I Think I'm Ready for DirecTV

[halltj2]

I've been going back and forth debating getting DirecTV for the past 3 years now. I considered U-Verse and go back and forth with my feelings towards TWC, but I think I'm finally ready to just go for it with DTV but wanted to see if this forum could help me with some questions I have before putting in the order.


Any help is greatly appreciated! And please excuse any ignorance on my part...I am a tech junkie but very green to satellites as I have had cable my entire life.


1. How often does it go out due to rain storms, etc?


2. With the Home Media Center HD DVR they offer, will HD boxes on the other TVs suffice for whole home DVR or do I need a DVR with every TV for whole home DVR?


3. I plan to keep my internet with TWC. That won't be a problem in regards to ondemand DTV access and whatnot will it?


4. What do cancellation fees look like in case I am not satisfied with the service? The 2 year contract is the single biggest reason I haven't made the jump already. After your first 2 years do you have to keep signing up for 2 year agreements?


Thank you again for any help you can provide.

 

[dcn66100]

1. hardly ever goes out unless it si a terrible storm but will likely come back as soon as storm is done. 2.If being able to record 5 shows at once is okay then media center dvr and hd receivers should be okay. 3. I am using twc internet with directv and it works great. 4.The cancellation fees shouldn't be worse then paying for it for a few months.

 

[raoul5788]

to Satelliteguys halltj2!

dcn66100 answered most of your questions, but to the cancellation fees, they are $20 per month of what is left on your contract. IIRC, you get a couple of days to cancel from your install, but I'm not sure of the exact number. Ask Directv about that. Once the original two years is up you are out of the commitment. It would restart if you upgrade your equipment, or in some cases if you accept certain types of discounts. Again, you should ask Directv about that specifically.

 

[toolman90]

1. It only goes out about 5 to 10 minutes during a severe thunderstorm or heavy rain. But that rarely happens where I live at. 2. You do not need a whole home DVR on every tv. You only need one DVR or you can get more if you want. All you need is HD Boxs to watch the recordings off of your DVR's 3. dcn66100 is right Time Warner Cable Internet will work fine with DIRECTV's on demand and interactive services. 4. Directv Requires a 24 Month Commitment if you break the commitment their Early Termination Fee is $480.00 and is prorated for every month of service. Once your commitment is up you do not have to sign another contract.

 

[whitewolf8214]

to SatelliteGuys

 

[halltj2]

Thank you for the quick and helpful responses!

I'm going to go ahead and start my order.

A few more questions about install...

I've read they no longer or rarely put them on roofs anymore. After some research I've learned that this is because of safety and accessibility (correct?) but I am wondering if it effects the signal any not being on a high ficture? And also how will DTV HD compare to TWC HD? The thing that turned my away from Uverse was reading about subpar HD quality.

And what's a time estimate for an install? I have 3 TVs getting hooked up. Will they need to run any new wires or can they use the same ones as TWC?

Thanks again!

 

[raoul5788]

Some local install companies won't do roof installs anymore unless they can access the dish from the ladder. If they do a pole install it will not affect the picture quality at all. Comparing picture quality between cable and Directv is difficult since the cable company has so many areas that their own quality varies. Suffice it to say that Directv is almost always better. The install time also varies, but if they can use your existing wiring it will likely be under three hours.

 

[ejb1980]

The only flaw with Directv and TWC Internet is the lack of ESPN3.com and watchespn access. (Easily worked around with a friendly neighbor with a password...)

 

[halltj2]

The only flaw with Directv and TWC Internet is the lack of ESPN3.com and watchespn access. (Easily worked around with a friendly neighbor with a password...)

It won't work? I use the watchespn app weekly now...

 

[raoul5788]

It's possibly a local TWC issue. Does TWC offer ESPN3 in your area halltj2?

 

[Mr Tony]

1. rain? its more of the heavy dark clouds that kills a signal. But the longest I went without service was 4 hours and that was due to freak snowstorm where it was heavy wet snow that covered the dish....longest in a rain storm? 15 minutes....tops

3. No issues with internet
4. after the 2 year you go month to month

 

[Mr Tony]

It's possibly a local TWC issue. Does TWC offer ESPN3 in your area halltj2?

some TWC areas only give you ESPN3 if you sub to cable too

 

[halltj2]

It's possibly a local TWC issue. Does TWC offer ESPN3 in your area halltj2?

Yes they do. But now that you mention it I did have to use a workaround back in the day when ESPN360 was around. It was available for my parents but not for me in my area so I just used their info to access it...I had completely forgotten about that

 

[raoul5788]

some TWC areas only give you ESPN3 if you sub to cable too

I have Cox for internet and telephone, but I get ESPN3 from them.

 

[Mr Tony]

Understandable...but that is an agreement between Cox and ESPN. Time Warner markets do reuqire you to have at least basic (lifeline) cable + internet to use ESPN3 app.
Comcast in Minneapolis follows the same rule as Cox..only need internet

 

[halltj2]

Understandable...but that is an agreement between Cox and ESPN. Time Warner markets do reuqire you to have at least basic (lifeline) cable + internet to use ESPN3 app.
Comcast in Minneapolis follows the same rule as Cox..only need internet

Not surprised...one of the reasons I'm leaving TWC, they're idiots.

 

[halltj2]

Well the install came and went Friday and after playing with it for the weekend and experiencing one heavy rain already I am very satisfied.


The installer put the dish on my roof to aim it over some trees and had to run 1 new line and used existing lines for the rest. Hooked up my TWC internet for ondemand access as well. Install lasted almost exactly 3 hours and was very straightforward.


Had a big rain storm come through yesterday morning and experienced only about a 2 minute searching for signal situation.

 

[raoul5788]

I'm glad it all worked out for you halltj2!