My Story: Left Dish after 7+ years.....

[MNETOP]

I left Dish Network after being what I consider myself being a premium customer (~$100.00/month bill) for 7+ years. I had held over to getting a DVR until now due to the impending transition to MPEG-4 and the way Dish handled this transition was the last straw that made me start looking.

Reasons driving me away:
*18 month commitment. I don't even know if I will be alive in 18 months.
*$300.00 for the right to allow you to rent the DVR and then on top of that a lease fee plus another DVR fee. I don't expect to get something for nothing but this "triple" dipping is ridiculous. Some don’t mind this but I do.
*Only one upgrade. I have 2 HDTVs. So to upgrade to 2 HDTVs would have been a big investment that I am not willing to do at this time.
*The increases in prices (DVR fees, rental, packages, etc.) If you upgrade to the MPEG-4 DVR you have to get all those VOOM channels that I don't care about just to get ESPN2 HD and Universal HD. I originally had signed up for the original MPEG-2 VOOM package but canceled after not watching them at all. In my case I am a Latino Max customer so to go the equivalent metallic package I would have lost channels like Fox Soccer, Boom, etc. that I can only get with the everything option.
*The production issues with the 622, Overall MPEG-4 fiasco, etc……

When I called my local Time Warner cable, I was able to get the following for 12months including fees: All digital channels (equivalent to 180), the Spanish package, HBO/Showtime (including HD), 2 HD DVRs, All Local HD feeds, TNT HD, Discovery HD, ESPN HD, iNHD1 and 2, HDNET and HDNEtMovies, and now Universal HD for about $81.00 including all taxes and DVR fees with no equipment cost and only a $20 installation fee. So I went ahead and had my installation completed this past Monday.

I kept both services for 2 days so I could compare them and have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by the picture quality. The local channels look the same as over the air quality, The other HD channels look just as good as Dish and the other channels but specially the analog local ones look better than with Dish. I can’t compare DVRs as I never had one before but so far I have had no issues with the SA8300HDs and they pretty easy to learn how to use and operate.

So yesterday when I called to finally close my Dish account, the firs CSR lady just asked me the reasons I was leaving and then just transfer me to the “account” specialist (I think is what they are called) she asked me again the reason and then just offered me 1 week to keep the service in case I wanted to comeback, I declined and she did not pressed further. Gave me her number as confirmation, confirmed that I had a 0 balance and that was it. No more than a total of 5 minutes to cancel.

I kept my 2 dishes out because if things improve in 12 months, I will strongly consider coming back as a new customer and under much better conditions/terms, I hope. (As we know Dish treats new customers much better). If not even with regular prices, the price and picture quality gaps between Dish and my local TW are not there anymore like when I first joined Dish in the late 90s. And if you amortize the price you are paying for the equipment up front, Dish can be more expensive than some cable companies.

Guys/Gals, if you are unhappy with Dish, look at your options. Each local cable company is very different but you may be surprised. The only way that Dish will try to improve on the way the do business and treat their established customer base is by affecting their bottom line.

I am very happy with my decision and enjoyed that last night I was finally able to watch and HD event (The Grammy’s) and record another one to watch later (Lost):up

And that is my story……

Thanks for listening

Mario.

 

[ScottChez]

You said the Local Analogs looked better. What about the National Analog channels like the Sci Fi channel or TBS?

I am wondering because it seems like channels 40 - 70 on Analog are not as good as 1-13 the locals on some cable systems. Just want to compare as I am looking at my options also when my contract ends.

 

[MNETOP]

Hi Scott,

In my case for example my wife loves to watch HGTV and that channel is found on the analog feed (31) and digital feed (201) In this case the 201 looks better than than Dish's. The Analog (31) is about the same. That is the case for the channels that are found on both and the digital's.

I want to add that when the tech was checking the signal strength, he pointed that I was the the high end of the expected range which is great.

Mario.

 

[lostlife]

some cable companies retrieve the national stations from an already compressed mpeg-2 satellite feed making the quality not so great upon remodulation. it all depends on the company.

 

[strrlvr]

Don't be so sure you can return as a new customer in 12 months. But I agree, look at all your options.

 

[Yooper]

thanks for the detailed post Mario. I have been with Dish for about 4 years ( the only way to recieve HD in my area). Unlike you though I have been mostly minimalist (HD,Voom,PBS). I liked Voom's Equator and Gallery, but when there was no new programming I went shopping and ended up with cable (Charter). That DVR is sure addictive. I will probably pay Dish's access fee for a while but it isn't likely i'll stay. On the bright side as HD is finally getting more mainstream the future is looking great...HD-DVD,IPTV,and the Telcos. Bring on all the competition.

 

[digitaldogger]

I am sorry you had that experience with Dish, but, I hope your aware that any analog service through off air antennae or cable analog channels, for what I understand , will be no longer allowed by 2008... they have been able to extend this because I think orginally it was suppose to be 2006. So, don't be surprised when cable goes up to accomedate the changes to get to all digital and then HD. The cable service in this area has one cable box for their analog and digital channels and if you want HD in limited amounts only you have to put in another box... so, I don't think grass is greener on the other side. Also the comment about Dish treating new customer's better.... for the past 4 years, I have been selling Dish and have it in my home, and I can tell you there's always specials for new customers... so when you sign up something is free or there's free programming of some sort... so everyone gets that advantage once.. then you move on... so existing customers within past 4 years have taken advantage of that too! Also they have a great referral program of Club Dish, any new or former customer wanting service you get 50.00 per new customer if you give them a club dish card and you can do this 5-6 times per 12 months, thats 300.00 value!!! Also as of Feb. 1st the new Dish It UP promo for existing customer is really good, best its ever been, for anyone wanting to swap or or add on receiver equipment upgrades, etc... they have Plan a, plan b, plan c, now you as a customer control that destiny of what you will be by paying bill on time, etc. that is how they rank you. If you are plan A you can get new equipment up to 2 tuners for 49.99, plan b 69.99, plan c 89-100, yes, there is an 18 month contract. but that is a good deal, new customers have to sign an 18 month contract to get their activation fee back and get full warranty and DHPP (protection plan included), its something to think about!!

 

[josem3]

Mario,
I don't blame you for you decision because sometimes Cable co. have better options than satellite and with this new pricing up on Dish, some customers will do the same. Also, I notice on Dish Network no always made exceptions for customers that have been subscribed with good record for more than 4 or 5 years. If the cable and satellite will cost me monthly the same, I will go to Cable.

Today, the cable pic is almost the same as satellite pic( in some areas the cable co. is crap). I'm an installer and I have to make sure I have some advantages on the satellite over the cable otherwise I don't waste my time. Price: the Dish Net. is almost catching the cable price so soon I have to look other area where the customers don't have any cable at all.

 

[mikew]

I am sorry you had that experience with Dish, but, I hope your aware that any analog service through off air antennae or cable analog channels, for what I understand , will be no longer allowed by 2008...

The digital conversion does not affect analog cable. The transition is for analog OTA broadcasts only.

 

[Zookster]

Mario, I'm with you brother. I made the same switch to cable from Dish for pretty much the same reasons and am enjoying recording everything I want with an HD DVR (for no upfront fee), surfing HD locals without having to get up to move the antenna every other channel, watching the recently launched MHD (MTV's new HD channel), and all at a much cheaper monthly price than DISH (not including the great price I get on my high-speed internet).

You might be interested to know that you may be able to connect an external SATA hard-drive to your SA8300. I just added another 300GBs of recording space to mine here in San Diego (Cox). The SA8300 is set up for that, but it isn't enabled by every cable co. and I think it depends on your firmware. Check with your local TW to see if it's possible for you.

 

[Juan]

The digital conversion does not affect analog cable. The transition is for analog OTA broadcasts only.

They cant continue to retransmit a signal that nolonger exists

 

[Mr Tony]

true. But they can still broadcast cable channels in analog

 

[danm2z]

Regarding analog transmission of local channels, most cable companies (and Dish as well) will down convert the digital OTA signal to SD analog so that older TV sets can receive local programming. It's for this reason that congress only set aside $1.5B in subsidies for digital OTA converter boxes. That subsidy is expected to cover the 10% or so of televisions that do not get their local channels from cable or satellite.

 

[Hall]

They cant continue to retransmit a signal that nolonger exists

In most areas, the cable companies already provide both the analog and digital feeds to their customers (mine does). When one drops off, they'll continue on with the digital feed.

 

[Hall]

In my case for example my wife loves to watch HGTV and that channel is found on the analog feed (31) and digital feed (201) In this case the 201 looks better than than Dish's. The Analog (31) is about the same. That is the case for the channels that are found on both and the digital's.

That's good to hear about the quality of the digital feed of the same channel. Looks like your TW is "digital simulcasting". Mine is supposed to be doing that in the 1st Q of this year.

I'll be the first to admit, channels 2-78 (analog), which includes Discovery, HGTV, TLC, TNT, and so on don't hold a candle to the same channels on Dish. Then again, that's analog vs digital. The digital channels are very, very good quality. I've watched a show or two on Discovery HD Theatre that was incredible quality and was later broadcast on The Military Channel (not in HD). It was converted down but was still a very nice picture. As for the HD channels, they're truly mind-blowing quality. No down-resing or pixellation here.

 

[MNETOP]

Thanks Zookster. I may be adding an external Hard Drive myself in the next few days myself.

Having a DVR is really great. I am loving it. I strongly recommend it, whether you are staying with Dish or moving to DTV or cable. I can't believe I waited this long for one.

Mario.

 

[Zookster]

With the limited amount of content in HD, and my busy schedule, I find an HD DVR essential to at least have access to the things I most want to watch that invariably run at weird hours

 

[Bluebull32]

I left Dish Network after being what I consider myself being a premium customer (~$100.00/month bill) for 7+ years. I had held over to getting a DVR until now due to the impending transition to MPEG-4 and the way Dish handled this transition was the last straw that made me start looking.

Reasons driving me away:
*18 month commitment. I don't even know if I will be alive in 18 months.
*$300.00 for the right to allow you to rent the DVR and then on top of that a lease fee plus another DVR fee. I don't expect to get something for nothing but this "triple" dipping is ridiculous. Some don’t mind this but I do.
*Only one upgrade. I have 2 HDTVs. So to upgrade to 2 HDTVs would have been a big investment that I am not willing to do at this time.
*The increases in prices (DVR fees, rental, packages, etc.) If you upgrade to the MPEG-4 DVR you have to get all those VOOM channels that I don't care about just to get ESPN2 HD and Universal HD. I originally had signed up for the original MPEG-2 VOOM package but canceled after not watching them at all. In my case I am a Latino Max customer so to go the equivalent metallic package I would have lost channels like Fox Soccer, Boom, etc. that I can only get with the everything option.
*The production issues with the 622, Overall MPEG-4 fiasco, etc……

I think this record has a scratch in it. It keeps playing the same thing over and over.

 

[MNETOP]

Actually is a CD and I take take care of my cds, so no scratches on it.

 

[SimpleSimon]

I think this record has a scratch in it. It keeps playing the same thing over and over.

Yeah, but maybe if the customers pound it into Chucky's pointy little head enough times, he'll get a clue.