Dish Network or Direct TV

[lawdog]

What are the pros and cons of each service?

[Valv]

I want to see this, I've been studying for past 6 months and haven't found a choice yet.

One thing for sure beware of fine prints with FREE equipment (extra recivers etc) because they will charge for "monthly service" on each of them....

[Gissert]

If you like watching outdoor shows, DirectTV has both the OLN and the Outdoor Channel. I have friends with that service and they like it.

My Dish Network service only has Outdoor Channel. My subscription is rather old, so if the newer systems have both, that would be cool.

One think I would get for sure is the DVR receiver. Man, it sure is nice to just fly over the commercials.

If you have a TV that can receive HD signals, the HD picture from a HD receiver is amazing.

Direct TV also has the VH1 Classic channel. I get a hoot out of seeing some of the videos from the early 80's on there. To think I once wanted a red leather jacket...what the heck with I smoking?

[GregT]

IMO Dish Network has better 'onscreen' options like the ability to hide the channels that you have not subscribed to. I hate scrolling through hundreds of channels that i cannot watch even if i wanted to. Also the ability to automatically switch to the channel/show you have previously selected to watch. When you select to scroll through the on screen guide, the program is still on the screen and the guide is on the bottom half or so, so you aren't really missing anything. One receiver to work on two tv's.

I am currently trying to talk my father into dumping Direct Tv at the cabin for these few reasons. Also, if I remember correctly, the local channels are on the local #'s not 800 or 900 something. Both are good, I just believe that Dish is better .

[Eric Wettschreck]

Dog, I have Dish network.

Cons-

As soon as a snowflake or rain drop hits the dish, I lose reception.

Price is steadily going up. I've gotten like 4 letters in the last 1 1/2 years telling me of price hikes.

I have to pay an additional 6 bucks to get local channels. Yup, I can get the stock report in Korean but gotta pay more to get the Twins game and I live in MN.

498 channels of absolute dump. I think there's like a dozen shopping channels.

To get some of their channels you need to have 2 ugly dishes on the side of your house instead of 1.

Don't let them fool ya, their customer service sucks.

Pro's-

That about sums it up.

[LMITOUT]

Direct TV seems to be taking the bull by the horns and putting up new satellites and improving their channel lineup while there has been little activity from Dish.

As asked before, do you have a HDTV? If so, by next year DirecTV will be offering the locals (KARE, WCCO, KSTP, etc) in HD. What that means is you won't need a seperate antenna just for HD locals. They are also upgrading their format to MPEG-4 which will allow them to broadcast the signal at a better quality than they do now. Since the current sats are full, they've been compressing the signals to make room which sacrifices picture quality greatly. Over the air (antenna) HD is much better than dish HD right now hands down, but you don't get ESPN OTA obviously. They are rolling out the first 12 markets late this year and early next year with the rest to follow. Minneapolis is #14 or somewhere close, so it won't be long. I'm on the fence right now until they get all of that settled out and then I'll probably jump to DirecTV as my local provider doesn't offer ANY HD yet, but it's supposed to be "right around the corner." Still waiting....

I had Dish a few years ago and it was nice. It does seem to drop out a lot more than I've heard DirecTV does though.

Gotta go for DirecTV to get those upcoming Nascar races on ESPN in HD!

[SCHAAKATTACK]

Go with DN. Both of them offer very similar services. I compare it to my relatives DTV and it would drive me crazy to surf thru all those channels I do not subscribe to that come up blank.

Gissert OLN just recently went away. I had it w/ the Top 180 package(might be called Top 200 now??) And the reason it went away is Comcast owns them and they wanted to charge more money for it. DN says No thank you-sometimes this has worked out in the past when thay have reached an agreement.

Boiler Guy- you say you have to pay extra for the Twins?? If you get FSN ch 436 Most of the Twins games are on during the season.

DVR service costs extra on both.

Locals are extra on both.

more than one receiver is extra on both.

If your a PPV movie person I believe DTV's selection is better.

DTV has NFL ticket exclusively...At extra cost.

I have seen both services out in bad storms. On mine it usually seems to effect one sattellite more so not all channels are out-just the ones I prefer to watch.

Only real issue I have had was when trying to order a PPV and I had to call it in...Long story...They took care of the charges because they finally figured out they were being dumb. Oh yeah and the time a transformer blew out in Colorado on New years eve one year and it killed everbodys service and it was impossible to call in because they were swamped with calls. It took two days to get thru. Ended up being all I would of had to done was unplug it from the wall for a couple of minutes and it reset everything.

Otherwise I have been happy w/ service for about 10 years now.

[Valv]

You don't need a HD antenna to receive HD locals, a regular antenna will do it.

I have a new HDTV with tuner and I receive them with my standard antenna, and no they are not the standard channels they are the HD.

[ccarlson]

I have direct TV and don't understand what you guys are saying about surfing through channels you don't get or subscribe to. It's easy, you just program your reciever to show the channels you want on the channel guide. You can even have a specific channel list appear for each person in your family which isn't a bad idea with kids in the house.

ccarlson

[Jeremy airjer W]

Gissert has the Idea. Get a DVR reciever. Watch what you want when you want, and never miss anything unless you forgett to record it!

I have Directv. The inlaws had dish. I didn't care for the dish. I think I have five different option for saving different channel guides. I have three with the DVR.

[Eiger0304]

Just got DTV last month and love it. Local channels are FREE. If you are into sports, IMO, DTV is a better option. Yes, you can program your recievers to scroll through your favorites. Got the TIVO wish I had this 10 years ago. No more VCR tapes.

[Jeremy airjer W]

How did you scam free local channels? I think I pay an x-tra $5 for locals and an x-tra $5 for the DVR season pass. On the bright side I paid a penny and tax (after the mail in rebate) for a 70 hour dual tunner DVR!

Speaking of DVR receiver. Get the dual tunner. Record a show watch a show or record two shows at the same time. You'll need a dual LNB dish minimum to use a dual tuner. You'll also need a 4 way muli-switch if you want two use a dual tunner DVR and additional tunners in the other rooms if you only have the dual LNB. They have the 4 way multi-switch (RCA) on clearance at the shack. You don't need the more expesive powered multi-switch with the directv setup.

[LMITOUT]

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You don't need a HD antenna to receive HD locals, a regular antenna will do it.

I have a new HDTV with tuner and I receive them with my standard antenna, and no they are not the standard channels they are the HD.

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That's correct, a regular antenna will pick up HD signals....more specifically it must be a UHF antenna. I don't know if your post was directed at mine, but my point was that you won't need a dish AND an antenna to get HD locals when Direct gets their Sats operating. Most people don't have an antenna now since they have cable or Sat. If they happen to have an antenna they aren't using they can dust if off and use it again for HD. Funny how it comes back around again. UHF-only antennas can be had for around $50.

[lawdog]

Wow, I'm even more ignorant about this stuff than I knew, and I already knew I didn't know squat... I don't hardly understand 1/3 of Airjer's last post.

I think I'm leaning towards DirectTV at this point though after reading all this.

[Jeremy airjer W]

It took me a couple of days to figure it out myself!

A standard two room system comes with a dual LNB dish. The LNB is the little white chingas that collects the signal that bounces off the dish. It will have two coaxial cables coming out of it, one goes two one receiver the other to the other reciever. The dual tuner DVR requires two cables to work as a dual tuner. You could run both cables from the Dual LNB to it but then you can't use the other tuner. So you have to split the cables (4 way switch or more). Both of the cables from the LNB go into the switch and then get split/amplified into 4 cables coming out the other side. This will allow two cables to go to the DVR and then have two left over for two additional receivers.

I've been really happy with DIRECTV. Everyone that I know has it and also likes it. Most have converted from regular cable. The only drawback for both systems is they will lose there signal if A: theres a heavy storm. B: the dish gets covered in snow/ice. This happened maybee for or five times this summer and was only out for 1/2 hr to 45minutes tops. Last winter I think I had two clean off the dish a couple of times. mines easy to get at so no big deal. I really think you will be happy with either one. If I had to choose again I would go with DIRECTV. It has the best selections for my taste.

[Eiger0304]

Didn't scam nothing (free local channels). It was the part of the package I signed up for. Just went into DTV's web site and signed up online. As far as dual tuner with digital recorder, thats what they call TIVO!

[PierBridge]

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Wow, I'm even more ignorant about this stuff than I knew, and I already knew I didn't know squat... I don't hardly understand 1/3 of Airjer's last post.

I think I'm leaning towards Direct TV at this point though after reading all this.

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I did not read any of this thread.

LawDog I have been an installer for both Direct TV and Dish-Network.

They are both about the same content wise and price wise when all is said and done "promos" but Direct TV has a HUGE advantage in quality of equipment there is no comparison I use to replace 10 Dish-network units for every 1 Direct TV unit.

Also Direct TV has a slight advantage in Customer Service.

In a nutshell get a Direct TV DVR "tivo" and then how many regular Satellite receivers "$5 a month" you need for other rooms/TV's.

[DTro]

I've thought about dropping my cable and getting a dish, but there are a few things that keep me content.

On demand service--> basically a huge library of programs and movies you can access 24/7 with controls (rew, ff, pause). This is a biggee for me.

HDDVR with three tuners, two HD and one SD. So basically you can record two HD programs at the same time and watch a third SD channel. (HDDVR for any dish service is, I believe, nearly a grand, and let me tell you the Hard Drive is finicky. I've been through three of them in the last couple of years. Imagine if I had to buy them .)

Bundled RoadRunner high speed internet. Simply the best, fastest, and most reliable service I've had.

I realize the original question had nothing to do with cable, but just thought I'd throw this in.

[LMITOUT]

I have a quick question about DVR's. Do they make you pay for the DVR service when you get a DVR? I think that's a rip-off and don't want to pay for that service which I feel should be included. What is the benefit for paying? If you don't pay I'm assuming that you can still use the DVR, but you'll just have to set it like a VCR for recording.

[Valv]

Give a try also to VOOM, the only true digital satellite company.

I tried it for few months, but didn't have a HDTV. One advantage they had you didn't need yearly contracts, you could quit anytime (that's what I did after 3 months).

Nice thing they left a HD air antenna...and their equipment was TOP of the line.

LMITOUT, yes I was referring at you but not as a remark, just wanted to let people know not to get into an expensive antenna just to watch HDTV.

I am personally against DTV just for a principle, I had them for many years, when they were DirectTv and USSB, I had the Platinum package, $ 49.50/month andf you had EVERYTHING (yes even Playboy), then they bought out USSB and they over doubled rates from 1 month to another, my package was $ 120.00....quit them immediately, I guess they lost many customers that way.

[PierBridge]

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(HDDVR for any dish service is, I believe, nearly a grand, and let me tell you the Hard Drive is finicky.

.)

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I just paid $299 for my HD Tivo, regular DVR's are free or $50 max.

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I have a quick question about DVR's. Do they make you pay for the DVR service when you get a DVR? I think that's a rip-off and don't want to pay for that service which I feel should be included. What is the benefit for paying?

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$5 for the Tivo service, that includes as many Tivo's as you want for $5 a month, if you are on their top package it's free.

It's a small price to pay for the Tivo features which will change and improve they way you watch TV...

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Give a try also to VOOM, the only true digital satellite company

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They went bankrupt and DishNetwork now owns them, I beleive they offer 10 of the Voom HD channels.

[LMITOUT]

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It's a small price to pay for the Tivo features which will change and improve they way you watch TV...

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I guess that's my question....what features do you get for paying vs. not subscribing to 'Tivo'?

Some people mix the words Tivo and DVR interchangably, but they aren't the same thing. Tivo costs $12.95/mo and DirectTV DVR costs $5. Do they require a phoneline? I don't have a landline phone, just cell. Can you use a Tivo box with Direct or Dish? I know nobody with a DVR or Tivo, so I'm pretty green when it comes to these and all you read about is pay, pay, pay. I want to know if they'll work without paying and what you are missing by not subscribing. Lots of questions!

Burning recorded shows to DVD catches my attention also.

[HaywardBound]

DirectTiVo...It really is a life changing move. No more watching live TV! Some of your answers can be found at the Tivo community web site.

DirecTv = NFL Sunday ticket!

[buzzsaw]

Okay pretty much everything has been covered above. I've had DirecTV for many years and have been completey satisfied.

[Jeremy airjer W]

TIVO and DVR are assentially the same. Tivo is a digital video recorder company. (lots of companies offer locking pliers, just about everyone calls then channel locks). I think you have to have a dvr reciever that mathches the satalite company. I'm not sure how the TIVO's interact with different cable/sattelite providers. It just made more sense to go with a receiver type for me. Directv DVR's need to have a land line attatched at all times.

The $5 charge is for season pass info. I have nascar set up on a season pass along with multiple other shows I like to watch. Whenever they are on it records them automatically. The one drawback is that if the program goes into overtime it isn't smart enough to know so you will miss the end. However there are recording options which alow you to choose extended end times (1, 2, 3, 5, 30 minutes and I think up to an hour maybe more) You can also choose new programs or repeats or both. The recording options are really neat.

TIVO is a seperate companie and offers its "season pass" programing guide subscription for $12 a month.

Once the program is recorded it can be saved to a vcr/dvd recorder. however it will take the entire time of the program to do so.

The extra five dollars is worth it to me. I'm not sure if the Directv DVR can be used without the $5 fee.

[LMITOUT]

Thanks for the info. That's disappointing that a landline is required. For the money I save per month on just using a cell phone, it isn't worth it to sign back up for landline again. But, if you can use the unit just like a VCR without paying the monthly fee, then that's all fine and dandy with me. It's not difficult to look up when a program is airing and setting a time to record manually, so a little more time to do so isn't going to be a big deal.

I would like to record programs and then transfer to DVD though. I wasn't sure what the legality was concerning that.