We're going back as soon as the contract is up next January. You will not save anything after the first year.

 

[Team Bunch]

We have dish network. Anytime they start to raise the bill I call and threaten to switch to dirctv. They will match direct tv's best promotion every time I call for about 6-12 months. I then just call back and start over again. Kind of a pain but it works.

I am interested in the antanea/Netflix avenue but I love the dvr for reality shows we watch on our local channels. Anyone have a cheaper option for that?

 

[CocoTravels]

I have tried this method of threatening to switch. They don't seem to help me like that. They always come back with the threat of how much I will have to pay out to get out of their contract...LOTS!

I'm glad it is working for you though...just not my experience with either company.

 

[dlavender]

We had DirecTv for two years, went back to cable, and now back to DirecTV for that $200 promotion. I honestly would never go back to DirecTV because I can't stand the contract. Something goes wrong, $100 tech fee to come out. Equipment problems? $100 tech fee to come out. The picture quality is great, and we never have reception issues. Again, its just the contract that bothers me. They own you for two years. Cable may be more, but through phone calls you can usually talk them down a little every other month. The freedom of not having a contract is worth it, IMO. Once our contract is over, we will try the antenna/streaming only option.

 

[gatormom2tots]

We just dropped direct tv after years switching back and forth- 2 year contracts with 1st year being way cheaper....

INstead we went with streaming- have 4 different streaming subscriptions and pay $50 a month...heck of a lot cheaper than any cable/satellite provider could ever provide.

 

[davper]

We still have a landline due to how our security system is set up.

So if I cut your cable line at the outside of the house, I bypass your hi-tech security system?

 

[ThistleMae]

I've had dish and direct TV. I ended with direct TV when I had a new roof put on and they wanted to charge me to reinstall the satellite. I threatened to switch, they didn't care. So....I've had Dish for years now. I'm happy with the service. I don't have a cable option where I live so the saving money part is moot for me anyway. It runs about $ 100.00 a month. I do not have any of the HBO, Cinemax or Showtime Channels. I rarely am interrupted with weather issues but have heard some people are. I love the DVR. I have the Joey/Hopper system and can tape three shows all at one time. I never....NEVER....watch live TV anymore. I fast forward all the commercials. Good luck choosing. We all pay in the end!

 

[si-am]

We have Direct TV. Aside from occasional issues during strong storms, we've not had any problems with our service during the 8 years we've had it. We have had some success getting upgrades by calling with the ole' "but you're offering this to new customers, why not us?" whine.

We also have Netflix and can connect the laptops to the TV for Hulu, but I like current shows and movies. I wouldn't be happy switching entirely to streaming service.

 

[queenbetsey]

we signed up with direct about a year and a half ago. they had sent a flyer to us that said "lock in this low rate for two years". at the end of the first year the monthly bill more than doubled. there was a lot of back and forth on the phone. and I even told them I had the original flyer in my files (yeah I have a file folder for cable/sat tv because of stuff like this) they wanted a 225.00 cancelation fee after more back and forth and hours on hold waiting for "the supervisor" I even copied the flyer and sent it to their disputes department. they finally agreed to drop the fee down to 85.00 which I was still ticked about. we had never been late, we did not break the contract they did etc. shortly after I got the final bill showing 85.00 due to early cancellation (like a day or two) saw an article saying that the Federal Trade COmmission had sued and won against direct tv for this promotion. back to the phone. as I was waiting on hold, I pulled up the FTC web site and when the "supervisor" got on the line went over the whole saga again with him I told him about the class action suit. told him to get something to write with and write on and take this web site down. Told him I would wait while he pulled it up and vetted my story. he came back to the phone and I asked him what I should do now? are we going to take care of this here or do I have to deal with this the ftc? he asked me to hold on (by now this call has been well over an hour) cam back and said "your balance is now zero" and that finally ended that saga
the kicker is we really liked direct's service. we only left because it go so darned expensive. from 39 bucks to 79.95. they didn't want to cut any deals on the monthly fees and insisted I was making up the promotion as I was looking at the very flier they had sent me/
final kicker... the day after I was final able to close this chapter, I was in Costco they had a rep pushing the very same promotion and they asked me if I was interested...I just said no thank you and then sort of whispered to the poor kid that he should pull up the FTC web site and put direct tv in th e search bar.
the moral to this overly long post is KEEP EVERYTHING get a file folder, a gallon zip lock what ever and hang on to all the promotional material when you sign up with ANY service

 

[MomToOne]

I have had Dish for over 10 years now. I am a dinosaur and don't have any HD TVs, so I have just a basic package that gives me a decent but not great variety of SD channels for only $20/month. But I think they may have discontinued that package for new subscribers last year. When DD was younger, I had a higher package that included Disney, Nickelodean, etc. But once she hit the teen years, I convinced her it was time to leave those channels behind and we downgraded. I am very happy with the service for the price - I mean, these days you just can't beat $20 for TV service!! I keep holding off getting HD TVs because I will need to upgrade my service to a higher-level package and I just can't imagine giving up my cheap service! But one of these days I will, and I will most likely stay with Dish. (Although I have researched HD antennas)

My current package has all the local channels, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, A&E, History, TBS, Comedy Central and a few other we watch occasionally (plus a bunch of sports and shopping stations we don't watch). Those are enough to keep us entertained. I find as long as you have some variety that fits you generally, then you adapt to the stations you have. We also have Netflix, but have found we really don't watch it much so I am going to cancel it. And we tried Hulu for a time but I cancelled that just recently because it was also unused. I think we don't use Netflix and Hulu much because it's hard to find shows to watch - it takes too much hunting to find new stuff we like, and the old stuff we like isn't available. And for the few current shows that we want to see that aren't on the channels we get, we can often watch them online via our Dish Network subscription - for example, DD can watch Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family via the ABC Family website - she just has to log on using our Dish Network id. They don't seem to do any filtering based on the level of package you have with Dish - as long as you have an id, you can watch.

I've also had really good service from Dish Network the few times I've had an issue. My original receiver (over 10 years old from the original install) recently died, and they sent a replacement overnight to me for just a $15 fee, which included the cost of return shipping of the dead receiver to them. I was able to install it myself no problem, Dish included good directions. We tend to kill remotes every few years (we drop them a lot on hard wood floors) and have always been able to find used or even new ones cheap on eBay. And no problem programming them either - the Dish Network directions I found via Googling were fine. I get good reception, and don't lose the signal very often at all - I keep it in all but the worst storms (I think the last time I lost it was a storm with 70+ mph winds). I did have a problem losing signal in more moderate storms for awhile, but the dish just needed to be realigned - that was taken care of when I had a guy come out to reinstall it after I had my roof replaced. They charged a $99 service charge for that at the time - I think that was 4-5 years ago.

 

[tvguy]

May I suggest an HD antennae and streaming service like Hulu and/or netflix.

An HD antennae will get you all your local stations and then some for free after buying antennae. Go here for a list of channels in your area...http://antennaweb.org/

You will still need to have internet service from your cable company for the following and a smart device lick a stick streaming media player or smart TV:
Hulu - Watch current episodes of your favorite TV episodes
Netflix - watch movies and some TV
Amazon Prime - same as Netflix

I have all of the above.

My cable bill with internet was 180 a month. Now it is 90 a month plus ~15 for the 2 streaming services. I don't count Amazon because I already have that for the shipping. The streaming is a bonus.

It will not be a 100% replacement for everything you watch. Original content on Showtime is unavailable to me because they are obligated to the cable companies. But for most, you should be all set.

And if you are still holding onto a landline, try vonage or ooma. They are no longer land lines anyway. Telephone service from your cable company is nothing but an over priced IP phone.

You should test an antenna setup before pulling the plug. The unfortunate reality is, since the digital switch, you may NOT be able to get all your local channels anymore. Digital doesn't travel as far. I can't get the PBS station at all anymore, and if the weather is hot, I can't get my station. The biggest issue is with stations that stayed on their VHF channel when they switched to digital instead of switching to UHF.
I have been a Dish customer for 15 years, no problems. At work, the biggest number of complaints we get are with Comcast and Direct. Rain or snow fad will be the same with either Dish or Direct.