Dish Network customer with questions about switching

[bfollowell]

I've been a Dish Network customer for years and I'm considering jumping ship. I've had no major problems with service but my wife and I just bought a new Samsung television from Best Buy. While we were there, a DirecTV rep approached us and started talking to us about service. I mentioned that we were considering upgrading our service to a Hopper and one Joey and she start telling us about DirecTV and the new Genie whole-home DVR system. From what I was told, we'd get introductory pricing for a year and save about $35 or $40 a month and after 12 months, the service would still be about $8 to $10 cheaper a month. We'd also get a $150 Best Buy gift card. The monthly pricing was comparing pricing for the DirecTV Choice package to Dish Network's Americas Top 200 package.

First of all, what major differences may we notice if we switch service? What are the positives and the negatives to making this change?

I have two questions about the equipment as well.

First of all, does the Genie allow OTA antenna hookup or is there some sort of add-on module for this? I know I can get a USB OTA module for Dish's Hopper that will integrate all of my local HD channels into the channel guide, as well as feed the signal down to all the Joeys. Is there something similar available for the Genie and it's clients?

Second question with some background first. We have televisions in our living room, master bedroom, game room, kitchen, den and workout room. Most of our main television watching is done in the living room. 90% or better or our other television watching is done in the master bedroom. We occasionally like watching something on one of the other four but it's very infrequent and would be a total waste to spend money on clients for all of these. I mean, there are only two of us living here full-time now! Anyway, I know Dish's Hopper and the Joeys can work just fine off of a wi-fi connection and no coax hooked up at all. This would be a perfect portable solution for us. We could leave the client in our bedroom and then, on the rare instances when we wanted to watch something from somewhere else, we could just move it to another location. My question is, will the Genie and it's clients allow something similar? I'm certain that, much like Dish, this isn't an offically supported option, and that doesn't concern me. I just want to know if it's possible.

Anyway, hopefully someone will be able to answer some of my questions. I would be most appreciative for any information or advice anyone may be able to offer.

Thanks.

- Byron

 

[jcrandall]

OTA is available with an AM21 add-on for $50. It connects to the Genie via USB and allows two views/recordings of OTA at a time. It does not increase the availability of 5 recordings at a time.

I recommend getting the Genie and a second HD-DVR (great in case of a failure and having to wait to have the genie replaced). Put the second HD-DVR where the second most used TV is. It also lets you record past the 5 if needed. For the rest I would get the client box (free up to 3). DirecTV is testing a wireless client, but as of today each client will need coax ran to it.

You may consider running an HDMI cable if rooms are close together and share a box with seldom used locations - great way to cut the bill $6/month.

 

[bfollowell]

Thanks for the info.

On the OTA add-on, if I were to get that, would the OTA channels feed down to any client devices or would they only be viewable on the main Genie console?

Also, I know Dish charges $7 a month for each Joey (client device). You're telling me that the client devices are free through DirecTV, up to three? Also, maybe I'm being dense here but, if the client boxes are free, how would sharing a box cut the bill by $6 a month? They're free, up to 3, right? Just making certain I understand.

Thanks again for the information.

- Byron

 

[raoul5788]

The clients are free to get, generally, but are $6/month to use. I think the ota signals are carried to the clients, but I'm not sure about that.

 

[jcrandall]

As raoul said, client boxes are free to acquire at signup, up to 3. They do require the $6/month, as do all receivers. On DirecTV the "advanced receiver" fee ($25 for new subs) covers the HD, DVR, and whole-home service fees all in one, for the account - regardless of how many boxes. This is different than Dish which charges per box.

The OTA channels would be viewable both live and recorded on the clients.

 

[bfollowell]

Oh, OK, I gotcha now. Thanks for clarifying guys.

I think I may use the advice on the HDMI cables though. I have two televisions close to where I'd have my main television and Genie. One room is directly above on a shared wall and it would be an easy run through the wall. The other is in the next room. I'm assuming someone makes HDMI splitters or something along those lines. It would just simplify things instead of always having to move the Genie mini.

Do the Genies and mini Genies come with RF or IR remotes?

Thanks again for all of your help guys. I think I've just about decided to take the plunge and jump ship.

- Byron

 

[lparsons21]

I haven't 'jumped ship' yet, I'm dual-subbed for a bit.

That said I just got a Genie (HR44) and a Mini (C41) the other day. Very nice and very fast, quite similar to the Hopper in speed of operation. HD PQ is a bit better on D* and SD PQ from the Genie is better than I remember in the past for whatever reason. Overall a good installation and equipment.

The GUI interface is similar in some ways to what you saw on the VIP series from Dish though there are significant differences in approach to some things. I don't think you'll have much problem learning the differences and how to take advantage of them. The search function is very powerful, even allowing for some esoteric searching and auto-recording. And if you like sports there is more HD sports on Direct.

When/if you decide to make the plunge and don't have a friend with Direct, PM one of the Direct subscribers here to get a referral. It will save you and them $10/month for 10 months, in addition to the new customer deal you get.