I am thinking of switching to DishNetwork from Comcast cable. Is DishNetwork better than cable? I tried to get Voom, but could not because of no line of site. I know I can get DishNetwork. How is there 522? Any help would be great! Thanks.
Considering DishNetwork
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This question has come up quite a bit lately.The best thing to do is go on dishnetworks website and compare programming.The 522 is an excellent rcvr.dvr features for 2 tvs!now that there is no longer a commitment on the dha promo satellite is a great deal.If you need some help on this or have more in depth questions just e-mail me.atltechguy said:
As far as cable vs satellite, it depends on your cable system. Some offer better picture and price than DBS (not a lot of them but some). Others are more expensive, have a better/worse pic, it varies from each cable system. The best thing to do is compare prices between the two services.
In my case I see a better picture on cable, but my cable system does not have any HDTV, and would cost me more $$ per month, so I went with Dish.
You have to do the comparision for yourself since every cable system is different, even different neighborhoods on the same system vary as some could have been upgraded others may not have been upgraded.
In my case I see a better picture on cable, but my cable system does not have any HDTV, and would cost me more $$ per month, so I went with Dish.
You have to do the comparision for yourself since every cable system is different, even different neighborhoods on the same system vary as some could have been upgraded others may not have been upgraded.
Thanks for the responses. My cable PQ is good, actually. We have more HDTV than Dish does at the moment. The reason I am thinking about switching, is I miss having a DVR. Comcast, in my area is suppose to release there DVR in the Summer. They have been putting that off since December of last year. Of course Comcast just raised there rates. Thanks again.
It depends what you are expecting. I have been a dishnetwork customer since 97. At the time (it seems like ages) I picked E* over D* because they were different and they owned their own satellites - therefore, I expected something different and better programming. Mainly I picked them because they didn't lease their signal. I did not get the good deals now offered for new customers - I paid a lot for my equipment. But I really can't complain. It has been a good ride.
I have seen both good and bad over the years. Charlie has always been good about upgrading existing customers with current technology. I don't have any experience with D* but my neighbors do. I can't say I am overly impressed with either the signal or anything extraordinary with the content.
Personally, I always like the underdog because I think they always try harder. Research the company as a whole vs. just the product because it will give you a better direction as to what you can expect for the future.
If you would like to talk to me direct, feel free, I'll give you an honest opinion.
Best of luck.
Ken
I have seen both good and bad over the years. Charlie has always been good about upgrading existing customers with current technology. I don't have any experience with D* but my neighbors do. I can't say I am overly impressed with either the signal or anything extraordinary with the content.
Personally, I always like the underdog because I think they always try harder. Research the company as a whole vs. just the product because it will give you a better direction as to what you can expect for the future.
If you would like to talk to me direct, feel free, I'll give you an honest opinion.
Best of luck.
Ken
noooooooo E* has more channels for the money!!!!Neutron said:
more hbo's more cinemax's..more channels in general EXCEPT sports
juan said:noooooooo E* has more channels for the money!!!!
Actually, you get many more real content channels with DirecTV's TC/locals vs. Dish's AT120/locals at the same price of $39.99.
My opinion is worth as much as I charge for it, But being a Dish Network customer now, If I had a choice I would go to Direct Tv. Their CSR's are far better than Dish. More helpful, polite, ect.... Dish always wants new customers so they do offer better deals to sign up, but then it's downhill from there.Sorry I realize there are quite a few happy people with Dish but after seing how they treat people with their inoperable equipment(like myself) just frustrates me. The contract that I'm in with Dish is the only reason Im here.
BTW... if you wish to cancel with Dish they will charge $240 plus if a third party installs your equipment they may also charge an additional Fee ($260 my case) where as Direct tv will charge $150 pro rated for the rest of contract time. Dish does not pro rate the charges.
BTW... if you wish to cancel with Dish they will charge $240 plus if a third party installs your equipment they may also charge an additional Fee ($260 my case) where as Direct tv will charge $150 pro rated for the rest of contract time. Dish does not pro rate the charges.
scott5626 said:
Don't forget, if you retrun the equipment, DirecTV even waives the meager $150 fee.
You should find someone locally who has Dish and look at it. If you have larger than a 27" TV, or a HD set, you will hate Dish as they are way overcompressing their signal now. I gave up on their SD programming and just have the HD Pack and went with Voom. I'm sorry to see you can't get Voom, it's awesome.
Here's my experience from a first-time satellite user after getting Dish installed 2 weeks ago:
1) DVR/PVR. Quite frankly, I would *never* be without one now! Whatever system you decide to get, make sure you get video on demand. Being able to pause Live TV sounds simple and perhaps unneccessary but it really is invaluable (especially if you have kids, hehe). Being able to record 100 hours of programming right on the hard drive with no loss in quality is also terrific. And if you're like me and want to permanantly archive your shows to DVD, it's pretty easy to do this if you have a TV capture card in your computer. The TIVO devices which are used with DirecTV may have more features and less bugs, but the 522 I own does everything I want and has been working quite well.
2) Picture Quality. I have to say right up front that I am disappointed by the picture quality on the *local channels* I am receiving. On my 32" TV, the compression is very noticeable and sometimes distracting, though it does beat fiddling with an OTA antenna to fine-tune reception. Cable definitely has the advantage here. As for the other channels, I think they look very good for the most part. There are still some hints of compression now and then, but overall most of them look great. I have sent in my complaint about the local channels and I got the "we're working on it" reply, but I'm not holding my breath. On my smaller bedroom TV, I can't see the effects of the compression, but I definitely can on my 32".
3) Reliability. So far, I haven't had any problems with loss of signal. My wife said one morning when she turned on the receiver for the first time that day, it showed the "aquiring satellite signal" message for a few seconds and then all was ok - not sure what that was about. But we've had a few showers and some poop weather with no noticeable problems. The 522 receiver has worked very well for the most part. It's really an awesome device which has 2 tuners and a 120gb hard drive. The only "bug" I've encountered is an audio drop out here or there when playing back a recording (I think it usually happens when I was recording two shows at once). Otherwise, all of my timers have worked without issue and the recordings look identical to the original show in terms of quality.
4) Value. I started out with the Top 120 programming for $40 (with locals) plus $5 for the video on demand (the $5 for two tuners is waived since I have my receiver hooked up to the phone line). But a couple of days ago, I upgraded to Top 180 - mainly for the movie channels, the extra Discovery channels, Hallmark and Nat Geographic. I was able to upgrade on the web site and obtained the channels immedately on my receiver. Overall, the DHA plan seems to have pretty good value, though I would have to pay a substantial fee if I cancel before 1 year.
Well that's my experience so far... sorry I can't really compare directly with DirecTV. My parents have DirecTV and have been pretty happy with it, though they have an older receiver which does not have video on demand (however, they are thinking about upgrading after seeing mine in action). Previously, I just had extended basic analog cable... and though the local channels were better, I like everything else better on the satellite.
Travis
1) DVR/PVR. Quite frankly, I would *never* be without one now! Whatever system you decide to get, make sure you get video on demand. Being able to pause Live TV sounds simple and perhaps unneccessary but it really is invaluable (especially if you have kids, hehe). Being able to record 100 hours of programming right on the hard drive with no loss in quality is also terrific. And if you're like me and want to permanantly archive your shows to DVD, it's pretty easy to do this if you have a TV capture card in your computer. The TIVO devices which are used with DirecTV may have more features and less bugs, but the 522 I own does everything I want and has been working quite well.
2) Picture Quality. I have to say right up front that I am disappointed by the picture quality on the *local channels* I am receiving. On my 32" TV, the compression is very noticeable and sometimes distracting, though it does beat fiddling with an OTA antenna to fine-tune reception. Cable definitely has the advantage here. As for the other channels, I think they look very good for the most part. There are still some hints of compression now and then, but overall most of them look great. I have sent in my complaint about the local channels and I got the "we're working on it" reply, but I'm not holding my breath. On my smaller bedroom TV, I can't see the effects of the compression, but I definitely can on my 32".
3) Reliability. So far, I haven't had any problems with loss of signal. My wife said one morning when she turned on the receiver for the first time that day, it showed the "aquiring satellite signal" message for a few seconds and then all was ok - not sure what that was about. But we've had a few showers and some poop weather with no noticeable problems. The 522 receiver has worked very well for the most part. It's really an awesome device which has 2 tuners and a 120gb hard drive. The only "bug" I've encountered is an audio drop out here or there when playing back a recording (I think it usually happens when I was recording two shows at once). Otherwise, all of my timers have worked without issue and the recordings look identical to the original show in terms of quality.
4) Value. I started out with the Top 120 programming for $40 (with locals) plus $5 for the video on demand (the $5 for two tuners is waived since I have my receiver hooked up to the phone line). But a couple of days ago, I upgraded to Top 180 - mainly for the movie channels, the extra Discovery channels, Hallmark and Nat Geographic. I was able to upgrade on the web site and obtained the channels immedately on my receiver. Overall, the DHA plan seems to have pretty good value, though I would have to pay a substantial fee if I cancel before 1 year.
Well that's my experience so far... sorry I can't really compare directly with DirecTV. My parents have DirecTV and have been pretty happy with it, though they have an older receiver which does not have video on demand (however, they are thinking about upgrading after seeing mine in action). Previously, I just had extended basic analog cable... and though the local channels were better, I like everything else better on the satellite.
Travis
I have both D* and E* and I honestly like E* better for a variety of reasons. Now if they could just get me a damn 921.....
KyDave said:
Off the top of my head...
For the same $39.95, (TC/locals vs. AT120/locals) DirecTV gives you the following channels that Dish either gives with higher priced packages, or doesn't offer at all:
Bloomberg,
CNBC World,
Fine Living,
FitTV,
Fox Movie Channel,
Hallmark,
National Geographic,
News World Int'l,
NFL Network,
Outdoor Life,
Oxygen,
TRIO
For an additional $3, DirecTV TC Plus/locals adds:
Biography,
Boomerang,
Disc Home
Disc Kids
Disc Times
Disc Kids
Fuel
History Int'l
5 add'l Music Audio channels
Nicktoons
PBS Kids
Science Channel
SoapNet
VH! Classic
A number of people who recently switched from Dish to Direct report getting $2 off the TC Plus/locals pack, making it only $1 more than AT120/locals, but with over 20 more channels than AT120/locals.
Switchers have also reported getting free Showtime for six months, and reduced rate HBO. Plus, all new subscribers get $10 the first 6 months by default.
The biggest acclaim from the switchers seems to be the that Direct's Customer Service and Hardware are superior to Dish. "No more check switch errors!" is a common refrain.
KyDave said:
You're welcome. I should have done that kind of research before choosing to go back to Dish after a year of Comcast.
We had Dish Network but we had problems with their cheap switches breaking, we went through about 5 in only about 2 years. Check my webpage on my profile for more info.
So far we have Directv and it is working good.
So far we have Directv and it is working good.
