Dish or Charter.

[coinmaster32]

I currently have dish and I am moving in about 7 months to a town with Charter Cable.

Charter Cable would be cheaper for me, but cost is not my concern, it's picture quality.

So far, I discovered that Charter does not have H2, DIY, and BBC America in HD (dish does), while dish has a few channels that charter does not, such as Nat Geo Wild. There are also some channels that Charter has, that dish does not, such as Nick2.

Never the less, my most important need is picture quality. So I am wondering if any ex-charter users could comment on the the HD PQ, or if anyone who now has charter could comment.

Additionally, there are some features that dish has, that I am wondering if charter has too, such as:

1. Watch a program on a DVR from another DVR in the house.
2. Custom program guide.
3. Apps, such as being able to see the weather on TV, pay your bill on the TV, etc.

 

[Tampa8]

Just get Charter, they have a no contract deal. Don't like it, get DISH.

 

[coinmaster32]

I need opinions on current users of both to compare.

Reason being, I currently live with my parents and the dish account is in my name. If the consensus is that Dish has a better HD PQ, then I can cancel dish before I move, then my parents can sign up again in their name and enjoy the discounts.

If the consensus is that Charter HD is better, then I will leave my dish equipment with my parents and have them pay the bill.

 

[akaArturoK]

I was on Charter and switched to Dish due to HD availability of certain channels. A few months later, Charter added HD for all those, I think. I think BBC America HD is available in some Charter markets but maybe not others. As to PQ, I think it's all over-compressed but I find Dish better than Charter of two years ago. For locals it might depend on how the local is connected to the Dish uplink. For example, we get two main PBS stations, one from a neighboring state where the uplink is. The one from the neighboring state has better PQ, and it's easy to see the difference. I suspect this is because of a fiber link vs. OTA to the uplink. For Internet connectivity, get Charter.

 

[3HaloODST]

Personally I'd never consider Charter but I had a pretty bad experience with them many years ago. I guess there are people that would say the same thing about Dish.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using Forum Runner

 

[Laddyboy]

I need opinions on current users of both to compare.

Reason being, I currently live with my parents and the dish account is in my name. If the consensus is that Dish has a better HD PQ, then I can cancel dish before I move, then my parents can sign up again in their name and enjoy the discounts.

If the consensus is that Charter HD is better, then I will leave my dish equipment with my parents and have them pay the bill.

Why not cancel so your parents can get the discounts no matter what. Try Charter and then, if you don't like it, go back to Dish and get the discounts yourself. You only have to be gone 3 months as I recall to qualify for the discounts.

 

[navychop]

1. You might be ahead to use Dish Mover, especially if you have recordings you'd like to keep. Otherwise, I'm with Laddyboy

2. I think a major question in your mind should be: "Do I want/need the finest DVR on the market, or will I be getting into something really crude in comparison?"

 

[Tampa8]

"Do I want/need the finest DVR on the market, or will I be getting into something really crude in comparison?"

You're not being fair. Crude is a compliment to what it is in comparison.

 

[Scherrman]

Why not cancel so your parents can get the discounts no matter what. Try Charter and then, if you don't like it, go back to Dish and get the discounts yourself. You only have to be gone 3 months as I recall to qualify for the discounts.

I think Dish now changed it to 60 days so it's really not that long of a wait. Although I'd hate to have any cable for that long.

 

[mdavej]

In my market, Charter vanquishes Dish both in PQ and HD lineup (full 1080i and 30+ additional HD channel plus nearly all local sub-channels).

Charter's DVR graphics do look like the Atari I had in the 70's. But I use Windows Media Center instead which is a lot better than my Hopper in most respects. With WMC you also have no DVR fees, so I'm saving at least $40/month over Dish or cable DVRs in my 5 TV whole home DVR system. I never see myself going back to satellite unless cable has a huge price increase.

Charter does have an improved DVR interface in test markets at the moment which should roll out soon.

Up until 2 years ago, Charter sucked, bad. But they've made a dramatic turn around and are now the best option IMO.

As others have said, there is no risk in trying.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Charter internet. $39.99 for 30 megs. $29.99 install. Best deal around.

TV, Probably go with Dish or Directv.

 

[mike123abc]

In my market, Charter vanquishes Dish both in PQ and HD lineup (full 1080i and 30+ additional HD channel plus nearly all local sub-channels).

That is the problem with cable. It is great in some towns and a disaster in others. It is hard to give a blanket recommendation unless you live in the neighborhood and can tell exactly what the quality is going to be. I would go with cable for a couple months and if it is bad then go with Dish again as a new customer, or perhaps consider DIRECTV if they have a better deal. Again the satellite providers have nearly the same line up, but the packages differ slightly. Find the one that best meets your watching at the best price.

 

[Claude Greiner]

That is the problem with cable. It is great in some towns and a disaster in others. It is hard to give a blanket recommendation unless you live in the neighborhood and can tell exactly what the quality is going to be. I would go with cable for a couple months and if it is bad then go with Dish again as a new customer, or perhaps consider DIRECTV if they have a better deal. Again the satellite providers have nearly the same line up, but the packages differ slightly. Find the one that best meets your watching at the best price.

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[mdavej]

Holy crap, I just did a quick check, and I see that the Charter "all digital" markets like mine have about 50 more HD channels than Dish. They've committed to having that in all of their markets by the end of the year. So in this case, Charter is a pretty safe bet no matter where you live.

 

[TheKrell]

In my market, Charter vanquishes Dish both in PQ and HD lineup (full 1080i and 30+ additional HD channel plus nearly all local sub-channels).

Charter's DVR graphics do look like the Atari I had in the 70's. But I use Windows Media Center instead which is a lot better than my Hopper in most respects. With WMC you also have no DVR fees, so I'm saving at least $40/month over Dish or cable DVRs in my 5 TV whole home DVR system.

So, I think the cable card has made this all possible, something that the satco's won't countenance. (Well, I'm sure the cableco's wouldn't either if not forced.)

Incidentally, Monsoon Multimedia made a series of "Slingbox" like devices called "Hava" which had WMC integration about 5 years ago. Worked great with my 722. They dropped it in favor of the "Vulcano" series which no longer had WMC integration.

 

[navychop]

Holy crap, I just did a quick check, and I see that the Charter "all digital" markets like mine have about 50 more HD channels than Dish. They've committed to having that in all of their markets by the end of the year. So in this case, Charter is a pretty safe bet no matter where you live.

I don't believe there ARE 50 HD channels not carried by Dish, outside of "Grass Growing" and "Knitting with Nana" type shows, or local interest only.

 

[mdavej]

True, most are pretty niche, but some are mainstream, like several Cinemax and the Disney/ABC/ESPN channels if course. I also like having CSPAN, BBC World News, Smithsonian, Oxygen, TV Guide, Fuse, TV One, etc. The whole list is on AVSForum.

 

[Scherrman]

TVGuide in HD? Are you serious?

 

[king3pj]

TVGuide in HD? Are you serious?

I didn't even realize the TV Guide Channel still existed. I can't imagine many people watching it when just about everyone has at least a digital cable box these days, even if they don't have a DVR or HD. More and more cable systems around the country are switching to digital only.

 

[mdavej]

It's a guide channel in name only. There is no actual guide. Kind of the weather channel has no weather and the learning channel has no educational content. It's essentially E!. It has a few movies, trailers, entertainment news, etc. I've recorded a few movies on it since I got the HD version.