I'm a long time DISH subscriber and am a "mover". I am also an AT&T wireless customer. I am considering switching in order to take advantage of the unlimited data offer. I was hoping to get some insight on how hard it is to "move" with DTV. Should I wait a period of time before doing it? How would I go about doing it? The market I "move" to is only about five miles away.
I was also wondering about equipment. Right now we have two hoppers. One with no Joeys and the other with two joeys. I would like a similar set up that will allow me to have a separate DVR in one room while the others are connected. Is this possible with DTV?
Thanks for the help folks!
Regarding physically moving from one location to another, I'd say it's your call as far as what you want to deal with on top of everything else it takes to move. One perspective is to keep your utilities the same (as much as can be) until you get situated at the new location. Then, make the switch. Either way, you'll have new equipment that would have to be installed at the new place for DirecTV versus DISH. Of course, you could always consider suspending your service (or just not use it) with DISH when moving to the new location if you don't want to bother with a "moved" DISH and then a new DirecTV install on top of that.
The bigger issue here is actually changing services. As a DirecTV subscriber who thinks the DirecTV Genie/Mini system is one of the best sets of devices on the market today, I can say that, frankly, you'll get a far better deal than a decades-plus customer such as myself will likely get with your switch. I really don't think you'd have to pay for anything at all (except for a $99 WVB (Wireless Video Bridge) setup if you go with wireless Genie minis) as an enticement for DirecTV to welcome you aboard. I typically have to wait at least a year or so after new equipment is deployed to General Availability before I'm given discounts (and I'm always given discounts even without being a part of any monthly service subscription on top of channel subs).
The big clincher will be that DirecTV will substantially move with you on price of programming packages -- you'll likely see north of 50% off -- for a certain period of time to get you to switch.
At the end of the day, you'll have to decide what's in your best interest for a physical move. Then, when switching providers, DISH is going to try to get you to stay, while DirecTV will be throwing everything at you to get you to move. Be smart and play them against each other. After all, once you're a customer, you'll have to wheel-and-deal to get further enticements to stay once your current deals expire.
