Considering switch to DirectTV from Dish - The good and the bad?

[Hemi 6.1]

awwww. I didnt know I was both yours and slammin's favorite moderator :

Your 100% my favorite.

KAB and I battle, thats what we do!

But I still have a ton of respect for him!:up

So with that, I agree Get the provider who has what you want.

E* has A LOT of programming disputes, that often result in dropped channels.
Thats FACT!
Some my try to sugarcoat it, don't say you didn't get warned if they drop something you like.

D* equipment, well doesn't do anything for me but cause anger on occation.

E* is Number 1 IMHO are far as best receivers on the market.:up
Sports with E* well, I hope you don't like BaseBall or any Sports from NY,or Out of your own market teams.

Both PQ HD PQ is Good, D* I give a slight edge, on some channels. But not a deciding factor IMO.


Truth, I picked D* because of the much more

• More Stable Pricing,
• More Stable Programming Line up,
• Better Sports selection
• Better Protection plan
• Better Customer service

Those are the weighing factors that decide my choice.
Everything else is just meaning less.

 

[hahler2]

I just switched from D* to E* about 6 months ago. Both companies deliver a good product and have their strengths and weaknesses.

D* has far superior technology. SWM, Whole Home DVR, and DECA are amazing technologies. I love what they're doing there. However, E*'s DVR's are better from a hardware perspective. I never used the HR24 which is supposed to be as fast as the E* DVR, but the other D* DVR's are very slow and laggy. One thing that E* does right though is the ability to back up timers to your remote so you don't lose them when you switch receivers. Very nice and I don't understand why more companies don't do it. Also, the way E* uses EHD's is better. On D* when you use an EHD that becomes that only HD for the receiver. You can't move recordings back and forth. It's either use one or the other. Another plus for E*

I think the D* interface on the DVR's is better though. Just little things that the D* DVR's do that my 922 doesn't. For instance, the D* DVR will keep your buffer no matter if you turn the DVR off or play a recording. So if you turn the DVR on or get done watching a show and notice that there is another one on that you want to watch you can quick hit the record button and it will start recording from the beginning of the show! Or you can rewind and watch it from the beginning live. Either way. Very nice feature that I don't get why the 922 doesn't do. Also, if you have multiple recordings of a show on the 922 when you press play it starts with the most recent episode. The D* DVR starts with the oldest episode. I like D*'s way better. If you missed 2 or 3 weeks of a show then you want to jump right to the oldest episode. Also on D* if you hit play on a group of recordings it will play them all back to back without you having to go back to your My Recordings page. Very handy. Like I said, nothing big, just little things that I think make them more convenient to use.

From a programming standpoint E* has more channels for less money. However, they tend to get into arguments with programmers and will lose channels from time to time. While this does happen to D* it's not NEAR as often as E*.

Personally for all the reasons I listed above, I will probably be going back to D* once my contract is up. I'm not necessarily unhappy with E* I just think that D*'s receivers are a little more user friendly. Plus, I don't care for the way E* does business and I don't trust them. I never know when I'm going to lose a channel that I watch on a regular basis and I shouldn't have to worry about that. I also don't care for the way they promise features on a receiver and then never deliver.

I switched because E* was cheaper but now that I've made the switch I just don't think it's worth it. However, everyone has a different opinion and I think the only way you can decide for yourself is to switch to D* and see if you like it. I hope I helped a little bit and if you have questions feel free to PM me. Good luck!

 

[hvcomputech]

"Whole house DVR feature" works as long as you sign up and get a HD DVR and a HD receiver. Standard receivers won't work. Additional HD receivers are $99 each.

 

[MikeD-C05]

The multi room viewing feature is something DISH should of jumped on first ,since they already had this feature in their vip receivers with one hd /one sd output to other sd tvs. I guess we will see if DISH will announce something like this come next week at CES.

 

[Mr Tony]

"Whole house DVR feature" works as long as you sign up and get a HD DVR and a HD receiver. Standard receivers won't work. Additional HD receivers are $99 each.

You get a HD DVR and HD receiver free at install (with Choice plus or above)

 

[stonecold]

We are very friendly over at the D* forum. It not like we go around blowing up E* receivers.... News at 11 Stonecold set to blow up a 625 with C4!

 

[DodgerKing]

I wonder how long he would last here if we treated him the way the Direct forum people treat Dish people when they go over there.
But then I guess when you don't have as many channels you have more time to come over here and post in all the threads, so...

From what I have seen, Direct people treat Dish people with more respect than the Dish subs treat Direct people over here.

 

[DodgerKing]

Actually, at this point, I have Dish mainly for sports. Dish is still cheaper for what I watch (FoxSoccer, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, CSNBA).

I think that the extra sports channels on DirecTV are mainly ones that sound good, but hardly anyone actually really watches. It is like that Sun Roof option on the new car - it sounds good - but how often do you actually open it ? If it is summer, the sun beats in and gives you a sunburn.

Similarly, having "all NFL games" or "all Champions League games" sounds good, but aside from the special situation of the Detroit fan living in Los Angeles, most people really do not have the time to watch 16 NFL games, they end up just watching their local team and that Monday Night Football game that is in all the packages of all providers. (And, in the Champions League, are you really going to actually watch that FC Anderlecht vs Shaktar Donetsk 6th choice match ?)

However, if Dish is having a dispute that means you do not see your local team, then that's a very good reason to change providers. But it has little to do with "Sports Fans = DirecTV"...

PS If that is the biggest problem you have with Dish, DirecTV or cable, then you have it easy !

So the two most popular sports packages, EI and ST, are ones that just sound good and nobody watches? Sure about that?

How about just being able to watch your own local teams on your own local HD RSN without seeing "JIP"? Something you NEVER see on Direct. Or how about watching your other local sports programming in HD on your own local RSNs? Is that too something nobody watches?

 

[Slamminc11]

awwww. I didnt know I was both yours and slammin's favorite moderator :

oh gawd! :

 

[ts7]

MRV was the main reason I switched from Dish to DirecTV in October (though the threat of losing my Fox local was what finally made me pull the trigger). I always see the arguments about D* being better for sports and E* being better for movies, though I found both systems had satisfactory offerings for my wants. I'm not quite 3 months in, but so far have no regrets and now have 2 HD DVRs and HD receivers for all 4 of my TVs and am paying about $25 less per month (even when the current rebates go away, my rate will be just slightly more than I was paying for Dish with a 722 and 322).

When I canceled my service with Dish the CSRs (I worked with 2) were very professional and helpful in terminating my account. They were straight-forward about my remaining balances and how the return process would work and everything was handled correctly when I received my final bill (in fact it was a little less than I was anticipating).

If Dish is meeting your needs then by all means stick it out but if not, based on my experience, moving to DirecTV is not a bad thing and they are not the ogre so many here in the Dish forum make them out to be.

I was a long-term Dish subscriber (about 10 years) before I switched. I'm now locked in to DirecTV for the next 2 years. At this point I have no intention of switching back, but would also have no problem switching back to Dish if they offered what I wanted (and DirecTV didn't).

 

[mitchfx]

Ok everyone...thanks for all the feedback. I've decided to stay with E*. I called customer service and they offered me the following:

-$30/mo off for next 6mo, then goes to $20off for following 6mo, then $10 off (via HD for Life Promo) after that.
-Waive the 24mo commitment for HD for Life
-Free upgrade to vip722 from my 622

Other deciding factors were as follows:

-Sports programming not as important to me as movie/entertainment
-Over 500gb of favorite shows and movies on my external drive which would go bye-bye if I switched
-My wife shed a few tears at the prospect of losing Fashion HD, her quilty pleasure background viewing
-OTA tuner features of vip receiver (which we use)
-Familiarity with current programming, hardware and the whole "If it ain't broke" factor
-Fact that D* would be more than E* for similar package after the promo pricing expired in 2012

Overall I'm very happy with my decision, as long as I get eventually get the DRA feature to work. Several calls/chats to E* customer service and still no solution in sight, but I'm going to keep trying. Also, the lack of Whole House DVR is a bit of a letdown, although I'm looking at getting the Harmony 900 remote to help remedy the current controller juggling in the bedroom.

Thanks again,
M

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Thats cool, Good luck with your choice.

Its not easy to just switch providers, so I understand.

 

[NotMe546]

I stay with Dish cause of price and equipment that works, not promises to work.

 

[stonecold]

I stay with Dish cause of price and equipment that works, not promises to work.

Umm that trollish if I ever seen a flaming troll itself.

Need I need to point out issues with firmware on 2700/2800/3700 recievers. Firmware issues the JVC DVHS , Dishplayer 7100/7200 , earlier 301.5 firmware releases the 721 the 921 .... Difference between DTV and Dish is DTV at least gives you a choice of being a beta tester // dis the release products so you can do the beta testing for them even though it supposed to be finished product.

Dont get me wrong I owned almost every Dish Network reciever out there last one was the vip722 leaving out only the 922 and the 211k and the 722k as boxes I dont have first hand access to . In most cases after a year or so Dish eventually fixes most of the bugs with the exception of the dropped support for 721/921 boxes other then that Generally good. But HR2x and R15/16 are rock stable the deca hardware works amazingly well and really no real complaints our of the whole home software either. Hows that whole home coming on dish oh wait there is none out to the public yet oh sorry I'm bad. I just figured with Dish owning sling that it should not be a big deal for them to make a embeded sling client in there current line of networked receivers. Maybe at CES they will finally show something off which meant two to three years later you actually have it way after DTV had it out to there customers. But I can see how you can confuse that with promises to work, as that the biggest thing companies like to do promise things. So why dont you just sit down take the time to loose the troll act and behave like a normal human being.

 

[lparsons21]

I had D* a few years ago starting with the HR20 and then the HR21. The HR20 just gave me fits when I got it and 4 HR20s later they switched it to the HR21. It was OK and I liked some of how it did things better than the Dish equipment, but it was slower. After a few upgrades it got slower and slower with each passing upgrade. Possibly because they were adding features to a box that was barely powerful enough to do what it was initially designed to do. I switched back to Dish solely because it was either that or throw the HR21 remote out the window! And that sluggishness held true until the HR24 came out. All the HRs prior to the HR24 are still sluggish as snails, imo. I didn't leave because of any other reason.

I hope that Dish does not include Sling functionality inside any current box because I think that will lead that box down the same sluggish path that D* followed. With Sling technology, I have whole home tv if I want it. Either on a TV equipped properly or on my iPad.

 

[yosemitesam]

earlier in this thread ----------

Somebody mentioned that D DVR call up - starts at the oldest of the recorded show group, I found on my 722 [80 shows of RFDTV ] that you can push the #9 and it jumps to the oldest show ! Have not done that in the last months though or with the newer 922. Maybe that will be helpful to someone ? Sam:rant:

 

[inazsully]

One thing to consider when choosing which provider to go with. If you are going to use an external hard drive (1.5TB advertised for $79.99), and I'm sure that most would love the benefits once they used a EHD, Dish Network is the provider of choice. With "D"'s HR24 HD DVR you lose the DVR's 500GB internal hard drive and rely only on the EHD for storage. So if your HR24 (500GB hard drive) is connected to a 1.5TB EHD you lose the 500GB from your HR24. With the 722 you keep the 722,s hard drive and realize a combined 2.0TB of storage capacity. If you already use a EHD Keep in mind that "E" and "D" have made it impossible to interchange EHD.s.

 

[lparsons21]

And with D* that external drive is locked to that particular receiver. Meaning that if that DVR poops out and you have to replace it, all your stuff is gone! I find that a major issue.

 

[Jhon69]

From what I have seen, Direct people treat Dish people with more respect than the Dish subs treat Direct people over here.

Think it might be because this is the Dish Network Forum?.

 

[old corps]

Ok everyone...thanks for all the feedback. I've decided to stay with E*. I called customer service and they offered me the following:

-$30/mo off for next 6mo, then goes to $20off for following 6mo, then $10 off (via HD for Life Promo) after that.
-Waive the 24mo commitment for HD for Life
-Free upgrade to vip722 from my 622

Other deciding factors were as follows:

-Sports programming not as important to me as movie/entertainment
-Over 500gb of favorite shows and movies on my external drive which would go bye-bye if I switched
-My wife shed a few tears at the prospect of losing Fashion HD, her quilty pleasure background viewing
-OTA tuner features of vip receiver (which we use)
-Familiarity with current programming, hardware and the whole "If it ain't broke" factor
-Fact that D* would be more than E* for similar package after the promo pricing expired in 2012

Overall I'm very happy with my decision, as long as I get eventually get the DRA feature to work. Several calls/chats to E* customer service and still no solution in sight, but I'm going to keep trying. Also, the lack of Whole House DVR is a bit of a letdown, although I'm looking at getting the Harmony 900 remote to help remedy the current controller juggling in the bedroom.

Thanks again,
M

WOW!If they offer me all that I'd have to stay too! Helluva deal!

Ed