DIRECTV vs DISH Network
DIRECTV vs DISH Network. The debate will continue forever because the real answer depends on you. What programming and what services you want. To help with that decision, I’ve put together a comprehensive comparison based on my experience and knowledge. By the way, the correct spelling is DIRECTV, but many people refer to the service as Direct TV, which is not correct.
Basic Programming Packages
- Family Package: 50+ channels including Discovery, Nickelodeon, Science Channel, and National Geographic, plus locals for $29.99/month
- Choice™ Package: 150+ channels (40+ HD) including CNN, Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV, Science Channel, TBS, TNT, USA, and local channels for $58.99/month
- Choice Xtra™: 210+ channels (50+ HD) including the 150 Choice channels plus Discover Kids, G4, National Geographic, Speed, and others for $63.99/month
- Choice Ultimate™: 225+ channels (55+ HD) including the Choice Xtra channels plus 11 extra movie channels, G4, National Geographic, Speed, and others for $68.99/month
- Premier™: 285+ channels including the Choice Ultimate channels plus HBO, Starz, Showtime, Cinemax, and Sports Pack channels for $114.99/month
DISH Network:
- Smart Pack: over 55 of your favorite channels including ESPN HD, CNN HD and TNT HD, as well as your local channels. (Promo: $19.99/mo for 1 year)
- America’s Top 120™: over 120 of your favorite channels, including CNN, ESPN, Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, 30+ Dish CD music channels, and local channels for $44.99/month (Promo: $24.99/mo for 1 year)
- America’s Top 120™ Plus: same as the Top 120™ package with the addition of local sports networks for $49.99/month (Promo: $29.99/mo for 1 year)
- America’s Top 200™: over 220 channels including the best in news, sports, and family programming, along with over 60 SIRIUS music channels $59.99/month (Promo: $34.99/mo for 1 year)
- America’s Top 250™: Includes Top 200 package channels plus 15 movies channels, Discovery Kids, History Channel International and more for $69.99/month (Promo: $39.99/mo for 1 year)
- America’s Everything™ Pack: Over 295 channels including 31 premium movie channels like HBO®, Cinemax®, Showtime®, Starz®, and NBA TV for $104.99/month (Promo: $84.99/mo for 1 year)
DVR (Digital Video Recording)
DIRECTV: $7.00 per month flat fee (up to 6 DVR recievers). DISH Network: $6.00 per month flat rate.
HD Programming
DIRECTV: $10/month for HD access which includes up to 105 HD channels depending on your package.
- Choice™ Package: 40+ HD channels
- Choice Xtra™: 50+ HD channels
- Choice Ultimate™:55+ HD channels
- Premier™: 105+ HD channels
DISH Network: Included with packages.
Extras, A la carte
DIRECTV:
- HD Extra Pack (7 channels): $4.99/month
- 8 HBO channels (4 HD): $14.99/month
- 15 Starz channels (8 HD): $12.99/month
- 13 Showtime channels (10 HD): $12.99/month
- 3 Cinemax channels (2 HD): $12.99/month
- 30+ Specialty and Regional Sports channels: $12.99/month
- MLB Extra Innings: $139.96/season
- NASCAR Hot Pass: TBD
- NFL Sunday Ticket: $299.95/season
- NBA League Pass: TBD
- Mega March Madness: TBD
- ESPN Full Court (NCAA Basketball): TBD
- NHL Center Ice: TBD
- MLS Direct Kick: $49/season
- ESPN Gameplan (NCAA Football): $115.96/season
- Fox Soccer Plus: $14.99/month
DISH Network:
- 8 HBO channels (8 HD): $16.00/month
- 5 Cinemax channels (4 HD): $13.00/month
- 10 Showtime channels (7 HD): $13.00/month
- 8 Starz channels (6 HD): $13.00/month
- Playboy channel: $16.00/month
- Any 2 Premium Packages: $24/month; Any 3: $33/month; Any 4: $42/month
- Multi-Sport Package: $7/month
- NBA League Pass: $24.50/mo for 2 months
- ESPN Full Court (NCAA Basketball): $29.95
- MLS Direct Kick: $49.99/mo for half season
- ESPN Gameplan (NCAA Football): $18.75/mo for 4 months
- NHL Center Ice: 1 payment of $79.90
- Fox Soccer Plus: $15/month
- Race Track Network: $50/month
Other Fees
DIRECTV:
- Lease Fees: $5.00/month per additional receiver (1st one free). This fee is the same for all types of leased receivers.
- DIRECTV Protection Plan: Optional $5.99/month covers repair/service calls for all equipment on the account.
DISH Network:
- Lease Fees: $5.00-7.00/month per additional receiver (1st one free). (DISH Network DVR receivers are multi-room capable which means one receiver can provide programming for two TV’s in different rooms).
- DISH Home Protection Plan: Optional $7.00/month covers repair/replacement of leased and/or purchased equipment ($15 for in-home service vs. $95 without plan).
Current Promotions for New Customers (Best Deals)
DIRECTV:
- Save up to $29/mo for 12 months, after rebate agreement + HBO, SHOWTIME and Starz FREE for three months. Includes FREE HD for life, 2 FREE receiver upgrades, free installation, and free shipping. ONLINE ONLY. Get this deal.
DISH Network:
- HD Free for life + $20 off per month for 1 year + free upgrade to HD DVR + 3 months free HBO®, Cinemax®, Showtime®, and Starz® + 3 HD receivers for free. This offer requires a 24-month agreement. Get this deal.
Equipment
DIRECTV:
- Standard Receiver: Provides one tuner for one TV.
- Standard Definition DVR Receiver:
- Features two tuners to record up to two shows simultaneously. Stores up to 100 hours of programming.
- High Definition Receiver:
- One Satellite HD tuner to provide programming for one HDTV.
- High Definition DVR Receivers:
- DIRECTV Plus HD DVR (HR20): The newest receiver offered features two HD satellite tuners, and one ATSC attenna input for Over-The-Air (OTA) HD broadcasts. Can record two HD programs simulaneously while watching another pre-recorded show. Also features a single 90 minute buffer. (While tuned to a channel you can rewind/pause up to 90 minutes of live TV without having to record it.)
- DIRECTV HR10-250: No longer offered since it cannot receive the new HD channels broadcast with MPEG4 compression. It does currently still work and can be found used. Many people prefer this unit to the newer one because of its TiVO user interface and dual live buffers.
- DIRECTV Plus HD DVR (HR20): The newest receiver offered features two HD satellite tuners, and one ATSC attenna input for Over-The-Air (OTA) HD broadcasts. Can record two HD programs simulaneously while watching another pre-recorded show. Also features a single 90 minute buffer. (While tuned to a channel you can rewind/pause up to 90 minutes of live TV without having to record it.)
- Common Features
- All current receivers can display caller ID information on the screen when the receiver has a phone line connected and caller ID service is enabled by telephone provider.
- All receivers have Dolby Digital output for when the programming supports it.
- All receivers feature on-screen program guide data.
- All receivers use a custom user interface created by DIRECTV. The previous DVR receivers used a TiVO branded user interface, which according to user reviews is preferred over all other DVR user interaces. Even earlier models used the Ultimate TV user interface (developed by Microsoft), which was also well liked.
DISH Network:
- Standard Receivers:
- DISH 322: Features two tuners for independent satellite TV viewing on two separate televisions. Product Brochure
- DISH 311: Provides one tuner for one TV. Product Brochure
- Standard Definition DVR Receivers:
- DISH DVR 625: Two tuners to support two separate televisions. Can record two programs simultaneously while watching a third pre-recorded program. Stores up to 100 hours of programming. Product Brochure
- Solo DVR 512: Dual Satellite SD tuner supports one SD TV. Product Brochure
- DISH DVR 625: Two tuners to support two separate televisions. Can record two programs simultaneously while watching a third pre-recorded program. Stores up to 100 hours of programming. Product Brochure
High Definition Receivers:
- High Definition DVR Receivers:
- DuoDVR ViP722 DVR: Supports 2 independent viewing TVs. HD/SD on one TV and SD only on the other. Also includes ATSC tuner input for for off-air digital/HD broadcasts. Can simultaneously record two satellite programs while watching a third pre-recorded program. All functions can be controlled from either TV. All SD programming can be up-converted for viewing on the HDTV. All HD programming can be down-converted for viewing on the SDTV. Records up to 350 hours of standard definition programming and/or up 55 hours of HD programming (hard drive space is shared for SD and HD content). Product Brochure
- DISH 942: Similar toVi722, but no longer sold. This receiver is only capable of receiving MPEG2 programming. DISH is in the process of moving all HD broadcasts to MPEG4 compression to make room for more channels.
- DuoDVR ViP722 DVR: Supports 2 independent viewing TVs. HD/SD on one TV and SD only on the other. Also includes ATSC tuner input for for off-air digital/HD broadcasts. Can simultaneously record two satellite programs while watching a third pre-recorded program. All functions can be controlled from either TV. All SD programming can be up-converted for viewing on the HDTV. All HD programming can be down-converted for viewing on the SDTV. Records up to 350 hours of standard definition programming and/or up 55 hours of HD programming (hard drive space is shared for SD and HD content). Product Brochure
- Common Features:
- All receivers can display caller ID information on the screen when the receiver has a phone line connected and caller ID service is enabled by telephone provider.
- All receivers have Dolby Digital output for when the programming supports it.
- All receivers feature on-screen program guide data.
- Multi-room receivers (noted by Duo branding) can provide programming to a second TV in another room. This is accomplished by RF modulation on selected channel. The 2nd television must be feed via coaxial cable from the receiver. Remote control is enabled by Radio Frequency (UHF), which unlike most remotes that are infrared, RF remotes can send signals through walls. The RF modulation also allows the ability to distribute programming throughout an entire house for any TV to receive, although only one RF remote is provided, and only one program can be broadcast at one time.
- All DVR receivers feature a 30 second commercial skip, which is becoming more scarce these days with pressure from the media giants. With a single button push on the remote, recorded programs skip 30 seconds ahead. Six pushes quickly passes by a 3 minute commercial. Most DVR service providers, including the independent TiVO service only provide fast-forward and rewind, which makes it difficult to stop right at the end of the commercial.
Key Differences
- HD Programming and Pricing: Currently DIRECTV has more HD channels and the HD service fee is the same for both providers, but DISH does have a few channels that DirecTV does not.
- Multi-Room Recievers: Most DISH receivers are multi-room capable which reduces the number of receivers and lease feess, allows recorded content on DVR receivers to be access and shared with other TVs, but may also cause confilcts in certain cases (i.e. when there are only two tuners and one program is being recorded and another program being watched live, no live programs could be watched on the 2nd TV).
- Commercial Skip: DISH Network DVR receivers feature a 30 second commercial skip (instant), while only the newest DIRECTV DVR features a similar feature, 30 second SLIP: the skip is not instantaneous, rather one push of the button causes the program to fast forward 30 seconds ahead, so you see what what is being skipped/slipped.
- Programming Packages: Both providers offer slightly different packages (i.e. the National Geographic Channel is included in DIRECTV’s Choice Xtra package, but not in DISH Network’s comparable Top 200 package). For detailed channel lineups, check with each provider: DISH Network Channel Lineup or DIRECTV Channel Lineup.
- Extras: Movie channels offers are almost identical, but only DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket.
- HD Locals: Both providers offer local HD channels over satellite in select markets, and continue to grow those markets. Offerings differ between the providers, so check with each provider: DISH Network Local Channels or DIRECTV Local Channels In areas without HD locals over satellite, an antenna can be installed to receive over the air HD broadcasts.
Conclusion
It’s probably apparent by now that neither provider is clearly better than the other. Their services are very similar. When making a personal choice between the two, you must decide which features and channels are most desirable and which provider offers the best solution at the best price for you. Check out the deals to see which provider can save you the most. Compare the LATEST DEALS:
- Click Here for Latest DISH Network Deals
- Click Here for DIRECTV Deals
Disclaimer: DIRECTV, CHOICE, PLUS, PLUS HD, PREMIER, DIRECTV Plus are trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
DISH Network Disclaimer: Programming Package credits: requires a 24-month Agreement and qualifying programming. Must maintain qualifying programming to receive all credits. Upfront credit: receive a credit for each of the first 12 months after service activation. Online Bonus Credit: after activating your DISH service you must register on mydish.com/getonlinebonus within 45 days to redeem. Redemption requires you to agree to continuous enrollment in AutoPay with Paperless Billing and opt in to the DISH E-Newsletter. Online Bonus credit will apply for the first 12 months after offer redemption.
Dish has picture-in a-picture capability while Direct TV does not. Dish has individual movie quality (expressed in number of stars) while Direct TV does not. Dish has a superior sports menu whereby if you are interested in one sport (e.g., basketball) it will only display that sport. On the other hand, Direct TV only has the capability of displaying all sport offerings.
I have been with Dish Network for almost 5 years, my question now how can I get new remote control to replace what we have.
Second what is the best promotion your company offering previous customer
Please advive
Regards,
Waddah
I have had Dish since around 2001 but have been contemplating on whether to switch to direcTV and see if they offer more for my money. When I go thorugh my dish channels they seem to repeat and I wonder sometimes if I’m getting what I paid for. I had requested a copy of the list of channel I should be getting, but they never sent it to me. I pay about $74.15 a month. I’m not sure if I should switch. Maybe DirecTV has a better setup, or will give me a better deal for my money. We like to watch Bravo and westerns, and TCM and AMC, and Fox news, animal planet and discovery channel. I may just have to call them and see what they can offer. I’m just wondering if direcTV may be a better service.
I also have been with dish for 6 years and would like to know if there is a customer loyatiy.
Direct TV promised the world and supplied “nothing” after we signed on the dotted line.Let me explain.We made the switch to Direct TV after years with Time Warner cable.Son-in-law is blind and TW had Video Descriptive Service for the blind which is they pass thur the broadcasters signal that describes what is going on in the program(CSI,Fox etc).After TW upgraded thier boxes someone dropped the ball because the new boxes didn’t have the VDS capture biult in.After many trips from Direct tv to fix the “no DVS” without any luck at all,after 5 months they said the broadcasters stopped sending the signal(TOTAL BS).I’m quitting Direct because the only reason we got it like I said was because they 100% said we have DVS.Now they are denying they ever said they did(why did they send out 4 techs in 5 months and the techs on the phone said no problem I’ll fix it).Now they want $380. early ternimation and said if they didn’t put it in writting they owe us nothing.My lawyer said if there was a meeting of the minds during our talks that is as good as a written contract.This I expect is going to get very interesting.
Been with DirecTV for years. Its great. Great customer service and support. Also their HD offerings are fantastic. Cable/Uverse just dont offer near what DirecTV does. Dish is probably good as well.
I fell in to the bundled pkg. deal with Directv thru ATT, because I was switching my home phone and cell phone service. They offered a deal with my new pkg. to switch from Dish to directv since this was the new tv carrier with this pkg. deal. I fell for it and tried for 6 mos. to resolve my NEW price change from Dish To Direct, which was about 30.00 more a month than what I was paying with Dish.Directv does not promise what they say when you sign up for these promotions on the bundled service. If my math serves me correctly 39.99 a month (they promised) is less than the 72.00 they kept charging every month. To get their promotion you had to go through several signups online (which I did) and to no avail , their customer service department ( someone different with each call I made) could not offer a solution . I had no other choice than to cut them off and go back to Dish.So beware of what you sign up for. signed DISGUSTED WITH THE RIPOFF PROMOTIONS!
my landlady just subscribed to dish network and i’m not pleased with the service. while watching a program or show, it suddenly cuts off showing a black screen. i have to wait 5-10 minutes for it to start up again, going through the process of re-acquiring satellite signal and loading the information. this happens quite often especially during inclement weather. my cousin who lives nearby, has direct tv, does not experience such outages. is this something that dish network have to look at or is this normal for dish network subscribers.
can you get cell phone services with direct tv packages? I am signing with direct tv and they have verizon home service in the area i am moving to and local verizon office said that it would save money to package on my wireless (cell phone)?////
I’ve been with Dish Network for over two years and they’re pretty good. Their HD channels are clear and crisp. The only network channel Dish Network does not have yet is the “The Mtn”. This network air all of the Mountain West Conference (San Diego State, BYU, Utah, TCU, New Mexico…etc) league games. CBC-C and Versus occasionally does, but not as many as the The Mtn network.
Direct TV has the network in their channel line-up and I’ve been thinking about going with Direct. If Dish Network does not make any in-roads to getting the The Mtn network, I’ll be saying Adios to them soon.
Here’s all you need to know:
Yes both are very close EXCEPT for these IMPORTANT issues.
1) Congress recently passed a law requiring Satellite carries to beam public access channels. ( like the old days when cable would have these ‘anyone can create their own show’ channels – they even supplied a studio for you ). Dish Network is obeying the law and you get the excellent non-corporate controlled ‘Free Speech TV’ channel that broadcasts the truth and holds both corporations and governments feet to the fire. Directv REFUSES to air this channel even though the law says they have to. Directv used to be owned by Murdoch (FOX etc.) but they sold it off to a ‘like-minded’ corporation to carry on their agenda.
2) I recently switched to Dish because of the above, got the Top 200 package with HD & HBO added for $85 per month and I am very happy. With my old Directv non-HD dvr I would have had to buy an new receiver, pay some other fee and would then have my contract changed and end up paying more for the same programming that I now have with DISH NETWORK. With DISH I got a new HD receiver for FREE etc. and …
3) I also got an RF ( radio frequency ) remote free. ( make sure you tell them you have 2 tv’s and you get the RF remote for free ). An RF remote makes a world of difference… you don’t have to see the dvr to make remote work ( like IR -infra red ) remotes. So you can put the box in another room or in a cabinet to block led light pollution and fan noise as the units age if you watch tv in your bedroom. Also an RF remote can be under the covers, pointing the wrong way, carried with you to answer the phone so you can pause or lower the volume even if your not in the same room etc.
GO WITH DISH TO TEACH Directv A LESSON IN DEMOCRACY ( btw – according to our founding fathers we are really a republic ). Spread the work about Dish Network and switch today.
Im a Dish subscriber. I have to say that the service is mediocre. I had been promised my local channels for almost a year now but has not recieved them yet. Im also upset because Dish does not have TV one like with digital cable. Im seriously thinking about going to DirecTV.
Today, as of Feb 17,2010. I made the swith from Direct TV to Dish Network. I have been a customer of Direct TV for about 4yrs now. I just bought a plasma, so I needed a HD Reciever for it. I called Direct TV customer sevice and said they would charge $99.00 for a reciver. For $99 with Dish Net, I can get a free HD reciver and a 80HD channels which includes the HD fee of $10. So I made the switch. Don’t get me wrong, Direct Tv has great service, but way too much over my budget. As with any satellite service Direct TV also looses reception for about 1 -2 min, so I expect this with Dish Net. From what i have been reading, it all depends on the channaels you would like. Diferent Sattelite Companies, Different offers. Hopes this helps some of you decide.
I find a growing issue with Direct, there seems to be a growing number of repeat channels. Aditionally, I am paying for a huge amount of “Paid Programing” that is not entertainment in my opinion, nor do I want to be charged for
. I am probably going to give Dish a try, if the economics is better.
The answer is to switch back and forth between the two every year or two IF you want to maximize savings.
After my contract was up with Direct TV I switched to Dish which seems to be a little cheaper overall if you want HD & DVR.
Now Direct TV will pay my cancellation fee and save me around $20 for a whole year, it’s pretty tempting to switch back even though we ARE happy with Dish Network.
I may call Dish and tell them what Direct TV is trying to do, if I can even get $10 a month discount I will stay.
We had Direct tv while they had alot of sports and movie channels you had to pay for everything to get all of there good channels which ended up around 130.00 dollars a month they told us there prices went up.Direct tv had the MLB major league baseball channel we liked but they had a contract that was verbal and when we told them we wanted to switch they got a collection agency after us after we left them early so we ended up having to pay direct tv 350.00 dollars for leaving before our comitement was up.We then went to comcast cable which was a really good service they had everything movies sports channels the MLB major league baseball channel and all the shows and movies you want on demand anytime you want to watch for free.The only thing comcast didnt carry was the Movie Channel direct tv charges for also but Dish network gives it to you for free.Comcast raised there rates without sending us a letter or calling us to let us know so we then switched to Dish network they have tons of free sports and movies and they are cheaper than both direct tv and comcast was.Dish also gives you encore movie channels for free along with the movie channels for free in there 250 package and Direct tv charged to recieve both channels and dish you get lots of free sports channels that direct tv made you pay for them all except for there MLB Major league baseball channel which dish network doesnt get and comcast also got the channel the only draw back for us in ordering dish network because they show lots of baseball games we will miss on dish on that channel.Dish network also carries the hallmark movie channel direct tv doesnt it only carries the regular hall mark channel.Dish network also carries channels you can recieve in other cities around the country and Direct tv we never had those channels.Dish is the best over all for the programming and the price over Direct tv and comcast they get to expensive and Direct tv definetly isnt worth it for there programming comcast would be more worth it than direct tv i just wish dish would pick up the MLB channel.
I signed up w/ Dish Network and had access to some pretty interesting channels. Although, it seems like I had more of a selection w/ Cable but in trying to go back and determine which channels I had exactly, it was too late. Anyway, I noticed my channels kept changing under Dish Network. I didn’t understand why I no longer had access to things I had before. see below. It explains why. I copied this right from their policies:
I. Changes in Services Offered. We may add, delete, rearrange and/or change any and all programming, programming packages and other Services that we offer, as well as the prices and fees related to such programming, programming packages and Services, at any time, including without limitation, during any term commitment period to which you have agreed. If a change affects you, we will notify you of such change and its effective date. In the event that we delete, rearrange or change any programming, programming packages or other Services, we have no obligation to replace or supplement such programming, programming packages or other Services. You are not entitled to any refund because of a deletion, rearrangement or change of any programming, programming packages or other Services.
I am a Dish tv subscriber. I like the prices of the packages, but there are some channels that Dish doesn’t offer. My favorite channel I used to watch with digital cable was Tv-One. I would be so happy and completely satisfied if Dish offered this channel. I’m considering switching back to digital because I miss that channel.
Hi there,
Dish increased it’s prices in February 2010. I have Am. Top 200 w/locals at 52.99 mo. and DVR service at 6.00 per month. taxes at 1.22 mo. at 58.99 a month, I’m hoping to bring my monthly bill back down to a more affordable 45 – 47 bucks per month.
Hi,
I was Directv customer until last month… I had 4 SD receiver and DVR.. The Only reason I changed to Dish that dish had more South Asian programming compared to directv… I was customer with directv for 5 years… No issues.. Has issue with customer service once.. Since then whenever I had issue.. I used to apecifically ask that “I only want to talk with customer rep in USA” and never had any issues…
After switching with Dish I am missing few things which I used to get with Directv..
(1) Free Customer service: Dish charges $5 for any time you call customer service for changed in service…
(2) DVR Options:
(a) Only 10 day guide with Dish compared to 15 day guide with directv…
(b) live buffer gets lost if you switch programms..
(c) In Dish DVR, while watching program if you hit record it will not save current live buffer, only start recording from current point onward… in directv it used to save live buffer as well..
(d) two room option is hype, as only main TV will get HD signle, other TV will get only SD signal… Also with this configuration, you can watch only what is being recorded… So I am not sure what is the real purpose of recording some thing if you can only record while watching it. I am using DVR in single mode and Paying $17 DVR fees for two additioanl dual tuner DVR (total $34 + $6 DVR Service) for three DVR (I can record up to 6 Program) on account. while with Directv I had 3 Dual tuner DVR and two receiver $5 for wach receiver ( with total fees of $20 + $5 DVR Service) I could record upto 6 program and watch some other program on two receivers).. This is the reason why I think that multi room option is a hype and not worth it.
(e) No one buttong “Seriese resord” option… in directv when you hit record buttong twice in guide it will add serise pass with default option. no such this available in dish DVR…
(f) Pay $40 for EHD activation (for Dish) vs. free for Directv… But in Dish you can move dish between all DVR on account… while in directv it dish is married to the single DVR..
Programming wise I do not see any big differences, broadcast quality not much difference..
Anyway… I do agree with (#15 Noah) none of the two provider really appreciate the customer loyalty and the option for customers is to keep switching every two years… So you can upgrade hardware free of charge..
This was the other reason why I swithced to dish… I called directv that I upgraded my TVs to HD and need to upgrade two SD receiver to HD and two SD DVR to HD DVR… they said that I need to pay $200 for DVR and $99 for receiver total $600 to just get HD programming is I stay with Directv… for me decision of not too difficult… Initially dish said that they will give 3 HD receiver for free and I have to pay $100 for each upgrade … at at last they agree to charge only $100 for all three HD DVR…
So Noah’s option is really cost effective option…
I’ve been with DISH for about 5 years, but when they dropped Major League Baseball Extra Innings, I felt it was time for a change. I agree with Manoj’s comments– DISH does not save the buffer at all.. if you are watching something interesting for say, a half hour, and you decide you want to record the whole thing, you cannot. You would have to find the show again to record it. Also, DirecTV allows an external hard drive to be connected to the receiver, for extra storage. Hey! So does DISH. But DISH wants a FEE. You buy the hard drive, you hook it up, you configure it, but DISH wants more money for that privilege. I had some other issues, major ones, with DISH- baseball games set to record in HD would not record (Fox Sports). That was the deal breaker, when they wouldn’t listen to my concerns about that. Some foreigner telling me to make sure my receiver is plugged in, and “is the show actually broadcast in HD?” was too much. I quit ’em. I hope Direct is good with service. I’m getting a lot more channels for my money with them, I know that.
Had Dish at one home and Direct at another and DISH was far more user friendly but they would not allow two accounts???
I have read a lot of posts above about Dish v/s Direct. A comment that surprises me are of users regularly losing picture signal for a minute or two, reacquiring the satellite signal, etc. This might be related either to your geographical area or to the quality of satellite dish installation, because we RARELY lose our signal except during a bad storm. (We have Dish, and have never tried Direct TV; I chose Dish because it seemed like the best value when we switched to satellite two years ago.) Our picture quality is excellent, and the consistency of service is a huge improvement over our (previous) cable TV provider. Our installer mentioned how carefully he chose the location of our dish, and how it gave him a great window to the satellite signal. If you are having regular problems with losing satellite service, I would look to the installation of your dish instead of switching providers. Try requesting a service call instead.
Dish charges 17 bucks a month per dual receiver.
This is just unreal. If you had the max recievers of all dual dish it would cost you- ~ 1200.00 a year just to have receivers, this doens’t include programming yet.
Directtv- 5 bucks a month for whatever receiver you have
12 months this would cost you- ~360 bucks for a year.
1200 dollars or 360 dollars for the MAX receiver on an account. Its not hard to pick, I’ll put up with the hassels of Direct to save 840 dollars, in receiver costs.
i cancelled time warner after 10 years i then got directv recently.I had the HD service from time warner and noticed their supposed HD channels 1080i signal never looked sharp/clear .Direct tv HD channels are blueray quality, crystal clear.I am totally happy with Directv.
We have tired both Dish & Directv. We were with Dish from 1996 to 2000 and switched to Sky Angel which used Dish Satellite to receive Sky Angel’s signal. In 2008 Sky Angel went to IPTV as the contract with EchoStar was up.
We chose to go back to Dish but they wouldn’t treat us as a new customer and turn the satellite with out a fee. My daughter did get them to come out without charging a fee, she lives in a different location but they wouldn’t for us.
So we went to Directv Choice programing intro rate price of the Family rate price and when our contract was up we went back with Dish Network. We have the Family Programing and the new Satellite called the Eastern Arch and Dual HD receiver to watch on two TV’s.
Why did we switch back, the Family programing with Directv didn’t carry FoxNews and Dish Network did but Dish Network doesn’t have HGTV which we miss. To compare both companies we prefer Dish Network, great customer service and great family programing, great price. We also
Of course we would like it if we could pick the channels we want maybe they will do that in the future. Its all in the programming!
I switched from Direct to Dish 2 months ago, standard channels look better with Dish but with my 58″ plasma it’s easy to see that Dish is not even close in picture quality on Hd channels.
Directv’s service seems good….clear pictures, no signal problems, wide variety of channels etc. If you are thinking of switching to Directv, you might want to think twice. The only reason I say this is because customer service stinks.
I signed up for Directv at the end of April. My service was activated under the family package. When I called to change it (literally 2 days after I started up my service and realized it didn’t include the 3 channels I really wanted), the woman was very nice and explained that if I switched to their Choice Extra plan I would qualify for a $29/month rebate…so the $60plan would be $30 for the first 12 months. Because I was activated under the family plan, she put me on hold and checked with her manager to make sure that I would qualify for the rebate. She came back after a few minutes and said I did qualify and I would be able to go online in 72 hours to activate the rebate. She then went through all the steps I would have to take to activate the rebate. So, in 72 hours I went online and got an error message saying I wasn’t eligible for a rebate. I waited a few more days, and tried again. Same thing. I tried several times over several weeks and I got the same thing. So I contacted them. I was bounced around from one person to another, all apologizing and then passing me on. Finally, one told me that because my service was activated under the family plan I qualified for nothing. Even though it was their mistake, they will not fix it. If it was my mistake, then oh well, I’d have to accept it. But I think if they make a mistake that is in my favor they have to honour it. So now I’m stuck in a 2 year contract, I’m a new client and haven’t gotten any deals for signing on with them. As soon as my contract is up, I’m done with them and will probably look into Dish TV instead. If Directv treats their new customers like this, I can only imagine how they treat those who have been with them for a long time. It amazes me that rather than keep a customer happy (and have that customer renew after the contract is up…to the tune of over $1000/year) they’d do this and then lose the customer and that money after the contract is up. Doesn’t make good business sense to me.
If you have Time warner cable versus Dish Network go with Time warner. When you bundle nobody tells you there is a 2 year agreement you have to sign. When the installer arrives it takes 4 hours to do the job. He then pulls out the contract you sign or get somebody else for service.
A bunch of bull.
I switched to the Dish netowork for one reason only. My direct tv dish went out of alignment and the soonest they could send someone was TWO WEEKS later. I paid the service protection fee for years only to find out it means squat and does not expedite service calls. Any company that sells a product like television services and expects paying customers to wait 2 weeks should not be in business. Direct tv has lost this customer forever.
In the last 13 years I have had Dish, Comcast cable and DirecTV. I enjoyed Dish for about 5 years but my needs exceeded what Dish could offer. I needed 5 separate DVRs, and the best Dish would offer is splitting 4 rooms on 2 DVRs and no 5th room coverage at all. I offered to buy the receivers, but they said they could not break up the signal successfully to that many receivers. I went to Comcast for a year then contacted DTV after their package prices increased twice in 12 months. DirectTV said 5 DVRs is NO-Problem. My quality is great (both HD and SD) unless we are in a torrential downpour storm.
For the past 7 years we have had DirecTV and have enjoyed the service. With 5 DVRs, I bought the 6.99 protection plan, and have had to use it twice when receivers died. They were efficient in replacing the boxes quickly. DirecTV has more promos and discounts by far. Whenever I change a service (add/drop a premium channel, etc) I get a $10-25/mo discount for 3-12 months. I think the prices are too high for all the companies and look forward to scaling back my DVR needs, but overall I am content with DirecTV.
I have had Dish Network for 10 years, wonderful customer service! One evening a company, sub-contracted by Direct TV, came to our door, and offered us a very appealing offer to switch to Direct TV. They were going to bundle our home phone, internet, and dish all into one, and save us $140.00/monthly! Sounded good to me, I should always remember, what sounds to good to be true, normally is! When our service was all hooked up, we noticed we were not receiving what was promised to us, so we called Direct TV. We were told that they don’t know why we were told such things, and why it was put on our original signed contract, but they would not be honoring it, without charging us more monthly! So, after speaking to several different, extremely rude individuals we decided to cancel. Oh no, now we owe $450.00 cancellation fee. This is for 30 hours of service! We were told we had to cancel within 24 hours, which, mind you, was no where on our contract! Be very careful when switching to this company, they DO NOT honor agreements! Give me back my Dish Network, I won’t be switching again!
I used to have Dish for two years and then I switched to Directv to get the new subscriber deal. After I made the switch, Dish drove me nuts calling me and making offers. When my Directv contract expired, I called an told them to disconnect and I was going back to Dish. Within hours, a customer retention rep called from Directv and ended up giving me a $360 credit for staying with them another year. Directv is more expensive than Dish and Dish has a better receiver that will run one HDTV and one SDTV. Programming is a horse apiece and you’ll get more than any human should be watching. With Dish’s new “HD for life” offer they can’t be beat!
The problem with both companies is no customer loyalty. We are switching to Direct for the next two years, and will proably switch back to Dish at the end of that period to get whatever deal they have at that time. To upgrade or get the good deals you have to be a “New Customer” after you cut them off they will drive you crazy with offers. I talked to Dish today and said I’d like to continue with them, but they were unwilling to give me any breaks on equipment upgrades. They are offering HD for life right now, but that is just for new Customers. One thing I have noticed with Direct if you sign a two year contract they do not raise your rates during that time but Dish does. I have not had Direct for some time now, but I would have to say when I did have it their customer service was far superior to Dish.
We have been with DirecTV now for the past 11 years. Their Customer Service was ALWAYS tops. I have always received great customer service every time I have ever called DirecTV, but that was once I finally was connected with an actual live human being. However, because our monthly costs eventually got up to $124.67 per month with DirecTV and we have not ONE single Movie Channel, I checked with DirecTV to see if they could do anything extra for a loyal customer. After talking and nearly begging for a better deal, the rep said she could do NOTHING for me. So I then called The Dish Network to see if they had any better offers. WOW, was I surprised. They offered me many more channels, PLUS, 31 Movie Channels, all for $49 a month cheaper than DirecTV. I then called DirecTV back to make sure that they wouldn’t charge me a termination fee, and they immediately asked me why I wanted to terminate their service. When I told the gal about my new offer from Dish, she then made me an offer that was hard to refuse. But WHY couldn’t they make me the same offer, BEFORE I called to termincate my service? After 11 years with DirecTV, I have decided to go forward and make the switch to Dish, mainly because I thought it was time for a change, and also because of the way DirecTV handled my situation. This coming Saturday morning, we will have our new Dish Network service installed. I just hope we made the right decision to switch from DirecTV to the Dish Network. I guess by Saturday night, we’ll should certainly know if we made the right decision. I’ll let you know what we find.
Well…hope this doesn’t sway anyone’s opinion about my post but I am currently a very satisfied Dish Network employee. I really only have 2 things to say. My first point of information is that the call centers you are calling when you call Dish Network are actually owned by the parent company. We technically have all of the reciever models and Dish equipment at our fingertips which makes for much more comprehensive troubleshooting. I would challange Directv to say the same. As a Tech Support agent I can pinpoint the exact location of the issue you are having on a general basis. Secondly, Dish Network won the ACSI award for Customer Service this year. I also work in canellations and hear a lot about price and new customer promotions…although Dish Network is less expensive than Directv in most cases, the point is, money isn’t everything…there is a lot to be said about what treatment you will receive when calling in for any given issue. Oh, and remember the huge savings customers are promised with a new customer promotion with any competitor is saving you about $1 a day. Not only do most customers take advantage of more than $1 or $2 a day but if given the option would probably pay that just for good customer service.
I have had dish for a year I feek like a hostage..I hate it..everytime we have had issues we are shipped equipment we have to install and configure ourselves..I know more electronically than the rogue contractors that came out. one even brought his 3 year old!!! Direct is offering to pay out my contract and I am tempted just on principle alone,,
Directv has Free “HD for life”, too. Call and ask for it, and on another note both Dish Network and Directv cost about the same. Think about it, both companies are in competition with each other, so they both are going to settle with with a price for the services that would provided excellent profit and able afford to run there business. If you add all charges from both directv and dish network for a full 24 months, you will see that both companies expenses are relatively the same.
Have been with DirecTV for many years, in several different cities and 2 different states. Great service, however, I can’t believe that nobody mentioned that every 6 months or so, the service fee goes up by about $5. We are now paying about $85/mo for the Direct Choice plan, one receiver rental fee and DVR service. I am thinking of switching to Dish just to lower our cost and free HD for life! Sorry to say that b/c of the rising costs for no reason, DirecTV will be losing a long time (>10 years) customer.
Just switched from Direct to Dish. Saved money and got more channels, albeit via promotions. Still will be cheaper after promos run out.
I had a problem with the ‘2-room’ DVR function. It turns out that if both TVs are being watched and one wants to record, one of the TVs must either watch the show being recorded or watch the same show as the 2nd TV. IOW, only two broadcasts are available during recording. Kind of defeats the purpose of recording if you need to watch what you are recording.
Our solution was to bully Dish into upgrading TV2 with a second DVR. I got the service call for $15 and no charge for the upgrade. I will pay $10 per month ongoing for the DVR service but, now both TVs are independent of each other and the total bill is still a little less than Direct. The 2-room DVR function is no free lunch!
I was told by the sales rep, a retailer, that I would have the same channels as I had on Direct. Not true. In my area, Dish does not have my locals on the dish in HD, only SD, Direct does. I was also told that ESPN Classic would be in my package, not true. It has been moved to a premium sports package, like Direct. So I guess in that sense, my programming is the same!
The retailer was unwilling to do anything to resolve my DVR issue. Their answer was to charge me $99 for a service call and $100 for the DVR upgrade. When I called Dish, they were much more cooperative, once I explained that the rep has mis-represented the system to me and that I needed to be able to watch a different show than I was recording on 2 TVs.
It was a big hassle but, I think it will be OK after the dust settles.
I have been with Dish Network off and on for about 11 years.I tried digital cable for a short time and the prices were way overpriced for what you received.But now I am finally done with Dish.One of my problems with them is I am being charged 5.00 a month for not having a home phone line or ethernet cable connceted to my VIP622 receiver.I only use my cell phone for phone calls and my router is in another room in the house so I can’t run cable that far..My biggest problem is that I’m on my 3rd VIP622 receiver in 2 year and now this one is starting to act up.Each one died and kept rebooting itself automatically.Each time Dish offered me nothing as a compensation and chaged me a 15.00 shipping charge for their failed piece of equipment…I’ll try Direct TV for the first time for a couple of years and see how it goes.They have multiple room HD DVR service which Dish doesn’t so I’m looking forward to that.
I am a Dish Network customer but I’m missing too many Baseball games. I want to watch any and all Yankees and Braves games, but Dish Network doesn’t offer that.
DirectTV offers the MLB package, but Dish Network does not…so I am switching.
I’ve been with DirectTV for 13 months and have had no problems. I think someone commented that they didn’t get FoxNews with DirectTV which isn’t true. I have the Choice package and I’m a FoxNews junkie and it’s on channel 360. I’ve read through these posts and no one has mentioned that DirectTC also offers Refer a Friend. Which is $10 taken off your monthly bill for 10 months and you can refer up to 10 people a year. If your good at selling DirectTV you’d have free DirectTV for life. We’ve had no problems with customer service from DirectTV either. I think with services like these you have to make sure you ask all the questions you possible have so you know what to expect. Lastly, I’ve heard with Dish you need two satellite’s on your roof in order to get all the HD channels you ask for. And, there is a guy in my neighborhood that has two Dish satellites right next to each other so I’m thinking this rumor is true.
I have been with DirecTV from the beginning, so long that I had to have an antenna on the roof for local channels and I had to BUY the dish!I have been pretty happy with Direct until about 6 weeks ago when the sound on both my TV sets became poor to non existant, depending on the channel. Both my son and I have called, only to be told that it’s am “engineering problem”, they are “working on it” and that it’s a “system wide problem”. I’ve kind of gotten to where I don’t really believe what they’re saying and doubt that this problem will ever be fixed. After all these years, I wonder if I shouldn’t just switch to DISH so that I will get new equipment which Diret declines to provide. If anyone out there has any advice, I’d llike to hear it!
Wholly cow! – DISH NW charges $14.00 per additional dual receiver box. Dual reciever is only capable of HD to 1 set. What a rip off. Im going Direct TV if they can’t math Directs $5 per additional receiver.
Long time Directv customer and for the most part a satisfied customer. My biggest gripes are the constantly rising prices and the difference in how they treat prospective customers vs. long time customers. It seems like all the good deals they offer are only to new subscribers. Try and get an upgrade if you’re an existing customer. I’ve thought about switching to Dishnet but I’m waffling on that. A few years back I switched to Time Warner cable and switched back the next day. Picture quality was horrible.
I’ve been a directv customer from back when you had to buy your equipment,they have nothing invested in equipment with me,recently my old tv died and chose to buy a new plasma hdtv so I called to upgrade to hd and I as well as some wasn’t able to recieve any of the new customer deals, it was going to cost me $250 for the upgrade plus the $10 per month hd. and $7 per month dvr. I will be switching to dish to give them a try. I hope I will have as good luck with dish as i have had with directv.
Hello people, now I am so confused. I am changing from Time Warner who I have been with for ever and their rates creep up every other month, plus all this ABC stuff that is about to happen. I signed up for Directv with AT&T with a great package, for the 1st 24 months. Sports nfl thing for 6 months is all I really pay for and my boxes, $45 to $50 dollars less than TW and with ALL movie channels. One price, very low for the first 5 months, then 6 months thru 24 is still $40.00 less than TW… with boxes on all TV’s and all the stuff and service package. I don’t know why dish is better for some people besides $$$$. I just want good picture, service, and price. Any advice??? must confirm on Sunday!!!!!!
DISH now charges $14.00 per additional dual receiver box. I called Dish to tell them I only have one tv hooked up to this receiver and why an I being charged as if I had 2 tv’s hooked up. It doesn’t matter if you have one tv hooked up you get charged double. that’s just wrong. I have ten months left on my contract with Dish. And I’m running to Direct TV. I hope Direct tv doesn’t do this too. Dish is a total ripoff. they constantly raise their pricing.
We have been with Directv for over 13 years. The customer service has been spotty over the years. The signal quality degrades with every storm. Today, I tried to upgrade my service and they would not honor the prices they offer to new customers. No discounts on service and a partial discount on new receivers. It is incredible to me that a company would treat their loyal customers so badly. The Dish network offers a much better package to new customers then Directv does to loyal ones. The people who run these companies are really crazy.
From my research Dish Network is slightly cheaper after all the free promotional stuff and you compare the two (Directv). I just had it installed today and their customer service is quite good. After looking at Dirctv I wasn’t impressed by all the free this and free that stuff. I hope in the future they can make it clear for the consumer what charges will be incurred for new customers. This goes for all cable companies!
I had to talk to a customer service rep for a while to find out all the costs. In the end Dish Network came out an top.
Comcast was sub par in customer service and the cost was more expensive. Although I’m interested in finding out if their FIOS is better in picture quality.
🙂
I’ve had Comcast cable (or their predecessor companies) since 1983 since they continually raise the rates or reduce service. After a lot of research I’m switching to DirectTV. I almost selected Dish, but the limitations with their dual receiver set up. That, and the issue with the Dish HD/DVR only recording from the start point, instead of recording from the beginning of the program (using the buffer) was straw that broke the camel’s back. DirectTV also has more HD channels including the local channels in HD as well.
Actually, for the first 12 months of promotional discounts, DirectTV came out about $15 less per month than Dish, even with their dual receiver set up, which is offered as a cost cutter, and $60 less than Comcast. After the first year, I should still save $10 less than Dish, and $40 less than Comcast. Moving to DirectTV is basically I’m cutting my TV bill in half. . .
Just got off the phone with Directv. I have been a customer with the same equipment since 2002. Called to change over to HD service. They wanted $328.00 plus another $ 35.00 a month in fees. I dont think so. Oh, Did I say Dish will be coming to install our new satellite service in 3 days for free. Free HD for life and a lower monthly bill to boot. Thanks for all the posts above. I have 3 TVs and will be getting 3 receivers thanks to one of the posts. Appriciate it. Just wanted to let you know it helped me to read this first.
Does anyone know if you have to have a phone line plugged into the DVR to receive updates etc? Or can this be done wirelessly? I am considering Dish or Direct but haven’t decided yet.
Have had Directv for many years, and have been happy, up until the last two satellites they have launched.
The promise was for 200+ HD channels. They are well short of that number, EVEN WHEN THEY INCLUDE THEIR REGIONAL SPORTS NETWORKS AND PPV CHANNELS.
To me, the decision is easy. I am switching to Dish. If you LOVE sports and have a need to see every game ever played, and if you want a plethora of HD bandwidth wasted on Pay-Per-View channels, then Directv is for you. If you like/love sports, but don’t need to see every game ever played, and if MOVIES and acclaimed series, such as The Walking Dead series that is coming up on AMC, are important to you, then Dish is your better option, as they have FAR more National Channels in HD, including such channels as AMC, TCM, BBCA, LMN, etc.
Directv used to be the leader, and in sports they still are, but when sports is taken out of the mix, they are a very distant competitor.
It does not matter which cable provider you choose, they both are going to take your money for nothing, they both offer 150 or more channels and 70% of that would be commercial channels I made that terrible mistake and regreted it !!!
I’M SO FED-UP WITH DISH. AFTER BEING WITH THEM FOR OVER 6YRS. THEIR BILLING DEPT. & CHARGES ARE NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT.TRYING TO GET BILLING PROBLEMS SOLVED IS A MAJOR PROBLEM , THEY TRY AND MAKE YOU OUT TO BE A FOOL BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY ARE ALWAYS RIGHT . ADDING ON EXTRA CHARGES THAT ARE NOT TRUE. DONT EVEN THINK OF AUTO- PAY WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD ,THEY CAN TACK UP MORE CHARGES BEFORE YOU GET YOU BILL FROM CREDIT CO.I’AM CONSIDERATING GOING TO VERIZON FIOS WITH ALL THEIR BUNDLE PACKAGES.CUSTOMER LOYALITY W/DISH IS UN-HEARD OF.
As a DISH employee I have experience all the comparing. We have HD Free for life for not just our new customer like DIRECT TV but also for our existing customers. Direct does not offer all-Spanish channels and one of their Latino packages cost more than 2 of DISH NETWORKS Latino packages. You will pay more for some sporting channels with Direct then Dish. Even with the HD that you would pay for with Direct you still miss some channel that you would get with Dish in HD like E!, Style, G4, truTV, etc. Our pricing is lower and we do our best to keep it that way for you.
@ Bud, I’m very sorry you are having problems with the billing situation. If you would like to go through it let me know.
I’ve been with DIRECTV for about 5 years. Not too bad but STAY AWAY from their promotions! They tell you “NFL Sunday Ticket for X amount of months for X amount of dollars but make sure you cancel it before a certain date”. Yeah right..They WILL screw up your billing anyway then play stupid when you call to get a credit. I’ve been going back and forth with them for 5-6 months now. I can’t imagine the job of billing customers correctly would be so tough but they haven’t figured it out yet. Programming is good, service is okay as long as you don’t bombard them with anything too complex. Switching to DISH ASAP!
I was just treated horribly by Directv….I am switching to Dish TODAY!
I Signed up for their “PROMOTION” for 24.95 a month for 2 years. After 4 months it went up to 29.95 a month. I called to ask why and was told they can raise the rate anytime.What a fraud!!They also charge for service calls even though you pay $6.00 a month for a service agreement.Also you only get HD free for only 1 TV,all others will charged $6.00 a month.IM COUNTING THE DAYS WHEN I CAN DROP THIS RIPOFF COMPANY!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are some pretty dumb comments on here. As an electrical engineer, I can tell you point blank that Directv is BY FAR a superior satellite service. Dish is pretty much the trailer park version of satellite services. Here are some key reasons why?
1. Directv has more satellites in orbit (5) than Dish Network. This allows for more HD channels and a broader spot beams or footprint to earth. Also, Dish only operates in a MPEG 2 format while Directv operates in a MPEG 4. SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO THE CUSTOMER? What this means is that Directv can offer more FULL TIME TRUE HD channels. Secondly, Directv broader bandwidth means that they don’t have to compress thier HD signals near as much as DISH which means a clearer HD picture quality. Also, Directv sets thier spot beam at a 90 percentile instead of Dish’s 70 percentile. This means that it is much harder to lose Directv’s service in storms than with Dish network.
2. Customer Service- This is hard to judge because I’m not a marketing professional but at least Directv has all of their English speaking customer service centers in the U.S.
3. Tidbits about Dish – Dish has been losing a lot of customers lately because they are in constant fights with Broadcast companies over Rights fees. This is not a problem with Directv. Dish just bought Blockbuster in bankruptcy court. This was a good move for Dish network but they’ll never tell you the reason why. It’s because they don’t have the bandwidth to offer that many high quality movies through satellite so they’re going to do Netflix style service with Dish customers. You guys will here more about this in the next few months. Hope everyone has a nice day.
I have had both and they seem the same. No matter what package, with either company, you end up with 75% of channels you never watch anyways. Seems like dozens of infomercial channels alone. You see the great deal and by the time you get your first bill, it’s a lot bigger than what the deal said because of all the fees for all the little things. Directv seemed to go ‘offline’ a lot more than Dish. Dish customer service was always more friendly and helpful then Directv’s customer service. I did like how easy it was to operate the features of the Dish setup (dvr, remote, etc). Directv is not as user friendly.
I personally prefer dish over directv because directv has always just given me issues at least with dish i have been able to get a hold of an agent that can help me right.If anyone wants to check it out this is the number me and my husband called for great quality.
1888-308-3724
I’ve had both services but prefer dish. There was a time I was charged $400 out of nowhere by directv because I missed a payment! Dish has just always been on my side and has been very useful and great to me.
go dish!!!!
-Mother of 2 boys that love TV
CAUTION! If you have DISH receivers PVR 501 or 508!!This Jan 2013 you will have to pay the $6.00 LEASE fee monthly.When all of us BOUGHT ourPVR’s (PERSONAL Video RECORDER)DISH told us:since you BOUGHT this PVR-it is YOUR personal property and you are exempt from any $6 LEASE fee-that is why we call them PVR and not DVR-On the front of the receiver is stamped in silver:”DISH PVR-Personal Video Recorder”.Now DISH wants to call our PVR a DVR and thereby get that $6 fee!We BOUGHT these PVR’s outright-we do not LEASE them monthly!Many subscribers are angered by this action and state for the last 2 years they have exxperienced SIMILAR PVR problems as their TIMERS erased,video freezes,metallic clicking,GUIDE problems,etc.Now DISH wants us to upgrade to a DVR 512!stating that the PVR needs to be replaced-will become obsolete due to changes in technology-HOGWASH!Possible legal actions entertain:breach of entitlement & promise,deceptive business practices,misrepresentatio if not fraud,fraudulent concealment,malicious electronic tampering,etc.And all this over a $6 fee:Bad press,bad name,bad trust in the public forum-DISH is BETTER than this.
I like the analysis between the companies, but the Hopper is missing from Dish’s side of the comparison. Since I’ve been working for them for a while, I know that it’s our newest whole-home HD DVR receiver. The Hopper is the main receiver and then there are smaller units called Joeys that are each placed at the other TVs. My family has this setup, and it’s been so nice that we can start a show at one TV and then finish it at another TV. It also has a full terabyte-memory so my family and I never have to worry about recording too much. My husband is especially fond of the PrimeTime Anytime feature because it records primetime shows from the four major networks and saves them for eight days, so he can watch TV when it’s convenient for him. Last I checked, DIRECTV doesn’t offer a receiver of this caliber.
I don’t like the ad where the two TV sets, one Dish and one Direct TV, pretend to be comparing prices.. It’s a bunch of crap because I’m paying over $80 dollars a month for Dish.. No HBO, No Showtime or Starz.. I have their America’s Top 250, it’s suppose to be $69 a month but I somehow end up paying more then $80..
Neither package is all that great and neither company is all that great either! Their prices are too damn high and they keep going up all the time.. The only reason I have Dish is the local company I went with.. But the fact is, they are both the same greedy companies and I find little difference between them..
I haven’t even been a customer of Directv for 2 years and they have the worst CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EQUIPMENT!! We were previous Dish customers and loved dish however had never used Direct so we thought we would switch and try them out and get some “NEW CUSTOMER” perks as well. WORST MISTAKE EVER!! We have been having issues with our receiver for over 6 months and I have been nice and complied with all their solutions to the issues…however none of them have fixed the problem and now that we are out of solutions they are trying to start over with the same ones…in other words they can’t fix it. To add to that they also REFUSE to let us out of our contract. I am normally not a picky person and I have worked with them trying to fix this…but when you are watching a DVR show and it just randomly shuts off and you wait 10 minutes for it to reboot and try to watch the program again only to have the same thing happen it gets mighty frustrating…and they can’t fix it and won’t let us out of the contract…wow…that’s some OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE…once this contract is up I will NEVER EVER use DIRECTV again…no matter what new offers they have…we were perfectly happy with DISH and made the dumbest mistake ever of “trying out” DIRECTV….I would just like to watch a program I have recorded once a week without having to reset my receiver…and even after doing so it won’t allow me to view what I have recorded …so I am going to have to hope that the episode comes on again so I can watch it bc the one I have recorded will have to be deleted as my receiver locks up and has to be restarted every time I try to view it and this happens with many other programs randomly…very annoying. NEVER AGAIN…I wouldn’t complain if they would just let us out of the contract since they are unable to fix the problem, but no they just want to keep taking our money while we put up with the faulty equipment. (and it’s not like I haven’t tried to get it fixed..we’ve had the dish serviced, went through their diagnostic solutions over the phone…AND just recently got a new receiver and we are still having the same problem..called and what was their solution?? They want to send out another tech to service the dish AND give us ANOTHER new reciever (which we will loose all recorded programs and the current on is only 2months old..IF THAT)REALLY??? I mean enough is enough already…let us out of our contract so we can move on…that’s all they would have to do.
I got the feeling when I called DIRECT TV that I was in the middle of a scam. I called to inquire about their Internet bundle and spent 25 minutes on the phone giving my address, phone number, SS number, and so on. Then she couldn’t tell me about Internet service until I finished the TV bundle. I told her early on that I wanted to inquire about the Internet service, the speed, download quota, and cost of the package. She said the computer must have you select the TV service first, so I selected a minimal package for my needs, decided not to pay the additional $20+ for for dvr and HD. They don’t include them in the package and tell you about them later – DECEPTIVE. WATCH OUT – that’s only year one of the 2-year contract. Expect $15 or more in charges the 2nd year. I said so now I would like my questions answered about the Internet
Well, I needed to speak to someone else in another department for Internet information. FIRST, she wanted my credit card number and to schedule a date for installation. It was over 20 minutes and they had enough of my information, I wanted MY 3 questions answered about the Internet. She said she couldn’t pass me along to the Internet specialist until I bought the service. I explained to her a tenth time that I called to find out about the Internet service bundle in order to compare it with my other options. I DID NOT want to buy the service until I had all the information. She was saying I had to buy the service first and then they would tell me the package deal with the Internet. She did say I could cancel the service with the Internet Specialist if I chose. My guess is he would have said I had to call the other department and so on wasting more of my time.
I told her I wasted 25 minutes of my time calling to ask 3 questions about the Internet package. I answered all her questions and now I wanted my 3 questions answered before buying the service. She began to argue with me. Well sir, the computer won’t let me connect you unless we follow these steps. Talking as if the computer was the master and she was the slave. I told her never again.
SOOOO…I called DISH Network and they were very forthcoming with answers instantly. Never asked my address, or Social Security number, and all that stuff. Answered my questions and their pricing scheme was upfront and honest in answering my questions. After talking with Dish network and how wonderful they were, it made DIRECT TV look like criminals, who were only interested in getting you hooked by their DECEPTIVE marketing techniques. As Maya Angelo said, if someone shows you who they are, BELIEVE THEM THE FIRST TIME. DIrect TV has a pathetic marketing process. DISH NETWORK-thanks for being honest and answering my pricing questions.
My experience with either service is that you will receive a reduced rate for one year and then it goes up. You will also receive 4 premium movie channels for 3 months and then they start charging unless you call within the 90 days. When you start a new service you get the latest, biggest hard drive DVRs and of course, new remotes. Usually you sign a two year contract to begin. My advice to anyone is to switch services every three or four years and keep the latest and best performing equipment for less money! And keep both companies in business because competition keeps both offering the best they can afford while maintaining a reasonable profit and not a monopoly type profit like AT&T used to do.
I am not a customer of either but wanted to review comments before choosing. I think I will go with cable, thank you. Cable may be more expensive but hassles i do not need – and there appear to be many with both Dish and DIRECTV. I had my own satellite system for years but the cost became more than any of the systems offered, cable included. I even remember when HBO, etc., were free on satellite. Them wuz the days!
Well I have to say I was with DirecTV for 2 years they kept increasing rates untill it got over a hundred bucks now keep In mind I had 2 receivers both SD no DVR they were really rude when I wanted to disconnect and really refused to disconnect . I called dish I got n on the 2 year price lock I have 1 hopper and 1 Joey HD DVR I’m getting more for my money now my bill has been 67.88 per month HD free for life gave me a free year of netflix all the on demand I can stand for free. The hopper with the sling is awesome also got a 200.00 prepaid visa card from dish for ditching directv I could not be happier with my service. They did offer NFL Sunday ticket for free bit not being a sports fan I went with the Netflix instead. You really have to watch DirecTV they will tell you one thing and not abide by it.