Direct TV vs. Dish Network

[homer]

Is there a big difference between the two? I have been put in charge of seeing if we can get some kind of deal for our condo building for satellite TV (I have selfish reasons because I want Big Ten Network).

[Roscoe Chill]

DirecTV gives you the option for NFL Ticket.

[Fatter than Joey]

I have had both

 

Direct TV = Ryan Braun as a DH

Dish Net = Craig Counsell as a DH

 

as Nate points out -- Direct is the only with NFL package.

[homer]

They both have Big Ten? Any service issues (weather, customer support)?

[Fatter than Joey]

weather issues are very overstated by cable users. I can't say one sat. was better than the other.

 

DirectTV customer support is very good. I found it better than Dish

[brettac1]

I've had both, too.

 

DirecTV's sports package is all-around better. I'm nearly positive that more regional sports networks are available on it. I personally like to watch YES, NESN, Comcast out of Chicago, etc. and I don't think they're available on Dish Network.

 

And yeah, I get the Sunday Ticket, too, so that's another positive for Direct.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

Chicago's Comcast is available on DISH right now.. I watched a few Cubs games down the stretch in HD.

[Roscoe Chill]

as Nate points out -- Direct is the only with NFL package.

 

Who's Nate?

 

Just kidding, that is indeed my name.

 

In my opinion, you can't go wrong with DirecTV. Like FTJ said, weather issues are very overstated. When I moved in April, I checked in to both DirecTV and Dish, and for some reason DirecTV was a no brainer, I can't remember all the specifics. So, I've had DirecTV for over two years, and I have no complaints whatsoever.

[temke]

weather issues are very overstated by cable users.

as a former dish user who went back to cable because of this, i tend to disagree about the overstated comment.

 

i had the satellite (dish) about 5 years ago now, so i dont know if things have changed (or if DTV was better about this), but it would go out basically anytime an average thunderstorm came through...which seemed to be quite often when i had the dish.

 

i really want to go back to the dish for obvious reasons, but i have a sour taste in my mouth still from the outages.

[davego]

DirecTV is what I have. Very much like it.

[Fatter than Joey]

i really want to go back to the dish for obvious reasons, but i have a sour taste in my mouth still from the outages.

 

I don't know what to tell you -- I lose reception at most twice a year.

[MarquesJohnson2000]

I lose my signal about five-six times a year, I'd say (that I notice, anyway). It is generally due to precipitation but sometimes the signal stays strong through a ferocious storm and other times it's lost during the slightest drizzle.

[temke]

i really want to go back to the dish for obvious reasons, but i have a sour taste in my mouth still from the outages.

 

I don't know what to tell you -- I lose reception at most twice a year.

i am fairly convinced...now i just need to convince the wife. i would like to think that it was a combination of strange weather, being 5 years ago, and other things.

i would just hate to be stuck in a contract with a product i am unhappy with.

 

 

[endaround]

Dish's most basic package is cheaper. Both make you pay through the nose for HD Right now Dish has an 18 month commitment to get free receivers, DirecTV is at 2 years.

[JonnyLungs]

I have DirecTV personally and all my employees are provided a satellite and they all choose Dish Network (due to better Latino programming).

 

One of my employees had his satellite go out (Dish Network) and I called support and they told me it would be a month before they could have a tech out to fix it. That was in early September, and it was finally addressed a few weeks ago. Atrocious customer service unless you have a good local tech.

 

I haven't had many problems with DirecTV.

[burniebrewer]

DirecTV user here as well. Like FTJ, I have only a few outages per year and that's usually in extreme downpours. No big deal to me because aside from that, I'm pleased with my service.

[MJLiverock]

I have had DirecTV for about 6 or 7 years and have averaged only a couple outages a year and only during big downpours. The outages maybe last 10 or 15 minutes at the most because that is all those really heavy blasts last. As soon as the rain returns to a more normal to heavy level the signal is right back up to normal. I still remeber how many outages I had with Charter and the hours to days it would take to get a repair on whatever cable got cut or junction box was hit by a car or fried by snow or whatever their excuse was.

 

One factor that affects this is your signal strength to begin with. My dish is mounted on the back side of my house on the roof with no trees in the line of sight. My signal strength is consistently around 95 but I know others with signals in the 70's because of trees. They get the signal fine most of the time but will have more instances of rain fade because of the lower strength to begin with.

[Samurai Bucky]

I have been a Dish Network subscriber for about a year and a half. We have had the signal go out probably 4-5 times.

 

I agree that if you want some of the extras like Sunday Ticket and MLB Extra Innings -- DirectTV is the way to go. Since I don't want to pay for that, Dish Network has been very good for me.

 

I haven't tried the new feature they have which allows me to attach a USB external hard drive to store recordings off of the DVR. I'll have to give that a shot... once I get another drive LOL!

[MJLiverock]

I am sure you will like the expanded storage Samurai.

 

I have an external 750 GB Seagate FreeAgent Pro hooked up to my HD DVR from DirecTV and it is great. I have about 150 hours of HD recording space or a near infinate amount of room for standard def recordiings. It is so nice to not have to worry about room on the hard drive anymore or bug my wife to watch her shows or delete them because the drive is full.

 

I took advantage of a few of the free preview weekends for Starz, Showtime and HBO and now have about 20 HD movies on the drive that I can watch at my leisure. I just started watching Heroes and am still on last season but all of this season's shows are sitting there waiting for me in HD as well.

[Paul77]

We have a similar discussion every few weeks it seems but I'll say it again....if your dish goes out with anything that resembles "regularity" you need to realign your dish because it's not set up properly. Check your signal strength on a nice sunny day, it should approach the mid 90's. When you have an "average" storm it might dip into the mid 80's - more than enough to provide you with a signal. Stronger storms and fairly heavy snow might pull you into the 70's - still fine. You shouldn't lost reception until you get near the low 70's or 60's. If your signal strength on an optimal day is only at 85 or 86, well you'll experience problems more often than you ought to. You should not lose reception in anything short of a major storm.

 

I've lost reception for *maybe* 7 or 8 minutes in the past 12-18 months. In almost a decade of subscribing to Directv & Dish Network I've only had one outage that lasted more than 10 minutes (a near tornado) and most last from a 10 seconds to a minute. I just can't enough with FTJ that this issue is really not an issue. And if it is for you, check your set up.

[PKBadger]

Bumping this thread because I have a question for anyone in the Wausau area.

 

I'm visiting my parents this weekend, and my dad just got a new HDTV and installed DirecTV. He's telling me that he can't get local channels in HD yet? Is that true? I couldn't even fathom that this would be possible.

 

Am I going to be forced to watch the Packers in standard-def? What a crock! Somebody please tell me that my parents are loony.

[bball123h2]

I believe that all varies on local levels. In Milwaukee, we get all but CBS in HD. To get local channels in HD, there is a way to hook up a standard antenna to your receiver to get the locals.

[mtrebs]

In the Wausau/Stevens Point area, the local FOX station does not currently have a HD channel so no matter what you go with (cable or a dish) you will not be able to watch most of the Packers games in HD. Also, none of the network HD channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, or PBS) are available over DirecTV or Dish Network. They are only currently available via cable or antenna (except for FOX, which isn't available in HD at all).

[Samurai Bucky]

I am sure you will like the expanded storage Samurai.

...I have about 150 hours of HD recording space or a near infinate amount of room for standard def recordiings...

We have to take the plunge and purchase an HDTV. We're saving up and hopefully going to get one this coming year. I'm pretty excited.