Give me the dish on Dish and DirectTV

[Team Bunch]

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.

Yeah, we are out of our contract with them. Have never actually switched.

 

[abcboys]

We have been happy with dish. Our bill is $45/month and that includes the DVR service and 2 tv's (smart pack I think it is) Granted we don't have a lot of channels but we are happy with what channels are included. It has went up in price between $3-5 the past 2 years and if it keeps going up I'm tempted to drop it. Like a previous poster said there is a package even lower than mine (I think its called Welcome Pack) for cheaper with few channels but wasn't sure if it was still available or not.

 

[4myBenandEllie]

If you are thinking about doing a digital antenna/streaming service, look at Tablo. It is a DVR, so you can record shows from the digital antenna. It also uses an app for smartphones and tablets. It is a great little system, and I don't miss satellite at all. I definitely don't miss the satellite bill.

 

[disneychrista]

I have DISH at home & DirecTV at work. I prefer DISH, it doesn't seem to loose the signal as easily as DirecTV does.

In the end they all provide the same TV channels, the only difference between them all is the price.

 

[smadath]

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!

For the record, we just had a new roof put on, and Dish does the same. $50 service fee for the tech reinstall the satellite.

 

[smadath]

OP, something else to think about: Dish and DirecTV have their satellites in different areas of the sky (obviously ). It might be a good idea to drive around and see which direction neighbors satellites are facing for each company. I say this because we've had Dish for almost 10 years, and at our last house, a neighbor's tree interfered with our signal. (not good, since we couldn't do anything about it) If there is anything that could potentially block your signal, it could give you issues. If you've ever seen a yard with a satellite up on a pole 100 yards from the house, that's why! The tech has to search for a place to put it, and sometimes they have to get very creative. That's just a giant pain in the you-know-what for everyone.

 

[tvguy]

OP, something else to think about: Dish and DirecTV have their satellites in different areas of the sky (obviously ). It might be a good idea to drive around and see which direction neighbors satellites are facing for each company. I say this because we've had Dish for almost 10 years, and at our last house, a neighbor's tree interfered with our signal. (not good, since we couldn't do anything about it) If there is anything that could potentially block your signal, it could give you issues. If you've ever seen a yard with a satellite up on a pole 100 yards from the house, that's why! The tech has to search for a place to put it, and sometimes they have to get very creative. That's just a giant pain in the you-know-what for everyone.

Since the satellites Direct and Dish use are at almost the same orbit that should make no difference. In your case your installer did a poor job by not making sure the installation spot did not have a clear view to the southern sky. I wonder about some of those installers for BOTH companies. Dish put my neighbors dish on the Northern side of their house, in the front where it is visible from the street. Plus all their TV's are on the southern side of the house so they had to run cable a much greater distance. House sold and new owners switched to Direct and THAT installer put the dish in the same location. Mine is on the back of my chimney, on the south eastern corner of my house about 16 feet up. I just have to trim the top of my lemon bush every once in a while so that branches don't grow into the path. And yes, my lemon BUSH thinks it's a tree.

 

[smadath]

Since the satellites Direct and Dish use are at almost the same orbit that should make no difference. In your case your installer did a poor job by not making sure the installation spot did not have a clear view to the southern sky. I wonder about some of those installers for BOTH companies. Dish put my neighbors dish on the Northern side of their house, in the front where it is visible from the street. Plus all their TV's are on the southern side of the house so they had to run cable a much greater distance. House sold and new owners switched to Direct and THAT installer put the dish in the same location. Mine is on the back of my chimney, on the south eastern corner of my house about 16 feet up. I just have to trim the top of my lemon bush every once in a while so that branches don't grow into the path. And yes, my lemon BUSH thinks it's a tree.

I wonder about the Installers even more now: the one we had when we moved told us DirecTV was almost 180 degrees off from the Dish satellite. No wonder they can't find a signal!

I think I believe "tvguy"s knowledge over theirs. Thanks for the info!

 

[tvguy]

I wonder about the Installers even more now: the one we had when we moved told us DirecTV was almost 180 degrees off from the Dish satellite. No wonder they can't find a signal!

I think I believe "tvguy"s knowledge over theirs. Thanks for the info!

To grossly over simplify, all satellites in North America are in the southern sky. 180 degrees would be north!

 

[Queeneileen]

I have Verizon Fios. My bill was $180, ugh! I had to decrease it, but didn't want to give up the channels I enjoy. (TLC, HGTV, Food network) So I lowered my service from ultimate HD service to preferred. I lost the OWN channel (Oprah), HD and some sports, not a big deal for me. I also got rid of my HD converter for $11.99 a month and got a digital adapter for $6. (just turns the channels, no listing of shows) I have 2 old boxes that are $7. a month. I stayed at 50/50 WIFI speed, but could go to 25/25. I was afraid I'd be waiting forever for WIFI. Every penny counts!

 

[dsanner106]

I have had both sat services and Comcast and we prefer Directv. As a family they have a channel lineup we all like, they bought TiVo so the recording service is good and they have the genie service so boxes can be wireless. Their merger with At&t means they can also do a bundle with home phone etc now and have some better internet options. They have always offered internet over the dish but that was too slow for us. Dish was missing a number of channels we liked and raised prices sometimes twice in a year. Sat services will go down in bad weather, but it has to be pretty bad for us, maybe 5 or 6 times a year.

 

[Theaberdeenkid]

Going with satellite is no different than going with cable. In years past I had both DirecTV and Dish, here are my experiences and opinions.
DirecTV: I have had numerous dealings with them, I had their service once and on two occasions canceled new service orders, the reason? A blatant bait and switch with hardware promised and delivered. Low cost for programming, high cost for equipment and other fees.
Dish: Never had a bait and switch issue with them, but same issue, low cost for programming and high cost for equipment and other fees.

IMO: Don't do either. Use SlingTV for live tv and Amazon/Netflix/Hulu for any other programming.

 

[tvguy]

Going with satellite is no different than going with cable. In years past I had both DirecTV and Dish, here are my experiences and opinions.
DirecTV: I have had numerous dealings with them, I had their service once and on two occasions canceled new service orders, the reason? A blatant bait and switch with hardware promised and delivered. Low cost for programming, high cost for equipment and other fees.
Dish: Never had a bait and switch issue with them, but same issue, low cost for programming and high cost for equipment and other fees.

IMO: Don't do either. Use SlingTV for live tv and Amazon/Netflix/Hulu for any other programming.

Hmmm, never paid for equipment for Dish or for Cable. Kind of hard to watch TV if they don't provide the equipment.

 

[ThisIsJason]

Hmmm, never paid for equipment for Dish or for Cable. Kind of hard to watch TV if they don't provide the equipment.

Years ago when by parents signed up for DirecTV for a two room system it was just over $1200 to buy the equipment.

Even today with DirecTV if you want boxes outside of the standard HDDVR or Genie, you have to pay. Even with the Genie you have to pay $50 each for the 4th and 5th minis, another $100 to make any of them wireless.

A neighbor had DirecTV installed about a month ago: 1 Genie, 1 HDDVR and 1 HD box. Had to pay $200 for the HDDVR and either $50 or $100 for the HD box, the Genie was free. You don't own those boxes either, that is a rental price. To buy them outright was crazy.

When I switched from Uverse to Directv four years ago my setup was 1 Genie and 1 HDDVR, cost me $100. Two years ago I added another DVR to the account and it was $150.