Directv compared to Dish network

[m_oneill]

Hello,

I am a new member and I have the obvious question, which is better directv or dish network?

I have been a user of directv for the last 7 years, and have not had too many issues. But I will say that the price keeps going up, and nothing seems to be changing for the extra money. I had a conversation with AT&T the other day regarding a phone issue and they brought up Dish Network and their Homezone product which is available. The deal is less money per month, with relatively the same channels, so that is why I ask.

Thanks in advance,
Mark

 

[rockymtnhigh]

First off, WELCOME to SatelliteGuys; I am sure you will find answers to lots of your questions here. And its a great place to hang out.

As far as your question, I can't say whether you'll pay less with Dish Network, but as far as HD programming goes, Dish has the most channels of any provider -- up to 30 channels, including three premium movie channels, and locals in select markets. I have the complete package, what is called HD Platinum, and this gives me 34 HD channels. For the most part, I'd mosey over to those forums and scroll through some of the topics - you'll find a lot.

If you peruse the Dish and DirecTV Forums, you will find lots of reference to HD-Lite; a debate I try to avoid, but its about the issue of the Sat provider's "bit-starving" channels and reducing the resolution of the channels in HD. Most of Dish's channels are not in pure 1080i resolution; but I am pretty sure that things are no better with DirecTV. But others can pipe in on that.

 

[m_oneill]

Thanks for the information, but unfortunately I don't have HD. Some day I may upgrade, but for now I do have a question(s) regarding that for you as well. Does the HD cover audio as well as the video signal? I am more of an "audiohead" then a "videohead", so if the audio part of HD is improved as well as the video, that would interest me even more. Also, once you commit to a receiver from say Dish Network, can you upgrade to HD later, or do you have to buy another receiver at that point?

 

[Kikkenit2]

I have the Directv R15-500 SD DVR, Directv HR10-250 HD DVR, and 2 of the Dish VIP622 HD DVR's. I connect all 4 to my Yamaha RX-V1400 receiver using the Toslink optical digital audio cable and they all sound fantastic. I have a mid-fi 5.1 speaker set and it sounds way better than my Panasonic 53" RP CRT TV. Both sat providers have similar prices, channel line-ups, and music without video channels. Dish does have the 15 extra voom HD channels including 24/7 HD/5.1 surround sound concerts on the Rave channel.

I listen to sports in 7 ch. stereo, but switch to THX surround for movies and the concerts. I can't help but crank it loud on that clean sounding music. You gotta get HDTV. It is about sound as much as video (well almost). HD-DVD and the soon to be released trueHD dolby digital thru 1.3 HDMI will sound even better on a high end stereo. What audio equipment are you using?

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Thanks for the information, but unfortunately I don't have HD. Some day I may upgrade, but for now I do have a question(s) regarding that for you as well. Does the HD cover audio as well as the video signal? I am more of an "audiohead" then a "videohead", so if the audio part of HD is improved as well as the video, that would interest me even more. Also, once you commit to a receiver from say Dish Network, can you upgrade to HD later, or do you have to buy another receiver at that point?

Many customers lease receivers, which provides the ability to upgrade.

HD channels are mostly in DD5.1; the sound is pretty good, although the surround channels depend a lot of on the original source. I watch a lot of network tv, and ABC and CBS do a better job with DD sound than NBC does. But DD5.1 is the most advanced audio encoding coming out of Dish for the time being.

Dish also has about 30 (I think, not sure of the actual number) Sirius Satellite audio channels, plus at least the same amount that are CD quality.
But the quality of that does not depend on HD. Its the same on a Standard Definition receiver.

 

[dfergie]

Yes, no matter which provider you choose ( I have D* E* ) all offer 5.1 sound which greatlly enhances your viewing experiance no matter if HD or not...

 

[Stargazer]

They are similar in many ways but Dish Network offers more budget priced packages which give more bang for the buck such as the Family Package for $19.99 and TOP 60 for $29.99 Dish has the most HD channels (right now). Dish Network does not charge an additional outlet fee on the second tuner of each dual tuner receiver (I hope you figure out what I just said means) as long as an active phone line is plugged into each. Directv does not charge a DVR fee per receiver like Dish Network does. Directv hardware is cheaper. Each has their own advantages.

 

[m_oneill]

The audio equipment I am using is as follows:
Anthem AVM-30
Rotel RMB-1075
Rotel RCC-955
Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.2 (mains)
Paradigm Reference Studio CC v.2 (center)
Paradigm PDR-12 (sub)
Paradigm Mini Monitors (rear)
Denon DVD-2200
Directv SD DVR

The Directv unit I have sounds great, I am just wondering what else is out there as far as ungradeablility and ongoing technology. As an example, this "Homezone" that Dish is offering. It sounds like a good idea, but will I even use it? The HD sounds like it may be worth it, but at the present time, I don't have a HD television, but when the TV I now have goes, I would like to upgrade to that level.

The other issue is that I just seem to keep paying a fair amount of money to Directv every month ( approaching $100.00), and I am just wondering if there is a better deal out there.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The other issue is that I just seem to keep paying a fair amount of money to Directv every month ( approaching $100.00), and I am just wondering if there is a better deal out there.

It all depends on what programming you want.

For $100 per month you can have a lot of HD programming from Dish.

But if you don't care about that, then you can get away much cheaper.

 

[m_oneill]

After looking into a few options this morning, I have come up with a few possiblities. I think that being able to upgrade to HD in the future is important. When the current television I have goes bad, I plan to upgrade to HD. I talked to Dish this morning and they suggest me getting the America Top 180, which has almost the same programing as what I recieve from Directv. They further suggest getting a HD receiver upfront, so I will not have to upgrade later. It may make more sense for me to do this AT&T because they offer discounts for combined products. But one difference I did notice is the receiver that is offered. Dish offer's a model number vip622 dvr, and AT&T offers a DVR 942. Does anyone know the difference, or is it the same unit just packaged differently?

So it seems to me that if I can get all this put together, I have more future options with Dish rather than Directv, and I should be able to upgrade to HD for about the same money I am currently paying for non-HD with Directv.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The 942 is older; it has a smaller hard drive; it has DVI instead of HDMI.

The 622 is the state-of-the art Dish DVR. It is now almost a year old, and has gone through its growing pains. It has 2 HD tuners, plus an Over the Air (OTA) ATSC HD tuner. I do not think the 942 has the OTA HD tuner, but since I don't have it, I could be wrong.

 

[Kikkenit2]

The 942 is the old dvr. Get the 622 or you won't be able to get any future new channels. In fact you will eventually lose some current channels. It is all about the type of compression they use. Mpeg2 is the old and sometimes current compression used. Everything is going mpeg4 (dish & directv both) which provides the same quality at 1/2 the bandwidth. The dish vip622 & directv hr20-700 both use the new mpeg4.

 

[m_oneill]

So what I ended up deciding to do was venture forth in the Dish direction, but I realized at this time it does not make sense to head in the HD direction until I get a HD television (plus its $199 spent for no reason at this point). I will receive a DVR-625 receiver and a DISH322 receiver for now, and when I upgrade to a HD set, I will then get the 622. I feel that makes the most sense at this point, unless I am missing something in my understanding of the services offered.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[rockymtnhigh]

So what I ended up deciding to do was venture forth in the Dish direction, but I realized at this time it does not make sense to head in the HD direction until I get a HD television (plus its $199 spent for no reason at this point). I will receive a DVR-625 receiver and a DISH322 receiver for now, and when I upgrade to a HD set, I will then get the 622. I feel that makes the most sense at this point, unless I am missing something in my understanding of the services offered.

Thanks,
Mark

Its a good move. The 625 is a good machine. Only downside if you lease is that it will be one year before you are eligible to "dish'it up" to a HD receiver. So if you think you will be moving to HD soon, then consider the $199 for the 622.

 

[m_oneill]

Alright, now you have sparked my curiousity again. What does "dish'it up" mean??