DirecTV or DISH Network ?

Ninja

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Mar 22, 2005
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Forgive the total newb question and I know it depends on many factors. After some details I hope that all of you can give me your opinion on what would be best in my situation. I am tired of getting less for more and I am doing research before I make the jump from Time Warner cable to DBS. I am a big TiVo fan and since D* uses their equipment that is a plus for them but it seems from the discussion here that they plan to stop using TiVo. A major concern of mine is that D* does not offer my locals and E* does. That is a plus for E*. NFL Sunday Ticket is very attractive to me as football is the only sport I really follow closely. E* is cheaper than D*. I'm not sure of the total number of channels available comparatively. E* offers Japanese programming which is a plus since I speak Japanese and my wife is Japanese. D* seems to be more committed to HD and has plans for several new birds to be launched over the next several years. Does E* have plans for any new birds other than the planned acquisition of the VOOM one ? On the D* website they do not offer a selection for the Hawaii time zone like E* does making it difficult to do a head to head comparison for programming. It seems many new changes will be taking place by this summer. As a new subscriber would it be best for me to hold off a little longer to see how things shake out before deciding. If so how long do you advise I wait ? TIA for all of your help.
 
I am leave Direct TV and going to Dish becuase the Tivo is overloaded in CPU. It is just so slow. Even with the upgrade the guide is super slow, and the hour glass is on a lot.

If you have seen a stand a lone non Direct TV it is fast.

Dishnetworks DVRs are very fast. And I like the guide much better. I also like the Live video in the corner and caller ID that Direct Tivo does not have.

its personal preference, you should try both out before you buy.

Same here, there are more channels that I need on E*

D* cant even get me UPN.

Plus the E* is the way of the future, why buy, leasing gives you a better chance of some day getting upgrades, instead of re-buying again.
 
A friend had Direct TV and switched to Dish network less than a year ago but probably close to a year now. I don't think it has been a year though. He said they are about the same and he likes the both fine but he likes E* better as he gets a few more channels for the price and he can get his local channels with E* and he can't with D*. I also have E* and like it because it has the superstation pack and I like there guide a fair amount and don't really like the guide on the D* recievers I have used. Overall I like Dish better but they are both pretty close and it really depends on what you want. If you want NFL Sunday Ticket D* is the only way to go if you want cheaper price or locals go E* in your case is some cases D* has them too.
 
I like Dish's DVR's ok they arnt up to the Replay standards but they are pretty good I Don't know if I would want to pay for one monthly though although I may. I have a 501 which I bought from Dishstore.net for $129 as I didn't want the monthly fee. I have had Dish for about 2 years but only the 501 for a month or so.
 
these surveys really don't answer anything. There are several reasons why one would go with one company over the other and they are all valid.

For example:
If you must have an HD-DVR, go with directv because they actually work and they give you 2 OTA tuners.

If you don't like paying upfront costs for dvrs or hd equipment, go with E* because you can lease there equipment.

and there are many many others like internationals, nfl, movie packages, etc, etc, etc
 
hometheaterman said:
A friend had Direct TV and switched to Dish network less than a year ago but probably close to a year now. I don't think it has been a year though. He said they are about the same and he likes the both fine but he likes E* better as he gets a few more channels for the price and he can get his local channels with E* and he can't with D*. I also have E* and like it because it has the superstation pack and I like there guide a fair amount and don't really like the guide on the D* recievers I have used. Overall I like Dish better but they are both pretty close and it really depends on what you want. If you want NFL Sunday Ticket D* is the only way to go if you want cheaper price or locals go E* in your case is some cases D* has them too.

What city does your friend live in? I didn't know that Dish had locals that
Directv didn't.
 
That is one of my concerns about D* they don't offer locals here in Honolulu, Hawaii but E* does. Thanks everyone for your replies so far. I know it is a matter of prefernce but reading everyones opinion helps me weigh the pros and cons.
 
raoul5788 said:
What city does your friend live in? I didn't know that Dish had locals that
Directv didn't.
Dish is still way ahead of Directv in the locals that are provided. On the opposite side, I don't believe there are any cities that Directv offers locals in that Dish doesn't already serve.
 
Baton Rouge, LA
Springfield-Holyoke, MA
Lafayette, LA
Corpus Christi, TX
Wilmington, NC

are the markets D* has that E* doesnt have
 
welcome to the site. look at both providers and see which one fits your needs. dish is cheaper up front, but directv has more reliable equipment.
 
dragon002 said:
and in SOME dmas ergen's dish dontwork does not carry the independents , upn and wb. as i said, in some areas.

dragon

In the case of WB or UPN the Superstations are available on E*, D* has no equivalent offering.


NightRyder
 
Interesting, in the poll here E* is ahead, on DBSForums it's D*. Is there a reason ? Can you all point me toward other DBS related forums as well. Thanks for all the responses so far they are all informative and helpful.
 
I am quiting E* because they keep screwing me over. Been a longtime customer and they have been going down hill rapidly in Customer Service, the new equipment just doesn't work, and the lies go on and on. If you like tivo, go with D*, it does work. If you like basic receivers that work, E* will work, just don't expect much beyond a 5xx series PVR, anything newer basically has more flaws than features.
 
My 921 DVR works great, wish it had two OTA tuners though. Check them both out, maybe a live demo or something. Both have good and bad points, I had afriend switch from Direct to Dish, he likes the guide, picture in corner of guide, caller ID, and says it switches faster.
 

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