Posted on 05/31/2011 5:06:16 AM PDT by 30Moves
I am new to Television - have only had cable for 2 years and the price keeps inching up. I want to change to satellite TV and I keep getting the ads for both Direct TV and The Dish. I can't make heads nor tails of the offers and wanted to know if anyone could point me in the right direction? I am a techno-peasant so please be gentle with me. Thanks.
You will need a dish, probably on your roof (meaning drilling holes in the roof, which hopefully won't leak). If you have obstructions between you and the satellites (trees or tall buildings?) you might have trouble finding a good place to put the dish.
You may have to have new cable pulled to each TV (depending on what's already in place).
You will need a satellite receiver for each TV. You don't get any "analog" channels that can be received directly by a TV.
You will probably lose your reception during heavy storms. If you live in a heavy snow area, you may have to worry about getting snow off of the dish (which is up on your snow-covered roof).
If you live far away from the local TV stations, you might have trouble getting network programming from the satellite.
Traditionally, Satellite TV had a better picture than cable, but that will depend on your local cable provider.
Costs will probably be comparable.
Hope this helps.
AT&T Uverse....if you have it offered in your area
They all send multitudes of flyers to me to get our business. I’ve written each back and said “When I can choose ONLY the Channels I WANT, I will sign with you!” (not gonna happen but why should I pay for channels I hate?)
Sat isn’t a bad deal if you aren’t interested in premium channels. If you are, then you might find it more expensive than cable.
We have Direct, and I like it. If you like the NFL, you can get NFL Network which gives you Thursday night NFL games you wouldn’t otherwise see and NFL news in the early evening. The only problem with satellite is that sometimes when we get a storm, or occasionally just rain and/or strong wind, the satellite goes out. Often times, though, it’s only out for a few minutes and will come back even if it’s still storming.
I have had them both.
Both suck.
As soon as my contract with Direct is over, I’m done.
I have Dish and have been pleased with it for let 9 years. I chose not to pay for the part that contains the networks and literally don’t miss them at all!
Our main TV in the family room I pay over $40mo. for Dish, there’s only 1 channel I watch on it and it is Fox news, my husband watches the “outdoor hunting” channel.
In another room I bought a Digital TV antenna which cost $40 (one time) and I get 13 channels that are much more enjoyable than any over the dish.
GO FIGURE!
PS I’d drop the dish but hubby won’t give up outdoors!
I have Direct TV. My only complaint with them is that they keep “finding” a million new stations to offer me, none of which I watch, to justify modest rate increases.
That said, their service is second to none. You’ll have to go through a maddening set of voice mail options, but once you get to real, live, Tech Support person you will be talking to an American, who speaks English. And one who is yours & will not rush you off the phone. This is not going to be like calling your cellphone company and talking to someone in Indonesia or the Phillipines. And dealing with their broken English and noisy backgrounds. When your equipment “goes” (and mine has over the years) they are responsive. You’ll get a new thing on your doorstep within 72 hours. sometimes faster than that.
There are things that Direct TV has, that Dish does not. I am a sports fan and I have the package that includes MLB, NFL, and NBA networks. Direct TV also has Fox Business, which Dish did not have, the last time I checked.
Good luck!
I second this advice.
How do I get DSL without cable? I don’t have a home phone - just a cell and I live in a rural area in E. Tennessee. Limited availability.
Does Netflix through Wii have closed captioning? My daughter is deaf so I really need CC.
AT&T Uverse is not available in my area.
I only want television so I can keep up with politics. I have lived my whole life without TV and politics but the election of O got my attention so I got cable.
Spend thirty bucks on an antenna, you’ll be amazed at the beautiful signal you get!
“My theory is if its storming hard enough to stop the satellite signal I really don’t need to worry about whats on the discovery channel.”
I think the satellites are over Texas. Here in New Hampshire, the angle of the antenna is so severe that any decent rain cloud will interrupt the signal. Additionally, the combination of TV and Internet on our cable system has a big enough discount to make it about $20 cheaper than satellite.
I’ll keep cable and wait for something better.
I think you’re going to hear conflicting things. Personally, dealing with DirecTV staff, installation, etc. was a frickin’ nightmare, couldn’t get the local stations unless you bought yet ANOTHER box. Switched to Dish and it’s been good, but like one post said, every once in a while the satellite will go out on you-—but that happened with DirecTV, too.
We have Direct TV - it just keeps going up. Its ridiculous - but there really aren’t any options in OKC. Cox cable is lousy...red
Dish has Fox Business, and the sports networks you mentioned. The only think direct had going for them was their exclusive deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket.
I’ve had Dish for 11 years. Yes, you may lose the signal for a few minutes when a big storm is coming, but I’ve only had trouble with ice building up on the dish once.
You get more channels for less money than cable.
One thing you do get on the dish that you don’t on cable is the multiple feeds of networks. East coast and west coast. So if you miss something you can always watch/record it 3 hours later.
Also, the Slingbox is awesome if you travel a lot. I can watch my TV, including controlling the DVR from anywhere with an internet connection.
My sister gets her dsl through her cell phone. But, I don’t know how its done.
If you’ve got fast enough Internet, consider an AppleTV and Netflix Streaming ($99 + $9/month).
I gave up advertising-driven TV years ago. Now watch what I want, when I want, commercial free. I’ll deal with the delayed availability in favor of better content. Ads suck.
Exactly. Now that my FIOS contract period is up I’ll be getting all of my TV from Netflix through my Wii. Tons cheaper and I can get exactly what I want.
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