Direct TV vs Dish TV

[kitten645]

I'm ready to throw in the towel on expensive cable tv. I've started looking at Dish vs direct. I don't see alot of diffrences pricewise. I don't watch sports which seems to be a big selling point for Direct. I'd like to have a DVR which costs more with Dish and free with Direct. I'd like to have the basics: BBC, MTV, VH1, VHIclassic, Food channel. Don't really need HBO or showtime. Anyone had any experience with either? AT&T is my internet provider and offers Dish. Don't know if that makes a difference? I'm a little boggled, can you tell?
Claudia

[Moesha]

We had Dish for at least 15 years. Way before they offered local stations. We had both east and west coast network feeds for all that time. It was GREAT! Then a couple years ago when the government decided that wouldn't be allowed anymore we contacted Dish to have Dish500 installed to be able to get local stations. They upgraded us for free, but they wanted OUTRAGEOUS prices for DVRs. We hadn't needed one before that because basically we saw everything twice with the east and west coast feeds. Even though we had been loyal customers for that length of time, they didn't offer us one penny of an incentive to stay with them. We called them more than once explaining the situation and asking if there was anything they could do to help us in our situation. Not one thing! So we cancelled and went with Direct. They gave us everything we asked for plus some. Now after almost 2 years Dish has been calling once a month or so to try to get us back. We just tell them that if they wanted our business they should have kept us when we asked them. Service wise I did miss some of the channels we had, but now I don't even remember what they were. That's just my experience.

[kitten645]

Thanks! That's helpful. I think they are VERY competative these days. More against cable than each other. I get the feeling I might be able to pit one against the other. Looks like Direct doesn't have BBC but does have free DVR. I might go to Dish and tell them what Direct is offering and see if they'll match.
I was interested if the quality/service was any different. I've heard some have issues with Dish connectivity issues but that may be a thing of the past. They both use "dishs" don't they?
Thanks again!
Claudia

[Moesha]

I think that we lost signal in the rain more often with Dish than we do with Direct. In a very heavy rain we lose signal. We have BBC America with Direct. And yes, they both use a small "dish".

[kitten645]

Well living in CA we don't have extreme weather (if you don't count earthquakes!) I'm leaning more towards Direct but it would be nice to have everything on one bill. I wonder if AT&T internet has any effect on Direct? Like being able to watch tv on the computer or vice versa. Thanks again for your input.
Claudia

[Craftlady]

We have Dish T.V. at least 5 years. Prior to that for 5 years we had Direct T.V. but they kept raising their rates and we changed over to Dish which hasnt raised rates

[Taz_Zoee]

We switched to Dish from Comcast back when they first came out with HD DVRs. They were running a special and we got free boxes (or installation, I can't remember which). We have two main boxes (one HD and the other not) and each of those have an additional box connected to them. I have no idea about any of the details, that's Bruce's department. I can ask him anything you'd like to know though. He always does extensive research on things like this before purchasing.

I just asked him about AT&T with each service. He said Dish offers a $5 discount since they come on the same bill. You can get Direct with AT&T but you do not get any discounts they may offer from time to time. And of course you get the separate billings.

[jennielynn1970]

I have Direct, and I like it. I have the very basic plan, and really only watch 20 of those channels, if that. I can handle less than $35 a month total, including the locals.

I do lose signal whenever there is a storm in the area, but it's not too bad.

I subscribed to Direct through Verizon.

[Moesha]

Oh! I wonder if Direct is still offering the $50 referral bonus. Get the best deal you can get from them and then I think that if you have a referral from another member you get $50 more dollars and the friend that has the account gets $50 too. If you decide to go to Direct, let me know and I'll see if I can find the exact information that you need to get your extra $50 if you want.

[Grace]

Oh! I wonder if Direct is still offering the $50 referral bonus. Get the best deal you can get from them and then I think that if you have a referral from another member you get $50 more dollars and the friend that has the account gets $50 too. If you decide to go to Direct, let me know and I'll see if I can find the exact information that you need to get your extra $50 if you want.

Yes, that referral plan is available.

We had Dish for a few years. Then switched back to cable because customer service with Dish was abysmal. 18 months ago we left cable again, and went to Direct. I am one happy gal. I love all the sports; customer service has been great; yes, we do lose the picture, briefly, during a heavy rain but only on the HD channels.

Since you have AT&T, have you checked to see if they offer FiOS - I've heard that is on a par with satellite for quality of picture.

[Lady's Human]

We had Dish for a few years. Then switched back to cable because customer service with Dish was abysmal.

Dish Network doesn't even know what customer service is.

When we bought our house, we had Dish network, as the previous owners left the dish/boxes/ etc with the house. About a year and a half later, Dish sends us new cards for the boxes, saying we needed them for the equipment to work with their new upgrades.........and we lost our network feeds and a bunch of other channels. They stated after the fact that we weren't paying for the channels we had, so they cancelled them. Nothing like communicating with customers. It took over a month to get it straightened out. We've had DirecTV since, with no major issues, and their customer service has been excellent.

[kitten645]

LH..how long ago was that? Seems to me there's been lots of improvements as competition has gotten more intense. I won't go back to cable as I feel it's monopolistic and has no customer service. Comcast sucks.
C

[kitten645]

Thanks Taz (luvs on the kitten!) Craftlady, Grace and Jenn. Really appreciate your help. If I go with the referall bonus I will certainly tell them you were the source. I'll private you when I figure this out.
I took the name and direct line for the customer service AT&T lady that helped me today. She was great and should be acknowledged.
Cheers to all my pt family for the help! You guys rock!
Claudia

[Taz_Zoee]

I just had to call customer service for Dish a couple weeks ago and had GREAT service. In fact the girl I talked to was doing something for me and we had to wait. So we started chatting and ended up talking about our dogs!! I got her name and operator ID if I have to call back again I'll ask for her, if she's on the shift.

[Lady's Human]

That mess was about 1 1/2 years ago....they might have improved, but once bitten, twice shy.