As much as I love Dish compared to cable I have to make the switch. After spending over $1000 for an HDTV I cannot justify having to spend a minimum of $549 as an existing customer just to upgrade my receiver. It's always been E*'s policy to screw the existing customer IMO, they should really work on ways to keep their customer base happy but instead choose to only focus on new subscribers. Oh well, Comcast's gain I guess.
Gotta ditch Dish Network for Comcast
- Thread starter ericgtr
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if you get a scientific atlantic 8300, you will love it. i am not sure what brand comcast uses, but i have had no problem with my 8300.
- Nov 29, 2003
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You will get either the 6408 or the 6412, but hold out for the 6412 no matter what, it is a dual-tuner so you can record on one and watch something else at the same time and you still only need one cable line to it, by the way I switched to Comcast ( was with E* since 99 ) three months ago and have not looked back at all.
I did the same after my one year 811 commitment was over. With the Dish Winback Program I am getting a lot more than E*s HD lite. I considered Voom (HD Max), but that is history. Comcast's special deal is hard to beat. After my commitment with Comcast I'll see what both D* and E* have done to their HD Lite offering. I have stated in the past that as a consumer I'll take my business to the vendor that gives me the best package in return.
Some might call me a fence jumper, but when you get an inferior product (811) and the vendor (E*) expects you to live with the problems and to continue paying them with an attitude that blames you for expecting the equipment to work as advertise and then topping it with promises that it will get better next year; no thanks, I'll take my money and go somewhere else.
Some companies have forgotten that the customer is their bread and butter. With over 10 Million + customers I know my departure is just a tiny leak in their bucket and as long that they continue to add water to the bucket to overcome the leaks, you have to get two new customers to everyone you loose. One to replace the lost customer and one more to measure a gain.
Lets put it in big numbers: if you loose a million customers (1,000,000) in one year you would have to add one million to stay even and one more customer to measure a gain. In summary One million and one customers (1,000,001) to measure a gain of one (1) customer! It is not rocket science.
Some might call me a fence jumper, but when you get an inferior product (811) and the vendor (E*) expects you to live with the problems and to continue paying them with an attitude that blames you for expecting the equipment to work as advertise and then topping it with promises that it will get better next year; no thanks, I'll take my money and go somewhere else.
Some companies have forgotten that the customer is their bread and butter. With over 10 Million + customers I know my departure is just a tiny leak in their bucket and as long that they continue to add water to the bucket to overcome the leaks, you have to get two new customers to everyone you loose. One to replace the lost customer and one more to measure a gain.
Lets put it in big numbers: if you loose a million customers (1,000,000) in one year you would have to add one million to stay even and one more customer to measure a gain. In summary One million and one customers (1,000,001) to measure a gain of one (1) customer! It is not rocket science.
What commitment with Comcast? There is no commitment. The Dish Buyback or Winback, or whatever they call it has a specific time period (in my area, they offer a 12 month or 16 month promo with differing perks. I chose the 16 month x $25.) But, it is just the length of time that the discount is in effect. It is not a contractual obligation. One can quit anytime they want.
I took the 16 month commitment. That is what I was referring to in order to get the special pricing deal and equipment. Sorry for leaving out that detail.
I think by then both D* and E* will hopefully get their act together and offer more in HD than their present HD Lite package.
I think by then both D* and E* will hopefully get their act together and offer more in HD than their present HD Lite package.
It's not a commitment. Not for you, anyway. You can leave at any time.
They, however, are committed to giving you that discount for 16 months, as long as you subscribe to some minimal level of service. (It varies by area.)
They, however, are committed to giving you that discount for 16 months, as long as you subscribe to some minimal level of service. (It varies by area.)
Comcast vs Dish PQ in High Def
Hi Bulldog,
I am sitting on the fence between Comcast and Dish. Need to cancel one installation or the other. I am coming from Voom (left D* to get a month and a half of great HD PQ from Voom ). I never saw D*'s HDPQ (only had SD at the time). I always hear of "HD-lite" in reference to Directv. Now I am hearing it in reference to Dish. How does Comcast stack up in the HD PQ department? I am will be paying more for Dish if the PQ is acceptable. Comcast pissed me off by showing up late today for install (as in 1PM for a 7:30AM to 10AM window). But if the PQ is that much better than with Comcast, I might cancel my Dish installation for May 10th. (and get my $250 for the 942 and the already refundable $49.99 installation fee back). In Baltimore City (might be different in Baltimore county), Comcast's "dish buy back" consists of one year of $29.99/month for digital cable plus a Motorola DCT-6412 plus $25/month for all of their premiums plus free HD on the first room and $9.95/month per additional room in HD. Dish will charge in addition to the $250 for the right to upgrade to leasing the 942, for the "Americas Everything" plan like $86.99 per month (with a $42.99/month credit for 3 months) and 6 month of free high def (becoming $9.99/month after 6 months). If I pay like $12 per month more then I can leave without penalty (no 1 year commitment). But if the PQ is lite in HD, I might leave before I start.
Thanks!
Wayne
Hi Bulldog,
I am sitting on the fence between Comcast and Dish. Need to cancel one installation or the other. I am coming from Voom (left D* to get a month and a half of great HD PQ from Voom ). I never saw D*'s HDPQ (only had SD at the time). I always hear of "HD-lite" in reference to Directv. Now I am hearing it in reference to Dish. How does Comcast stack up in the HD PQ department? I am will be paying more for Dish if the PQ is acceptable. Comcast pissed me off by showing up late today for install (as in 1PM for a 7:30AM to 10AM window). But if the PQ is that much better than with Comcast, I might cancel my Dish installation for May 10th. (and get my $250 for the 942 and the already refundable $49.99 installation fee back). In Baltimore City (might be different in Baltimore county), Comcast's "dish buy back" consists of one year of $29.99/month for digital cable plus a Motorola DCT-6412 plus $25/month for all of their premiums plus free HD on the first room and $9.95/month per additional room in HD. Dish will charge in addition to the $250 for the right to upgrade to leasing the 942, for the "Americas Everything" plan like $86.99 per month (with a $42.99/month credit for 3 months) and 6 month of free high def (becoming $9.99/month after 6 months). If I pay like $12 per month more then I can leave without penalty (no 1 year commitment). But if the PQ is lite in HD, I might leave before I start.
Thanks!
Wayne
Wayne88 said:
Hi Wayne, In my area with my Panasonic HDTV C's Picture quality is much better. In addition the SD are not compress as much so with a 56" screen you can appreciate the difference.
I recommend you try it, you can always cancel. I had a two week try me offer from C* and I did some comparisons. But, as mentioned by other folks a
lot depends on your area and the quality of the signal and cables before it gets to you.
I signed up for Comcast after I lost Voom. I got all the channels, HD DVR, etc. I'm considering making the switch to Dish Network. I like all the features I got with Comcast that I didn't have with Voom (2-tuner HD DVR is a big upgrade over a VCR, and On Demand is cool). The remote control and menu navigation aren't quite as nice as Voom, but I can live with it.
The problem I'm having with Comcast is it's more unstable than Voom was when I first got it. I get audio stutters far too often and I keep thinking to myself, am I watching a satellite or cable?! Usually I'll get four or five audio stutters during the course of an hour episode of television.
However, sometimes when watching something on the DVR (at least I don't think I recall it happening during live TV) the audio will stuttet, come back, and stutter again, and keep doing it. This is not normal and has happened to me maybe only three times. But when it happens, the box does not respond to my input and the power button doesn't even work. I have to physically unplug the box and turn it back on.
A few final complaints I have might just be settings of the DVR that I can change, and they're minor complaints I can live with if I can't change them. When the DVR starts to record something, it puts the box on mute. Why the box even has a mute function is beyond me, I can mute my TV or my stereo, I don't need to mute my cable box. But when this happens, the mute button on the remote does not respond. And I have not found any other way to turn the mute off other than to wait for a commercial break, turn the box off and back on, and start recording again. Also, when the DVR finishes recording one program, even if I'm watching live TV or watching another prerecorded program, the box just shuts itself off.
The combination of the big complaints I have, plus the minor ones, plus the fact that Dish will be cheaper during the Dish promotional period, similarly priced after the Dish promotional period, and cheaper after the Comcast promotional period would have ended, and the fact that Dish now has Voom channels... I may have to switch to Dish. It's hard, though. Voom was so great, it's really hard to decide between the remaining providers. With everything I read on the Internet, it sounds like they all suck and all have their own problems. I got Comcast because I knew I wouldn't be locked into a contract and if I switch to Dish I will be in one, whether Dish has less or more problems than Comcast does. I miss Voom. *sigh*
The problem I'm having with Comcast is it's more unstable than Voom was when I first got it. I get audio stutters far too often and I keep thinking to myself, am I watching a satellite or cable?! Usually I'll get four or five audio stutters during the course of an hour episode of television.
However, sometimes when watching something on the DVR (at least I don't think I recall it happening during live TV) the audio will stuttet, come back, and stutter again, and keep doing it. This is not normal and has happened to me maybe only three times. But when it happens, the box does not respond to my input and the power button doesn't even work. I have to physically unplug the box and turn it back on.
A few final complaints I have might just be settings of the DVR that I can change, and they're minor complaints I can live with if I can't change them. When the DVR starts to record something, it puts the box on mute. Why the box even has a mute function is beyond me, I can mute my TV or my stereo, I don't need to mute my cable box. But when this happens, the mute button on the remote does not respond. And I have not found any other way to turn the mute off other than to wait for a commercial break, turn the box off and back on, and start recording again. Also, when the DVR finishes recording one program, even if I'm watching live TV or watching another prerecorded program, the box just shuts itself off.
The combination of the big complaints I have, plus the minor ones, plus the fact that Dish will be cheaper during the Dish promotional period, similarly priced after the Dish promotional period, and cheaper after the Comcast promotional period would have ended, and the fact that Dish now has Voom channels... I may have to switch to Dish. It's hard, though. Voom was so great, it's really hard to decide between the remaining providers. With everything I read on the Internet, it sounds like they all suck and all have their own problems. I got Comcast because I knew I wouldn't be locked into a contract and if I switch to Dish I will be in one, whether Dish has less or more problems than Comcast does. I miss Voom. *sigh*
Some of your complaints sound like a defective receiver. You can bring it in to your local cable office, and have them swap it out, or make an appt to have someone come over and do it. (Immediate FREE receiver replacement. That's something you don't get with Dish.)
As for the muted DVR event, that is a known "feature" with a workaround. (The designers apparently thought that the user wouldn't want to be wakened by a late night timer kicking off. Of course, why they would have their TV on, I don't know.) I forget exactly what the workaround is. I believe it is reprogramming one of the buttons on your remote to unmute the receiver.
You should check the official 6412 (or whatever model you have) thread on AVS forums. For the Comcast 6412 with iGuide, it's:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=464986
They also have regional cable threads. For instance, for the SF Bay area, it's:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=357896
You can probably find the thread for your area at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=45
I would give C* a little more time. I'll bet they'll have the Voom pack before too long, as well.
As for the muted DVR event, that is a known "feature" with a workaround. (The designers apparently thought that the user wouldn't want to be wakened by a late night timer kicking off. Of course, why they would have their TV on, I don't know.) I forget exactly what the workaround is. I believe it is reprogramming one of the buttons on your remote to unmute the receiver.
You should check the official 6412 (or whatever model you have) thread on AVS forums. For the Comcast 6412 with iGuide, it's:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=464986
They also have regional cable threads. For instance, for the SF Bay area, it's:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=357896
You can probably find the thread for your area at:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=45
I would give C* a little more time. I'll bet they'll have the Voom pack before too long, as well.
Thanks for the info. I was planning on giving them some more time and trying to get a replacement receiver. Some people I know also have Comcast and have had the same receiver problems I have had. They are now on their second receiver and it's doing it to them, too (though not as badly as the first). Hopefully they will change hardware if they keep having these kinds of problems with the current model.
CompuRocker ---- They recommend you LEAVE the 6412 Model ON at all times - you will not have the MUTE "problem" then and it also apparently solves alot of other "bugs". I used to turn mine OFF when not in use - NOT any more and I notice everything has been trouble free.
Good Luck, Michael
PS - I love this 6412 and unlike when I was a DISH customer I did not HAVE to purchase it and the upgrades are covered too.
Good Luck, Michael
PS - I love this 6412 and unlike when I was a DISH customer I did not HAVE to purchase it and the upgrades are covered too.
