Sell me on Dish...

[varaonaid]

Hello,

I don't want this to be a flame post or anything - I honestly don't. I plan to pose the same question for D* subscribers as well.

We're moving this month and finally will be able to get satellite service! Very excited about that! However, I'm not completely sold on which company to go with. To be honest, I've been leaning towards D* but am having some second thoughts. I'd really like to hear your honest opinions about your experiences with Dish. We've been living in a winter rental which already had Dish (SD) and we haven't been terribly impressed with all the jewelry channels, etc nor the SD picture quality but to be fair, we have an HDTV & didn't have E*'s HD service.

So, please tell me all about your experiences. I'm interested in hearing about everything - signal stability, pic quality, number of channels, features that you can't live without, new features coming down the pipeline, new channels coming, available transponder space for adding new channels, software, VOD, price, hardware, customer service...anything and everything. Please tell my why you stayed/switched/wouldn't consider anything else/can't wait to leave.

Just a quick note about my setup: we have three TV's - two HD's and an SD (though there's a chance that we'll upgrade to an HD for the third one either later this year or next). Need at least one DVR. Would like to be able to watch recorded programs on both of the HDTV's (don't really care if they both have their own DVR or are able to share somehow). The SDTV will be in the basement, the other two upstairs. Doesn't look like our location is very good for receiving OTA locals according to TVfool.com and antennaweb.org. I guess that's the basics...if I've left out any pertinent data, please let me know.

I'm going to be taking another look at pricing/channel lineup, etc but nothing can take the place of hearing advice and experiences from folks who have had the service. Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The question really is what do you like to watch?

If you are a sports fan then you want DirecTV, if your not into sports Dish Network is your place to be.

On the SD front both look about the same.

While Dish might not have a lot of sports their DVR's are the best on the market. However while the equipment is great features like VOD require some real work (direcTV's VD kicks Dish's butt)

Customer service at Dish was really bad about 2 years ago, but is now getting much better and now 80% of the calls are answered here in the United States instead of India. Dish has made a huge step forward in this area.

Pricing is about the same between the two when you get your bill. Dish looks like their prices are low but have a number of fees which in turn make them the same price as DirecTV.

Hope that helps.

 

[KAB]

If you are a power DVR user, Dish allows you to record three programs at once (1 OTA and 2 Sat) with their VIP 622/722, and four (2 OTA and 2 Sat) with the new 722K with OTA module. With Direct, the max is two, and if you want OTA, you will need an add-on box, the AM21. Even now that Dish has most of my local HD channels, I prefer to watch them OTA (less compression).

 

[jdmacor]

Whatever you do don't sign up for Turbo HD; or at least look at the channels available and assume that you will NEVER have another one added to that list; oh, and that your price will go up about $10 per year...

 

[varaonaid]

The question really is what do you like to watch?

If you are a sports fan then you want DirecTV, if your not into sports Dish Network is your place to be.

On the SD front both look about the same.

While Dish might not have a lot of sports their DVR's are the best on the market. However while the equipment is great features like VOD require some real work (direcTV's VD kicks Dish's butt)

Customer service at Dish was really bad about 2 years ago, but is now getting much better and now 80% of the calls are answered here in the United States instead of India. Dish has made a huge step forward in this area.

Pricing is about the same between the two when you get your bill. Dish looks like their prices are low but have a number of fees which in turn make them the same price as DirecTV.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the replies so far! Not really into sports too much but really like VOD. Can you please tell more about the VOD issues with Dish? Is any of the content free? How difficult is it to use?

 

[varaonaid]

Whatever you do don't sign up for Turbo HD; or at least look at the channels available and assume that you will NEVER have another one added to that list; oh, and that your price will go up about $10 per year...

Yikes! What do you mean? Do the new HD channels *not* get added to this package? That's crazy if not!

 

[jdmacor]

Yikes! What do you mean? Do the new HD channels *not* get added to this package? That's crazy if not!

Here are the new channels (ie, added to dish this year) that a Turbo sub cannot pay any amount of money to get:

• Fox News HD
• Fox Business HD
• MTV HD
• VH1 HD
• BET HD
• Nick HD
• Speed HD
• FX HD

I don't know if Scott heard anything from Team Summit, but there does not appear to be any change forth coming on the matter...

Needless to say, I am pissed. I am trying to warn people about this any way that I can:
All DISH customers with 5 new national HD channels step forward -- not so fast Turbo HD subs

 

[varaonaid]

Here are the new channels (ie, added to dish this year) that a Turbo sub cannot pay any amount of money to get:

• Fox News HD
• Fox Business HD
• MTV HD
• VH1 HD
• BET HD
• Nick HD
• Speed HD
• FX HD

I don't know if Scott heard anything from Team Summit, but there does not appear to be any change forth coming on the matter...

Needless to say, I am pissed. I am trying to warn people about this any way that I can:
All DISH customers with 5 new national HD channels step forward -- not so fast Turbo HD subs

Not cool! So sorry to hear that. I'll definitely stay away from that package. Thanks for the advice. I never would have guessed that one!

 

[varaonaid]

Oh, does dish have something similar to the MRV feature that's available on the D* CE program? Are all the channels available with a single dish?

 

[wetz73]

D* better sports, VOD
E* (much) better DVR's and overall technology (Sling with 922)


Personally, I DVR everything I watch outside of live events and that to me is my VOD, so if you are into a particular sport and want to drop a few hundred bucks to watch all the games, D* is your choice. If not, E* is the way to go for the DVR alone. A year ago, I would have said go with D* for HD, but now E* is at least even with them outside of sports. E* will drive you nuts with RSN's and HD, though!

 

[HiDefRev]

Dish

I am a former Directv customer who has been with Dish for about a year now. The reason I switched was " HD ". I love the enormous amount of HD programming on Dish, and have never had a problem with their service. The addition of SpeedHD and FXHD yesterday really made my day. The SD is perfectly watchable, but the neighbors come to my house to watch the HD ( I'm having a NASCAR party tonight to watch the Southern 500 ). IMHO, you can not go wrong with Dish.

 

[joecap1946]

Don't know where you are, but I think you have a better chance of getting your locals in SD or HD with Dish.

Just another thought.

 

[varaonaid]

D* better sports, VOD
E* (much) better DVR's and overall technology (Sling with 922)


Personally, I DVR everything I watch outside of live events and that to me is my VOD, so if you are into a particular sport and want to drop a few hundred bucks to watch all the games, D* is your choice. If not, E* is the way to go for the DVR alone. A year ago, I would have said go with D* for HD, but now E* is at least even with them outside of sports. E* will drive you nuts with RSN's and HD, though!

Is the 922 available? Is there a cost? What about the Sling? How much does it cost? Are there monthly fees for the Sling?

 

[wetz73]

922 not available yet (9/09 last I knew) but will come with Sling ready to go. As far as I know, it's just the monthly DVR fee and nothing more.

 

[varaonaid]

922 not available yet (9/09 last I knew) but will come with Sling ready to go. As far as I know, it's just the monthly DVR fee and nothing more.

Hmmm, that's good and bad. I need to sign up sooner... how are they for "upgrading existing subs...not too good I would imagine.

 

[wetz73]

They offer a program called Dish'N It Up that allows you to upgrade every 18 months (I think) to the newest equipment for $100 and a new 2 year contract.

 

[Crash&Burn]

I am a former Directv customer who has been with Dish for about a year now. The reason I switched was " HD ". I love the enormous amount of HD programming on Dish, and have never had a problem with their service. The addition of SpeedHD and FXHD yesterday really made my day. The SD is perfectly watchable, but the neighbors come to my house to watch the HD ( I'm having a NASCAR party tonight to watch the Southern 500 ). IMHO, you can not go wrong with Dish.

Youall should go to a LOCAL track tonight and see some REAL rac'in...DVR Darlington, and watch tomorrow with NO commericals.
.
.
Go Clint

 

[joeyjojojnr]

I had DirecTV for several years, now with Dish.

In general, it's the same. Both are OK options given the competition.

Dish seems to win with its DVR, so that's a plus.

In the end, just list the stations you REALLY want, and figure out which service will have a package with the best price that meets your needs/wants.

 

[KAB]

They offer a program called Dish'N It Up that allows you to upgrade every 18 months (I think) to the newest equipment for $100 and a new 2 year contract.

It's every 12 months and the 922 would have an upfront cost of $199.00 to lease.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Here are the new channels (ie, added to dish this year) that a Turbo sub cannot pay any amount of money to get:

Exactly how many threads are the Turbo subs going to hijack? Yeah, it sucks for you guys, and I'd probably be pissed too, but the writing's on the wall. Time to switch packages or enjoy what you have.