a1247 wrote:

snoscythe wrote:

We recently moved from Utah to Texas, and I took the opportunity to switch from Dish to DirecTV as that was the one way we could be certain we get the MTN here. I have to say that after about a month, I am really hoping Dish Network picks up the MTN so we can go back. The picture quality on the standard definition set is far worse than anything we got in SD in Utah, and the HD is about the equivalent. While DirecTV does offer more HD channels, you pay more for them, and most of them are simply upscaled SD picture anyway, so you really are only getting 720p resolution instead of what you might expect, so the HD you are getting is like being promised Mountain Dew, and then getting a warm can of diet caffeine free Dew. It is technically Mountain Dew, but the whole reason you wanted the Dew has been frustrated.

Also underwhelming is the DVR and the user-unfriendly guide and menus. Finding your to-do list takes 5 different clicks, and switching from one guide to another is an expedition into uncharted territory. The remote is awkward to handle as all the buttons you use the most (the DVR buttons) are at the top where they are least accessible. Dish Network's equipment and menus might not have been as sleek, but at least they were simple, easy to use, and had some thought put into what people do the most.

Yeah, DirecTV's customer service is lightyears ahead of Dish, but I only had to call Dish to upgrade or downgrade, whereas I have had to call DirecTV three times in one month with equipment freezes and disappearing channels. I also have to call DirecTV any time I want to order pay-per-view. If I am going to be calling these morons 5 times a month, they damn well better provide good service.

So yeah, I will stick with DirecTV until either Dish or Time Warner pick up the MTN, at which time I will gladly pay whatever penalties I have to, and ditch DirecTV.

This is exactly how I feel about Direct. I miss dish SO much. Its been two years of hell and with the bundle package I can't see any end to it any time soon.

That's interesting. I had more problems with Dish then i've ever had with DirecTV. The ONLY problem i've had with DirecTV was that I didn't realize that the Full Court NCAA Tournament package was self-renewing, meaning that if you order it for one year, it automatically gets put on your bill every year unless you cancel it. Besides that, they've been great. I haven't had any technical issues with them at all, and I have four DVRs. The earlier DVR's were great, because they are TiVO units. So their interface is simple, and is totally the best one out there. The DirecTV DVR's are not as elegant, but it only takes me one-click to get there (You can customize this in the setup of your receiver). Once you figure out how it works, it's not bad at all.

azcavalier wrote:

a1247 wrote:

snoscythe wrote:

We recently moved from Utah to Texas, and I took the opportunity to switch from Dish to DirecTV as that was the one way we could be certain we get the MTN here. I have to say that after about a month, I am really hoping Dish Network picks up the MTN so we can go back. The picture quality on the standard definition set is far worse than anything we got in SD in Utah, and the HD is about the equivalent. While DirecTV does offer more HD channels, you pay more for them, and most of them are simply upscaled SD picture anyway, so you really are only getting 720p resolution instead of what you might expect, so the HD you are getting is like being promised Mountain Dew, and then getting a warm can of diet caffeine free Dew. It is technically Mountain Dew, but the whole reason you wanted the Dew has been frustrated.

Also underwhelming is the DVR and the user-unfriendly guide and menus. Finding your to-do list takes 5 different clicks, and switching from one guide to another is an expedition into uncharted territory. The remote is awkward to handle as all the buttons you use the most (the DVR buttons) are at the top where they are least accessible. Dish Network's equipment and menus might not have been as sleek, but at least they were simple, easy to use, and had some thought put into what people do the most.

Yeah, DirecTV's customer service is lightyears ahead of Dish, but I only had to call Dish to upgrade or downgrade, whereas I have had to call DirecTV three times in one month with equipment freezes and disappearing channels. I also have to call DirecTV any time I want to order pay-per-view. If I am going to be calling these morons 5 times a month, they damn well better provide good service.

So yeah, I will stick with DirecTV until either Dish or Time Warner pick up the MTN, at which time I will gladly pay whatever penalties I have to, and ditch DirecTV.

This is exactly how I feel about Direct. I miss dish SO much. Its been two years of hell and with the bundle package I can't see any end to it any time soon.

That's interesting. I had more problems with Dish then i've ever had with DirecTV. The ONLY problem i've had with DirecTV was that I didn't realize that the Full Court NCAA Tournament package was self-renewing, meaning that if you order it for one year, it automatically gets put on your bill every year unless you cancel it. Besides that, they've been great. I haven't had any technical issues with them at all, and I have four DVRs. The earlier DVR's were great, because they are TiVO units. So their interface is simple, and is totally the best one out there. The DirecTV DVR's are not as elegant, but it only takes me one-click to get there (You can customize this in the setup of your receiver). Once you figure out how it works, it's not bad at all.

Call me stupid but why the heck does one need FOUR DVRs? I have a hard enough time finding one program that I want to watch right now let alone four that I want to watch later.

timmyboy wrote:

Another question for the experts: I'm moving from Utah to Texas in 4 months.

snoscythe wrote:

We recently moved from Utah to Texas...

Not to hijack the post, but I really get excited thinking about rabid BYU fans moving from mormondom to other parts of the nation/world. Good on you, lads! Not only do you have the opportunity to spread the gospel (of Christ and Bronco), but you increase the demand for BYU sports nationwide.

I think that deserves some K.

Go Cougs!!!

Great, now what do I do. Dish sucks, bad. And now I guess DirecTV may suck worse. I may be one of the few cable people on the board, but I just find it to be a whole lot better. Few outages (less in Utah than Ohio), few equipment problems (again less with Comcast than with Time Warner), and it has a much wider range of on-demand programming.

Living in Ohio, I will be moving to DirecTV. Since TWC hasn't picked up the big 10 network, I don't see a high probability that the mtn will be picked up.

azcavalier wrote:

That's interesting. I had more problems with Dish then i've ever had with DirecTV. The ONLY problem i've had with DirecTV was that I didn't realize that the Full Court NCAA Tournament package was self-renewing, meaning that if you order it for one year, it automatically gets put on your bill every year unless you cancel it. Besides that, they've been great. I haven't had any technical issues with them at all, and I have four DVRs. The earlier DVR's were great, because they are TiVO units. So their interface is simple, and is totally the best one out there. The DirecTV DVR's are not as elegant, but it only takes me one-click to get there (You can customize this in the setup of your receiver). Once you figure out how it works, it's not bad at all.

It's been my experience also that DirecTV is far and away a better service than Dish. I moved to Eagle Mountain where the only two choices were DirecTV or Dish network. Dish was heavily promoting the area and almost all of my neighbors had Dish. My sister and her husband who lived not too far from there were also Dish subscribers. Every single one of them advised us not to get Dish, the reception and picture quality was terrible and prone to go out, the cost was low but then they nickle and dime you, and forget about every getting any kind of help.

As for now, I have a DVR and have never had any problems with it, I've never been bothered by the button placement, but it's also been the only place I've ever known. One fantastic feature that DirecTV has that Dish doesn't is the ability to tell your DVR to record shows over the internet. I know I've had a few times when I've been at work and find out that a show is going to be on that I didn't plan for, so I can just pop into my account online and tell it to record the show.

I for one was tickled that DirecTV got the MTN, because I wasn't looking forward to switching if it had been Dish instead, although I would have.

Hawkwing wrote:

azcavalier wrote:

That's interesting. I had more problems with Dish then i've ever had with DirecTV. The ONLY problem i've had with DirecTV was that I didn't realize that the Full Court NCAA Tournament package was self-renewing, meaning that if you order it for one year, it automatically gets put on your bill every year unless you cancel it. Besides that, they've been great. I haven't had any technical issues with them at all, and I have four DVRs. The earlier DVR's were great, because they are TiVO units. So their interface is simple, and is totally the best one out there. The DirecTV DVR's are not as elegant, but it only takes me one-click to get there (You can customize this in the setup of your receiver). Once you figure out how it works, it's not bad at all.

It's been my experience also that DirecTV is far and away a better service than Dish. I moved to Eagle Mountain where the only two choices were DirecTV or Dish network. Dish was heavily promoting the area and almost all of my neighbors had Dish. My sister and her husband who lived not too far from there were also Dish subscribers. Every single one of them advised us not to get Dish, the reception and picture quality was terrible and prone to go out, the cost was low but then they nickle and dime you, and forget about every getting any kind of help.

As for now, I have a DVR and have never had any problems with it, I've never been bothered by the button placement, but it's also been the only place I've ever known. One fantastic feature that DirecTV has that Dish doesn't is the ability to tell your DVR to record shows over the internet. I know I've had a few times when I've been at work and find out that a show is going to be on that I didn't plan for, so I can just pop into my account online and tell it to record the show.

I for one was tickled that DirecTV got the MTN, because I wasn't looking forward to switching if it had been Dish instead, although I would have.

The wicked awesome thing about it is that it works on most phones with internet as well. I've recorded multiple programs from my blackberry after hearing about it during the day. I've been with directv for 2 years and have no desire to change alsthough I've thought about telling them i'm going to change so i can get some free programming...would i go to hell for that??? I've heard the complaint of loosing reception but i've never lost reception for longer than 1 minute and that only happened once during a wicked crazy phoenix valley monsoon storm. I say go with directv