Directv vs Dish Network in Denver Area

[denvernewbie]

Hi,

I'm trying to decide between the two main satellite providers -- right now I'm leaning towards Directv. I want to know what experiences people have had with the two services in the Denver area. I'm interested in issues like interruption of service, reception quality, channel load times, unexpected billing, customer service response, plus whatever other advantages and disadvantages you think are pertinent. Thanks in advance for your responses, and have a great day.

 

[robert luzzi]

tell you a story, i started in this industry 2.1.00 for the home service provider in pittsburgh pa , it was excalibur cable holdings. we installed fiber optics, directv ,telephone, dish and cable. we got basic service free off of any one of the three services at the time as a benifit. out of three thousand techs in 17 states 92.8% went with directv. that should speak for itself. any way you go, welcome to dbs and the 21st century

 

[Phil T]

I am in the Denver area and have had both services. Currently for some HD and all of the local channels, DishNetwork will require multiple dishes. (KBDI - PBS , and several of the other not so watched locals are on 148). This looks like it will change with the new law but it will probably be a while before it does.

I was very happy with dish for several years but when it came time to upgrade my equipment Dish did not want to play ball with me. I wanted a two tuner DVR and at the time Dish only would offer me a $600.00 721. I switched to DirecTV and got 2- DirecTivos for $49.00 each plus $150.00 in rebates.

I have been very happy with my Directv service and have never had any billing or equipment issues with them.

I can't say the same for Dish. I had billing issues when I paid annually and software and equipment issues with the Dishplayer 7100.

I guess a lot of people are still happy with Dish but it seems to me that their business model now pushing the leasing of equipment is just not what I want.

I would say If you want to own your equipment go with DirecTV. If you prefer to lease go with Dish.

Programming is pretty much the same except for internationals. Service is reliable for both providers. Customer service seems about the same. Sometimes it is the luck of the draw.

I can say that DirecTV seems much more interested in keeping me as a customer. I have free Showtime that they gave me for my one year anniversary!! When I had trouble getting the Altitude sports channel to show up in my zip code, they fixed it and gave my 6 months of free Starz. When I purchased a Samsung 360 HD receiver (they sent me one and installed it for $68.00) and was not happy with the installer, I got Showtime free for 6 months. Currently they are offering the HD package for free for 6 months for new or existing customers.

I never got any free programming with Dish.

Well as I write this and think about it, I guess you can see that my experience with DirecTV has been much more enjoyable then what I had with Dish.

I may have just been lucky and have been able to negotiate better with them due to the the information available from all of the DBS sites.

I don't think you would be sorry going with DirecTV. Make sure you get a DirecTIVO if you do.

 

[Eric_C]

I've had both, and also Voom. Deppends on what you watch. Most of our watching is OTA HD and we get by with the basic 60 pack from Dish, plus the HD pack.

But I compare them on a level playing field since where I live I only need a standard dish to pull everything in. Getting into multiple dishes and all of that would probably bug me.

Dish has better PQ, especially on SD Stations. IMO DTV SD Stations were sometimes unwatchable the macro blocking was so bad. I had DTV about a year ago but cancelled after having some problems with the HD package, its a long story and no fault of DTV but the sales droid at CC.

I like Dish's DVR better. It lacks named based recording, which is a biggy but its fast, very very fast. I hate Tivo because of the response time in pushing a button to something happening, Dish's DVR is instantaneous and offers great PQ. I can live without the name based recording because its far less frustrating for me to use.

That all being said, I would have gone with DirecTV if they had been at least a bit more aggressive on the HD box. It looks like, barring an aquisition of Voom by Dish, that DTV's HD offering will be better.

I called DTV to inquire about the 99 dollar HD Box upgrade, the CSR read me the whole flip card on why its so much better that I buy one, which I did not want to do, she went on and on about why buying is better than leasing. I told her I would do it if she gave us the box at $99.00 like others have gotten. Then she started to lie a bit about how that promotion doesn't exist, then it was only for 5+ year customers in good standing, blah blah blah...She did offer to send me a absolutely free Tivo unit which would be mine to keep. Still I was interested, but the clincher was she could not tell me I'd get a unit with DVI, I get what I get and if I'm not happy I'm stuck.

I was very close to DTV. On the other side, Dish offered an awesome deal. I pay $41.00 per month, to become $51.00 per month in 6 mo for the 60 pack, locals, HD Package, a HD Reciever, and a Dish DVR. I am missing Speed channel, which is another 10 per month and I'll pick that up when F1 starts.

That to me is a killer deal considering it covers the lease of the equipment, the DVR service and everything we watch.

The 811 I heard was a nightmare, however Dish also offered me an open ended cancel anytime contract and free install so I thought I'd give them a shot. No 811 problems so far, locals work perfect and not a single glitch in over a month.

If DTV starts offering a more compelling HD package and a better install offer I might switch but right now more HD or a cheap HD DVR package is the only thing to pull me away.