Anybody have DirectTV?

[Roy H.]

I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to switch over from Time Warner.  Financially, it certainly seems to.  However, I'm interested in hearing people's feedback.

[slamtheking]

Hi Roy, I have DirectTV.  I switched from Cox Communications a couple of years ago.  Overall I'd say I've had pretty positive experiences with them.  I can't speak to the financial comparison you'll need to make but in terms of service they've been pretty good.  The channel selection is at least as good as my local cable options.  The one downside is if you live in an area subject to bad weather.  I've lost signal a few times in bad storms but have gotten it back when the weather has let up.  It doesn't happen often but it is one downside I didn't encounter as much with cable.

hope that helps.

[dark_lord]

i switched to directv after having comcast.  that was about 2/3 yrs ago and im so glad i switched.  great service, great price, & great customer service.  in the 2/3 yrs i have had it, i have only lost signal due to a storm one time, for about 15 minutes.  the installers do a great job of placing the dish in a place to reduce outages.

[Gainesville Celtic]

My experience might be unique, but I signed up after Dish was late in getting the NBA League Pass (due to some contract negotiations which were resolved in time it turns out).

I hated DirectTV.

They misrepresented what channels I could get (missing locals meant a bunch o' missed ABC games and The Office). I worked for a week to try and get them but by the time i finally was told "no i couldn't get htem" the window had passed to void the I service contract. they were really intransigent.

maybe legally they probably weren't bound to do anything but they were just jerks about it all, really poor customer service for the problem, which was really their own doing to start with --- which contrasted to Dish which had always been great.

The whole thing was terribly aggravating and i dealt with multiple people, some of whom contradicted things i'd been told by others. I finally just paid some ridiculous cancellation fee and went back to Dish.

Have stuck with them with nary a problem -- and much cheaper bill than i had with DTV -- for 3 years.

[Edgar]

 have
work wonders for me except for spanish league this is becoming a repetitive problem
no barcelona games..lol
over all i love it
but withouth league pass an nba season all is relative

[apc]

I'm trying to decide whether it makes sense to switch over from Time Warner.  Financially, it certainly seems to.  However, I'm interested in hearing people's feedback.

i switched a few months ago from time warner to DirecTV. after switching, i got a call from time warner offering to reduce my monthly payment. so before switching, call time warner and tell then you are planning to switch, they might offer to lower your payment.

So far I have no issues with DirecTV. one thing I miss is the free on demand channels.
Also when something breaks, time warner always send a technician at no cost. DirecTV will just send you a new box, you will have to hook it up on your own.

[Rondo2287]

If you signup for dishnetwork you can get a $200 amizon giftcard

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3507730

[Celtics4ever]

I have Direct, Roy.   For me and where I live it's the best option.  The local cable doesn't have NBA ticket or NFL ticket nor a way to see the C's.  I live in a rural area in SE Kentucky.  So I only have three choices, Dish, DirecTV or local cable.  I choose DirectTV over both because I get the channels I want.  Dish is cheaper.

Here is a good tool to compare Dish and DirectTV

http://www.direct-vs-dish.com/

http://www.dishcomparison.com/dish-network-vs-directv.php

Here is the deal with local channels and a website to take a look at both of them.  

http://www.dishtvtips.com/directv-local-channels.html

Here is the law governing local channels something you will want to be aware of:

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/shva/shviafac.html

I got the Whole Home DVR setup with the internet box.  This is the deal I got:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/new_customer/base_packages.jsp?footernavtype=-1

I have it in four rooms with all the pay per channels save the adult ones for three months free.   After that my bill will go up some.  Right now it's about 70 bucks for 270 channels but will go well over 100 after the three month trial to keep the movie channels.

My system does have VOD and it is DirectTV.   I have the internet box for Direct Cinema.  On it I can watch movies that are relatively new for 5.99.   They have older movies ranging from 3.99 to 5.99.  A new movie for them would be Cowboys vs. Aliens or Capt. America.   I believe they have 6K movies presently in their stocks.   I can download any movie on Starz, HBO, Showtime with my internet connection for free instead of waiting for them to come on.  This also works for TV shows, for instance, I missed the finale to Topshot season 3 but was able to download it the next day and watch it on demand.  This works only if the programming is in the rotation.

I have the NFL ticket which rocks.  I get the NBA pass which rocks.   I am able to watch the 60 regional sports channels through the sports package even though I live 907 miles from Bean Town.  I get to watch Celtics Now this way and the pregame shows.

I seen Dish TV at my mom's.  She saw my DirectTV and switched over to it.  It's an individual choice between the too.  DirectTV is number one in satelitte service in number of customers and is adding more than Dish.  Dish has 13.9 million and DirectTV has 19.8 million.  Comcast is the only bigger pay TV provider.  The reason why is DirectTV has the NFL ticket and if you don't want it then pick the cheaper of the two.  I had to get it for my wife.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/dish-network-3rd-quarter-earnings-climb-30-percent-subscriber-total-falls/2011/11/07/gIQAIv7wuM_story.html

One cool think is on the HD DVR you really can pause or rewind any show your watching even live sports events with the DirectTV.   I did it yesterday watching football a lot when the network didn't show replays I wanted to see.   I will probably be all over the refs even more with blown calls this year with this ability.

I can't say what is best for you.  I have found my experience pleasant with Direct TV and it's the best option for me, personally.  Good luck in your decision, hope this helps you out...

[Redz]

Just ordered DirectTV.  I've been looking to ditch Comcast for quite a while.  Seems like you get a lot more bang for your buck with DirectTV.

Installation on Friday!

[Roy H.]

Thanks for all of the responses, guys.

For some background, Time Warner was charging me $136 per month for Cable + Internet + phone (that I haven't used once) + DVR.

After multiple calls to Time Warner, I got them to reduce my bill for cable + internet + DVR + HBO/Cinemax/Showtime to $93 per month.  That's a good enough deal that my wife put the kibosh to any thought of switching over to D-TV.  My pleas regarding NFL Sunday Ticket went unanswered, and we're lucky enough to get the Celts, Sox, and Bruins on local channels.

TPs to all who gave advice.

[Redz]

Thanks for all of the responses, guys.

For some background, Time Warner was charging me $136 per month for Cable + Internet + phone (that I haven't used once) + DVR.

After multiple calls to Time Warner, I got them to reduce my bill for cable + internet + DVR + HBO/Cinemax/Showtime to $93 per month.  That's a good enough deal that my wife put the kibosh to any thought of switching over to D-TV.  My pleas regarding NFL Sunday Ticket went unanswered, and we're lucky enough to get the Celts, Sox, and Bruins on local channels.

TPs to all who gave advice.

Comcast has a similar "Triple Play" offer, but the wiring in my house is too old for the phone to work, and they won't let me order the deal and simply not use the phone.   So it's coting me more for cable and internet than what they offer for all 3.  It's very silly, and very expensive, and they don't seem to give a rats fanny about it. 

I'm going to grab DirectTV and a wireless internet connection through Verizon that can be used anywhere.  I'll end up with better, more flexible service, and save about $50 a month.

Basically...screw cable.

[BASS_THUMPER]

wont that satellite be effected when it rains?

[Celtics4ever]

That does not happen that much at all, really.  It does happen during total heavy downpours.   Medium to light rain no it's not a problem.  Sometimes snow can do the same thing if it gets too much on the dish and ices it up but that too is rare at least where I live.  It might be more of an issue in Boston though.

[LeoMoreno]

Well too many positive replies, so I gotta ruin it.
Anybody remember this? (at about 1:44) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MbZMpJZc50

[Celtics4ever]

That is funny, lol, and deserves a TP.