What can you tell me about Dishnetwork/DirectTv? {which is better??}

[Lachesis00]

Looks like I can finally get a dish... it will be *much* cheaper in the long run *woohooooo*.

But what is the difference between the 2 companies/packages? What do you like/hate about your current service?


What is HDTV? What is this DVR?

Oh I am excited!!

 

[campingcorgi]

Okay, we have DishNetwork and have had it for years. Love it--have 6 receivers in our house. We have two dishes because of the number of receivers. No complaints about our service or billing at all.

I think a DVR is like our PVR--personal video recorder, I think--and it works much like a TiVo. I love (LOVELOVELOVE)it and hate to watch tv without it now. I love being able to pause live tv or delay what I'm watching for a while and then cut out the commercials.

Hope this helps!

 

[Lachesis00]

May I ask what you pay per month and what channels you get.

 

[doxdogy]

We had Dish and hated it. Everytime it rained, we lost signal. We now have Directv and love it. We have the Tivo service and it is great. You record shows and when there is nothing else to watch, you can switch over to the shows you have recorded. We did lose signal once during a storm, and I just switched over to Tivo and had something to watch. I have found that with Directv, the local channels seem to go out during storms.

 

[Growin'upDisney]

We have DirecTV and we love it. We pay $35.99 for basic programming (similar to expanded basic cable) with local channels. $20 a month or so for HBO and Cinemax

HDTV - High Definition Television. A totally revolutionary way to watch TV. Normal TV's broacast is 540 dpi or 770dpi (or close to that I think ) But HDTV broadcasts in 1080dpi. The picture is much much clearer. But you must have a HDTV capable TV. Our 65" bigscreen has an HDTV receiver built-in but doesn't work with our DirecTV. We had to have the DirectTV HDTV receiver. But we attached our aerial antenna to the built-in and can watch local channels in Hi-Def - Confused yet?? It took me a while to get it all straight. Most TV's made in the last few years are HDTV capable but do not have a receiver bulit-in - so you can get a separate HDTV stand alone receiver if you don't want one combined with the DiretTV or DishNetwork receiver.

OK - DVR is basically Tivo. DirecTv offers a combined receiver with Tivo but Tivo cannot record in HDTV - YET. I hear that is coming but the cost will be something like $700.

To boil down your questions. Satellite is way better than cable. I cannot compare DirecTv to DishNEtwork but many that I have talked to like DirecTv better than Dish Network especially after the recent refusal by Dish Network to broadcasts certain networks (Nikelodean and MTV for example) because of increased prices.

HDTV is really cool but is not absolutely necessary. If you watch lot of sports its great. On DirecTV we pay $10.99 extra per month to get the HDTV package.

Tivo/DVR/PVR is the greatest invention since the microwave. Coould not live without it!!

 

[pjlla]

Maybe it is just a regional thing regarding the weather. We never have trouble unless it is a REALLY bad thunderstorm. And then it is only for a short time. We have had Dish Network for almost 8 years and still love it. We would NEVER go back to cable. We have two PVRs and two receivers. For the "Top 150 package" plus local channels I believe we pay around $52/month (I have autopay so I don't even open the bills!). We don't have any movie channels. I cannot compare them to DirectTV, as I know nothing about it. If you do decide to go satellite I would definitely recommend the PVR/Tivo thing.... you will wonder how you EVER LIVED WITHOUT IT!.................P

 

[Lewisc]

Directv has much better sports packages. Directv offers REAL Tivo (dual tuners, season passes, wish lists)which is FANTASTIC. Pause, rewind even fast forward.

Dish network is better if you want a lower priced package.

1) Check and see which one offers locals in your area.

2) Rain fade is worse in FL. Heavy rains and the angle of the dish is different. You can buy a larger diameter dish which dramatically reduces rain fade.

I'd go with Directv and get at least one DTivo unit.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Have has Directv for years here, very good service. Just had the TiVo one added yesterday, based on everybody who has one here on the DIS raving about it. What little I have played with it, I like it.

 

[Lachesis00]

I didn't like one of them the Tivo is only 30 hours which is a lot but.... the other was 100 hours which seems like a lot more. Does one provide more channels/shows then the other?? I wish I could knock out the sports

 

[Otto's Doll]

We have TIVO and Directv. Didn't like DISHnetwork, had it for 4 years, have had Directv for 3 and have only lost it 2x during horrendous weather. Love Tivo, worth every single cent. I have Tivo on one receiver, 3 other receivers, the local channel package and the family package. I pay 63$ per month. (DH would love to get another Tivo, we might once he gets off of active duty.) Our's is a 40 hour receiver, and we have plenty of room.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by Dan Murphy
Have has Directv for years here, very good service. Just had the TiVo one added yesterday, based on everybody who has one here on the DIS raving about it. What little I have played with it, I like it.

you will learn to love and depend on Tivo!

We've had DirecTV with local channels for the past 4 years maybe? during BAD storms we do lose signal...but otherwise we haev a TON of channels to choose from.

we have basic, hbo/cinemax/DH's sports packages, so our cable i like $60 a month including the Tivo charge.

30 hours storage for Tivo IS enough I think...I delete each week after watchign something...haven't run into any issues with it.

 

[edcrbnsoul]

I've had Directv for 2 yrs and I think I've lost signal 3 times at best and thats through some pretty heavy snow storms we have a strong signal 98 on a scale to 100 so that may have something to do with it. You couldnt make me go back to cable. I love my Directv.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

We've got Direct TV and love it! We have the basic programming and with all the extra receivers is about $50 a month.

We may have to look into this Tivo thing. Everyone raves about it. I think I watch too much tv now

 

[cassie]

Directv here, and love it. I had DishNetwork for a year and customer service sucks. Directv has a better service. No big problems that aren't easily solved. I pay $35.99 without local. Up from $31.99 4 years ago. We do have local, but I have rabbit ears on the kitchen tv for the news. I don't pay extra for local because I mostly watch the cable channels.

 

[Duchie]

Another vote for DirecTV with TiVO here. We've had it about 18 months and LOVE it. TiVO is the greatest invention! We rarely loose our signal even during the rain.

The only thing I've heard about the other service is that they were in a dispute with CBS and for a while there they refused to carry any CBS chanel. It's probably been resolved by now, though.

 

[trishy]

Very happy with directv. You should look at their site to determine the price range. We get the east coast feed (my favorite part), the hi-def channels, Tivo, as well as the rest - it adds up. There are a lot of extras. The site will help you figure out what package is best for you.

 

[phyllis1966]

Another happy customer here with DirecTV and Tivo! We only lose signal during really bad thunderstorms or snowstorms, and then we have lots of recorded movies and programs to watch with the Tivo. We can't live without that Tivo, either: it's so great to never have to worry about missing anything ever again! Phone call - hit "pause." Bathroom - hit "pause." 5-year-old chattering incessantly so that you miss something important or funny - rewind and replay what you missed! Setting it up so that it records every new episode of your fave programs is awesome, esp. when you have kids and things to do for/with them in the evenings - just watch it after they're asleep. When we're watching TV elsewhere and DD sees something amusing, she asks folks to "rewind the TV" so that she can see it again - she can't understand why everyone 's TV doesn't do this!

My FIL switched from DirecTV to Dish Net because he was offered a great pkg - within 1 year, he switched back because he so preferred DirecTV, esp. the sports pkgs. and customer service issues.

 

[Lachesis00]

Wow gives me lots to think on. Looks like most of you who have either package do not have hbo or showtime? My husband would cry w/o his movies

 

[phyllis1966]

We have HBO/Cinemax, which is $12/month - I couldn't live without HBO, not for the movies so much, but for all their great original programming (I miss Sex and the City ).

 

[AZKathy]

We have DirectTV with TIVO and we love it. <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/209.gif' border=0></a> We can set up it to record any TV shows we like throughout the season and it does it automatically. For instance, I set it up to record all of Survivor All Starts and automatically it recorded it every Thursday; it even "knew" that it changed to Wednesdays due to the basketball championship games and recorded it on Wednesday. It also records shows that it thinks you may like by what you view. It is really cool.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/12/12_5_36.gif' border=0></a>