Buying my first home and thinking about going with Directv

[fergman78]

Hi people,
I am about to close on my first home and started today checking out prices on cable/internet/phone packages. I learned Fios tv is not offered where I will be buying my home so the options I looked into were Comcast and Directv. Comcast seemed a little pricey for what they offered and directv was definitely cheaper.

Here is what I was offered
Direct Tv 265 Channels including all movie channels and sports channels NFL Sunday ticket 1 HD DVR box 1 Regular Box

Verizon Phone and Internet for $129.99 a month for the first 12 months then $144 a month after.

It seemed like a good deal but my question is how good is directv service since I have never dealt with a dish before. Will it go out when it snows or rains? I am in Massachusetts so we don't always have the best weather and I don't want to be without tv for extended periods of time.
Any tips comments suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Scott

 

[BlueEos]

Sounds like a good price. I have to question the Verizon phone (Voip and DSL cable). I have a similar deal with Qwest which does offer a true landline, but with DSL. While m DSL internet service is ok, it's just not in the same league with cable internet. My previous package was with Comcast and Voip service. The phone went down a lot.

When my present deal is up, I'm going back to cable internet, but keeping the DTV (the best part of the package.)

 

[scoop8]

You'll be satisfied overall with DTV, imo. As far as rain-fade, I can only give my take on it from Dallas. I lose the sig briefly when thunderstorms pass over my area but it's uaully no more than a few minutes in duration. I have lost the sig for more than 5 min's during a slow-moving storm but that's rare. My sig strengths are mainly in the mid-high 90's with clear weather so I think my dish is aligned properly. I never lose the sig during a light-to-moderate rain. It only occurs during those thick storm clouds/heavy rain.

I agree that your Verizon cost seems high but I'm comparing that to my area's pricing. I pay around $85/month for a land phone/FIOS 'net bundle at 20/5 speed. I used to have Verizon DSL until FIOS was available in my area.

I'm surprised that Comcast is more expensive than DTV in your area. I'd have guessed otherwise but I guess it depends on the pkgs that are compared.

 

[Beagle]

your best bet is to get connected up with dish network,they offer more HD channels than what directv has,and they have much better customer service.they also have a better DVR than directv.

 

[fergman78]

Thanks for the input. Ya directv is definitely cheaper. If I were to get the Comcast package with all the movie channels plus internet and phone it would be $159.99 for the first 12 months then $199 a month after.

So I am saving $30 the first year and $45 after that a month which I thought was a good deal.

Scott

 

[Hemi 6.1]

IF Sports is a Big factor in your Provider, then D* is where you should look.
Don't forget about Dish Network
More National HD then Comcast or Directv, and much better equipment IMHO.
Compair and see.

 

[rad]

Satellite service, either Dish or DirecTV can suffer from rain fade, but usually only if it's a real bad storm but lasts only a couple minutes. Snow and ice build up on the dish can also cause an outage since water absorbs the satellite signal. So either try to get a ground/pole mount for easy access of if you can try to get it placed somewhere it's easy to get to.

It's true that Dish has more HD channels now, but it can flip back and forth, for a number of months DirecTV had more then Dish. And if the DirecTV12 satellite makes it up in the 4th quarter it's expected that DirecTV will either equal or surpass Dish again.

If Verizon is your phone company have you checked with them for any bundled pricing deals for phone/internet and DirecTV since they partner with them?

As for who has the best hardware, some love Dish/hate DirecTV, others love DirecTV/hate Dish. You might want to check out http://www.dbstalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16331&d=1226491937 which has a comparison of the HD DVR's from both companies. You might also want to check out the DirecTV Cutting Edge section here, were folks can test software and new features before nationally released, to see some of the things currently being tested to see if there's anything you want. I'd also recommend that you get a HD receiver vs. the SD receiver even if you don't have a HD set there. The picture will look better when tuned to HD channels plus there are some functions/features that you might want that you can't get on the SD receivers.

Whatever provider you go with if it's not too late I recommend that you make sure you had cat5/5E/6 network cabling installed to wherever you plan on putting receivers since both services are adding functionality that want network connectivity.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[dc_red]

As Hemi says above, if sports is your main priority then it has to be Directv.

I've been with Direct for about 3 years and even though it can get expensive and there is the potential for saving a bit of money through bundling with cable, the advantages they offer in terms of the extras for sports have made my mind up.

 

[ChrisK114]

your best bet is to get connected up with dish network,they offer more HD channels than what directv has,and they have much better customer service.they also have a better DVR than directv.

Better DVR maybe. Better customer service?? No offense, from my experience, no way!

 

[Rey]

for more sports go with directv. for more HD channels today go with dish. for the best equipment go with dish. MY experience on better customer service leans heavily towards D*. for those who know me well on this site can tell you i take no sides. i tell it like it is based on my experience. I currently have directv but had dish for 10 years. i love directv but the better equipment is still on E*'s side. More HD channels on dish but as rad mentioned before this can be a back and forth thing. Dish lead for awhile on this and later Directv took over and now Dish is back on top for HD channels. Dish also leads in premium HD channels. I also find the HD pic quality a little better on D* than with E*. My main reason to make the switch when i did is that back then the future for D* looked brighter than E*'s. I still feel the same today. D* seems to be more in touch with it's customers than E* is. That's my opinion right there

 

[ancient_dragon]

for more sports go with directv. for more HD channels today go with dish. for the best equipment go with dish. MY experience on better customer service leans heavily towards D*. for those who know me well on this site can tell you i take no sides. i tell it like it is based on my experience. I currently have directv but had dish for 10 years. i love directv but the better equipment is still on E*'s side. More HD channels on dish but as rad mentioned before this can be a back and forth thing. Dish lead for awhile on this and later Directv took over and now Dish is back on top for HD channels. Dish also leads in premium HD channels. I also find the HD pic quality a little better on D* than with E*. My main reason to make the switch when i did is that back then the future for D* looked brighter than E*'s. I still feel the same today. D* seems to be more in touch with it's customers than E* is. That's my opinion right there

I'm currently looking between both dish and directv, and must say, this was as good an honest comparison as I've found so far. thanks for the read rey. The only question I would have is. Are the sports really better on directv if you only subscribe to the sports package? And not any of the Sunday Ticket, Nascar Hotpass, or MLB EI or any of those. If you just go for the plain sports package versus the dish sports package, is it still better? Cuz its hard to tell from the channel lineup at least that they offer much more in that regard without the add on packs.

Also if anyone could give a little more detail as to how the DVR for Dish is better. Are there better features really? Or is it more that it runs smoothly without needing reboots that I see people have to do with the D* sometimes. Cause from what I see online it sounds like E* DVR's just run smoother, but I get the impression that D* is looking to add more features in nearer future to there's such as Multi-room viewing and all. And if D* can get it all running smooth, it almost looks like D* could have better hardware down road, just they need the software to run smoother. Does that sound like I'm understanding the stuff correctly? Or am I missing something?

As for the original poster. Verizon does offer good deals with directv included in my area as well. I don't get FIOS either unfortunately. So the triple play from Verizon with directv as part of it, was best deal I could find. However, the DSL was too much to take, way to slow for my tastes. So I've decided to go cable internet, and look for other phone and satellite options. However if you don't need the improvement in speed cable offers over DSL, then the Verizon triple play with directv would be your best bang for buck non FIOS option, imo.

 

[Rey]

I'm currently looking between both dish and directv, and must say, this was as good an honest comparison as I've found so far. thanks for the read rey. The only question I would have is. Are the sports really better on directv if you only subscribe to the sports package? And not any of the Sunday Ticket, Nascar Hotpass, or MLB EI or any of those. If you just go for the plain sports package versus the dish sports package, is it still better? Cuz its hard to tell from the channel lineup at least that they offer much more in that regard without the add on packs.

Also if anyone could give a little more detail as to how the DVR for Dish is better. Are there better features really? Or is it more that it runs smoothly without needing reboots that I see people have to do with the D* sometimes. Cause from what I see online it sounds like E* DVR's just run smoother, but I get the impression that D* is looking to add more features in nearer future to there's such as Multi-room viewing and all. And if D* can get it all running smooth, it almost looks like D* could have better hardware down road, just they need the software to run smoother. Does that sound like I'm understanding the stuff correctly? Or am I missing something?

As for the original poster. Verizon does offer good deals with directv included in my area as well. I don't get FIOS either unfortunately. So the triple play from Verizon with directv as part of it, was best deal I could find. However, the DSL was too much to take, way to slow for my tastes. So I've decided to go cable internet, and look for other phone and satellite options. However if you don't need the improvement in speed cable offers over DSL, then the Verizon triple play with directv would be your best bang for buck non FIOS option, imo.

well the multi sport package on D*is not that much better than the one from E. i believe there is way more rsn coverage on D* but many of the games on these channels are usually blacked out if the rsn is out of your area. this is where the sports packages are a must like MLBEI and NFL Sunday ticket. and if you sub to those premium sports packages there really is no need to sub to the sports pack unless you're really into college games or have interest in the local sports shows of a certain rsn.
yes for sure if you want more sports than anyone else and can afford to sub to the premium sports packages, directv is the place to be. my personal experience in my 1st year with D* was great. i was very very impressed with the nfl sunday ticket package. gotta have it every season now
on your dvr question, dish dvr's are more responsive and less buggy. they are built better. having said that the directv dvrs are not bad. they are slow and a bit buggy. but your comment on the features for the directv dvr's is accurate. they do have many features and will continue to have more and more.if programming is a more important to you than having the perfect dvr directv would be your choice because of your interest in HD sports. If you were more interested in movie premiums dish would be the place for you.
I hope this answers some of your questions. if not, ask away

D= directv
E= dish

 

[HDinCincy]

Another great thing that D* offers (and I'm 99% sure it's exclusive) is the mix channel for big sporting events... like the Masters, US Open (tennis & golf) and occasional others. This is a special HD channel which has the scores and usually four live images from other channels. For instance during the PGA a few weeks ago, you had the main network coverage, coverage of certain holes and even a "Leader" channel which followed just the last twosome. Maybe E* has something like this but my neighbor that has E* (but is not too techie) says they do not. It's really awesome if you love sports. I too would give the advantage to D* for their CSRs. Back when I was an E* sub, their DVRs were nothing to write home about but I never had the 622.

 

[ancient_dragon]

Sounds good guys. Two additional questions I have Rey if you know the answer. In your experience is it easier to change programming features, like adding and dropping premium channels on D*? From what I read online it appears E* charges 5 bucks to drop and premium channels or drop to a lower tv programming. On D* I didn't see anything about charging to drop programming. I know long term it wouldn't ammount to much money cuz you don't drop channels often, but I hate when companies nickel and dime you on things like that(also in the way E* charges 39.99 to unlock external, while D* is free). And if there are any other hidden fees I am likely to run into with either provider, feel free to mention them. The second question was about external hard drive storage. With D* I know it replaces your existing hard drive if you plug in a new external hard drive. But can you still access your original recordings on D*'s original hard drive, if you just unplug and restart box without the external connected? And can I take my external drive from one reciever to another reciever on the account and access programs, or use multiple externals at different times without any complications.

I am leaning toward Directv right now cuz I tend to really like that it seems to give a better HD picture from what I hear, and for future MRV since I plan on recording a bunch of kid shows for my new baby girl, and don't want to have to record them in multiple rooms lol.

 

[Rey]

Sounds good guys. Two additional questions I have Rey if you know the answer. In your experience is it easier to change programming features, like adding and dropping premium channels on D*? From what I read online it appears E* charges 5 bucks to drop and premium channels or drop to a lower tv programming. On D* I didn't see anything about charging to drop programming. I know long term it wouldn't ammount to much money cuz you don't drop channels often, but I hate when companies nickel and dime you on things like that(also in the way E* charges 39.99 to unlock external, while D* is free). And if there are any other hidden fees I am likely to run into with either provider, feel free to mention them. The second question was about external hard drive storage. With D* I know it replaces your existing hard drive if you plug in a new external hard drive. But can you still access your original recordings on D*'s original hard drive, if you just unplug and restart box without the external connected? And can I take my external drive from one reciever to another reciever on the account and access programs, or use multiple externals at different times without any complications.

I am leaning toward Directv right now cuz I tend to really like that it seems to give a better HD picture from what I hear, and for future MRV since I plan on recording a bunch of kid shows for my new baby girl, and don't want to have to record them in multiple rooms lol.

In my experience, yes it is easier to change your programming with D* online anytime free. E* always gave me hard time about this and would charge me a fee for it especially if i did it more than once a year. so i never did.D* has never given me any issues about changing packages at anytime. have in mind you can only make the changes once a month. both providers have hidden fees. in D*s case you have a lease fee of $5 per receiver. if you have more than one receiver or dvr the 1st lease fee is waived. there is sales tax and communication tax that might vary from state to state.depending on the package you choose it will have the dvr fee included or a fee will be charged of $6 a month. if you want to add the hd extra pack that's another $5 a month. if you get the package that has all channels including movie premiums it will be a little more than what dish charges for their top programming package. i hope i didn't miss anything

you can still access the recordings on the internal hard drive when you unplug the external one. i believe you can use as many external drives as you want but i'm not sure you can use the same external drive from one dvr to the next. not sure. if someone else has more experience with the external hard drives,i'm sure they will chime in.

on your last comment i also have experienced better HD pic quality on D than with E*. it isn't a huge difference but it's enough to bother me especially on the larger screens.

MRV is also coming with more new features as well. hope this helps my friend :up

 

[Rey]

Another great thing that D* offers (and I'm 99% sure it's exclusive) is the mix channel for big sporting events... like the Masters, US Open (tennis & golf) and occasional others. This is a special HD channel which has the scores and usually four live images from other channels. For instance during the PGA a few weeks ago, you had the main network coverage, coverage of certain holes and even a "Leader" channel which followed just the last twosome. Maybe E* has something like this but my neighbor that has E* (but is not too techie) says they do not. It's really awesome if you love sports. I too would give the advantage to D* for their CSRs. Back when I was an E* sub, their DVRs were nothing to write home about but I never had the 622.

yep i love the coverage D gives us on the PGA :up:up

 

[Rey]

you can join us at the ce program here at satguys to participate in testing mrv and other new features as they come along.

 

[ancient_dragon]

Assuming I get D*. I def would be interested in participating in the CE program. I haven't finalized a decision cause I'm gonna let my girl have some say. But thanks to everyones input on this forum, I got a good pros and cons lists, and know exactly where I stand pretty well. I look forward to being a contributing member on the forum once I do got my service as well.