My thoughts after 2 weeks on DirecTv vs. last 10 years on Dish
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I also recently made the switch from Dish to DirecTV and agree with the pros and cons you've listed. To your list I'd add the following:
Pros:
NFL Sunday Ticket
Carriage of college pay per view games in HD when available
Remote scheduling is much snappier on mobile devices and has wider device compatibility than Dish's remote scheduling capability.
Parental control option to unlock controls for a 4 hour window.
More On Demand options. Free On Demand for many of the channels in your satellite package are part of the deal with DirecTV and missing from Dish's On Demand offerings.
Cons:
HR24 lock up issues when ffwd in recorded/time-shifted content and connected through AV receiver via HDMI
Dish's online guide (website, not on the tuner/TV itself) is searchable, filterable, and show's a wider time range.
Internet Access for on Demand on other functions for Dish is always just a simple process of plugging in a network work capable, vs. with Whole Home DVR having to have an installer install a DECA.
Dish's onscreen guide not only shows a wider time range (as already mentioned in original post) it also shows more characters of a program's title.
Dish's remote DVR scheduling capability includes the ability to view and manage the schedule on the DVR remotely, manage the recordings stored on the device, and to see what is already scheduled on the device and manage conflicts remotely as well, not just send a command to blindly create a new scheduled event.
Dish's DishPass is a much more intuitive UI for setting up to record a Series to record all new episodes when the the program is not in the 14 day advanced programming schedule. And even, when the program does show up in the schedule, setting up a new Series is simpler and more intuitive. Here is what I mean:
User friendly parental control setup. Everything that the Dish receiver offered the DirecTV receiver offers, the difference is in how intuitive some things are. For example, both can require parental code for PPV purchase. The Dish receiver has an obvious choice "Require parental code to purchase PPV." The DirecTV the option is to set a threshold for maximum purchase, and when you type in the value you *have* to press enter to set it. That last part is not real intuitive given how many settings you can set and just exit or left arrow out of the screen and have the setting be saved. The first part, really needs some documentation, working with computers and software as a job, I know sometimes setting 0 in a variable field like this is the same as setting no limit, while other times it does what happens in this case of always requiring parental code entry. Not intuitive, but fully functional.
Many cases where the UI is more difficult to navigate. Examples: Every Dish menu, each menu item was numbered, instead of clicking Menu, then having to press down 4 or 5 times to highlight the option you wanted, then click Select, you could just click Menu, press 6 and be on the next menu. Consequently, it's obvious that if the option you want is at the bottom of the menu, you can't just click up once and have the cursor wrap around and be at the bottom of the menu, where as the menus did wrap around on the Dish receivers. And the Dish DVR had a DVR button, first press of that did the same as List on the HR24 remote, bringing up the list of recordings stored on the DVR, the second press of the same button would take you to the list of events scheduled to record, subsequent presses would toggle back and forth between these two screens. There is a lot more cursor, selecting, and effort needed to do things on the HR24... User-friendly refinements that definitely make the Dish VIP series feel more mature.
Other comments:
Cost difference really depends on your wants and needs... DirecTV tells you that Dish HD Free for Life isn't really what they advertise... they're right, that you have to sign-up for paperless billing and autopay to get free HD on Dish... but DirecTV has similar requirements in that you also have to sign-up for autopay AND you have to subscribe at either the Premier or Choice Ultimate level, while Dish doesn't tie it to a minimum sub level.
Doing the math, with multiple receivers, Whole Home DVR, DVR fees, etc... the bottom line cost between them seems to boil down to how many receivers you have and do you want a high-end channel package or low-end? You can get a lower monthly cost with HD and DVR with a minimal channel package on Dish, in the high end channel packages, with a lot of receivers is where DirecTV seems to has the pricing edge. But ultimately, it's close enough that the other factors are what push me one way or the other...
Definitely better across the board HD quality with DirecTV, the best channels on Dish and DirecTV (e.g. HBO and ESPN) are about the same, the channels where Dish apparently "skimps" on bandwidth (e.g. local HD's, Discovery, Fox Sports regionals, etc.) DirecTV is far better.
And while I know I've seen plenty of you say PIP missing on DirecTV isn't a big deal, I find it really annoying during football season to not be able to watch one game and PIP another, I used it all the time on my VIP receiver during football season, and now when I have even more sports programming of interest, I've lost that very useful function.
I also miss the added capability of having the OTA tuner built into the DVR, being able to watch a live program while DVR'ing two others (as long as one of those 3 was from an OTA source) is significant at times. Yes, there are ways around this, but they add cost. Whether it's $5 per month or the cost of a second DVR or HD Tuner and the cabling to support that, the VIP tuners with their integrated OTA is a differentiating factor.
I'm happy with my choice to switch, but to say one is clearly better than the other for everyone would be a huge stretch. Both have high points and low points and I think it's really interesting to compare and contrast the services, equipment and offerings and see how one might be a better fit for some than the other...
Pros:
NFL Sunday Ticket
Carriage of college pay per view games in HD when available
Remote scheduling is much snappier on mobile devices and has wider device compatibility than Dish's remote scheduling capability.
Parental control option to unlock controls for a 4 hour window.
More On Demand options. Free On Demand for many of the channels in your satellite package are part of the deal with DirecTV and missing from Dish's On Demand offerings.
Cons:
HR24 lock up issues when ffwd in recorded/time-shifted content and connected through AV receiver via HDMI
Dish's online guide (website, not on the tuner/TV itself) is searchable, filterable, and show's a wider time range.
Internet Access for on Demand on other functions for Dish is always just a simple process of plugging in a network work capable, vs. with Whole Home DVR having to have an installer install a DECA.
Dish's onscreen guide not only shows a wider time range (as already mentioned in original post) it also shows more characters of a program's title.
Dish's remote DVR scheduling capability includes the ability to view and manage the schedule on the DVR remotely, manage the recordings stored on the device, and to see what is already scheduled on the device and manage conflicts remotely as well, not just send a command to blindly create a new scheduled event.
Dish's DishPass is a much more intuitive UI for setting up to record a Series to record all new episodes when the the program is not in the 14 day advanced programming schedule. And even, when the program does show up in the schedule, setting up a new Series is simpler and more intuitive. Here is what I mean:
I just switched, our Dish DVR had many programs scheduled to DVR some of which are fall series, some mid-season, some summer. About 9 months ago a hardware failure forced us to replace our Dish DVR. When I received the new Dish DVR, I went in and was able just enter every program's title into DishPass, set it to record new episodes and the Dish DVR didn't care if it couldn't find the program in the guide or not. And when those shows started airing new episodes it started recording them. It also didn't care what channel the program was going to be on or would be on... When Medium changed from NBC to CBS, DishPass continued recording new episodes. When I put in V on a 3 month hiatus and nowhere to be found in the schedule, it took it without any added parameters. And the Dish DVR didn't insist on recording the first re-run episode for a show I set up for First Run's only, simply because the event it found in the schedule was a re-run. After a lot of searching, I've discovered that the HR24 has similar capabilities using Autorecord capabilities, if I use keyword searches and commands like CCHAN, TTITLE, etc... but Dish made that all simple and intuitive with the DishPass functionality.
User friendly parental control setup. Everything that the Dish receiver offered the DirecTV receiver offers, the difference is in how intuitive some things are. For example, both can require parental code for PPV purchase. The Dish receiver has an obvious choice "Require parental code to purchase PPV." The DirecTV the option is to set a threshold for maximum purchase, and when you type in the value you *have* to press enter to set it. That last part is not real intuitive given how many settings you can set and just exit or left arrow out of the screen and have the setting be saved. The first part, really needs some documentation, working with computers and software as a job, I know sometimes setting 0 in a variable field like this is the same as setting no limit, while other times it does what happens in this case of always requiring parental code entry. Not intuitive, but fully functional.
Many cases where the UI is more difficult to navigate. Examples: Every Dish menu, each menu item was numbered, instead of clicking Menu, then having to press down 4 or 5 times to highlight the option you wanted, then click Select, you could just click Menu, press 6 and be on the next menu. Consequently, it's obvious that if the option you want is at the bottom of the menu, you can't just click up once and have the cursor wrap around and be at the bottom of the menu, where as the menus did wrap around on the Dish receivers. And the Dish DVR had a DVR button, first press of that did the same as List on the HR24 remote, bringing up the list of recordings stored on the DVR, the second press of the same button would take you to the list of events scheduled to record, subsequent presses would toggle back and forth between these two screens. There is a lot more cursor, selecting, and effort needed to do things on the HR24... User-friendly refinements that definitely make the Dish VIP series feel more mature.
Other comments:
Cost difference really depends on your wants and needs... DirecTV tells you that Dish HD Free for Life isn't really what they advertise... they're right, that you have to sign-up for paperless billing and autopay to get free HD on Dish... but DirecTV has similar requirements in that you also have to sign-up for autopay AND you have to subscribe at either the Premier or Choice Ultimate level, while Dish doesn't tie it to a minimum sub level.
Doing the math, with multiple receivers, Whole Home DVR, DVR fees, etc... the bottom line cost between them seems to boil down to how many receivers you have and do you want a high-end channel package or low-end? You can get a lower monthly cost with HD and DVR with a minimal channel package on Dish, in the high end channel packages, with a lot of receivers is where DirecTV seems to has the pricing edge. But ultimately, it's close enough that the other factors are what push me one way or the other...
Definitely better across the board HD quality with DirecTV, the best channels on Dish and DirecTV (e.g. HBO and ESPN) are about the same, the channels where Dish apparently "skimps" on bandwidth (e.g. local HD's, Discovery, Fox Sports regionals, etc.) DirecTV is far better.
And while I know I've seen plenty of you say PIP missing on DirecTV isn't a big deal, I find it really annoying during football season to not be able to watch one game and PIP another, I used it all the time on my VIP receiver during football season, and now when I have even more sports programming of interest, I've lost that very useful function.
I also miss the added capability of having the OTA tuner built into the DVR, being able to watch a live program while DVR'ing two others (as long as one of those 3 was from an OTA source) is significant at times. Yes, there are ways around this, but they add cost. Whether it's $5 per month or the cost of a second DVR or HD Tuner and the cabling to support that, the VIP tuners with their integrated OTA is a differentiating factor.
I'm happy with my choice to switch, but to say one is clearly better than the other for everyone would be a huge stretch. Both have high points and low points and I think it's really interesting to compare and contrast the services, equipment and offerings and see how one might be a better fit for some than the other...
All I can say is Since my switch,
- My wallet is full
- HD PQ is Great
- More stable signal
- But I hate my HD DVR 75% of the time. I like the features, but hate having no autotune,and the First Run setting has many flaws , just as the OP described, Limited favorites options
Problem is , I can Buy and Own a 722k for about $75 more then I can Lease a Hr24.
Thats my gripe.
Thats my gripe.
I too have switched from dish after 11 years. The big problem for me is I want more favorites lists. I like to set every type of programing in it's own favorite. Ex. news, movies, general family stuff ect ect. What no one has mentioned is the recording time of the hr 24 and the 722. The 24 has 100 hours HD record time while the 722 has only 50 hours of HD record time. I have two 24 receivers so now I have 200 hd hours record time. My installer said they raised the record time from 100 hrs to 150 hrs. But have not seen this confirmed. If anyone knows about this please post it. All and all I am glad I made the switch. I just wish I could quit using the buttons on the Direct remote like the ones on dish which are different. So there for I have to look or push the wrong button.
Thats NOT how it works Tom.
You can watch any channel you want, your TV will automatically change it to a format that it handles.
If that was the case, you could not ever watch anything on ESPN as it is a 720P channel.
I don't think the hours part can ever be entirely accurate as a lot depends on if your recording a MPEG 2 or MPEG 4 channel.
If you record anything OTA then it's mpeg 2 and takes up MORE room on the drive than a mpeg4 channel would.
DISH did not have HD locals so I switched. I now have 3 HD and 1 SD sets, all hooked up for whole home viewing and hooked up to the internet. D* trenched a line to my detached garage/man-cave And all for just $25 for the DECA unit. . I use closed-captioning a lot. DISH was a pain. D* works very well. I really like the 100 hrs record time versus DISH 50 hours. I had to add a AM21 on one of the H24s to receive the local sub-channels... I miss EPIC but now I get MLB & ESPN news in HD.
I had no complaints with PQ or customer service with DISH.
I had no complaints with PQ or customer service with DISH.
A hint about the guide display. If you do a left arrow on a channel to highlight the channel logo on the left and then press INFO, the system will give you a vertical list of all upcoming programs coming on that channel.
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