I have followed this forum for many years but have never been a poster. After 8+ years of Dish, I am leaving today with installation of Directv. I am just to the point of being tired of Dish's fighting with channels and losing channels over squabbles. The way I look at it is that I am spending a ton of money no matter which TV provider I choose, so I may as well go with the one who seems to settle their squabbles more frequently by passing the cost onto the consumer and I end up getting continuity with my channels. AMC was the last straw for me along with the current threats of losing the BigTen Network. Dish is always trying to squeeze the turnip and fight with these companies all the time to "save me money". I learned a long time ago that you get what you pay for and the cheaper rates at Dish are just not worth the hassles of losing channels anymore - and besides that, I am "finally" getting my PBS and CW channels in HD with the move. So I will be moving onto the other side with the Directv Forum, but wanted to say thanks to all of you for the tips and tricks you willingly shared over the years to make my Dish viewing more enjoyable.
Saying Goodbye After All These Years!
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You gotta do what you gotta do but you are likely to find this to be a case if the proverbial "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" situation. DirecTV has also been involved in disputes that have resulted in loss of programming. True, from past experience they seem to settle faster than Dish and pass the cost along in higher rates but past performance is not always indicative of future action. Based on the last round, I suspect DirecTV is going to be playing a little more hardball.
Also, you may gain some HD but you lose some as well. For example I believe Dish has DIY in HD while DirecTV only has it in SD. Plus, at least in my opinion, SD looks better on Dish.
I am not unhappy I switched from Dish to DirecTV and have no immediate plans to go back but a lot if people have high expectations and end up disappointed. Just be realistic and use services like SatelliteGuys to learn the ins and outs and how to best use the service!
Also, you may gain some HD but you lose some as well. For example I believe Dish has DIY in HD while DirecTV only has it in SD. Plus, at least in my opinion, SD looks better on Dish.
I am not unhappy I switched from Dish to DirecTV and have no immediate plans to go back but a lot if people have high expectations and end up disappointed. Just be realistic and use services like SatelliteGuys to learn the ins and outs and how to best use the service!
Good luck with the switch. I just made the move last month for pretty much the same reasons and am very happy with it. I think that picture quality is pretty much the same on both. I really like D*'s equipment a lot. The HR 34 whole home setup works great. The 5 tuners are great and I don't have anymore conflicts with timers.
I really don't miss anything about Dish. I didn't hate them or anything like that, they actually treated me very fair throughout my 4 years with them. I also just got tired of them pulling channels and not getting them back.
I really don't miss anything about Dish. I didn't hate them or anything like that, they actually treated me very fair throughout my 4 years with them. I also just got tired of them pulling channels and not getting them back.
Might as well make the switch before they start pulling the local channels over the hopper lawsuit. Pretty sure that unnecessary and obviously illegal feature is going to be the downfall of dish. Not to mention the several other legal and channel disputes, the glitches they never or take forever to fix, employees being treated like crap, cocky executives, the comment about customers only living on farms, the always annoying rain fade. Theres alot to hate about dish right now.
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Love DISH ,but I agree there is not a lot to be happy with them lately in the channels disputes. But having tried the other side a couple of times over the last decade, I can say that I can not recommend them to anyone. There billing policies leave a lot to be desired and they lie like rugs . When I tried to pay out my contract early I was quoted one price of around $215.00 , so I cancelled and paid the price. I then got another debit on my credit card of $220.00 on top of that . I called and talked to their retention upper department. The man said I was quoted the wrong price and it was not $215.00 but $435.00. I quoted the man I talked to his number id etc. The supervisor said we don't have any csr with that badge or id number working for us. But he did look into my amount and said it was wrong. It was supposed to be only $400.00 instead and waited three months to get my $35.00 credit back. Total LIERS and I told him I would NEVER do business with them EVER again.
But you got to do what you gotta do. If DISH doesn't cut it for you any longer ,then by all means try the competition. I just hope you don't get burned like I did , if you decide to leave them.
But you got to do what you gotta do. If DISH doesn't cut it for you any longer ,then by all means try the competition. I just hope you don't get burned like I did , if you decide to leave them.
The bottom line usually is and probably should be about the programming. Go where you have to go to get the channels you want.
I signed up & installed a directv system for a long time dish customer over 2yrs ago. He called me back in May & wanted to switch back to dish. Money saving on the new promo was his only deciding factor. So I put him back on dish. He calls me not even a month into his new dish contract & he's wanting to go back to directv & willing to pay the cxl fee to do it. It's not that his system wasn't working properly, it was due to the fact that in 2 short yrs he liked directv better than he thought. Either way I talked him in to keeping dish for at least a year due to the fact they crucify retailers on charge backs for early termination under a year. So we have an understanding now & I will install directv for him in May of 2013.
Good luck with your switch to directv.
Good luck with your switch to directv.
I was with Dish for quite some time and never really had any issues with them. Switched because of NFLST.
I was ready to switch back since my son had earlier indicated he didn't want the 2nd year of NFLST, and I certainly didn't care about it at all. But then he decided that he did want it and ponied up the money for it. And then D* lit up BBCA in HD, which was the only missing HD channel I really cared about, so I stuck with D*.
The good is that the HD PQ is a bit better, it is slight but noticeable. The guide presentation is very good, although the remote response is a bit slow at times, and always a bit slower than the Dish Vip and Hopper/Joey gear. Search is much better and if you like premiums, D* has more of them in HD at the moment.
The bad is that if you are on CC autopay, they take the money before you can actually even see the bill. Stupid! The external hard drive, if you want one, is tied to the particular DVR and replaces, not adds to the internal storage. Again, dumb design. And very little can be done in chat or via email, almost all interaction is via phone which means you have no record of the 'deal' or transaction should something go awry. I really miss not having chat to do most anything.
Mixed is that oft times when you call to drop some programming they will offer something to get you to not do that. Sometimes it is really a very good deal, sometimes just OK. And some have better luck with that than others. For me, I have had good luck when I try to drop from Premier, but not so good with new hardware or the big add-on packages.
I was ready to switch back since my son had earlier indicated he didn't want the 2nd year of NFLST, and I certainly didn't care about it at all. But then he decided that he did want it and ponied up the money for it. And then D* lit up BBCA in HD, which was the only missing HD channel I really cared about, so I stuck with D*.
The good is that the HD PQ is a bit better, it is slight but noticeable. The guide presentation is very good, although the remote response is a bit slow at times, and always a bit slower than the Dish Vip and Hopper/Joey gear. Search is much better and if you like premiums, D* has more of them in HD at the moment.
The bad is that if you are on CC autopay, they take the money before you can actually even see the bill. Stupid! The external hard drive, if you want one, is tied to the particular DVR and replaces, not adds to the internal storage. Again, dumb design. And very little can be done in chat or via email, almost all interaction is via phone which means you have no record of the 'deal' or transaction should something go awry. I really miss not having chat to do most anything.
Mixed is that oft times when you call to drop some programming they will offer something to get you to not do that. Sometimes it is really a very good deal, sometimes just OK. And some have better luck with that than others. For me, I have had good luck when I try to drop from Premier, but not so good with new hardware or the big add-on packages.
I was in the opposite boat. I was ready to leave Direct for Dish. In just the last couple of weeks Dish was on the verge of losing our ABC,FOX and CW locals in Columbus with the Sinclair crap. They lost our channel 10 CBS station and could still lose The Big Ten Network. That's huge here in Columbus plus throw in AMC gone????? WTF????? If I would have jumped I could have been screwed. I still could have been with the lose of channel 10 and possibly The Big Ten Network.
As people in other threads have pointed out I would have had no recourse but to pay the EFT and I would have. Some people seem to think it's not Dishes fault at all. I have never ever seen so many disputes in such a short period of time. I love the hopper but I don't know if it's worth it. I'm sticking with Direct for a while I guess and yea I know they have disputes but in the 8 years I've been with them it's nothing like Dish.
I'm really starting to see that. Reading these forums its obvious a lot people say they don't care when a channel gets blackout. That is until their favorites go.
Without a doubt. Whenever there is an upheaval of the status quo, there is usually one person or group who sets the example that others will/must follow. He/She or They will certainly bear the brunt at first, then will be congratulated some time later for leading the "revolution". That will certainly include Charlie.
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I will stick with my old motorola programs I wont choice of programs,,no raine fade,no price increase,also no sports,like history,rfd, er,just a fue & don"t need danned o credit card to pay..planning on getting a manhaten fta. this fall ,I had a star,forgot name ,it worked bout half got sepert ku.dish.I miss the german ch & news ch..I am a bug for music on computer,,don"t realy care for tv..I work for shack part time fixing tv..all I hear is bitching bout dish & direct..I thought big dish was dead..If thay would put network & sport on thay would cell..people getting tird being riped off..
How on earth is the autohop feature illegal? That's like saying using the 30 second skip button is also illegal. And I didn't know that Directv had a special system that never gets rain fade. When I had Directv my HD channels went out long before my Dish HD channels.
All providers pass the cost on to the consumer.
The sad part is that everytime there is a programming dispute they use the excuse they don't want to raise rates and are fighting for the customer.
The fact of the matter is that every provider raises rates every year, reguardless. The providers are only fighting the programmers to keep more money in their pockets.
Show me where they truely freeze prices, and I'll support both Dish and Directv when they are in a dispute with a programmer. But im so tired of channels being taken down, I just want to watch TV at this point.
In DISH Networks case, the price freeze in 2011 means nothing when they contunue to raise fees on everything else. The so called piece of crap hopper in its self was an $11 price increase due to the $7 Joey fee for the secondary TV and the $4 whole home DVR fee.
Ya, and there is no benefit at all from the Hopper system. It might make a difference if you had HD DVR service at every TV, and a way to watch recordings from any room, or if there was a way to skip commercials easier. Maybe if you had more storage than a VIP receiver, or it had more tuners, or maybe if other magazines said it was a very good receiver. Or if Direct TV charged a $20 whole home service fee. Then maybe the Hopper would be worth it over the one HD/one SD VIP receiver.
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