directTV do i believe the bad hype

[dishdog]

I apologize if I'm in the wrong forum I am new to this board.

I have just moved into a new apartment. Deciding between Time-Warner and DirectTV.

I would like to give DirectTV a go. It's cheaper and offers Sunday Ticket.

However the customer reviews I've found digging around the web are pretty bad.

An example of one site I found...

DirecTV Inc - Satellite TV Reviews and Complaints

Since this will be my first experience with satellite I am looking for some reassurance from folks who have DirectTV that they have had a good experience with their service.

Thanks for your help...

 

[Mr Tony]

well you came to the right place

I have had D* for 4 months now and LOVE it. Other than one time when D* goofed up with a software upgrade (which required the receiver to be rebooted twice) my DVR is rock solid. It has the programming I want and if you are a HD fan (especially a sports fan) Directv is the only way to go

I suggest reading some of the recent threads here to get more info from new and not so new Directv customers

 

[Jimbo]

I apologize if I'm in the wrong forum I am new to this board.

I have just moved into a new apartment. Deciding between Time-Warner and DirectTV.

I would like to give DirectTV a go. It's cheaper and offers Sunday Ticket.

However the customer reviews I've found digging around the web are pretty bad.

An example of one site I found...

DirecTV Inc - Satellite TV Reviews and Complaints

Since this will be my first experience with satellite I am looking for some reassurance from folks who have DirectTV that they have had a good experience with their service.

Thanks for your help...

Welcome to the Site !

Your first mistake is looking for POSITIVE things said about Directv (D*) or any other company for that matter.

What usually happens is most of the Positive comment s don't get posted, because they are SUPPOSE to be good.
The majority don't get posted, HOWEVER if you have a BAD time with something that happened your for sure going to POST it so others can hear about your issues.

OK, now, as for the good vs bad, everyone from one time or another is going to have a bad experience or two. Ever the ones that really like a service won't get everything they want all the time.

If you browse thruout this site you will find Plenty of Good as well as Bad comments.
If you like you can move over to the DISH Network side of the forum and find the same things.

I have been with D* for 6 years now and have been pretty happy over all.
I am a big sports fan as well as an HD fan so D* does what I need/want. Getting what you want PROGRAMMING wise Should be one of the TOP things when looking for a provider.
IF Cable (TW) has everything you desire for programming and D* does as well, then you start to look into the other stuff like, how do you like the equipment from one company or the other and so forth.

As well as price, look at the price LONG terms well, not just for what they will give you as a price point right up front.

D*Makes you pay up front for equipment and it's LEASED, not OWNED, depends what deals they have going on at the time as to what equipment they are offering and how much.

With D* if you want an HD DVR , there is a DVR fee ($7 p/m), if you want a 2nd DVR , the fee for DVR is still the original $7, many times with a cable company you may not pay a DVR fee, but it's added into the cost of the monthly HD DVR fee from them, so your paying like 14-18 p/m for the HD DVR when with D* it's only the initial $ 7.
D* covers your 1st recvr and charges like 5-6 for each addl recvr, the cabal may or may not charge addl recvr fees, but is already part of the 18 p/m I mentioned before.

Just a few things to think about while debating.

 

[jdspencer]

The main thing the OP should look into is if any restrictions are in place for installing a dish. It's against the law to prevent a dish from being installed, but there are restriction as to where. The major one is whether he has LOS to the satellites.

 

[lern4483]

I apologize if I'm in the wrong forum I am new to this board.

I have just moved into a new apartment. Deciding between Time-Warner and DirectTV.

I would like to give DirectTV a go. It's cheaper and offers Sunday Ticket.

However the customer reviews I've found digging around the web are pretty bad.

An example of one site I found...

DirecTV Inc - Satellite TV Reviews and Complaints

Since this will be my first experience with satellite I am looking for some reassurance from folks who have DirectTV that they have had a good experience with their service.

Thanks for your help...

I have had direc since 1997.

While theres good and bad in any company, I would not hesitate to
recomend Direc tv.

HDdvrs just got better! Picture to me is the best Ive seen to date.
Sports galore! and excellent movie packages.

Plus im sure they have great sign up specials. Be sure to ask for them.
Plus if your wanting nfl ticket I think you can take advantage of a great sign up special for that as well.

GO FOR IT. You wont be sorry.

Lets us know what kind of deals you get and how you like direc tv.

 

[dcowboy7]

TW sux.

 

[Poke]

Yeah Cable TV is behind the times and they really don't work with you much on your bill and you don't get as much as well. Their hardware is not as good as well just my 2 cents.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I've had Comcast, Dish and Directv, in 3 Markets in 8 years. I've had my trouble with all, but after my latest move back to my hometown, I took the chance to go back to my favorite, and thats Directv.

Good DVR's, great PQ. Dish is great DVR's and good PQ. Comcast is good PQ, and crappy DVR's

 

[stilllearning]

5 years ago I had Charter. Absolutely hated it. The service regularly went down and when you called "tech support" after hours all you got was a message service that passed the message on the next business day (sometimes). Then went to Dish 4 years ago. Better than Charter by a long shot but the customer service was horrible. Tried Direct 2 years ago and won't look back. Great channel lineup (especially sports) and getting better every day. No complaints at all about customer service other than occassionally waiting on hold for a long time, but other than that the CSRs are excellent. I have about 2 weeks left on my 2 year contract. There is no way I will be leaving Direct. In fact, I am thinking of upgrading my HD box to HD DVR which will start my 2 year contract all over again. But I will happily do that for great service and TV.

 

[lern4483]

Yeah Cable TV is behind the times and they really don't work with you much on your bill and you don't get as much as well. Their hardware is not as good as well just my 2 cents.

When Uverse was coming to my town, I was going to dump my internet cable for Uverse.

I tried to see if the cable company would match Uverse promotion.
No go. They said I should just stay loyal and stay with them.

They are one of these small time cable companies in south florida( adavanced cable)

They stink!! So I left for Uverse..Much better then cable.

However, i still give satelite the edge.

Dish-best dvr
direc best picture
Uverse best price

cable: worthless (in my neiborhood)

 

[dishdog]

thank you all for your responses...

a long time ago I had TimeWarner and swore I would not go back unless I was forced to

with your positive feedback directTV here I come...

 

[Jimbo]

thank you all for your responses...

a long time ago I had TimeWarner and swore I would not go back unless I was forced to

with your positive feedback directTV here I come...

I was the same way with the local cable (Buckeye Cable) that was in 91 and have had Sat service since. :up

 

[cfb]

Major things to watch out for:

- 2 year contract with directv with an early termination fee. Probably not with the cable option
- Directv has more channels and more sports
- You might get double and triple plays with cable from internet, phone, television, etc. Not on directv unless you do billing through some 3rd party that bundles directv
- Directv customer support isnt as good as it used to be and you sometimes have to call 3 or 4 times to get something done
- Read the directv contracts carefully and make sure you understand them, because they have an "F" rating with the BBB, primarily for stickling customers about what was on page 9, paragraph 3, section M.
- Directv may not have all of your local channels, while cable probably will
- The directv DVR, for a heavy dvr user, has some performance issues and some things that dont work well or work like you'd expect, on the cable end you can use the cable company's dvr (which usually stink as well) or use a tivo. At least its more than one option
- Directv likes to stick premium channel and pay per view stuff up your nose on every occasion. Even if you dont subscribe to the premium channels and arent interested in pay per views, when searching for shows or autorecording keywords on your dvr, you'll have to flip through 30 pages of pay per views and stuff on channels you dont get. It makes the search function rather useless in my opinion
- Reliability wise, I had great reliability with my directv receivers and reception in the SD days. Since getting the HD dish and HD DVR equipment, I get a lot more rain fade and even lose signal on real cloudy days. I have perfect line of sight and perfect dish alignment, and great brand new cabling, so thats not the problem. Having had cable a few years ago and being able to compare that to current directv reliability, I think they're about even.
- System control at directv has been a bit problematic for the last two years. A couple of times they've sent out new software releases before their time because they were being driven by an advertised date, hosed some people up with bugs and then had to do emergency releases soon after to fix them. A couple of times they've also sent bad guide data and blown up everyones dvr's for 4-6 hours. The release control and error checking need some work.
- Directv's HD picture quality seems a little better to me than what I've seen on cable, but I think after watching either one exclusively for a couple of days, you wont notice.

I think this is about the time someone puts on the Dr. McCoy and yells "dammit cfb! its only tv!!"

 

[cave1376]

We have Time Warner here in El Paso, TX and know your horror problems. I have never regreded droping them and getting D*.


As far as product complaints, every one gets them. It does not matter what kind of product it is, new cars, home builders, fast food, what ever. More people will complain about bad products or services and the good goes less heard.


Had D* sense 98 and have nothing big to complain about. And before I moved into a rental, I asked the property mngr if I could have D*. He said it was ok as long as the Dish wasn't going to be installed on the roof or wall and "When you go, the dish goes too". I told him the dish would be attached to the rail post and I would take it with me when I leave. The mngr was fine with the post mount and gave me premision for the mount.


Be sure you get written authorization from the property mngr. or land lord and any dish mounting restrictions they may have. The D* installer will want to see it because of the mounting restrictions and los before he starts the install.

 

[johns70]

I've been real happy with DIRECTV. I've had it for 13 years.

I've never had direc or direc tv like one of the other people replying did so I can't comment on that service.

In 13 years I've never had my service go out on real cloudy days. The person that said that does have an equipment problem.

I've never had to call DIRECTV 3 or 4 times to get something done.

 

[markfp-1]

I've had DirecTV since 1999 and I've always been pleased. Keep in mind that any online forum tend to have more negative comments than positive ones. People with valid complaints or those with just an ax to grind are very vocal, but most the folks who are satisfied with the service don't bother to write in. That's just the way it is.

People are like that. A person goes to a restaurant and gets a horrible meal and terrible service, they'll tell everybody they know about how bad it was, but when everything was good they don't tell anybody.

I think you'd get a better idea of the service by asking DirecTV customers in your own neighborhood.

 

[cfb]

In 13 years I've never had my service go out on real cloudy days. The person that said that does have an equipment problem.

I do not have any sort of equipment problem. When its sunny and clear for 8 months a year, I get signals in the 89-96 range on all transponders. When the heavy weather comes in and we have highly saturated clouds or rain, the signal drops down below 40 and I get 771's.

Of course, since we probably dont live in the same place, my weather just might be a bit different from yours.

This has only been an issue since the HD upgrade. I rarely had rain problems in the old days. The equipment and cabling has been checked twice by directv and found to be 100%.

When I had cable, it went out 2-3 times a year for 2-4 hours. With directv, I get a signal loss 3-4 times a year for 15 minutes to 3-4 hours. Then once a year I've had my boxes blown out of the water for ~4 hours due to bad guide data, and twice I've had software updates that were bug ridden that caused me signal problems and loss of recordings.

I've never had to call DIRECTV 3 or 4 times to get something done.

I never used to have CS problems, but there are some now. The BBB ratings of "F" and the fast slide downhill in customer service ratings appear to support my observations and conclusions.

I will remind all of you that I've been a customer for ~15 years, and was directv's biggest fanboy for about 12 of those years. They are not now what they used to be.