On Demand. Dish vs. DirecTv. Which is better?

[foschus]

I looking to finally get out from under the oppressive Comcast empire and their On Demand programming.

I know asking which is better will only provide me with opinions, but that's all I'm looking for. I posted this in the Dish forum, because there are 2x as many viewers at this moment.

The most important factors in a video service, for me, are Cost, HD, and HD On Demand content. I'm not a video quality snob or obsessed about some obscure cable channel. I watch primarily network TV and a handful of cable channels, but tend to subscribe to the top tier programming packages for the premiums. Dish and DirecTv seem comparable to me in terms of Cost and HD availability (I'm sure one has more than the other, but they're both better than Comcast).

The big question is On Demand. Both satellite providers say they have on demand, but what does that mean? Which is better in terms of Quantity of free (including free with premium subscription), functionality (search, download speed, etc.), and content turnover (how often are new choices added)

Thanks

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Both have about 5000 choices,
Both take too long to download.
On Dish There are some VOD that is over satellite with Dish, But most 98% of it requires a Broadband connection.
Directv , I'm not sure how much they have over satellite, But last time I had the service it required a broadband connection.

HD content:
there is a lot on both.

Free content:
same there is a lot.

Most movies range from Free-$7 on both.

Dish network also has Aduilt VOD.

D* arranges their VOD by what channels they are from.
E* arranges their VOD in Alphabetical order in 4 different categorys.
Satellite TV VOD is Nothing like cable.
VOD is supposed to be Just that, not wait 2 hours for the movie to download like Satellite TV.

 

[foschus]

I know it's not the same as cable VOD, but with a reasonably fast broadband connection, will it be good enough for occasional use?

Does the download have to be complete before you can start watching, or can you start watching once a sufficient buffer is established? If it's a free program, does it stay downloaded until you delete it, or does it expire after a certain amount of time? Also can you initiate a VOD download from a mobile device?

 

[Hemi 6.1]

I know it's not the same as cable VOD, but with a reasonably fast broadband connection, will it be good enough for occasional use?

Does the download have to be complete before you can start watching, or can you start watching once a sufficient buffer is established? If it's a free program, does it stay downloaded until you delete it, or does it expire after a certain amount of time? Also can you initiate a VOD download from a mobile device?

They all expire after 24 hours-30 days. The mobile device, Not sure on.
What I do is I go through all of mine like once a week,and download everything I may want to watch ,as long as its free.. Because with dish whether you watched it or not,Once you download it ,You bought it.
As far as connection and speed goes, Well your receiver is a computer, It only can go as fast is it is capable of going. You could have a 20 MBPS VS a 100MBPS and doubt it would make a difference. Your receiver can only process so fast.

 

[JAG72]

I know it's not the same as cable VOD, but with a reasonably fast broadband connection, will it be good enough for occasional use?

Does the download have to be complete before you can start watching, or can you start watching once a sufficient buffer is established?

With Directv the answer is yes. Not sure about Dish.

I watch many things VOD and I start the download and then start watching about 30 seconds later and I seldom have issues where it needs to stop and buffer some more of the download before continuing.

 

[DodgerKing]

Both have about 5000 choices,
Both take too long to download.
On Dish There are some VOD that is over satellite with Dish, But most 98% of it requires a Broadband connection.
Directv , I'm not sure how much they have over satellite, But last time I had the service it required a broadband connection.

HD content:
there is a lot on both.

Free content:
same there is a lot.

Most movies range from Free-$7 on both.

Dish network also has Aduilt VOD.

D* arranges their VOD by what channels they are from.
E* arranges their VOD in Alphabetical order in 4 different categorys.
Satellite TV VOD is Nothing like cable.
VOD is supposed to be Just that, not wait 2 hours for the movie to download like Satellite TV.

Direct also offers some VOD via satellite as well. I don't know how much.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

With Directv the answer is yes. Not sure about Dish.

I watch many things VOD and I start the download and then start watching about 30 seconds later and I seldom have issues where it needs to stop and buffer some more of the download before continuing.

To tell you the truth,I never tried it.
But with D* I needed to download about 30 minutes of a 90 minute movie in order to be able to watch the entire movie without interruption from the buffer. Thats using 5 Mbps. internet on an HR 20. Maybe the new receivers are faster, Not sure but 30 seconds that never used to work. I wish. But I've seen complaints all over satellite guys about D* and E* taking 2-8 hours to download 90 minutes of movies.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Direct also offers some VOD via satellite as well. I don't know how much.

I think with E* depends on the receivers too. Like right now
On my 722k,
13 different Satellite on demand HD movies
3027 VOD Movies SD and HD
2930 TV Entertainment On Demand SD/HD
602 After Hours VOD (XXX)

My 622 has
7 Satellite on Demand movies HD
but still
3027 Movies
2930 Tv
and 602 After hours

And of course you still have your PPV selection.

 

[JAG72]

I think with E* depends on the receivers too. Like right now
On my 722k,
13 different Satellite on demand HD movies
3027 VOD Movies SD and HD
2930 TV Entertainment On Demand SD/HD
602 After Hours VOD (XXX)

My 622 has
7 Satellite on Demand movies HD
but still
3027 Movies
2930 Tv
and 602 After hours

And of course you still have your PPV selection.

I bet that the difference in the Satellite on demand HD choices is because the 722 has a larger HDD in it. The Satellite provided ones are no different then recording a movie and then watching it later. The download the movie to your receiver prior to allowing you to access it for a set time period.

 

[JAG72]

To tell you the truth,I never tried it.
But with D* I needed to download about 30 minutes of a 90 minute movie in order to be able to watch the entire movie without interruption from the buffer. Thats using 5 Mbps. internet on an HR 20. Maybe the new receivers are faster, Not sure but 30 seconds that never used to work. I wish. But I've seen complaints all over satellite guys about D* and E* taking 2-8 hours to download 90 minutes of movies.

If you are talking about an HD movie then I can believe it. SD shows normally don't require that much buffering. Also there are to many potential slowdowns having to do it over the internet. Your speed is only as fast as any given hop you are taking along the way.

 

[satjay]

I would say Direct only becouse of the lay out. Dish should break it up by channel as direct does. Maybe once the 922 comes out they will change it

 

[Hemi 6.1]

If you are talking about an HD movie then I can believe it. SD shows normally don't require that much buffering. Also there are to many potential slowdowns having to do it over the internet. Your speed is only as fast as any given hop you are taking along the way.

That Makes sence.

 

[am7crew]

ondemand D* is better hands down, no comparison.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

ondemand D* is better hands down, no comparison.

I love these short answers with no explanation on why .

 

[MLBurks]

DirecTV's is superior because it is arranged SO much better. It's arranged by individual channels although there are some free movies that are not arranged by channel (like from MGM or Sony). So for the most point, DirecTV's is much easier to browse through.
Dish's VOD is awful in the way it is organized. Try browsing 5000 titles by alphabetical order and half of the titles are missing because of space limitations. Sure you can sort them by different categories but it is still a chore and not pleasant to deal with. Also, they rarely have any free movies (especially in HD). If I didn't already have a wireless adapter to use, I would not have gone to the trouble for Dish's VOD. Major improvements need to be made here. But it's been this way since their VOD service launched a couple of years ago (or so).

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

DirecTV's is superior because it is arranged SO much better. It's arranged by individual channels although there are some free movies that are not arranged by channel (like from MGM or Sony). So for the most point, DirecTV's is much easier to browse through.
Dish's VOD is awful in the way it is organized. Try browsing 5000 titles by alphabetical order and half of the titles are missing because of space limitations. Sure you can sort them by different categories but it is still a chore and not pleasant to deal with. Also, they rarely have any free movies (especially in HD). If I didn't already have a wireless adapter to use, I would not have gone to the trouble for Dish's VOD. Major improvements need to be made here. But it's been this way since their VOD service launched a couple of years ago (or so).

I agree 100% here.

Dish also needs to lower the price of the movies on the VOD. $5.99 to watch a movie from 1989 is a little too much.

 

[bobvick]

DirecTV's On Demand is hands down the winner in any contest. Dish Online could have a similar service if Charlie would ever make the decision to organize on-demand content by Channel.
One cannont find anything much at all with Dish Online.

 

[foschus]

Is there a way I can browse the content online before making a decision? 100% of comcast vod I watch is free, with 75% of that from a premium channel and the other 25% of childrens programming (disney, etc).

What I'm hearing so far is that d* beats e* from a functionality standpoint and they're both horrible in terms of hd download time. Which company is more likely to invest in vod more aggresively?

 

[MLBurks]

What I'm hearing so far is that d* beats e* from a functionality standpoint and they're both horrible in terms of hd download time. Which company is more likely to invest in vod more aggresively?

As it stands right now, I would say D* will invest more in VOD. But one can hope that E* will get a clue and do something on their end.

 

[Toyzruskid1976]

Did I miss something? Does Dish actually have premium (HBO etc) on demand channels? ie... I can go back and watch Dexter on Demand....

I've looked all over and couldnt find those channels... hopefully I'm missing something?