I recently made the switch to DIRECTV. I was on Comcast. First of all, let me explain why I was on Comcast:
- It all started when BYU and University of Utah moved to the MTN. The only way you could watch their games was to get Comcast.
- I have Comcast high-speed internet. I get a small discount by also getting my TV service through them.
- I built my own DVR with Windows Media Center. I still think Media Center is awesome (Comcast, not so much)
Comcast recently turned off their analog signals and started scrambling their digital signals. So my TV tuner card would only pick local channels through Comcast. Here were my new options:
- Stop using Windows Media Center (WMC) and just use the set top box Comcast provides. There are a few problems with this. First, their set top box they gave me absolutely sucks. I have two wide screen TVs and the set top box doesn’t support white screen. I was told by their support that it was a TV setting I had to adjust. Um no. Also, using only the set top box I lose my DVR. I was not about to pay their outlandish prices for DVR service.
- Connect my set top box to WMC. I’ve only heard this works. You can use an IR blaster to change channels. To me it seems there would be a lag and the though of doing things this way was just not appealing.
- Buy a tuner card that supports CableCard. The problem with this is that they don’t exist. Well, they didn’t exist. The only one I could find was this Ceton model. It actually looked really cool. It has four tuners while only needing one CableCard. The problem was twofold: 1) Everything was pre-order. They were struggling to get them released. 2) They were $400! Why pay $400 for something that used to just work?
- Switch to DISH Network or DIRECTV. This way I could vote with my wallet and drop Comcast like a bad habit. There were plenty of upsides, but the one downside I could think of was that I would lose the cool features of using my WMC media pc.
I decided to make the switch to DIRECTV. Here are the reasons why I chose it over my Comcast plan:
- It works!
- I get so much more for the same price. I was paying $50/mo for basic cable. Only my local channels were digital and in HD on my media center PC. On the set top box that I had on our other TV, everything was digital, but no HD – not even locals
- On our TV where we had the digital box, it was so glitchy and annoying. This is something we used to experience years ago with DISH Network during REALLY bad snow storms. You just don’t expect such poor reception every night when you have cable running right into your home.
- It seems I always had to play games with Comcast. I could call in and get a discount that would last for 6 months. That was nice. By why make me keep calling in begging for discounts every six months. Just make your prices more reasonable.
Being the tight-wad that I am, my inclination is was to choose DISH Network over DIRECTV, but I chose DIRECTV instead. Here’s why:
- I really wanted to check out the whole-home DVR system. We have two TVs, one downstairs in our family room and one in our bedroom. The thought of controlling the DVR remotely and watching recorded shows from our room was appealing. DISH Network has a DVR that you can control from two different rooms, but you can only get HD on one TV while the other one will be standard def. When it comes to technology, computers & gadgets, I become a kid and price is less of an issue for me.
- Going back to the begging of this article, I wanted the MTN so I could watch BYU football games this fall. The MTN is only available on DIRECTV.
- My wife wanted DIRECTV – probably because her mom and sister have DIRECTV. They often get on the phone and say “check out Food Network/HGTV/TLC…” It bother her that shows played at different times on Comcast that they did on DIRECTV. Also, I think she would like to have the same channels so they can just say “turn to channel ###”
So that is why I ordered DIRECTV.
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My sister-in-law just moved to a new house. I was helping out on Saturday. The DIRECTV installer was also there moving her service. He installed a new satellite dish and set up her equipment.
As he was mounting the dish on the roof her garage, he asked if I would come “watch his back”. He had just sprayed a large nest of yellow jackets that had taken up home in a light fixture right below where he was working. It soon became apparent that he had some kind of phobia of these stinging type insects. My job was to squirt hornet spray at them if one flew near home.
It turns out that this installer would also make a great salesman. Despite the fact that I maintain this comparison guide, I learned a few things that day:
- I was interested in the new whole-home HD DVR service that basically lets you control your DVR from any room. I learned that if you order CHOICE XTRA or higher, your equipment is free for two rooms.
- We currently have our house up for sale and plan to move when we find the right home for us. I asked about moving. He said if you move within 6 months then there is a $50 charge, otherwise it is free. (I wonder though… I tend to think if you made a stink about it you could get moved for free if you moved four months later for example
- DIRECTV can be connected to your home network if you have one and make use of your internet access to rather than use a land line to dial out for pay-per-view for example. It can also take advantage of other features if you have a home network. This got me excited
I must say, I was very impressed with his service. He was very helpful to my sister in law. I was amazed at how well he organized the mess of cables hanging from the ceiling in the basement. He took the time to answer all my questions and even offered to drive to my home when he was finished to take a look at my current configuration and where an ideal place to mount a satellite dish would be.
To make a long story short, I ordered DIRECTV this morning.
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I just happened to be on DISH Network’s site today to look up some information when I noticed a new banner.
Apparently DISH Network now has over 200 HD channels. Add that to their free HD for life deal and I would venture to say that if you love HD, you’ll love DISH Network even more now!
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Jul 10
28
Old Television Compatibility
Sonny from Cordele, Georga writes:
Just examined your comparison site and was very informative. We are a standard cable subscriber and its getting out of hand.
Few questions;
1. Our TV is 20 years old and is still going very strong. Do we need to replace it?
2. If so, what would you recommend? (Would like to avoid this if possible.)
thanks..
Hi Sonny,
No you don’t need to replace it. Both Satellite providers equipment work fine with older TVs.
The only thing you may want to consider is that if you want HD (High Definition) both companies are offering it free for life right now. I’m quite sure you can order HD and it will still work with your TV, then IF you decide to upgrade your TV in the future you will have HD already.
On a side note, I purchased my last two TV’s from NewEgg.com and found great deals.
Good luck!
Dustin
http://SatelliteInfo.org
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Jul 10
19
Multi-Room Viewing
Susan from Tempe Arizona writes:
I am considering switching but there is one comparison I don’t really understand. With DISH we share a DVR box. That allows me to record on both of my TV’s and watch recordings from either tv on either one. But with Direct the boxes are separate. Does that mean I can only view what was recorded on that specific TV? That seems like a disadvantage. Can you give me your opinion about which is preferable?
Thanks!
This is a nice feature, and this comes up on a number of occasions. For example, say you start watching a recorded show in the family room, then put the kids to bed and want to finish watching the show in your bedroom. Or, maybe you have a series scheduled to record. You have to watch all the shows on the TV that you scheduled to record them.
Dish Network was the first to offer this capability, but DIRECTV has also entered the game in a big way. With Dish Network’s DuoDVR VIP 722k, you can watch on two different computers. There is a 500 MB hard drive to store all your shows. One drawback is that only one of the TV’s can have High Definition, the other will be standard. This may not be a big deal. Their newest DVR – the VIP 922 SlingLoaded DVR allows you to watch TV on your computer and mobile devices. It has double the memory with a 1 terabyte hard drive. But from what I understand you still can’t watch on more than one TV.
DIRECTV offers multi-room viewing with a single DVR. You would need the DIRECTV Plus HD DVR Receiver, and a DIRECTV Plus HD Receiver for each additional TV you want to connect. This will require a home network, which DIRECTV can professionally install. There are also other fees involved – $3/month for the Whole-Home DVR service, $10/month for HD access (currently FREE for life for new customers), and $7/month for DVR service. Also, each receiver beyond your first will be $5 per month. So to put in two HD TVs and share the same DVR, with the free HD promotion, you are looking at $15/month on top of your base package price.
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Jul 10
17
Free HD For Life
Dish Network recently caused a stir by offering free HD for life. Of course the deal does come with some strings attached – two strings to be precise.
- You must sign up for auto bill pay.
- You must sign up for paperless billing.
Personally, I don’t have an issue with either one of these. First, as a highly budget conscious individual, I always try to pay my bills on time. Autopay makes this so much easier. Second, I personally don’t like receiving paper bills. I would rather have them emailed and/or stored online where I can log in and see them anytime, anywhere.
For those that are not too keen on one or both of these strings, they can still get HD for life after paying a one time fee of $99.
To counter Dish Network’s offer, DIRECTV quickly announced they were offering free HD for life to new customers. (Current customers can call in to the customer retention department and get 2 years of free HD service.)
DIRECTV also requires auto bill pay, but does not require paperless billing. I don’t believe there is any type of one time fee to choose not to use auto bill pay to get this offer.
DIRECTV’s offer of free HD for life to new customers expires July 21, 2010. I’m not sure what they plan to do after this day, so if you want to take advantage of this offer, you probably ought to hurry and make up your mind.
Fore more information on HD offerings from Dish Network and DIRECTV, see SatelliteInfo.org.
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Jul 10
15
Search Engines Found Us
It’s a big day today. I got my first Search Engine clicks. I know woopdy-doo, right? Well, it’s a milestone anyway.
My first search engine click came from Bing where I landed #2 for the search “directv free-hdtv-for-life”. Yes, DIRECTV is offering HDTV for life right now. But from what I understand, it is a limited time promotion.
If that wasn’t exciting enough. I later got a hit today from Yahoo! where I landed #9 for the term “fox soccer plus package customer reviews”. OK, so my site may not have been completely helpful on this one. You can see in the sports packages that both Dish Network & DIRECTV offer Fox Soccer Plus for $15 per month. But so far I have seen any reviews come it that describes how well anyone likes it. So, if you have Fox Soccer Plus, maybe you can help a guy out and let us know in the comments to this post or in a review how you like it.
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While deciding between DIRECTV and Dish Network, it is really important that you do things properly. If you don’t, the results may very well be devastating. You could wind up locked in a 2 year contract you hate, or maybe paying more than you anticipated. Let us discuss a trio of strategies to prevent that from transpiring.
1. Get Actual Costs of Packages
It is important to get actual costs of packages (beyond promotional periods) since it forestalls misunderstanding total costs. Failing to make this happen can easily leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth. Therefore never make the mistake of overlooking this specific really important tip!
2. Verify You Get the Channels You Watch
About as important as getting actual costs of packages any time you’re handling deciding between dish network and directv is verify you get the channels you watch. I am letting you know, this is simply not a thing to disregard. It contributes greatly to make sure you are happy with the package your order, and that is something almost everyone involved in choosing a satellite tv provider wants.
3. Read User Reviews
Lastly, when deciding between directv and dish network you should make sure and read user reviews. This can help with seeing where pain points are and knowing what to expect, which is an indispensable part of choosing a satellite tv provider. If you don’t, you could possibly be disappointed by your own expectations — and I presume we can agree this couldn’t be the best thing!
As I mentioned from the outset, with regards to deciding between direct tv and dish network, you desperately want to be sure one doesn’t make errors that will turn out locked in a 2 year contract you hate, and even paying more than you anticipated. What you need is a game plan, and you will achieve that by listening to the guidelines previously mentioned.
Realize ways to pick the satellite provider that best suits your wants and needs at our Dish Network vs. DIRECTV website at satelliteinfo.org.
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