Are you all happy?

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grantsa4

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Feb 9, 2007
156
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Naperville, IL
I know this is a very strange subject.

I am a comcast subscriber and am growing very tired of them and their lack of interest in their customers. I am still under contract for a while, but am keeping an eye on my other options once my contract is up.

I have followed these forums for a while and it seems from the many posts that I have read that the majority of you are happy with the directv product and the customer service you receive when you need it.

Is it all sunshine and lollipops?
Do the customer service reps actually know about the directv product?

I am coming from the comcast forums where the majority of the posts are people complaining and for the most part rightly so.

It seems such a different atmosphere over here.

Just wondering.
Thanks for any feedback.


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I think most people are happy in general but the grass isn't always greener. Ask as many questions here as you can. We won't lie to you a csr will to make a sale. But completely but things can be misleading.
 
There is a LOT more knowledge here about Directv and how it all works than there is by calling them.
 
Been with DirecTV since '98. Moved (really - movers connection) a few times, the install for that was handled quickly. In general I have no complaints.

Hardware and service issues have been almost non-existent. I've had a few boxes upgraded and an LNB fail once. That was fixed the next day. Really, I've only contacted customer service a few times. I've had only one billing issue and that was resolved quickly and to my satisfaction.

Basically the thing with DirecTV is that it works. It does what it's supposed to do and is very reliable. Even the rain fade issue is overblown. I seldom lose service and it really has to be a very heavy storm for that to happen. I can usually keep watching on SD until it lets up. A few years ago we had an ice storm and lost power for over 5 days. The neighbors on cable had no tv for over a week. I did.
 
grantsa,
I would say , Overall people are happy with D* ...

Of course you'll always have someone having an issue, thats inevitable ... Like Chip said, there are a lot of peopl,e with experience using and setting up the D* stuff and we all share info, so if ya need info , this is a good place to be.

There will always be some that are entirely happy and those that say everything about it is crappy, it's up to you to decide which is which.

I have been with D* consistently since '04 or '05, don't remember, had them off and on before that as well.

Things can always be/get better, but overall, ya, I'm happy.
 
I'm happy with Directv as well! I would like the cost to be a little lower, but seems like very thing is costing more these days. Most people here very helpful. Good Luck!
 
Been with Direct a year now, coming from Dish (18 mths) & Uverse before that (4-5 years), and am very happy. Just like someone posted earlier, wish it would be a little cheaper but what is nowadays? Dealt with csr several times for technical, billing, promos, etc & always very pleased with how they handle my enquiries.

I live in S. Florida with daily rain storms yet very little interruption in service. On the other hand, my parents have Comcast & it's unbelievable the level of bad customer service they provide. Almost weekly disruption in service & almost no to sometimes rude customer service. They once left a huge orange cable running across their driveway as a "temporary fix" for 6 months, although I called them every week to come fix the unsightly situation.

I've been trying to switch them to Direct but they're "bundled" & don't want to have to learn a new system. I managed to get their "bundle" to just under $100/mthly to compensate for the crappy service. But dealing with Comcast for them almost every month for one bad reason or another have certainly made me appreciate the great service we receive from Directv. I consider them one of the 2 best utility services I have, the other being Tmobile which I've had for 12 years now.

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I had Directv for 5 years and i'm happy so far with the service overall, just check on Directv website for the channel lineups for each package and make a decision on what you watch most, you can build up a fake sign up online to see what to expect on price

Which will be the promo price for 12 months, Genie 5-tuner DVR receiver is free on sign up alongside Genie mini clients, or you can get the HD DVR's for $199 upfront or HD non-DVR for $99, They don't do SD installs anymore only HD, I would call Directv directly to see what more savings they can give you for signing up, as oppose to signing up online, 2 year contract is required
when you sign up.
 
grantsa4, I believe I can give you a very good perspective on some options for you, as I have had Comcast, Dish and I have been with Directv since 2011.

I used to live in a condo with no Line of Sight so, at first, Comcast was my only option. I wasn't too happy and in late 2003, the condo association got into a contract with a Dish Network vendor(I forgot their name) and Dish was installed on all buildings, at the time, only their SD service. As soon as I could, I jumped to Dish and I was ok with it at first. Back then, Dish used to offer multi-channels for all Tennis majors, for example. Dish also did a great job of adding extra channels for the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Then in the summer of 2005, I got an HD TV and I tried to get Dish HD service. The vendor refused to upgrade their dishes to HD, and, having been a part of the condo board, I know we had signed a 10-year contract back in late 2003, so we were to be stuck with SD-only service for 10 years. So I switched to Comcast and I wasn't too pleased at all with it, but again, it was my only option.

As many residents started to having issues with the Dish vendor as well, the condo board was already preparing to hire an attorney to break our contract with that crappy vendor when we got the news that the vendor had been purchased by another company. And that provided us the outing to break the contract with the vendor, which we promptly did. Cut a long story short, in early 2009 the condo signed a contract directly with Dish Network to be the satellite provider for the condo and I again switched to Dish because, at that time, while Comcast was overing something like 12 HD channels, Dish already had north of 40, I don't recall the exact number. The only problem during my time with Dish from 2009-2011 was that Dish started to have too many contract disputes causing, for example, for it to drop ALL NYC metro sports networks - it never had Yes, but it ended up dropping MSG; MSG+ and SNY as well. From an equipment perspective, I was extremely happy with Dish equipment, as I had a 722K which, to this date, has been the fastest and best DVR i've ever had, and a 211k that for a one-time fee, I was able to add an external DVR and turn it into a second DVR.

In 2011 we bought a house and now Line of Sight was no longer an issue. As I was already out of the contract with Dish, I assessed my options and signed up with Directv and I've been happy since. Directv carries all NYC metro sports networks, plus it has extra channels for Uefa Champions League matches; all Tennis and Golf majors. I have 2 HD DVRs, I believe both of them HR-24 plus one HD received, I think, the H-24. Back then, using AAA discounts I was able to get the second DVR for a one time-fee of 99 dollars. Only comment I'd make is that Dish's 722K is a better DVR than the HR-24 - switching from one tuner to another one in the 722K was almost instantaneously while it takes about 10 seconds or so on the HR-24.

From a quality of the picture perspective, Directv HD picture is the best. My Comcast opinion is based on 2005-2009, and, back then, Comcast HD picture was really poor, too many breakups, freezes, even after multiple service calls with Comcast. I have friends who went from Cablevision to Directv as recently as last year and they were also impressed how much better Directv's HD picture is, compared to Cablevision. Directv SD quality isn't that good, but nowadays there are very few channels and programs that we still watch in SD.

From a lost of service during bad weather perspective, I have to say that, outside of Irene and Sandy, when I actually lost power for a few days, I may lose power for a couple of minutes during really bad weather, but it usually doesn't last that long - I can't recall a situation that it lasted over 30 minutes, if that much.

My final advice would be for you to look into your local networks and local sports networks, if they are important for you, and make sure Directv carries all of the ones you care about. As you may have seen in a few posts, LA subscribers that are college sports fans aren't too pleased with Directv, as it isn't carrying Pac-12 or the La Dodgers network. Althought the latter isn't carried by any major provider other than Time Warner, the former is carried by all but Directv. And I know some other local sports nets, like CSN Philly and the one that covers the Portland Trailblazers, aren't carried by Directv, either.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback.

It is so refreshing read this forum where people are actually helpful. I am currently active on the comcast forum and there are definitely some helpful people, but this place blows it out of the water.

Hopefully when my contract ends I'll be around here a lot more.


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Thanks everyone for the feedback.

It is so refreshing read this forum where people are actually helpful. I am currently active on the comcast forum and there are definitely some helpful people, but this place blows it out of the water.

Hopefully when my contract ends I'll be around here a lot more.


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Giving up Comcast does not mean giving up phone service or internet from Comcast. Check out what Directv package works for you,then you can cut down your Comcast TV package to the very bare minimum(if allowed) & order Directv. Once you are free to discontinue Comcast TV service,then do so.
 
Thanks - yes, I have to check what the conditions of the contract are. Whether I can switch up the bundle...etc


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