From "E" to "D" after nearly a decade!

[rapidturtle]

Yeah, I don't sub to any of the premium channels anyway. I had the free Starz from Dish for the year, but really didn't watch it very often. I can't wait to get my RSN's back in HD, SD or any D for that matter, LOL. I still for the life of me don't understand how E* abandoned the NY and NJ sport markets, but that's a whole nutter matter that has been beaten to death. I'll be able to catch the last couple months of the baseball season if I can wait that long. I'm kinda getting itchy fingers though, and might just pay the ETF to Dish since it wont be that much, it would be nice to catch the start of the MLB season and the end of Basketball and hockey seasons.

D*'s current offer is save $35 off for first year, and $20 off year after that. Is that decent for them or would I be better off waiting for the Sunday ticket offer? Do they offer any yearly discounts with the Sunday ticket offer, or is it just pretty much pay for the ST, and get programming free for 3 or 4 months? I would love to get the ST this year, but would rather save more money on programming.

 

[Mr Tony]

Normally it was "pay for ST and get 4 months of Premier for free"
Last year they gave discounts and threw in NFL ST for free. It was actually the best promo I've ever seen...who knows if they'll do it this year

 

[Kb Cool]

It used to be that if you wanted premium movie channels. Dish was it. Now, it's Directv! As far as Picture quality from what i've seen. HD is better on Directv and more consistent!

 

[tomcrown1]

It used to be that if you wanted premium movie channels. Dish was it. Now, it's Directv! As far as Picture quality from what i've seen. HD is better on Directv and more consistent!

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[DVDDAD]

I'm curious to see how OP's comparisons turn out, as my contract is up with E* in July, and I am heavily leaning towards going over to D*. I live in the NY area and am tired of not having my RSN's anymore. I also really like sounds of the HR34 setup with the 5 tuners.

I came over last May after Dish dropped SNY. I was with Dish over 10 years and was very happy with them and their equipment and I was reluctant to jump ship. When I started with DirecTV I originally had 4 HR-24's, but when DirecTV came out with the HR-34, even though I wasn't with them a full year they still gave me a great deal on the new HR-34. The whole home service is great and I haven't had a recording conflict on the HR-34 yet. The HR-24's are rock solid and the HR-34 will be someday. Right now the HR-34's software is a little buggy, but it still gets the job done. I'm very happy.

 

[cave1376]

I've had D* since 1998. The equipment has been rock solid, 0 major problems. The few minor problems were easily fixed. Service is extremely reliable. And customer service is great. Adding and upgrading equipment was easy. The HR34 sounds like a great receiver but the two HR24's along with the two other receivers I have are good enough for my family's viewing.

My father had E* for four years. He constantly had viewing issues with the 522 he had. It was in his bedroom and it fed tv2 which was in the livingroom. It was noisy and sometimes tv2 would change by itself. The second receiver, a 311 I think, was replaced twice because it quit working. He had to cancel his service because money got a little tight and he had to find ways to money. The stupid fees, like the no phone line connected, and the fee he would of paid if he had used the return labels to return the two E* receivers made him think twice about getting E* again.

 

[ejb1980]

I hope this isn't too off-topic, but from my very-unscientific but long-term observations about channel availability stability, it seems to me that Directv has few public contract disputes and noticeably fewer resulting channel drops. The Fox mess last year was public, but we didn't lose anything. It surprises me to see how often cable and Dish just drop things! Another example of factors that helped me decide to go D*. Are my observations accurate or am I missing something?

 

[Mr Tony]

Dish will drop stuff if Charlie (or whoever is running it now) cant get it for dirt cheap. Look at NY area. No RSN's

Directv works these things out with providers.

 

[Visitor]

rapidturtle,

Like the OP, I had E* for a decade and I decided to make my switch last month mainly because of the lack of NY RSNs. I had endured not having the MSG Networks for a long time (because I was able to get them from another source - I also had access to Time Warner Cable) and when SNY was dropped last year, I held out hope that it would return. Then MSG Networks disappeared from Time Warner (it has since returned), and it dawned on me that E* was making no progress toward the return of any NY RSNs and Charlie seemed to boast about how they've been okay without them in the NY market. I guess I was in the minority that was really missing the RSNs - so before the baseball season was going to get underway, I started my switch to D*.

You won't be disappointed with D* and NY RSNs. I refer to D* as a dream to people who are looking for sports programming. They offer all the MSG Networks in HD 24/7. What I mean about that is the overflow channel - MSG+2 is also carried in HD. Time Warner NY, and even MSG's own Cablevision don't carry this channel in HD. It's just an overflow channel, but when your sports team is placed on that channel and you have to watch it in SD knowing that there is a HD feed, you want to blow your tv up. No problem here - you will know your local NY sports team will be shown in HD.

That alone was enough to convince me that I made the right choice. Now that Time Warner NY has gotten MSG Networks back, they still don't carry the overflow in HD so I still watch all my RSN programming on D*.

So, from this NY sports fan, D* is the place to go and will not be a disappointment if that is what you're considering.

The HR34 is really great. Like iceberg said, it has some minor glitches that will be worked out over time but 5 tuners has become invaluable to me.

I'm very happy wtih D* thus far. For me personally - for the things I want to watch, D* made the most sense. After a decade, I moved on.

 

[fr8flyr]

I came over last month after 11 years with E**. I had problems with them getting a receiver to work in one of my rooms and after many units and tech visits they claimed it was the voltage of house wiring causing the problems and I would be charged for any further tech support. I said don't worry about any further support and called D**. Two days later I had D** installed and, after a few problems were corrected, I now have a system with an HR34, HR24 and 2 H25's, with a better package, for less money per month then I was paying E** for just 2 VIP 722 receivers.

I am very happy I made the switch and would recommend D** to anyone thinking about changing providers.


Earl

 

[digiblur]

Damn...you sound just like me. Had a 722k and 722. After the 722k went on the fritz for the 3rd time that year and then they wanted to charge me for shipping me a broke 722k I had enough. I also got a hr34, hr24 and h25s with more channels, more features, more tuners all for a cheaper monthly price. Love it! I had some quirks at the beginning with the installers but that has all been resolved and I got an hr24 free w/swm16 for free out of the deal anyways.

 

[Muckrak3r]

Don't harsh their buzz. If they can convince themselves they're happier, more power to them.

If someone bothered to measure, I suspect there would be a lot less crowing about who is better.

I suppose I should qualify every PQ statement I make with the following disclaimer:

"This pertains to my eyeballs, in my living room, on my 73" HDTV, with my HDMI cables attached to all devices."

In other words, In my situation, the PQ on D* is much, much better than E* was. Very noticeable, very obvious. Even my wife noticed, and she rarely notices if we are watching a DVD or Blu-Ray unless she opens the sleeve from Netflix. No blue, equals no Blu-Ray. And she will say something. We got into Season 3 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia before realizing, "oh this isn't on Blu-Ray" - lol.

 

[DS0816]

Dish will drop stuff if Charlie (or whoever is running it now) cant get it for dirt cheap. Look at NY area. No RSN's

Directv works these things out with providers.

I've noticed that the temporary drops have been more frequrent with Dish Network. If you have to compare the two, DirecTV doesn't lose out on its programming as much. There was a loss of about six months of NBC Sports Network. (It was Versus at the time.)

G4 is not one I can count; that's because DirecTV apparently figured it was no longer worth keeping in its programming lineup.

Dish Network should not have lost HD versions of Disney Channel, ABC Family, and whichever ESPN channels.

This is a consideration when comparing the two on the matter of reliability.