Direct tv vs. Digital cable vs. Dish Network

[BotchedLobotomy]

So....the whole "ala carte" probably won't happen because all these obscure channels that nobody watches can't make it unless they can piggy back on quality programming? I think it's a perfect way to cull the herd.

 

[superpunk]

Thanks Superpunk. Will this effect my HD resolution?...

No.

The HD channels can only display full screen. At least that's how it is on my TV.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Beware of NFLN on digital (or analog) cable. You may get NFLN, but not the live games.

I get live games on my digital cable.

 

[locked&loaded]

So i guess Dish network seems to be the best?... hmm

 

[deepBLUE]

the only problem i have with dish.....is that some of my channels have an audio/video sync. problem (speech doesn't match the lips)......i have tried everything under the sun (including switching out the dvr's). dish claims that they are aware of the issue......and are working on a fix.

 

[superpunk]

I will say that the previous account about DirecTV's customer service has never been the case for me.

Any time I have had equipment problems, someone is out there in 2 days or less.

If I am dissatisfied, they've given me everything they can to make me happy. I mentioned I was thinking about switching to cable because I could see all the Cowboys games anyhow, so they gave me free HD receivers, $100 credit on my account, free movie channels for a year, $10 off my bill for a year, and they threw in Superfan (last year) for free.

So, it varies, I guess.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Yeah. There are a ton.

NFL Network needs to step it up still and become REAL HD. I'm still salty about the extra 100 dollars I have to pay on top of the 250 I pay for Ticket to get the Ticket in HD, lol. But I won't watch football in standard def ever again, and so I pay. damn Ticket's got me by the short and curlies.

You mean you pay $250 buck for the NFL Sunday Ticket and they don't even provide it in HD at that price? :insane:

I have been debating getting DirecTV even though it IS more expensive and my wife and kids love OnDemand, but if this is the case screw DirecTV and the NFL.

 

[superpunk]

You mean you pay $250 buck for the NFL Sunday Ticket and they don't even provide it in HD at that price? :insane:

I have been debating getting DirecTV even though it IS more expensive and my wife and kids love OnDemand, but if this is the case screw DirecTV and the NFL.

Yeah. It's a *****. Kills me. But, I promise if you call and whine about it, they will give it for free.

 

[DasTex]

What I want to know is the cost everyone is paying, and if it would be cheaper for me to go the Dtv or Dish.

Right now I have w/ Time Warner:

Digital cable
HD DVR - only one box - three other TV's with just basic
HD tier
Road Runner
Phone

and pay around $150.00 a month

 

[dallasfaniac]

What I want to know is the cost everyone is paying, and if it would be cheaper for me to go the Dtv or Dish.

Right now I have w/ Time Warner:

Digital cable
HD DVR - only one box - three other TV's with just basic
HD tier
Road Runner
Phone

and pay around $150.00 a month

You'd have to find others in your area. I have my phone and DSL through Embarq, who has a package deal with Dish Network making it pretty cheap ($99). Others may have to go through AT&T, Sprint etc.

I have to admit though, other than sports, I don't watch alot of TV so I am one of the last to ask.

 

[BehindEnemyLinez]

I think this is a topical question given the game Thursday...

But I've been wondering about this myself. I'm on my second stint with DirecTv. My mom and dad want to get satellite, but I don't know all the differences between it and Dish. My city doesn't have locals on DirecTv, but they do on Dish. I get the networks fine over the air, so that doesn't matter to me, but it might to them.

Is it still true that on the higher channel packages, the differences go away?

Which one has more HD channels now?

Sunday Ticket isn't an issue as we get every Cowboys game anyway.

I had the same problem when I first got HD but I called them and they gave me a feed off of their NY area HD (I'm in the DC area) for FOX, CBS, etc. The only problem is you still won't have access to your local news but other than that the programming was similar.

 

[WarC]

One of the very few good things about digital cable in our area is the On Demand stuff. It's awesome. If they would just iron out this damned NFL Network stuff it'd be perfect, and they wouldn't be losing shedloads of customers.

 

[vicjagger]

I get live games on my digital cable.

Some do, some don't. Many assume that if they get NFLN, they'll get to see the games. The cable company has to pay a seperate fee to the NFL to add the live games to NFLN. My (former) cable company chose not to pay the extra fee.

Unfortunately, most cutomers discovered this when they were plopping into their easy chairs with their popcorn bowls.

 

[burmafrd]

I have had DTV for 13 years, almost 14 (Feb 1994). Lived in different parts of the US. Never had any problems with service or customer reps. The longest I ever lost signal was for about 15 minutes in a downpour of Noah's Ark proportion. I got it originally because COX cable (they truly suck) where I was at had outages of 1-2 days just about every month and refused to give any kind of refunds. I had had time warner at the place I was before and it was almost as bad - I will NEVER go back to cable.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

What I want to know is the cost everyone is paying, and if it would be cheaper for me to go the Dtv or Dish.

Right now I have w/ Time Warner:

Digital cable
HD DVR - only one box - three other TV's with just basic
HD tier
Road Runner
Phone

and pay around $150.00 a month

I have Direct TV and I pay $45.00 for programming, including one HD reciever and 3 standard receivers. I have the Top 180 package.

I have Earthlink cable internet, that is 29.95 per month, and Earthlink Phone Service for 24.95 per month. Time Warner is the provider for Eathlink, and I actually pay TW. TW offered me the same internet and phone for twice the cost.

I just recently bought my first HD TV and called Direct TV to upgrade. I told them that I was switching back to cable and they bend over backwards to keep me. I got the HD free for one year, all the preimium channels and all the sports packages for 6 months and a free HD-DVR.

I've had Dish network, and TW, and Direct TV is by far the best, followed closely by Dish. Argue all you want about how great cable is, but no way I will go back to TW. If/when the new ATT service hits my neighborhoos, I may look into it, but for now Direct TV is great for me.

 

[DasTex]

You'd have to find others in your area. I have my phone and DSL through Embarq, who has a package deal with Dish Network making it pretty cheap ($99). Others may have to go through AT&T, Sprint etc.

I have to admit though, other than sports, I don't watch alot of TV so I am one of the last to ask.

Thats me as well...this is for my wife, who HAS about 10 million shows it seems that she watches at night.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I have dish and it works really good .......

 

[BehindEnemyLinez]

Never had digital...but the reason I went w/ Directv is the Ticket! As long as they have it, I'm staying put! It costs some extra $$$, but to have access to every game and 90% in HD is incredible! They even replay every game from Sunday condensed into 1/2 hour increments (they cut out all the b/s) as well as having the Red Zone Channel which is like channel surfing without changing the channel! I am envious of those of you who have OnDemand but I'm not a big TV watcher (besides sports) so that's not enough to sway me...it seems to be a pretty neat option, however.

 

[CantonBound08]

What I want to know is the cost everyone is paying, and if it would be cheaper for me to go the Dtv or Dish.

Right now I have w/ Time Warner:

Digital cable
HD DVR - only one box - three other TV's with just basic
HD tier
Road Runner
Phone

and pay around $150.00 a month

I have HD DVR, and one other receiver (satellite on three tv's, dvr box is shared), and I have the top package (250 channels I think). (Edit - I forgot, I have HBO too).

Dish bill is 86.83 per month

Time Warner is about the same as my dish bill. I have my phone and internet through them. I could save some money there, but I like my high speed internet...

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I've had Dish network, and TW, and Direct TV is by far the best, followed closely by Dish.

Mr Cowboy, can you explain why you like DTV better than Dish?