Direct TV/ Dish Network vs. Charter

[Weirdos19]

I know we have went over this subject quite a few times. But I have a question to ask.

 

Our household currently has Charter cable and online service. The only reason we havent switched is that Charter has On Demand services and our daughter watches a ton of Educational shows. So, on off times, like bedtime, we put a show on for her.

 

Would love to get Direct TV for the MLB package and extra HD channels, but don't want to lose my daughters shows.

 

Do either of the Satellites carry On Demand?

[Paul77]

I don't think either have true on demand services but with larger and larger hard drives coming with Tivo (and such services) it's less of an issue now. What I do with Directv is tivo certain shows for my youngest, say "Play with me Sesame". I set the limit to 3 episodes per folder. This way it's constantly grabbing fresh episodes without using gobs and gobs of hard drive space. You can green light (save) certain episodes so they are always there if you want too. You can set it up for any number of episodes from any combination of shows. He always has something to watch before nap time.

[DatHoser]

Weirdos,

 

Directv has Sprout, which has a night time show that shows a variety of PBS childrens' shows throughout the evening and night. I had the same reservations about dropping cable with the on demand stuff, but Sprout and other channels have filled in nicely. Plus, like 20fry said, if you get a service with a dvr you can store a lot of stuff for your own "on demand."

[Samurai Bucky]

If you connect a Dish network box to the Internet, you can order a boatload of On Demand movies. However, I don't think they offer free "On Demand" service. The best thing would be to do what the others in the thread have suggested -- get a DVR and set it up to record their favorite shows on any channel.

 

Here's an example: our four year old likes to watch Blues Clue's. We find it in the guide (there is a search feature) and tell it to record all episodes of Blue's Clues on that channel. I don't have to worry about when it is on -- it just records it. You can also have it record instances of shows on any channel. Let's say you never saw 24 and you know that three or four stations are showing the series. Just set it up to look at all channels of 24 and VOILA! You are good to go.

 

The DVR is awesome.

[2hoophead]

Agree with all that is said above.

I've had a DVR for about three years now between Charter, DISH, and now DISH HD.

 

To my surprise, DISH HD also has the VOOM network of 'all HD' channels.

Once you take the plunge of kicking Charter to the curb you'll wonder what took you so long.

[homer]

Netflix and LG are coming out with an onDemand type thing that runs over the internet and into your TV (not sure if it's HD or not) So basically if you have a dish, the internet, and this device you will have replaced everything cable has to offer.....including the craptastic customer service.