Current Satellite TV deals.....which one's are best?!?!

[Matt Sollars]

Looking for some information on Sat. Television.
I would say i'm most familiar with Dish network (brother in law has it)

I get mailers for deals like 20$ for 12 months, etc.......but then nothing is listed on the website.

Is there a resource out there for locating the best CURRENT deal for different providers. any input is appreciated.

Thanks guys.

Matt

[Lee Schierer]

Both Direct TV and Dish Network offer deals to new customers, which usually include their premium channels, various equipment and even free installation. I've never seen those offers on the web site for Direct TV which I have. Once the initial period is over you have to be sure what your rate will go to and exactly what channels you will get after the trial period. Getting 200 channels is great unless you don't like the programming on 199 of those channels. Determine what you will want to watch long term and decide who has the better rate for that mix of programming.

Free stuff usually comes with a contract, like cell phones, to maintain a certain level of service for a specified period of time.

I've had no problems with reliability of the equipment, my HD receiver/DVR has worked fine from day one. The off air tuner for local channels also works fine and integrates into the DVR program guide, but had to be reprogrammed once when all the stations converted to digital broadcast only. The only time we see signal outages are when we get severe thunderstorms (lasts only a few minutes) or the dish gets completely covered with wet snow.

[Rod Torgeson]

Matt.....I think Dish Network has a deal going on right now where you don't pay anything for installation and you get a DVR HD without any money layout, just so much a month(around five bucks). However I am about to get my 3rd DVR HD since Oct 21 of this year. The first one went belly up in about a month(November something) and now the replacement on that one has a problem. A new one is on the way and will be installed Thursday. The service is pretty good but apparently there is something not so good with the equipment. Maybe they will remedy that.

Just heard recently that Direct TV has been scolded for some shady advertising. Don't know all the details on that one. Also from what I have heard, not experienced, is that Dish has more features and is more user friendly.

I am a Dish Network customer but a little put out by them right now because of the apparent shoddy equipment.

Hope this helps.

Rod<---in Appleton, WA

[Matt Sollars]

thanks for the responses.....

any of you have any trouble with signal outtage.....cloudy, rain, snow, etc.??

my wife and i are trying to decide which route to go.

the plans don't seem to bad, but the HD channels are 10$ extra....and the DVR is 5$ extra....and we wanted DVR on both HDTV's we have. so a 30$ plan becomes a 50$ plan really fast.

any more info.....

[G. Brad Schmidt]

Matt, I've got Dish coming this afternoon for an install. DirecTV WAS supposed to be here last Sun. between 1200-1600. I got a call @ 1545 saying the installer was going to be late. I cancelled the service right then and there (I have a very short German/Irish fuse) and called Dish Network.

If you do go with Dish be sure to use your brother in-law as a reference so you get the $50 credit, and he'll get $30 off I think.

** If any Dish subscribers here would like me to use them as a reference PLEASE PM me. All my goober friends and family use DirecTV :(.

http://www.clicksmilies.com/auswahl/ernaehrung004.gif (http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/ernaehrung/food-drink-smilies.html)

[G. Brad Schmidt]

Here are few comparison sites:

DirecTV vs Dish Network (http://www.satellitetv-choice.com/)

A Consumer Guide to Satellite TV (http://www.myrateplan.com/sat/)

[Jerome Hanby]

I've never had any problems with Directv's normal receivers and their Directivo. I've heard of scads of problems with their house brand non-tivo DVR, possible the reason they are switching back to Tivo this spring.

I've got a buddy who has had nothing but trouble with his Dish DVR. He switched from Directivo based on the advertised features of this DVR. I think he's on his third DVR and he loses everything evey time one dies. Plus there is a substantial charge for them to activate any external hard drive you add to the system. He's switching back as soon as Directv starts shipping the new Directivo boxes.

I've never heard anyone say anything all that good about either companies' customer service. From my experience, if you get someone who knows their (pick your anatomical part) from a hole in the ground, Directv's customer service is (damning with faint praise alert) adequate.

[Pat Germain]

I've had satellite TV for about nine years. The first five years were with Dish Network. I was very happy with the Dish Network customer service, performance and user interface. We occasionally get some killer blizzards in the winter; no service interruption. We occasionally get some killer electrical storms in the summer: when there's a nearby lightning strike, the signal will go out, then come back after a few seconds.

Due to an incentive, I switched to DirecTV for two years. Their customer service and performance were just as good as Dish Network. But I thought the user interface was downright lousy. I had a DirecTV HD receiver, but no DVR.

Dish Network offered me a free HD DVR to switch back. So I did. And I'm very happy with it. The Dish user interface is now even better than before. I've had the Dish Network HD DVR for well over a year. I had a problem with it only once when my daughter filled the disk drive with hundreds of shows. The machine rebooted itself, then came right back. I cleaned off some of the programs and it's been fine ever since.

I also like Dish Network's HD lineup a little better than DirecTV. The only negative was DirecTV had SPIKE in HD and Dish did not. That was resolved a few months ago.

Based on my experience with both providers, my take is if you're really into sports and want an NFL, NBA or NHL package, go with DirecTV. Those simply aren't available through Dish Network. If you don't want a sports package, go with Dish Network. Forget what the ads say. The pricing is almost exactly the same when you add everything up.

[Matt Sollars]

Thanks for the info Pat. Correct me of i'm wrong here.

We have two HDTV's and I want to have DVR on both. This is what I need to do....

Choose the channel package i want.
Add HD channels (10$)
Add DVR for main (5$)
Add DVR for bedroom (5$)

and that's my monthly bill??

is there any cost for installation or recievers or dvr's or anything??

thanks.

matt

[Rick Davidson]

I also have Dish and love it. Have not had problems with the HD DVR. About a month after install one of the remotes stopped working. Customer support was great and they had a new one at my house the next day for free. I alos had them give me 2 UHF remotes insted of 1 UHF and 1 inferred that way my box can be hidden behind a door and still work.

[Pat Germain]

Thanks for the info Pat. Correct me of i'm wrong here.

We have two HDTV's and I want to have DVR on both. This is what I need to do....

Choose the channel package i want.
Add HD channels (10$)
Add DVR for main (5$)
Add DVR for bedroom (5$)

and that's my monthly bill??

is there any cost for installation or recievers or dvr's or anything??

thanks.

matt

Do you also want local channels via satellite? There might be a charge for that.

If you're a new customer, either provider will typically hook you up with free installation and a free HD DVR receiver.

An extra plain receiver is $5 a month if you're willing to plug it into a phone jack. An extra DVR may cost more.

However, Dish, and only Dish, offers "dual" receivers. Thus, you can power your main room and your bedroom with the same box. I have this feature and it works surprisingly well.

[Gerold Griffin]

Reguardless of which service provider you choose, make sure you can get your local stations. Not all areas are covered. Having been with both Dish Network and Direct TV our preferance was Direct TV. Both would loose the signal in heavy rain but it seemed like Direct was able to come back on line faster and I never had to call the company to get them to reboot the box. I think you might want to check with friends in you area and ask them.

[Jim Becker]

I've been very pleased with DirecTV...the HD picture quality is outstanding and the low-cost "Family" plan plus HD meets our low-viewing needs.

That said, we do experience weather-related interference. It's the nature of the beast. Once FiOS is available to us from Verizon, we'll move off the satellite service and onto the fiber-based server, despite a higher cost.

Of the two small dish services, I believe that DirecTV is in better financial condition, but can't cite anything around that. Dish is being pretty aggressive on their deals, however. Of course, so is DTV. LOL

[Matt Meiser]

We've got DirecTV and have had it about 5 years now. When our terms have been up I've always called and negotiated a new plan playing them off Dish. About the only thing Dish really had going was the 2-tvs-on-one-DVR feature. Not enough to switch. Whenever I've compared, they've always been within a couple bucks of each other.

[Bruce Volden]

I signed up with Dish Network back in July, 4 TVs, (2HD), 24 months for a $34.95 fee ($5.00 extra for local programming). To this day I have NEVER received a billing that has been anywhere near that!! It's ranged from $47 - $65 per month. Yes I have called them (monthly) and they "will make corrections". I am close to giving up- I want to deal with a CS based here in the US not in India. Thanks, I feel better now.

Bruce

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I have Directv, but I don't deal with the national company. I go through the local phone company, which yields spectacular customer service. Directv is adding a bunch more HD channels soon too I think. To me by importance, HD availibility, hardware reliability, customer service, price.

[Mick David]

I am this close to dropping DirecTV after 5+ years. Service is lousy, charges appear on the bill and I have to call at least 4 times a year to complain and get them removed. Service itself is great, but my local cable co will get me a better bundle deal on tv + internet + phone, so I think I'll bite on that and get ~$300 in 'service credits.'

Granted not everyone has good local cable service, but I'm really tired of DirecTV's nonsense.

[Pat Germain]

Careful, Mick! A buddy of mine dropped his satellite TV and switched to cable last year. Boy is he sorry.

The price bundle Comcast promised did not include multiple taxes and fees. Now my buddy isn't saving any money and he has a lousy picture, limited selection, no "Info" on most programs, terrible service, low reliability and a two year obligation. Yep, that sounds like typical cable service to me.

I don't know about other cable providers, but the "DVR" provided by Comcast is a sorriest excuse for video recording I've ever seen. It isn't even a local unit. It's just an interface to a server back at Comcast. It's pitifully slow and the data space is extremely limited. My Dish Network DVR has over fifty times the capacity as my buddy's Comcast "DVR".

[Jim Becker]

Some interesting reading on DTV and Dish....

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/12/a-lawsuit-filed-this-week-by-washington-state-against-directv-could-have-a-secondary-purpose-it-could-serve-as-a-textbook-fo.html