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I left Dish Network after being what I consider myself being a premium customer (~$100.00/month bill) for 7+ years. I had held over to getting a DVR until now due to the impending transition to MPEG-4 and the way Dish handled this transition was the last straw that made me start looking.

Reasons driving me away:
*18 month commitment. I don't even know if I will be alive in 18 months.
*$300.00 for the right to allow you to rent the DVR and then on top of that a lease fee plus another DVR fee. I don't expect to get something for nothing but this "triple" dipping is ridiculous. Some don't mind this but I do.
*Only one upgrade. I have 2 HDTVs. So to upgrade to 2 HDTVs would have been a big investment that I am not willing to do at this time.
*The increases in prices (DVR fees, rental, packages, etc.) If you upgrade to the MPEG-4 DVR you have to get all those VOOM channels that I don't care about just to get ESPN2 HD and Universal HD. I originally had signed up for the original MPEG-2 VOOM package but canceled after not watching them at all. In my case I am a Latino Max customer so to go the equivalent metallic package I would have lost channels like Fox Soccer, Boom, etc. that I can only get with the everything option.
*The production issues with the 622, Overall MPEG-4 fiasco, etc……

When I called my local Time Warner cable, I was able to get the following for 12months including fees: All digital channels (equivalent to 180), the Spanish package, HBO/Showtime (including HD), 2 HD DVRs, All Local HD feeds, TNT HD, Discovery HD, ESPN HD, iNHD1 and 2, HDNET and HDNEtMovies, and now Universal HD for about $81.00 including all taxes and DVR fees with no equipment cost and only a $20 installation fee. So I went ahead and had my installation completed this past Monday.

I kept both services for 2 days so I could compare them and have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by the picture quality. The local channels look the same as over the air quality, The other HD channels look just as good as Dish and the other channels but specially the analog local ones look better than with Dish. I can't compare DVRs as I never had one before but so far I have had no issues with the SA8300HDs and they pretty easy to learn how to use and operate.

So yesterday when I called to finally close my Dish account, the firs CSR lady just asked me the reasons I was leaving and then just transfer me to the "account" specialist (I think is what they are called) she asked me again the reason and then just offered me 1 week to keep the service in case I wanted to comeback, I declined and she did not pressed further. Gave me her number as confirmation, confirmed that I had a 0 balance and that was it. No more than a total of 5 minutes to cancel.

I kept my 2 dishes out because if things improve in 12 months, I will strongly consider coming back as a new customer and under much better conditions/terms, I hope. (As we know Dish treats new customers much better). If not even with regular prices, the price and picture quality gaps between Dish and my local TW are not there anymore like when I first joined Dish in the late 90s. And if you amortize the price you are paying for the equipment up front, Dish can be more expensive than some cable companies.

Guys/Gals, if you are unhappy with Dish, look at your options. Each local cable company is very different but you may be surprised. The only way that Dish will try to improve on the way the do business and treat their established customer base is by affecting their bottom line.

I am very happy with my decision and enjoyed that last night I was finally able to watch and HD event (The Grammy's) and record another one to watch later (Lost):up

And that is my story……

Thanks for listening

Mario.