Posted on 10/24/2011 1:06:37 PM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
Most FReepers are not aware of this, but the past six or seven months have been full of disruptions: the biggest being our having to move from our home of 28 years to a new abode. And there is no cable out here (and analog aerials don't work any more).
So yes, I must now ask the question which other FReepers have asked on prior occasions: which is better, Dish Network or Direct TV?
I have long assumed that satellite is cheaper than cable. Well, it is cheaper, but not by nearly as much as I thought. Dish Network has the more inexpensive packages, but from what I see on their home page, some channels come only with the basic package; you move up to a more expensive package and you actually lose these channels. That seems like the exact opposite of the way things should be.
Now with Direct TV you don't give up any channels by moving up to a pricier package, but it is more expensive than Dish. And once the one year introductory price runs out, it's only about twenty dollars (if that much) less than I used to pay for cable.
Would FReepers who have experience with one or both of these two products please give me some advice? And I don't mean "TV will rot your brain and Obama uses TV signals to brainwash you subliminally." I know that already.
Are local network channels available with either product? If so, what is the difference in prices?
Thank you for whatever advice you are able to give me.
Can anybody tell me which has the faster Internet? I am sure they’re both fine for TV and telephone quality, but I want speed on Internet, so I can watch FR take f o r e v e r to load a page.
OTA HDTV (free) + Internet (HULU (free) + NETFLIX ($8/mo) + You Tube (free) is more choice than you’ll perhaps have free time to watch.
We are happy with dish. Ask any question you want. We have all the channels.
I had dish and it was fine. I think either would be ok except for heavy weather. Also espn and dish are fighting so if your a sports nut you might want to check the sports status of both
I’m just going to say one more thing about OTA transmission ... if you tried using a “regular” antenna when locals were simulcasting digital and analog and were dissatisfied then you need to look again ... especially if you were using one of those horrible digital to analog converter boxes .... when analog went away the signal for digital was bumped up in most cases ... I don’t have a good outdoor antenna right now but with a cheesy indoor set of rabbit ears I get really nice reception on the locals.
We went from Dish to DirecTV and are now back with Dish. Seems a little less pricey and my experience with the techie side has been good. Also, the two-TV DVR is a nice feature except when your children are recording two shows at a time, neither of which you give a rat’s rear about watching in real time. Then you gotta retreat to the inner sanctum and watch on the old TV.
Colonel, USAFR
>>> she used to enjoy watching QVC to do some shopping and she doesn’t have it on Dish anymore
QVC is available in the Top 120 Dish package and above.
Dish also doesn’t charge extra for setups in two rooms.
http://www.dishnetwork.com/packages/detail.aspx?pack=AT100
We have dish because of that exact reason. You can get “local” sports channels in places where you don’t live, to follow college teams elsewhere.
I’ve had DirecTV for many years now and zero complaints. Signal is strong and consistent (even in clouds/bad weather), I get the locals, etc.
Paying around $90/month for expanded basic and three receivers.
Another poster above mentioned internet through the satellite companies. As far as I understand, you can’t get it through Dish/DirecTV. You would have to go HughesNet and get a seperate dish antenna for that. I inquired a few years ago and that’s what I was told.
I’ve had cable, Dish and DirecTV, although it’s been some time since I was a DirecTV subscriber. I’m currently Dish.
By and large, Dish is good. It’s cheaper than DirecTV by a significant margin (and the price is now locked through 2013, I think). Dish has the Blockbuster streaming and DVD rental that comes with your subscription, which is a nice feature that is absent from DirecTV.
Dish also has a Slingbox receiver that will let you watch live TV, through your satellite, from any computer. I don’t know if DirecTv has a similar feature, but it’s nice to be able to watch your satellite dish on your iPad sitting in an airport. Makes the day go a lot quicker.
Channels are comparable. Until a couple of months ago, Dish didn’t have MLB Network. I thought this was a significant flaw, but it recently was added. I’m not aware of any major channels (other than Sunday Ticket) that are available on DirecTV and not on Dish.
These are the factors that put me into the Dish camp a year ago. Dish hasn’t been perfect—I get a lot more outages than I used to when I was a subscriber 5 years ago—but it’s been OK.
Excellent point...I use Blockbuster on occasion and sales from Walmart...but your point is spot on:
OTA+Hulu+DVD+Youtube = 99% Already
Occasionally I turn on my Free Ku Band satellite...but with Galaxy 10 shutdown and the slim pickings on AMC satellites - it stays off most of the time.
=8-)
I had DirecTV for almost ten years without any problems. Of course, there were several times I was watching a very interesting program and it started to rain- and I never got to see the end. This happened very rarely, though. Then they had the NFL games special for free for all new subscribers. I emailed and requested the same special. They told me no. But they did say to call a phone number if I was still unhappy. Anyway, I switched to cable and called and cancelled my DIrecTV. It was only then they started sweetening the deal if I wouldn’t cancel. It was only after I was adamant I was gonna cancel that they offered me the NFL package. That aggravated me a bit, so I still cancelled and kept the cable. I would never go with DISH, though.
True unless they are both HDTVs. Then it's extra.
Because free TV ceased analog broadcasts over two years ago.Yes, but they broadcast free digital TV now. If you have a digital TV (if not, why not?!?) or a converter box, you can still receive free TV. Typically, each station broadcasts several channels, so you may have 3-4 times as many channels available as before (although most of them aren't worth watching).
As mentioned in another comment, there is no such thing as a "digital" antenna. The only considerations are VHF vs UHF. Almost all digital channels are UHF, so you can often get by with a small UHF antenna. If a station you want to watch is on the VHF band, then you need a big VHF antenna. If your house already has a TV antenna (even an old one), you might want to try it out. You may get good reception without doing anything.
KILL YOUR TELEVISION
Here in SF Bay Area I use my old figure-8 Terk up in the attic.
I pull in -10.0dB LO and -5.0dB HI...
Boosted with 12.0dB AMP and split through a 4-way at 7.5dB loss...
I get -5.0dB LO and 0.00dB HI at my wall ports.
The only stations I can get are in the 2- range, 4- range and 5- range.
Neighbor across the street with his outdoor tree-style antenna gets what I can’t.
At least my boy gets his 54-4 PBS kids - my wife gets her 1-XX Vietnamese radio broadcast...so house is happy.
Watched Saints versus Colts on 11-1 last night so I can’t complain either.
=8-)
My son has had DIRECTv for the past 3 years and he hated it. At first, no local channels ... then he could get them but had to pay extra. Lots of problems with DVR and very little assistance from DIRECv.
Last month he switched to DISH and has been so happy with them on the phone and the guy who came and did the installation. Service has been dependable so far.
I'd recommend DISH without hesitation. Their website is great ... you can do live chat if you have a problem and don't want to do it on the phone. You are able to totally control your account online and pay very easily.
YES! Dish on the roof is not good during winter. Rain is also an issue. You lose signal during heavy downpours or heavy storm clouds between your antenna and satellite. Just something you have to deal with.
You want DirecTV. It has better programming than Dish. If you’ve had real cable tv in the past you’re going to be mighty disappointed with either one. Rain fade always happens at the worst possible time. Snow on the LNB means no picture. I truly dislike the policies of DirecTV, and if the programming packages were equal I wouldn’t be their customer. However, since cable tv will never come to my house I have to do the best I can. Hope this helps. Oh, and be sure to get a DVR. You’ll love it.
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