DVR: DishNetwork or DirecTV or ??? + other questions...

With Dish, you be socked with 10 DVR fees. At that point, one would simply switch to their "Everything" package, which has no DVR fees. (Of course, the "Everything" package is far from it. It doesn't even include locals! Another $5!)
 
Any idea on the range of the radio remote? Ideally, we'd have the DVR upstairs (family room), and the second TV in the basement (excercise room) with one floor in between (main floor).

I have the 522DVR. The box is upstairs on my main TV, and I use a Harmony remote (IR) with that. "TV2" is downstairs, and the RF remote works great. The range is so good, right after we had it installed we we picking up signals from our neighbor's system. It's very easy to change the RF address of the remote so this is no longer a problem.

If you're really, truly looking for satellite service with DVR and you want to view the recorded content on two TVs independently, Dish is definitely your ticket.
 
New subs should hold off until after February 1. The new ViP622-1 HD DVR with 500GB of memory will be available then for free with commitment. The deal for existing subs have not yet been announced that I have seen.

Later this year and external hard drive will be available so you will be able to save lots of content.

Locals & HD locals availability depend on where you live. Go to https://customersupport.dishnetwork.com/customernetqual/prepAddress.do to see what you would get.

For the best DVR and HD, Dish Network is the best.
 
I don't get the knock on Dish for fees, because when I priced everything out DTV was at least $15 more for similar programming out of the gate.

The one DVR controlling two TVs independently is worth the price of admission alone. To be able to watch recorded content on either TV is amazing.

It would be hard to switch to any provider and give this up.
 
The one DVR controlling two TVs independently is worth the price of admission alone. To be able to watch recorded content on either TV is amazing.

It would be hard to switch to any provider and give this up.

True, unless the TV's are HD's then it's not buying you anything since the 2nd feed is only SD. I know I'm not the average customer but I do have three HD sets.
 
True, unless the TV's are HD's then it's not buying you anything since the 2nd feed is only SD. I know I'm not the average customer but I do have three HD sets.

True, I don't even have one HD set yet and likely won't until sometime next year at the earliest.

At that point, I'll still be a year or two away from having 2 HD sets.... I'm sure I'm like *most* people in this regard.

Of everyone I know, only a small subset have HD sets at this point.
 
Really odd. I'm also doing a comparison like Gary and for what I want, Directv is $28.00 cheaper than Dish. I wouldn't get the Voom channels but I'd get the HD games in Fox Sports Bay Area (RSN). I'll wait until the summer to make the switch but so far looks like Directv is the winner for me.
 
I'm hanging on to see what U-Verse will be like once it gets to my neighborhood. It's priced similarly, if not a little cheaper than even Direct. In the mean time, Comcast may not be Comtastic, but it's definitely Comceptible. (Plus, between you me and the lightpost, I've heard that if you complain to C* about the price, and threaten to leave, they cut you a deal.)
 
Really odd. I'm also doing a comparison like Gary and for what I want, Directv is $28.00 cheaper than Dish. I wouldn't get the Voom channels but I'd get the HD games in Fox Sports Bay Area (RSN). I'll wait until the summer to make the switch but so far looks like Directv is the winner for me.



Both companies' prices were about the same for what I was looking for until I started adding in fees, charges, and other stuff. Dish then became like 15 or 20 bucks more....mostly because I don't have a phone line.
 
We've been with DirecTV for a few years. It's OK. We just have one TV hooked up.

We'd now like to upgrade. Ideally, we'd like a set up where:

- 2 (or 3) TVs
- 2 TVs able to view content from the DVR

And I'm just completely confused as to what to go with.

For starters, any comparisons between the two provider's DVR systems? I haven't been able to find much in the way of recent reviews of what Dish is offering in terms of the interface and ease of use.

If we want to watch TV from the DVR from two TVs, do we need two separate DVRs? That seems less than ideal, as then we need to maintain them both in terms of setting up recording. Ideally, we'd have one 'main' DVR that any of the TVs could access.

Programming in general...is there really much of a difference? The channels we mainly watch are:
- all the locals
- Nick
- Comedy Central
- HGTV
- USA
- TLC
- Discovery
- Travel
- Food
- IFC (The only one I'd REALLY miss not having...)

Local channels...what's the deal with Dish? I'm seeing news reports saying that they don't carry them anymore after Dec 1 of '06. Is that true? Their website still advertises them.

HD...we don't have HD yet, and likely won't for another year or so. So, by then it'll probably be time for us to reconsider again. That said, my parents have HD via DirectTV and it doesn't really seem to be worth it, as they get maybe 6 channels at the moment (minus the premium channels).

Sports...I'm an odd guy. I can live without the sports packages. ;o)

Any advice appreciated!
With DirecTV you will save money on monthly fees if you opt for their platform. With Dish you will pay more in fees (they have really odd ones too like HD enabling fees) but they currently have the only multi-room DVR. Unless your a hack, then you can get DirecTivo units, hack them (it's legal) and then setup multi-room viewing with all the DVR's. I know a dude that has 600 hours, plain ridiculous if you ask me. You can also hack the HD Tivo, but they are getting pricey.

I have both D* & E*, they both tick me off, E* more so than D*, but E* in my setup has better PQ and more HD. I have a 622 that I consider inferior to the HR10-250, yet I sold my HR10-250 as I plan to be DirecTV-free by football season and no longer want NFL ST, but you didn't care about sports so that should not matter.

Bottom line it is a personal choice, you can pick both apart all day long, because they both suck at something (lots of things) but in this day and age cable TV is just piss-poor so satellite is really the only choice unless you live in a FIOS market. If you can wait a year, I would suggest you do and see who (D* or E*) comes through on their 2007 promises.
 
Bottom line it is a personal choice, you can pick both apart all day long, because they both suck at something (lots of things) but in this day and age cable TV is just piss-poor so satellite is really the only choice unless you live in a FIOS market. If you can wait a year, I would suggest you do and see who (D* or E*) comes through on their 2007 promises.
You really can't make such blanket statements about Cable anymore. In many areas, not all of of course, it's pretty damn good, better than satellite in most ways other than price.
 
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