DirecTV or Dish Network

[The DirtMerchant]

If you love the NFL and are willing to spend the $$, then DirecTV w/o a millisecond hesitation.

I've had both Dish and D* (admittedly Dish was a long time ago), but I heavily prefer the D* GUI. Probably can't go wrong though.

 

[putty34]

I think adding the ~$4/mo insurance against equipment failure is a wise choice for either provider. (Yes it sux to pay extra to protect equipment you're basically leasing).

FYI Batman - If you would like to save money you can cancel the protection plan and add it at the time if you ever need it. I think if you add it you have to leave it on your account for a couple of months but it beats having to pay for it all the time.

I have had the Hopper for a year now and love it. I had a hard time deciding between DTV and Dish but went with Dish becasue of the Hopper. I would like to have the Sunday Ticket but I find the Redzone channel really fills the void when I can't watch the Bears if they aren't on the local channels.

 

[AndySTL]

I spent some time on the phone with AT&T today and they officially confirmed that I am too far away from the network node.

Oh well, it's Dish or DirecTV. Need to decide today so I can schedule the install.

 

[jomari]

dont forget some of these companies also do 'internal' corporate discounts.

our hotel gives us a 10% discount to at&t etc, maybe this can be found in these other companies too.

good luck bro, at this point, i cant really contribute since sports is a big factor.

 

[AndySTL]

I went with Dish Network. They seemed to have superior technology in the equipment. Hope this ends up being a good decision.

 

[Towen7]

Cool

I assume you went with The Hopper system? Do keep us posted. As a fellow happy Uverse customer for several years I'll be interested in your experiences.

 

[AndySTL]

Cool

I assume you went with The Hopper system? Do keep us posted. As a fellow happy Uverse customer for several years I'll be interested in your experiences.

Yes, I will be getting The Hopper + 1 Super Joey + 3 Wireless Joeys. I will let you know what I think after I've lived with it for a while.

I do love Uverse and I am skeptical about what this system will be like. I really enjoy the UI and simplicity of Uverse. Hopefully after the learning curve I will be equally impressed with Dish.

 

[AndySTL]

Well, very quick little update.

First and foremost, the move is over and thank goodness. What a pain in the ass. We had a team of 6 movers and 3 trucks and it was still stressful as shit. It's hard to believe we got out of the old house and into the new one all in one day.

I had Charter internet installed the day of the move and that went surprisingly well. Maybe it's because I was preoccupied with all the other shit going on.

Dish Network came out on Saturday to install. The did arrive during their stated window, so no complaints there. The install was OK. I have 2 wired boxes and both required new runs. The guy was kind of sarcastically bitching about it, but he got it done. It took him about 4 hrs. total. There was some wiring choices that I would have objected to if I was paying closer attention but nothing is too egregious so I will just live with it. Not sure why they use black wires. White wires would have blended in with my house better both outside and inside. Oh well.

As for the service, I am satisfied with the picture quality. The interface has some nice features but I am still not used to it. I like that I can configure my guide format and I can set a favorite list that the guide defaults to. What I absolutely HATE is the use of sub-channel numbers. For example, all of the regional sports networks are listed as a subchannel under channel 412. So my local channel to watch the St. Louis Cardinals is Fox Sports Midwest. That is channel 412-08. 412 has sub-channels 01-32. I am just having a hard time getting used to it. I suppose I will be able to in the long run (I have 2 years on contract) but I just prefer the simplicity of each channel having its own number, even if that means it's a 4 char number. Also, we have a few channels like Disney Jr. that are only available in SD. Uverse has than in HD so I don't really get it, but of well.

It's TV and it works, but I still miss my Uverse.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. One really great feature are the remotes. They are all RF, so it's nice to not have to worry about box location or line of site while using the remote. Not sure why all carriers have not gone this route.

 

[Towen7]

One really great feature are the remotes. They are all RF, so it's nice to not have to worry about box location or line of site while using the remote. Not sure why all carriers have not gone this route.

I'm glad it's working out so far. I imagine that all carriers don't use RF remotes because of the added cost per unit. Using them would also require every STB to have RF receivers in them (another cost).

 

[Huey]

At one time, Directv did do a rf remote, and I think they still might on some of the higher end boxes. Glad you got everything installed and running Andy.

 

[Botch]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. One really great feature are the remotes. They are all RF, so it's nice to not have to worry about box location or line of site while using the remote. Not sure why all carriers have not gone this route.

That must be a really recent thing, I had Dish installed this spring and my remote is IR (no biggie, as I use a Harmony One and my other components need IR). Glad it's working for you! bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[CMonster]

Botch, do you have the Hopper? The remote for that has always had RF...

Edit: just saw that you do have a Hopper. Grab the original remote, go to a different room, and give it a shot.

 

[Botch]

Well, I just tried it again; no, Pause, Menu, Channel Up, nothing works.





Oh. Perhaps if I put batteries in the Dish remote.

:doh: :shifty:

 

[Randy]

You may have to setup the remote for the RF to work.

I had to setup all of mine. I also had to do a switcherooney with the remote that came with my DVR in the bedroom, it was RF and the new one I got with my new HD box in the living room was not. I needed RF in the living room cuz all my stuffs is behind me and in the bedroom an IR remote works perfectly. I got it all down now.

 

[AndySTL]

I'm being incredibly picky with this complaint, but I don't understand why the most often used buttons (for me, anyway) are located toward the very top of the remote. Guide, Volume, Page Up/Down, and the cursor with select button are all in the top 1/3 of the remote. I'd like it better with these buttons in the middle.

 

[CMonster]

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the button layout of the remote either. Sorry, forgot to mention it before because it's usually a "set it and forget it" situation when using either of the two basement remotes and we use Harmony remotes with the other two boxes. Oh, if you haven't found it yet, the Swap button when used with the Hopper is AWESOME for switching between two programs if you have two tuners free; much faster than using the Recall button.

 

[MatthewB]

My mom has Dish and I have Directv. I hate the channel setup of Dish very much way to confusing and even my folks (when my dad was alive) loved Directv channel line up way better. They were just to lazy to switch. I'm biased thou as I hated cable and love Directv. I hated Dish ever since they installed my folks HD and set it up using a S-video cable and telling my folks they were getting HD. I actually had to drive to Tucson to figure out what they did wrong as my folks had no idea. I arrived picture looked like crap and found out Dish had installed using S-video.

 

[TKoP]

My mom has Dish and I have Directv. I hate the channel setup of Dish very much way to confusing and even my folks (when my dad was alive) loved Directv channel line up way better. They were just to lazy to switch. I'm biased thou as I hated cable and love Directv. I hated Dish ever since they installed my folks HD and set it up using a S-video cable and telling my folks they were getting HD. I actually had to drive to Tucson to figure out what they did wrong as my folks had no idea. I arrived picture looked like crap and found out Dish had installed using S-video.

To be fair, that is likely a <censor>ty third party installer that could have come from DirectTv, Dish or Cable.

Not liking the GUI or remote, that's fair.

I've always had good customer service with Dish. My folks have DTV, and I do like the GUI better. And it's probably just because I'm used to it, but I like the Dish remote. But I also was the guy that used to ride my skateboard foot forward while powering as opposed to the back of the board.

My dad's experience with DTV has been mixed.