I just switched from Dish to DirectTV this weekend and couldn't be happier. Bought my equipment from ValueElectronics. Had a good experience with them, the equipment, and DirecTV.
Seeing the difference in the equipment really makes me wonder how Dish is still in business - perhaps they're just getting lucky with enough people never seeing DirecTV's equipment. I was using a 6000, 501, and 2700 before, and have since upgraded to two R10's and an HR10-250. Initial impressions on some of the more hot issues: yes, the guide is quite usable on the R10. As most have pointed out, the guide is slower than a snail on the HR10-250, but all of the HD OTA guide data is wonderful (and so far, accurate). I haven't really noticed a difference in picture quality. The only downsides I've come across are that Tivos have a 30-minute pause buffer (501 had 60 minute), and I miss the PIP guide screen, although it's not too bad with the translucent overlay - as long as I can hear the audio, that's all that really matters.
Now to figure out how to use all these new features that I never had with Dish equipment...
Seeing the difference in the equipment really makes me wonder how Dish is still in business - perhaps they're just getting lucky with enough people never seeing DirecTV's equipment. I was using a 6000, 501, and 2700 before, and have since upgraded to two R10's and an HR10-250. Initial impressions on some of the more hot issues: yes, the guide is quite usable on the R10. As most have pointed out, the guide is slower than a snail on the HR10-250, but all of the HD OTA guide data is wonderful (and so far, accurate). I haven't really noticed a difference in picture quality. The only downsides I've come across are that Tivos have a 30-minute pause buffer (501 had 60 minute), and I miss the PIP guide screen, although it's not too bad with the translucent overlay - as long as I can hear the audio, that's all that really matters.
Now to figure out how to use all these new features that I never had with Dish equipment...
