About to switch to D* from E*, but have some doubts. Convince me!

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robx46

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Sep 13, 2008
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OK, so my E* contract is due up in a couple months, but due to a nasty price increase (about $17 on our package, which is just an old 250 package with all the HD, we don't have any premiums). Basically... Yes, E* is truly having their cake and eating it too. Just the way they "re-structured" our bill let them find a way to screw us, nothing we can do about it, we tried.

We are also fed up with still no HD locals (even though we are at least on a list now) while D* has had HD locals here since last year.
As for programming, assuming E* adds the viacom HD channels this coming week like they said, that would make things pretty much even. At that point E* will have a few channels that I will miss (the non-premium Encore HD channel for sure), Travel HD, & WFN HD (my dad loves that one). But at the same time D* will give us a few new channels to look forward to.

Anyhow, its crunch time. If we are gonna switch, we want to do it now, not have to pay that insanely high bill for another month.

So here are some things I've noticed that make this switch less easy:

1) Future programming. I'm looking to see what D*'s plans are for adding new HD in the near future, and find nothing. With E*, they give updates all the time about the channels they are planning to add this month, even this year. I see nothing of the sort from D*. Nothing in the press releases, no retailer chats.
So for all I know, D* had gained the lead with HD, but E* is coming out with 5 new HD just this coming week, and there is another handful or so listed to come out after that this year. Could E* retake the national HD lead here, maybe even run away with it?

2) I hear awful things about the recievers. I hear the remote control commands are very unresponsive and can be a total pain in the ass. I'll mainly be using the HD DVR's, and I've heard other stuff about how glitchy they are.

3) Dual DVR Recievers. D* doesn't have them! I just learned that I was apparently spoiled to have an HD DVR (vip722) where I could easily schedule and watch my DVR'd programs on 2 different TV's. I mean, I could watch 1 dvr'd program on 1 tv, somebody else could watch another on a different tv. All from the same reciever, which came with 2 remotes as well for 2 tv's.

Now I found out that D* not only can't do that, but since I have 4 tv's, I actually need a reciever for each one! That is crazy to me after all this time of the 2 recievers in a single room controlling 4 tv's, different programming could be on each one at any time. Now I'm going from 2 receivers sitting a top eachother to needing 1 reciever in each room.

And, I need to pay $99 for a DVR just to be able to do the same thing I could do with a single vip722 for free. & instead of just paying $5 per month for an extra reciever, now that jumps to $15 since I need 3 more (on top of the 1 free one). The $15 doesn't bug me much, but the $99 does, considering I had this service luxury for free before.

On the plus side of this, I guess it will be nice to record 4 programs at one time with the seperate dvr's(although I've never needed to do this), but more downside is that what I record on one dvr won't be on the other, & vice-versa. Other than that, everything else about the entire reciever setup and the recievers themselves is a downgrade from E*. Another possible plus is maybe better reception on the SDTV's without the long cable runs, but overall this will take some getting used to.

4) Price. D* really isn't going to be much cheaper, if anything probably just as or more expensive thant E* was for us before we started getting screwed on our bill.

Conclusion. For us, we got screwed by E*, and not in the same way as everybody else, they screwed us extra special. Wasn't really just an annual $3-$5 increase and everybodys happy sort of thing. If it were, we'd be fine with that and still want dish.

As for HD locals, we'll probably have them with E* pretty soon, but how fast is never guaranteed. Assuming we do get them real soon (on the list for after april 1st), it will be an absolute shame that E* had to screw us cuz we would have been real happy otherwise.

I think E* offers a much better & cheaper setup for those with multiple TV's, for sure, better hardware, much better DVR situation. And any E* people that have their HD locals, plus the addition of the viacom 5 HD channels coming this week, should be pretty happy for the most part.

So what I'm saying is that we are 99% sure switching anyhow, and cancelling the last 2 months of E* (assuming D* can here by apr 3rd to install, which would be the last day of E* after we cancel, else we gotta wait another month). We aren't rich enough to keep paying this revised bill from E*, so we don't have much choice.

Just tell me its gonna be OK with D*! It will be inconvenient from what we have now, and I'm spending much more $$ off the top than with E* due to the need for the extra DVR.
But will it all be worth it? Will D* keep adding more HD than E*? Will the hardware hold up?
I hope so. I know when we ordered E* it was the popular choice, then of course after we signed the contract, E* did go downhill quite a bit. Now, with our contract ending, its seemingly making a comeback, of course just as I'm switching to D*! Will D* now become the new E*? Hope not!
 
Switch, why not? Some love E* some Hate it!, Same with D*.
If you like Movie channels and fantastic equipment, switch.
If your Happy with more Sports then anyone, with DVR's that are still better then cable, Stay.
 
Switch, why not? Some love E* some Hate it!, Same with D*.
If you like Movie channels and fantastic equipment, switch.
If your Happy with more Sports then anyone, with DVR's that are still better then cable, Stay.

yeah that sums it up :up
 
On the plus side of this, I guess it will be nice to record 4 programs at one time with the seperate dvr's
Actually if you had a box on each tv, as you said you probably would, you could record 2 things on each box. So that would be 8 things at once.



Honestly, if you like premiums, E* is for you.

If sports are your thing, maybe D* deserves a look.

Otherwise, there honestly is not that much difference between the two.
 
They're going to go back and forth on who has the most HD channels until they both have them all. So I wouldn't switch services because the other one has the lead. I choose Directv because of the sports choices.
 
Switch, why not? Some love E* some Hate it!, Same with D*.
If you like Movie channels and fantastic equipment, switch.
If your Happy with more Sports then anyone, with DVR's that are still better then cable, Stay.

You have it backwards. He wants to leave E* and go to D*.
 
3) Dual DVR Recievers. D* doesn't have them! I just learned that I was apparently spoiled to have an HD DVR (vip722) where I could easily schedule and watch my DVR'd programs on 2 different TV's. I mean, I could watch 1 dvr'd program on 1 tv, somebody else could watch another on a different tv. All from the same reciever, which came with 2 remotes as well for 2 tv's.

Now I found out that D* not only can't do that, but since I have 4 tv's, I actually need a reciever for each one! That is crazy to me after all this time of the 2 recievers in a single room controlling 4 tv's, different programming could be on each one at any time. Now I'm going from 2 receivers sitting a top eachother to needing 1 reciever in each room.

And, I need to pay $99 for a DVR just to be able to do the same thing I could do with a single vip722 for free. & instead of just paying $5 per month for an extra reciever, now that jumps to $15 since I need 3 more (on top of the 1 free one). The $15 doesn't bug me much, but the $99 does, considering I had this service luxury for free before.

On the plus side of this, I guess it will be nice to record 4 programs at one time with the seperate dvr's(although I've never needed to do this), but more downside is that what I record on one dvr won't be on the other, & vice-versa. Other than that, everything else about the entire reciever setup and the recievers themselves is a downgrade from E*. Another possible plus is maybe better reception on the SDTV's without the long cable runs, but overall this will take some getting used to.
Keep in mind that the two TVs on one DVR, one MUST be SD. If you want to do 2 TVs in HD, then you must have two separate receivers, which means an additional receiver fee AND an additional DVR fee (as Dish charges a seperate fee for each DVR; Direct charges on DVR fee for the house).
 
Good points from all, I have been thinking about doing the opposite, going to D to E, As I would enjoy a few more premiums, though I have been going back and fourth wondering if it is worth it with the switching of equipment and such. I am giving myself untill April to figure out for myself if its worth it. This also Gives me time to think it out more and still jump in on there current promos.

For me, Sunday ticket does not carry the weight it did, I dont find myself having the time on sundays to catch everything I want to catch. As long as they carry NFL network I am good.and as confusing as the names are for Dish networks packages, I like the fact that they have a few more options during times that we are not watching much TV, something I have stated many times in my posts for maybe a move to dish. I have two HD TV's and one SD so I like it that I can also do a 2 for one on one of the TV's as well!!
 
Good points from all, I have been thinking about doing the opposite, going to D to E, As I would enjoy a few more premiums, though I have been going back and fourth wondering if it is worth it with the switching of equipment and such. I am giving myself untill April to figure out for myself if its worth it. This also Gives me time to think it out more and still jump in on there current promos.

For me, Sunday ticket does not carry the weight it did, I dont find myself having the time on sundays to catch everything I want to catch. As long as they carry NFL network I am good.and as confusing as the names are for Dish networks packages, I like the fact that they have a few more options during times that we are not watching much TV, something I have stated many times in my posts for maybe a move to dish. I have two HD TV's and one SD so I like it that I can also do a 2 for one on one of the TV's as well!!
How do your locals compare by provider?
 
I had a D* install date set, but in the end, I did not want to lose my Dish HD DVR equipment and the External Hard Drive capability, which is completely different from D*s and useless to me. Yes, I walked away from a $40.00 per month for 12 months savings. With D* it's the luck of the draw with DVR equipment you will get...whatever is on the truck. Another deal breaker for me. And remember, if you like HD premiums, D* is the loser, with only 1 per provider at the moment. Only 2 recorded shows at a time.

Suggestion, call Dish and get customer retention (say you are going to drop it). Explain your problem with billing. They have been pretty devout about trying to keep customers lately.
 
. And remember, if you like HD premiums, D* is the loser, with only 1 per provider at the moment. .
Can you clarify this statement? It reads as if you are saying there is only one HD premium per premium provider (HBO?STARZ?ect). Which is not the case.

It is possible I misunderstood however
 
I gained my CW affiliate in HD when I switched from E* to D*. Still waiting on PBS-HD though.
I don't subscribe to premiums and never find myself watching them even when I get them for free. So that did not matter with my decision to switch.
I will say all the fear mongering on the forums about D* equipment is ludicrous. I had E* for 10+ years and was scared to switch because of misinformation.
Their HD-DVRs are actually getting updated with software (Media Share, MRV, Widgets, Direct2PC, Remote Recording, etc), I can't remember when the last new feature E* added was. That is the reason their dvr's guide is faster, it is barebones.
I dl'd the CE software Sat night and will say the guide speed is now a non issue on my HR22's.

All I can say is I had E*, I switched and would love it even without the $40 a month savings.
 
Keep in mind that the two TVs on one DVR, one MUST be SD. If you want to do 2 TVs in HD, then you must have two separate receivers, which means an additional receiver fee AND an additional DVR fee (as Dish charges a seperate fee for each DVR; Direct charges on DVR fee for the house).
Actually no, I have 3 TV's on my 622 right now without using TV2... TV1 my old CRT thats going to be moved soon Component input and composite sound, TV2 FPTV in bedroom Component input and toslink sound & TV3 the CRT's replacement, a 40"LCD connected with HDMI...(of course I can only watch 1 program at a time as I have it set for single tuner) (Component splitter from Mono price) Same with my HR20-700... except 2nd Component feed goes to the HT room with another FPTV...
 
Can you clarify this statement? It reads as if you are saying there is only one HD premium per premium provider (HBO?STARZ?ect). Which is not the case.
You're right with respect to Showtime and Starz, but for HBO and Skinamax, it is just the main channel (East and West). Four out of 26 HBO family channels is not very good coverage when DIRECTV promised 7 new channels beginning in September of 2007.

DIRECTV offers up to 11 different HD movie channels (not including four repeats).

DISH Network offers up to 20 different HD movie channels (not including four repeats).


The DIRECTV Group, Inc. - DIRECTV to Offer 11 HBO/Cinemax Channels in HD
 
Actually no, I have 3 TV's on my 622 right now without using TV2... TV1 my old CRT thats going to be moved soon Component input and composite sound, TV2 FPTV in bedroom Component input and toslink sound & TV3 the CRT's replacement, a 40"LCD connected with HDMI...(of course I can only watch 1 program at a time as I have it set for single tuner) (Component splitter from Mono price) Same with my HR20-700... except 2nd Component feed goes to the HT room with another FPTV...
You can split the signal with Direct as well. Not is not what I was talking about. The direct feed with one tuner for one TV and a second for a second TV, one TV must be SD.
 
As far as HD goes, In my market Directv is giving me 126 HD channels and only 86 from Dish. You can check your market at whereishd.com

The Directv HD-DVR can also be mirrored in three rooms (or more). Two of the three can be in HD, you just have to know how to do it(its simple). The HD-DVR comes with a IR/RF remote.

The HR22 is capable of 200hrs of HD or 400hrs of SD recording, why would you need an external hdd?

As stated before, you pay only one HD and/or DVR fee and it covers every receiver in your home. I currently have 1 HD-DVR and 5 DVRs in my home. I pay 1 $10 fee for the HD and 1 $6 fee for the DVR service. That covers all 6 DVRs.

Directv DVRs can be programmed to record from any cell phone or computer, from anywhere in the world, can Dish do that?

Directv is also up and running 99.9% of the time. Its #1 in that category as well as customer satisfaction for the last 8yrs.

Also, I don't know what the other dealers are doing right now, but I can give you an additional 12months of free showtime on top of the national offer of 3 months. ;)

/EDIT: Directv also gives you NASCAR Hot Pass for free now.
 
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It will be much easier to read your post if you used DirectTv and Echostar (or Dish) in your posting, and not this D* or E* crap.
 
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