Home audio & video forum: Satellite TV providers--who to get?

I did have Directv. I can't get a single when it rains or storms or after it storms. They came out and checked everything but still had problems. so I canceled. Then I went to DishNetwork Caulse They are cheaper. Their tech support isn't great at all nor is Directv's. So then I went to Suscom (A cable Company in York,PA 17402) I had Suscom ever since i did away with satellite. Their Tech support is alsome. They are Local and stuff. So Cable is the choice for me.

I too was priced out , by my cable co, + Directv
had FAR more channels than the cable co had when I jumped ship. can't recall year, but when I set up mine, DTV only did general channels, and movies were by USSB. those days QVC & Speedvision now SPEED was NOT on the dish .
My only regrets are no LOCAL weather, and outages in HEAVY rain, as yesterday out for 2 hours. normal signal strength 99.

I have had dish net since 1/97 when they had about 250,000 customers now they have over 11 mill. Over all they have been good. I've never found a company yet that was perfect. My advice is if the NFL is your thing go with Directv. If you don't care that much about buying the football package go with dish. As far as equipment goes dish has several DVR models some with 2 tuners. I have 4 DVRs,1 501, 2 508s, and a 921 HD dual tuner. I have had a few equipment problems over the years and dish has always taken care of replacing faulty equipment. these problems have been rare with the exception of a JVC digtal video recorder that i bought but this was not a dish product. If you go dish get the insurance. It's cheap and it covers all the equipment in you house.

So which service is better - Direct TV or Cable and why?

I've had DTV for about 2 years. Overall, I guess I would say that I'm satisfied. 4 months into getting DTV we had a lightening strike and blow out both of my receivers. At the time, they offered to come out and replace the receivers for free if I would purchase a monthly protection plan for 5.99 a month. Over time, I have realized the protection plan was the best thing I could have bought!! They came out and fixed my system by bringing refurbished receivers. They worked okay, but after a year had a tendency to just shut off for no reason. Calling into DTV phone support is like a lesson in patience you don't really want, because you have to go thru the same 5-10 minute disertation of how to make sure that there are no trees in front of your dish. By the time you REALLY know what's wrong, listening to the remove the tree branch suggestion is totally madening.
Bottom line, I complained enough and have not had to put another penny into my system. They came out again for no charge. I still had problems with the receivers turning off. They told me they would send new receivers. Of course they were to be refurbs. I told them that I didn't want refurb -- that's why I had trouble. So, they told me to go out and buy two new similar receivers and they would reimburse me the cost. I now have two new receivers, with an updated dish for no charge. I had to fight and be patient, but at least I didn't end up getting charged for good reception.

Recommend you go to the Library and look at Consumer reports. I remember reading a review of the various options in the last year or two. I have DirectTV and have been satisfied. I wanted the music channels on Direct TV, which were on a lower tier, and I couldn't use Dish because their satelite is lower on the horizon and I had trees in the way.

I have been a DirectTV subscriber for 8 years so I can't say one is better than the other. However I have the HDTV TiVO and can record 2 channels at the same time. I have 3 recievers in the house and I am charged $4.95/m for the additional 2. TiVO is free with the premium package. I also pay an additional $5.95/m for extended service. They have replaced 2 receivers at no charge, and have had service out twice for some minor adjustments (no charge). There are provisions on the recievers for HDMI,Composite (RGB), and digital audio.
All in all I find DirectTV to be extremely courteous for service, tech issues, billing, etc. To those of you with Dish problems, I feel I made the right decision to stick to DirectTV.

After reading the above posts I have come to some conclusions that might be helpful to those making a decision about Dish, Direct, or Cable service.

I have been a Dish customer since the middle 90s and I have gone through both good service and bad with the company. Someone mentioned that when I first signed up with the Dish Co., I was only one of 250,000 people but today they have around 11 million customers. I can say this as far as service goes, I have many good experiences with Dish. But I have had times over the years that the 'growth bug' bit the 'service' provided by Dish.

I am a bit different then most of you out there in that I have no opportunity to have cable. I expect that I will never have cable offered at least not in my lifetime.

But a few points already pointed out: cable companies are given a monopoly in you service area and some consider this a license to abuse the customer. There are regulations that set standards, but I would suggest that, as most laws, they may not do what they are intended to do. Anyone that compares cable services side by side with satellite will find satellite is cheaper. But there are drawbacks. Equipment costs are one. Service outages are another. If a cable goes out they do have people that come by and fix the cable. If your satellite goes out you either pay a repairman or fix it or do it yourself.

The difference between Dish and Direct are negligible. If you are a football fan Direct is probably better then Dish. But you will want to check it out because Dish has added allot of sports to there system. If you are a movie fan as I am, Dish is great, with many movie channels at a very good price.

Dish and Direct both offered Insurance on equipment that will replace faulty equipment: the cost is somewhere around 4.95 or 5.95 a month. For some well worth it and for others an expensive insurance. I personally have it and had my receiver replaced this year that was at least 9 years old. No questions asked.

Outages due to the weather: The satellite will go out in heavy rainstorms. I cannot address snow or ice. The few times I have seen ice my system worked fine and the once in a while that we get snow my system has also worked. But I live in Georgia and I am no judge on this.

However if you are a current customer and want to upgrade to the DVR or/and HDTV there will be a cost. But check to see if there are specials for existing customers. Dish offered me a DVR for $100.

If you are a current customer of Dish or Direct and are thinking of switching to get an upgrade in free equipment and you are receiving national networks from NY and LA because you cannot get your local channels remember the rules for waivers have changed. Check and make sure that you can get the same services from your new provider.

Service for installation Issues. Many people here have had horror stories from installers. I too have seen this. But that is not Dish or Direct. They have contracted with independent companies to do the installs. Some are good but others are very bad. This is like anything else if your service stinks create a big stink about it. Dish will respond and correct it even if they send another installer from another company. I imagine Direct is the same way. Just explain the situation and don't be afraid to move up the corporate chain to get the service you deserve.

To those who contract in writing and orally for service and or equipment and don't receive it: I find that if you don't receive satisfaction from the company do the following: One, pay with a credit card. Two, dispute the charges. Three keep all email, letters and logs of phone calls including whom you talked to and extensions if possible. Four, send a demand letter explaining what the problem is and what you expect to be done and what will happen if it does not happen. Be professional and send the letter certified, return receipt requested. Finally, if all this fails then simply go to your local magistrate court and file suite claiming a violation of the contract under both contract law and the Uniform Commercial Code which controls consumer contracts. If a product does not work as advertised or a service then they are in breach. It is really that simple.

You can do other things like contact the BBB or your state attorney generals office of consumer affairs and log a complaint but don't expect much, very fast.

In conclusion I prefer Dish Network. They have what I want with a quality product and good service. But the product and service depends more on you and your preferences then on the provider. The product available today is great and improving all the time.

Good luck and good veiwing.

I have had Cable, Direct TV, and Dish
Direct makes you buy receivers if you dont want bottom line junk and the problems associated with them. You are responsible for those receivers maint and replacement or insurance. Cable and Dish supply receivers. Dish leases them and has the maint responsability same as cable. Direct TV has tivo at an additional charge using a switch which is prone to losing ports and not cheap to replace. Dish and cable have receivers capable of receiving and recording without the extra cost and equipment. Cable falls on its face with very poor analog picture quality on some chanels and passable ?? quality on others and beleive it or not when a booster fails in a storm everyone in that sector is out of luck. Satelite can not communicate through a wall of water in a severe storm but only for a short time and not hundreds of people out at the same time like power companies. Dish has very poor front line customer support because most of the operators do not comprehend and usually do not understand english. ask for a supervisor. Dish and DTV have different programming so choose what you want for you. Cable is more expensive not all that reliable and not that high quality with periodic increases in cost. Satelite companies have their pluses and minuses but are much higher quality and cost wise. let them lease the receivers and cover the repairs.

I agree with everything you've mentioned in your post. I would additionally like to say, in response to those who have talked about problems with their installers: Installers are local small companies who are paid by Dish to come out and do your job. Some are good, and some are not. It varies. I have had mostly excellent service people. As to the company itself: They are very impersonal, not seeming to care whether you like their company or not, whether you cancel your service or keep it-just like all cable companies, and DirecTV. I think that customer service from cable companies, though, is MUCH WORSE than the satellite companies. Also, technical innovations usually are adopted FIRST by the satellite companies, and LAST by the cable companies (when they see that they may lose too many clients if they don't adopt the new feature). The pricing of Dish is slightly lower than DirecTV.

If you DISH is not PEAKED properly you stand a higher chance of losing signal during storms. This is a natural phenomena called RAIN FADE. Depending on the model of receiver you have, your POINT DISH/SIGNAL screen should read in the 90s if you are on SAT119 and transponder 11. IF it is NOT in the 90s, your DISH may need to be PEAKED for MAX signal.

IF you take advantage of the DISH n it UP promotion for EXISTING DISH Network customers you may QUALIFY for a DVR522 upgrade. The DVR 522 is a DUAL tuner DVR that controls two (2) TVs independently. Call DISH Network (800-333-3474) or your ORIGINAL retailer for this opportunity.

If you have any AND I MEAN ANY problem you won't be able to get through for hours because their customer service is a joke. Plus the fact that if your equipment fails you will be responsible for repair/replacement yourself (unlike dishnetwork). And if you attempt to cancel your service they will charge you $302.00 and if you don't pay you will be reported to the credit bureaus. I know because it happened to me. Don't deal with Direct TV. They are nothing but sharks who will take your money.

People have been complaining about Dish Network and NOBODY is doing anything.They have hidden charges you don't know about and they will steal your money if your not careful.Some of the deals they offer are rip offs.They charge you a month in advance,in other words
when your speicial runs out you get charged for 2 months up front!( that's if you get your speicial?)
If you try and back out of the deal you are automaticly charged $280.00 for canceling your service plus other charges.Like I said they have all kinds of Fee'S.You can call them all you want and NEVER get any where.They had that $49.99 activation fee and I had to use my card.They used that to go into my account and help them selves to another $69.95 plus I never received my 3 month's free service.I had to cancel my card out so they would quit stealing money.This is only some of what I have gone through so be care full with these Satallite people?