Just decided to drop DirecTV. I was a subscriber to Dish from 1998-2008, then with DirecTV since 2008. Switching to D* after E*'s picture quality fell off. I've been quite satisfied with D* these past nearly 5 years. When I signed up I was disappointed to get an HR21 DVR, but it worked perfectly across the entire period. Never lost a recording, never had the slightest hitch.
Years ago I was a bit of a videophile. TV & movies and home theater were very important to me. But life moves on and they became less important over time. I moved out of my long-term house in early January, and my 8 year 47" HDTV died a week before my move. When I went to buy a replacement TV, I discovered I really didn't care about it all that much. I bought something much lower than what I had planned a couple of years ago. I put my D* sub on suspension while I dealt with the broken TV and the move. Got my new set and ran a digital channel scan and found that I could pick up 15 channels. And over the next 3 weeks I found that between those channels and my subs to Netflix and Hulu Plus, that I had more things to watch than I had time to watch. I'd already sub'ed to Netflix for a while, so between them and D* I was paying $94/mo. Now I'm paying $16/mo. My goodness, that's an annual savings of $936! Post-tax, in my hand dollars.
I'm not leaving D* with any complaints about their service. Their HD picture quality is pretty decent. The number of HD channels offered more than met my needs. Their equipment worked perfectly.
I will miss a few channels, like ESPN, Food Network, History, BRAVO, CNN and some of the movie channels, although there are a lot of movies still available to me. But not enough to pay nearly a thousand dollars a year to get them. If D* offered a few of these channels "a la carte" then I might pick them up. My new condo complex has a central D* service, already connected to my unit, and my HR21 is free and clear of contract. It would be very, very simple to hook it up. If they offered a little package like 7 channels of my choice for $20/mo, I would probably go for that.
In any case, it has been a fun ride. Satellite Guys has been a great resource for news on D* and E*. So much so that I never even checked in on that "other" forum. Many of the members here have been helpful and informative.
Years ago I was a bit of a videophile. TV & movies and home theater were very important to me. But life moves on and they became less important over time. I moved out of my long-term house in early January, and my 8 year 47" HDTV died a week before my move. When I went to buy a replacement TV, I discovered I really didn't care about it all that much. I bought something much lower than what I had planned a couple of years ago. I put my D* sub on suspension while I dealt with the broken TV and the move. Got my new set and ran a digital channel scan and found that I could pick up 15 channels. And over the next 3 weeks I found that between those channels and my subs to Netflix and Hulu Plus, that I had more things to watch than I had time to watch. I'd already sub'ed to Netflix for a while, so between them and D* I was paying $94/mo. Now I'm paying $16/mo. My goodness, that's an annual savings of $936! Post-tax, in my hand dollars.
I'm not leaving D* with any complaints about their service. Their HD picture quality is pretty decent. The number of HD channels offered more than met my needs. Their equipment worked perfectly.
I will miss a few channels, like ESPN, Food Network, History, BRAVO, CNN and some of the movie channels, although there are a lot of movies still available to me. But not enough to pay nearly a thousand dollars a year to get them. If D* offered a few of these channels "a la carte" then I might pick them up. My new condo complex has a central D* service, already connected to my unit, and my HR21 is free and clear of contract. It would be very, very simple to hook it up. If they offered a little package like 7 channels of my choice for $20/mo, I would probably go for that.
In any case, it has been a fun ride. Satellite Guys has been a great resource for news on D* and E*. So much so that I never even checked in on that "other" forum. Many of the members here have been helpful and informative.
