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#1724925 - 07/30/12 07:19 PM Dish or Direct?
Bones Offline
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Land of Enchantment
My husband and I have had Comcast cable forever because my SIL worked there. Well after 30 years of service, just out of the blue they told her they were cutting her position (in a 3 person office) and she could either take a severance pkg or go part-time with no benefits. She was pretty upset at the treatment and took the severance.

With no reason to stay there, and with the increased prices, we want to go satellite. We've gotten offers in the mail, but not sure which to go with.

So my question: Do you have Dish Network or DirectTV and what are the pros and cons?
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#1724929 - 07/30/12 07:22 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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I've had both. Can't get cable where I live. I like DirectTV better. Less loss of TV in storms, less increase in fees. Rate has been steady for 4 years. Dish increased their's annually.

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#1724936 - 07/30/12 07:24 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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out of the frying pan...
We have Dish because at the time we signed up for it we liked their channel packages better. Their customer service is awful.
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#1724943 - 07/30/12 07:26 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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I have Dish. Have no comparison to make, but I changed to the smallest package and DON'T HAVE SQUAT NOW.

Luckily, I don't watch much TV, but out of around 6 channels that they have Olympic coverage on, I have a total of 1. mad

All I've seen (not watched) is BOXING! cry
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#1724945 - 07/30/12 07:27 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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We have DirecTV and have been happy for 6+ years. Customer service is good, rates stay the same, and it you aren't happy with something they'll give you free channels or bill credits. You can batter almost anything with them, like free HD or reduced pricing on sports packages. Also very little service interruption as QCL mentioned.

Hope that helps! smile
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#1724946 - 07/30/12 07:27 PM Re: Dish or Direct? RR Becca
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Never had Dish but do have Direct and like it.

The commercials always seem to side with Direct when doing side by side comparisons and since I'm a dolt that's easily sold by cheap advertising, I'm sticking with Direct.
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#1724948 - 07/30/12 07:28 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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TN
Just make sure you're getting what you think you're getting. A co-worker signed up for (and I don't remember if it is Dish or DirectTV) and was told he'd get the local channels. After it was installed he was informed he wouldn't - and doesn't even get the big national channels (NBC, ABC, etc.). They wouldn't let him out of his 2 year contract either.

Had Dish when I lived in Georgia. It was OK - however if we had storms or the few times it snowed we had problems with reception.
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#1724949 - 07/30/12 07:28 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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Oh and now they are starting to offer bundling with other stuff like phones.
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#1724951 - 07/30/12 07:30 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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I have Dish and do have local channels.

Does Direct TV have DVR?
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#1724952 - 07/30/12 07:30 PM Re: Dish or Direct? RR Joker
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yes
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#1724956 - 07/30/12 07:32 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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DirecTV has locals too...
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#1724957 - 07/30/12 07:32 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
RR Joker Offline
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Just saw it..thanks anyhoo!
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#1724958 - 07/30/12 07:33 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
Summer Nights Offline
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We chose Direct TV after Time Warner again raised their rates. While I miss some features that the cable company had we are pretty happy with Direct TV. The few people that we talked to with Dish do not like them and are just waiting to get out of their contracts.

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#1724961 - 07/30/12 07:34 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Summer Nights
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I'm really waiting for AT&T U-Verse to come to my neighborhood.

Then I won't be at the mercy of Direct when storms hit.

Also, I can then bundle my internet access with TV.

Right now I use Time Warner for internet and Direct for TV. It isn't too cheap that way.
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#1724964 - 07/30/12 07:37 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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We have Direct TV. We've been with them about 10 years, in the last house and the current one. They will generally offer some deal to get you to sign a 2 year contract. For example, we bought an HDTV for the bedroom, replacing an old one that finally quit. So, we needed an HD receiver. They upgraded that to a HD DVR if we would extend the contract to 2 years from that date.

So, yes, RR Joker, they have DVR.

The signal quality is good with Direct TV, but we get signal interruptions during hard rains.

They give us all the local channels in HD.

We also like the music channels, which are very similar XM radio.
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#1724967 - 07/30/12 07:42 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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Yes, all my music channels went away with Dish...I notice even the basic Direct TV has lots...I may be checking further into changing!
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#1724969 - 07/30/12 07:44 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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Seems so far that Direct is the favorite.
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#1724974 - 07/30/12 07:47 PM Re: Dish or Direct? manimal
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Originally Posted By: manimal
We have DirecTV and have been happy for 6+ years. Customer service is good, rates stay the same, and it you aren't happy with something they'll give you free channels or bill credits. You can batter almost anything with them, like free HD or reduced pricing on sports packages. Also very little service interruption as QCL mentioned.

Hope that helps! smile


We've had DirecTV for 20 years now. We are rural so we get free "local" channels of ABC, NBC and CBS since our closest big city is 75 miles away. We have little to no service interruption other than during high wind situations (we are in rural, windy Oklahoma grin).

We have their "expanded" cable package but no premium channels. We pay a couple dollars extra each month for the Outdoor channel (CH 606). And we have a box in three rooms ($5 each for the 2nd and 3rd). I think their customer service is very good, once you get thru to a human. I bet any call I've ever made to DirecTV was never shorter than 20 minutes. Ever.

But I'm just happy that we get cable. I remember back when we didn't have cable. Back when I had to walk 10 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways, carrying my little brother. grin
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#1724979 - 07/30/12 07:54 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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I have a Direct bundle with Verizon doing the internet and land line. The TV is ok, but we do lose the HD signal with a hint of rain and wind. We would prefer cable and a much higher internet speed than DSL.

It seems every few years you have to shop around because the prices continue to fall with competition.
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#1724983 - 07/30/12 08:00 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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DirecTV for sure! We have the whole house DVR - which is awesome.

If you decide to go with DirecTV, I'll give you my account number and we both get money off our bills! smile
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#1724986 - 07/30/12 08:04 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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So sorry that happened to your SIL frown. That stinks.

We have DirectTV and have been very happy. Friends of ours have switched to Dish, but then switched back because they were not satisfied. Find a friend that has DirectTV already and I think if they "refer" you, they get $100 and you get $100 (they take $10 off a month on your bill until you reach the $100)
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#1724990 - 07/30/12 08:06 PM Re: Dish or Direct? 80's Lady
Bones Offline
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Originally Posted By: Tesla
DirecTV for sure! We have the whole house DVR - which is awesome.

If you decide to go with DirecTV, I'll give you my account number and we both get money off our bills! smile


Originally Posted By: 80's Lady
So sorry that happened to your SIL frown. That stinks.

We have DirectTV and have been very happy. Friends of ours have switched to Dish, but then switched back because they were not satisfied. Find a friend that has DirectTV already and I think if they "refer" you, they get $100 and you get $100 (they take $10 off a month on your bill until you reach the $100)



That sounds great. Thanks!
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#1724992 - 07/30/12 08:08 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Tesla
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Originally Posted By: Tesla
If you decide to go with DirecTV, I'll give you my account number and we both get money off our bills! smile


No, use my account number!
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#1724993 - 07/30/12 08:09 PM Re: Dish or Direct? HRH Okie Banker
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Texas
Originally Posted By: Okie Banker
Originally Posted By: manimal
We have DirecTV and have been happy for 6+ years. Customer service is good, rates stay the same, and it you aren't happy with something they'll give you free channels or bill credits. You can batter almost anything with them, like free HD or reduced pricing on sports packages. Also very little service interruption as QCL mentioned.

Hope that helps! smile


We've had DirecTV for 20 years now. We are rural so we get free "local" channels of ABC, NBC and CBS since our closest big city is 75 miles away. We have little to no service interruption other than during high wind situations (we are in rural, windy Oklahoma grin).

We have their "expanded" cable package but no premium channels. We pay a couple dollars extra each month for the Outdoor channel (CH 606). And we have a box in three rooms ($5 each for the 2nd and 3rd). I think their customer service is very good, once you get thru to a human. I bet any call I've ever made to DirecTV was never shorter than 20 minutes. Ever.

But I'm just happy that we get cable. I remember back when we didn't have cable. Back when I had to walk 10 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways, carrying my little brother. grin


You forgot to add that you were also barefoot...

ETA: I have DirecTv also.
Last edited by PStateBank; 07/30/12 08:09 PM.
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#1724996 - 07/30/12 08:10 PM Re: Dish or Direct? Bones
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NFL Ticket is awesome. Just saying. whistle
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