To compare PQ, in my opinion, you have to do so on the same TV.
Go see the interface yourself... Again, this is a subjective thing.
Go see the interface yourself... Again, this is a subjective thing.
Used Uverse for 3 weeks..thinking of Dish now
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PQ between Dish and Directv according to most is pretty close. Some say one might look a little better. The big difference between Directv and Dish is mainly the RSNs (Directv is more sport friendly, but Dish has been adding up on the ridiculous number of new sports channels coming out) and the equipment (people here think The Hopper is the best thing since the penicillin). Of course, you need to go online and price things out to determine which one works best for you price and product wise. Rob Lowe seems to like Directv.
And I hate the Rob Lowe commercials, so there I don't go!PQ between Dish and Directv according to most is pretty close. Some say one might look a little better. The big difference between Directv and Dish is mainly the RSNs (Directv is more sport friendly, but Dish has been adding up on the ridiculous number of new sports channels coming out) and the equipment (people here think The Hopper is the best thing since the penicillin). Of course, you need to go online and price things out to determine which one works best for you price and product wise. Rob Lowe seems to like Directv.
I haven't read the whole thread, so apologies if this has already been said. But last time I looked at switching providers I researched U-verse quite a bit and did a side by side comparison with Dish for quite a while.
- I saw virtually no difference in HD static images but more macro blocking on fast moving ones on U-verse. SD was significantly better on U-verse.
- U-verse does indeed have nearly 70 more HD channels than Dish. That's 50%, which by any measure, I would consider "a lot more".
- U-verse internet bandwidth is fixed. Watching TV has no impact. If you find that it does, there is something wrong with your installation.
- Channel changes on U-verse are instant, and there is never rain fade, and disputes are rarer.
I ultimately went with cable which had far more HD, far better picture quality than Dish and U-verse, far faster internet and far lower prices. If I were ever to drop cable, I'd probably go with U-verse before going back to Dish, in spite of their slightly lower picture quality on fast motion.
- I saw virtually no difference in HD static images but more macro blocking on fast moving ones on U-verse. SD was significantly better on U-verse.
- U-verse does indeed have nearly 70 more HD channels than Dish. That's 50%, which by any measure, I would consider "a lot more".
- U-verse internet bandwidth is fixed. Watching TV has no impact. If you find that it does, there is something wrong with your installation.
- Channel changes on U-verse are instant, and there is never rain fade, and disputes are rarer.
I ultimately went with cable which had far more HD, far better picture quality than Dish and U-verse, far faster internet and far lower prices. If I were ever to drop cable, I'd probably go with U-verse before going back to Dish, in spite of their slightly lower picture quality on fast motion.
That is what I am afraid of: getting Dish and get the same (or worse) picture quality with more service interruptions due to weather.
My only other option is Time Warner (I have to wait a couple of years to be a new customer with D*). I had TW a few years ago, and it was okay I guess. Boring guide, not so great PQ.
I think I'll give Uverse a little more time. From what I keep reading Dish does not seem much better in terms of PQ.
They just started rolling it out in the NC Triangle, but not in my neighborhood yet. I have a couple of friends who signed up for the full Gig, and they are paying widely different prices. One pays $105, and the other pays $135. I would be happy with 300Mb for $70/month myself.
From what I've read online, the people paying $70 would be happier if they were actually getting the 300 Mbps too. 1 Gbps just seems so outlandish of a through stream. You'd be able to stream blu-ray rips with that speed... quickly. All the more reason to jump to 4K I suppose.
I believe Verizon FiOS also has a number of HD channels that Dish only will provide in SD. However, I have to say that there are very few channels among general interest (like 105-299) that are NOT provided by Dish in HD. Where it really "hurts" for me is that there are too many premium movie channels (300-390) that are NOT provided in HD by Dish, but do have HD feeds. Oh, yes, and for the RSN's not all in HD, that is a weak point, too. Let's hope the 8PSK on the WA happens as scheduled this spring.
I know SEVERAL people who are unsatisfied after a few days and weeks and "wanted" to cancel or, in fact, have cancelled with AT&T Uverse in a matter of a few weeks.
DircTV uses a satellite/system for its HD services that is LESS reliable in weather conditions than Dish's HD services sat. DirecTV is using the Ka band for its HD services and is LESS reliable (although there are some compensation techniques that still don't make it as robust as Dish's DBS sats) regarding rain fade. Dish uses the traditional, more powerful, and lower frequency DBS bands in the Ku that perform better in rain or other weather.
I have found more complaints from DirecTV subs about losing their channels during weather than Dish subs in the same area/weather. I just don't hear nearly as many complaints of Dish users losing channels. Of course, Dish channels can be lost in bad enough weather, but I hear a constant stream of complaints--mild to strong--about people losing their DirecTV HD channels than Dish users.
I have noticed, usually when a customer has a weather related issue, that is not a bad storm on Dish, iscaused by a poorly mounted Dish, or poorly peaked dish. If properly done, seems to hold true... But that could be mistaken, and it all depends on each individual setup. I am not about to compare my system in Az where it never goes out, to someone in Michigan during excessive flurry season.
Thanks for the continued posts!
I just keep reading more online how Dish seems to be good for close-ups & slow-moving images. I keep seeing though with fast-moving images (sports), it's not as good as Direct. Many people online say Dish uses HD Lite and the resolution is different from Direct. If this is true, I'm imagining Dish's PQ is about the same as Uverse. Both Dish and Uverse typically get the same negative complaints as far as PQ.
I just keep reading more online how Dish seems to be good for close-ups & slow-moving images. I keep seeing though with fast-moving images (sports), it's not as good as Direct. Many people online say Dish uses HD Lite and the resolution is different from Direct. If this is true, I'm imagining Dish's PQ is about the same as Uverse. Both Dish and Uverse typically get the same negative complaints as far as PQ.
From what I've read here, from users that have had both, the PQ for Dish and Direct are pretty close, with Directv getting the edge. There are some serious Dish haters out there.
I've noticed, sometimes it depends on what channel you are watching, but overall, Dish's HD signal is good.
I've noticed, sometimes it depends on what channel you are watching, but overall, Dish's HD signal is good.
I have had all three. DirecTV has the best HD, followed by Dish, then Uverse.
Uverse has the best SD, followed by Dish, and DTV in last place.
Uverse has the best music channel programs, called Stingray, that are in 192+ Kbps. DTV and Dish have rather low-fi music. Maybe the average Joe could care less about that, but for me music is always playing when I at my office desk.
Uverse has the best SD, followed by Dish, and DTV in last place.
Uverse has the best music channel programs, called Stingray, that are in 192+ Kbps. DTV and Dish have rather low-fi music. Maybe the average Joe could care less about that, but for me music is always playing when I at my office desk.
I don't watch SD anymore if I can help it! Direct's PQ was great for sports (basketball is what I mainly watch). How did you think sports look with Dish?
I used U-Verse at my MIL house over the holiday for a week on free HD preview for part of the week. I commented most of what I'll say in the U-Verse forum back in December but got no replies and not sure if anyone read it but there were some views. So if you are going to be dependent on this forum for support you will be disappointed. My observations (2HWS3J Dish setup at home) was that the HD picture was not astoundingly better than the SD to me on a 32 inch Samsung and a 32 inch Sony TV. I did note what looked like small amount of mosquito noise in the picture, but that could have been from the inexpensive TVs. My MIL who does not subscribe to HD, says she can't see that much difference except the screen's bigger. Oh well she's the one paying the bill. I can say that I really dislike the program guide and the remote. The guide gives you a preview screen of the show highlighted in the grid rather than the tuned program, which remains on but unwatchable in the background. That is just stupid to me coming from a DISH background. There also seems to be no rhyme or reason to the placement of channels in the guide with channels scattered around willy-nilly and the HD channels 1000 higher than the SD. Could just be because I'm used to Dish and if you used it all the time it wouldn't be so infuriating as it was to me. But I definitely was not wowed by the HD picture even on 32 inch. Also one of the TVs keeps displaying a message saying delete some of the recordings to make room. She has "whole home" but I suspect that the recordings remain resident on the box their recording on and would guess they don't have much capacity. The equipment seemed a generation or so behind the VIP series from Dish, more on par with the junk you get from the cable companies. My parents have TWC and it seemed more like that experience. Pretty annoying to me, but I'm just picking nits.
Mav,
You keep asking the same question. DirecTV has the best HD picture and most sports channels. Dish is a close second.
End of story.
You're right, I do keep asking the same question. I want more people to chime in. Thank you very much for all of your responses. I know the order in terms of HD PQ (Direct, Dish, Uverse) but I guess I keep wanting more in terms of how close they are to each other. Even though Uverse 3rd, if it is close to Dish in terms of HD PQ I guess there's no reason to switch to Dish as I am willing to bet Uverse is more reliable in terms of when bad weather comes around. I know some people will say Uverse equipment seems outdated, but it's okay for what I do.
Now, if Dish's PQ is much better than Uverse, then I'd be more inclined to make the switch. I wish Dish had a trial period. That would allow all of my questions to be answered. I don't trust the Dish rep over the phone when he said that I can tell them to "unhook" everything if I'm not satisfied & I won't get charged a dime.
