<p>DirecTV or Dish?</p>
<p>We are thinking of switching from Directv to Dish and would love to hear comments - good and bad - about either company. Thanks</p>
<p>We’ve had a generally good experience with DirecTV. What are your reasons for considering a switch?</p>
<p>Our dish needs to be moved because of growing trees. The base charge will be $99 plus time over 1 hour and materials. We own the equipment and have had to replace 1 receiver already. Our monthly bill is about $65. After Dish’s 10 month promotion our bill would be $55 and that would include 2 DVRs which we do not now have (or really need). Dish owns the equipment and replaces it when broken. This just sounds too good, so I am a bit skeptical.</p>
<p>I don’t think we own the equipment with DTV. I have always assumed they would replace if broken, but in the 5+ years we’ve had it, nothing has ever broken.</p>
<p>The Dish deal sounds pretty good.</p>
<p>Ahhhh - You may not think you need the DVRs but you will soon wonder how you ever lived without them. LOL I find myself trying to rewind scenes I missed on the TV without a DVR now and can’t believe I’m so addicted!
We have DirecTV for 2 years now and are happy. If you can get a good deal with Dish I don’t see a catch. They often have deals to get new customers hooked.</p>
<p>I guarantee if you tell DirecTV you’re planning on changing to Dish, they will do everything possible to keep you…including new equipment if necessary (but may have you agree to a contract extension).</p>
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<p>Amen. Amen. Amen.</p>
<p>It’s amazing how quickly you get used to recording everything and watching commercial free. Just start watching about about 20 minutes per hour after the show starts.</p>
<p>Hi Def DVRs are the cat’s meow.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten so dependant on the Pause and Skip buttons on my DVR, that I get annoyed that I don’t have that capability when I’m listening to the radio.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: I work for one of the 2 companies you’re comparing. </p>
<p>Benefit of DirecTV - you won’t need a second dish antenna for international; promises to have 100 HD channels by end of the year. </p>
<p>Benefit of Dish - better deal, free DVR (even HD DVR) currently more HD channels.</p>
<p>My recommendation would be to check which channels you can’t live without, then see the prices of the packages they’re in. If you’re into HD see which company offers your local channels in HD.</p>
<p>My house switched from DirecTV to Comcast digital cable this year. I was really happy with DirecTV, and I was upset when my parents said that they switched, but now we could not be happier with Comcast. DVR is fantastic, and I absolutely love having a number of TV shows and a ton of movies On Demand, so I can play them for free whenever I want. I don’t know if there is a price difference or what it is, but we get more channels, more movies, more features, and more ease of use (fewer controls in our case) with Comcast.</p>
<p>Intersteddad you said………”Hi Def DVRs are the cat’s meow.”</p>
<p>I am surprised that anyone who is old enough to use the phrase “the cat’s meow” can figure out how to make a Hi Def DVR work. It must be that LAC education paying off.</p>
<p>Longtime Dish user here. You can move your dish yourself, it’s not hard. All you need is a compass and a portable TV so you can see it from the dish. I did my on installation years ago. They have the pointing software built in. That said, if you want new equipment it’s usually easier to change providers. A good friend just switched to Direct for HD. Dish tried to keep him, but after the deals expired, Direct was cheaper.</p>
<p>Compare deals and go with the best offer. There is really not a real difference in service between the two (or three if you toss in cable) so look at the best pricing packages. Just let them all know you are shopping and see who wants your business.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. Directv will relocate the dish tomorrow for $49.99which was the original stated amount (I had it confused with a service call charge). It needs to go at the top of the chimeny and neither my husband nor I go that high on a ladder. There was no dealing with the price, they do not care if I drop them. For now it is the quickest way to restore tv service before there is mutiny in our home.</p>
<p>Before going with satellite, check our and see if you can get Verizon FIOS TV (fiber optic cable) in your area. I had Direct TV and liked but they wanted me to buy new equipment when THEYchanged their technolgy. Now I have Verizon fios and love it.</p>