AT&T to Dish

[Riverpilot]

I'm considering the switch to Dish from AT&T (Directv) and am curious about opinions.

Sports used to be a big deal to me, but I'm pretty much down to the NHL, whatever Bears game is on for the NFL, and college sports. The Big Ten channel is important as is the NHL channel and maybe Center Ice.

My biggest complaint with AT&T is having only 5 tuners on the genie. I run into scheduling conflicts all the time which is frustrating to say the least. The new HS17 is only going to have 7 tuners, but takes away tuners for the mini receivers, which means I'll still run into scheduling conflicts.

The Hopper 3 seems to be years ahead in this regard.

My two biggest concerns that I've been reading about are people having problems with timers/recording due to the new/change in the guide data. Also, the picture quality... as people refer to Dish as HD lite.

For those who have been able to compare side by side, is the difference really that big, or?? Even those who couldn't compare side by side... a difference that matters?

Any other positives, negatives?

I would be getting the Hopper 3, with two 4k Joey, and 3 regular Joey.

Thanks all for any and all help.

 

[charlesrshell]

I have had my Hopper 3s for a week now and no guide/timer issues. Hopper 3 is awesome.

 

[stardust3]

The guide issues are much better, haven't noticed any timer issues for a few weeks. As far as picture quality it is more than acceptable IMO.

Coming from the genie you would really love the hopper 3. Give it a shot, confident you will not be disappointed.

 

[Riverpilot]

I'm 50/50 right now. The picture quality vs AT&T/Directv is the one thing holding me back right now.

Kind of hard to give up something you know is good to go to a 2 year commitment.

Other opinions?

 

[Scherrman]

I feel PQ is completely personal opinion. It's not a big enough variance to be a difference maker for me.

 

[JSheridan]

I'm 50/50 right now. The picture quality vs AT&T/Directv is the one thing holding me back right now.

Kind of hard to give up something you know is good to go to a 2 year commitment.

Other opinions?

If you get a Hopper or a Wally the picture quality is as good or better than DirecTV on most channels. The older VIP receivers not so much.

 

[KAB]

I'm 50/50 right now. The picture quality vs AT&T/Directv is the one thing holding me back right now.

Kind of hard to give up something you know is good to go to a 2 year commitment.

Other opinions?

You are right. Direct PQ is better than Dish...by only a Tad. But having to suffer with their equipment is not worth it. Go H3!

 

[JSheridan]

You are right. Direct PQ is better than Dish...by only a Tad. But having to suffer with their equipment is not worth it. Go H3!

Have you seen DirecTV lately? It ain't what it used to be.

 

[bwexler]

I haven't seen DirectTV in more than 15 years, since I switched to Dish.
When I switched from Hopper with Sling to Hopper 3 both my wife and I noticed a great improvement in PQ on the same old TV.
It would be difficult to go back to 6 tuners and even worse if the remote TVs each consumed a tuner.

 

[IcEWoLF]

I like DirecTV, but my cousin house they have Dish with the Hopper 3 and the PQ is a little soft, but you really need to look for it to notice the difference, otherwise I have to say hands down Dish is way better, their tuners are totally worth it, their Dish look nicer (dark grey) and they are a bit smaller than DirecTV slimlines, which makes them even more attractive. The dish foot is smaller on Dish than DirecTV so it makes installs even easier and better if you installing on the side of the building or on a fascia. Dish is way ahead of the game when it comes down to hardware, as far as programming goes, DirecTV still king, make sure you get all your channels on Dish before you make the switch.

 

[pattykay]

I'm 50/50 right now. The picture quality vs AT&T/Directv is the one thing holding me back right now.

Kind of hard to give up something you know is good to go to a 2 year commitment.

Other opinions?

Here is kind of an outside-the-box thought. You could purchase a Wally and a Dish 1000, and open a Dish account with Welcome Pack, just so you can compare the picture quality side-by-side. There would be no commitment this way. If you don't like Dish, you can just drop them and sell the Wally and the satellite dish. If you do like Dish, you could still close that account, and wait a couple of months before signing back up for Dish again as a new customer to get the programming discounts and equipment that you want.

 

[Riverpilot]

There's a local dish/at&t(I try not to call it directv anymore, since in my mind it's not) store that I'm going to stop by and have them show me a side by side. May not be perfect, but at least I'll get an idea.

I see there are a few channels on Dish that aren't HD like on AT&T, which is a bit of a bummer, but not a deal breaker. I imagine SD on Dish is pretty much the same as it is on AT&T? Looking like a show from 20 years ago that looked great on a 30" TV, but looks pretty bad on a 60"+ TV? lol

The channels that say HD & SD... are those the kind where if they show a re-run of a show from 20 years ago it's in SD but if it's a newer show it'll be in HD, or...??

Any 4k channels coming? AT&T has 3 right now, which is kind of nice, but it's not a big deal right now. I would imagine HBO, ESPN, FOX, Showtime, would be coming out with a 4k channel this year or next... just to be the, look I'm first, type of deal. Most likely a part time channel at first... though HBO could have pretty much a full time.. especially with Game of Thrones new season coming out.

I would also be doing a post install (right by my deck on the ground)... looks like the post needed for Dish is different than the one for AT&T? I don't really want a new post, but I can fit one in if needed.

Oh, one more thing. Not sure if I can ask or not? If not, please let me know and I'll delete this part. Is ordering on-line give me the same price as calling in? As in, no secret deals or anything? I absolutely hate the phone, mainly since it always seems as what I want to order ends up being different than what I said.

Thanks for all the help, opinions, etc... I really do love this site and this forum.

 

[ralphw]

I'm considering the switch to Dish from AT&T (Directv) and am curious about opinions.

Sports used to be a big deal to me, but I'm pretty much down to the NHL, whatever Bears game is on for the NFL, and college sports. The Big Ten channel is important as is the NHL channel and maybe Center Ice.

My biggest complaint with AT&T is having only 5 tuners on the genie. I run into scheduling conflicts all the time which is frustrating to say the least. The new HS17 is only going to have 7 tuners, but takes away tuners for the mini receivers, which means I'll still run into scheduling conflicts.

The Hopper 3 seems to be years ahead in this regard.

My two biggest concerns that I've been reading about are people having problems with timers/recording due to the new/change in the guide data. Also, the picture quality... as people refer to Dish as HD lite.

For those who have been able to compare side by side, is the difference really that big, or?? Even those who couldn't compare side by side... a difference that matters?

Any other positives, negatives?

I would be getting the Hopper 3, with two 4k Joey, and 3 regular Joey.

Thanks all for any and all help.

I made the exact switch less than a week ago. I kept DTV service for another 2 days after the Dish installation so I was able to make a side-by-side comparison between DTV HR44 and Dish Wally. DTV probably looks only slightly better in terms of picture quality, but for me that's a very tiny little difference: for example when looking very closely to the sharp edges in a still picture I may barely notice a difference. I don't see that's an issue at all that would stop me from switching.

 

[stardust3]

Don't forget the refer a friend offer if you go forward with it. Saves you an extra $5 per month for 10 months.

Hey buddy, old pal, long lost friend of mine.

 

[Riverpilot]

I made the exact switch less than a week ago. I kept DTV service for another 2 days after the Dish installation so I was able to make a side-by-side comparison between DTV HR44 and Dish Wally. DTV probably looks only slightly better in terms of picture quality, but for me that's a very tiny little difference: for example when looking very closely to the sharp edges in a still picture I may barely notice a difference. I don't see that's an issue at all that would stop me from switching.

How's the SD channels? Several channels that AT&T have in HD are only in SD with Dish...

Also, anyone know about reusing the pole that has my AT&T dish? Or would the installer want to install a new one in a new hole?

Thanks to everyone for the comments so far.

 

[JSheridan]

How's the SD channels? Several channels that AT&T have in HD are only in SD with Dish...

Also, anyone know about reusing the pole that has my AT&T dish? Or would the installer want to install a new one in a new hole?

Thanks to everyone for the comments so far.

We use something like this for DirecTV to DISH conversions. I don't think DISH company techs have a similar item and may want to dig another hole. You could contact your local retailer if you have a good one and they'll probably use a pipe adapter.

 

[ralphw]

How's the SD channels? Several channels that AT&T have in HD are only in SD with Dish...

Also, anyone know about reusing the pole that has my AT&T dish? Or would the installer want to install a new one in a new hole?

Thanks to everyone for the comments so far.

I rarely watch anything in SD but here is a screenshot from a Dish SD channel:

 

[Riverpilot]

Thanks for the info about the pipe adapter. I saw one of those, but wasn't sure if it would work very well in windy, cold, etc...

The SD looks about the same as AT&T. lol

I'm attempting to convince the boss lady, who doesn't like change, that we should do this. My argument is for the 16 tuners since we always seem to have recording conflicts etc.. happening. With AT&T coming out with the HS17 that only has 7 tuners, which quite frankly is a joke, this would solve a lot of troubles.

But.. as I said. She doesn't like change.

 

[navychop]

That can be good. She's kept YOU!

 

[Riverpilot]

Hah.. yes, she's kept me. Not sure if that's good or bad. lol...

I brought up the subject of switching, and just as I had thought, I don't like change, blah blah blah blah... Doesn't matter if there's 16 tuners, etc... doesn't matter we'll save money, blah blah blah... she's going on vacation at the end of August. I may just switch then if she doesn't get on board before hand.

If AT&T would at least put out a DVR comparable with the Hopper 3, I'd stick around. But the HS17 with 7 tuners is a joke. We'd pick up 1 tuner from what we have now.. which still ends up with having problems during recordings etc...