I had dish for a few years. I kept getting things from Directv and recently compared them and saw that for pretty much the same programming, plus free NFL games, I would save about $800 over a 2 year period by the time they gave me all of the discounts.
Great, figured it had to be about the same.
I was very, very wrong.
With Dish I had 2 722 dvr's, which gave me 4 rooms, all with dvr's.
Ordering my equipment from direct, I got the highly touted home media center, which can record up to 5 programs at a time, and then 3 HD receivers.
The comparison.
As far as equipment, that was pretty much my bad as I did not think it thru, but only having the 3 receivers means if I am watching tv in any other room beside where the HMC is, I have to 1st record it to get the dvr functions. Yes, I can now record more shows at once, which is handy at times as I don;t have to record the shows in different rooms as I did with dish, but I guess I am lazy but it is a pain when I am watching something and I first forget it is not recorded so do not have dvr functions, so then have to record it and then watch the recording.
Not a big deal at all - but combined with the rest....
The really, really bad.
Watching tv on my computer. I work in the garage quite a bit and with dish, often had the tv going to listen to sports. With Dish, is as easy as pie. Go to Dish, log on and watch whatever you want. Could not be easier.
I thought it would be about the same with direct since they go on and on about directv everywhere.
Not even close.
You can not watch live tv on the computer with direct. If for example I wanted to watch/listen to the football game in my garage today (which I did), I 1st have to go to the direct tv guide and record it - on the computer you can only watch recorded programs or the programs they have available for streaming - NOT live tv.
So what's the big deal you say, just take a moment and record it and then watch it......sure sounds good. Now I have a pretty fast home network. I use a Asus Black Diamond router, which is rated very fast, and my laptop has a wireless n card in it and my desktop has a black diamond usb adapter - it is very, very fast when I transfer large files - not so with directv.
Pretty much every time I am trying to watch a game, I 1st record it, then start the directv app to watch it and a very large part of the time it stutters like crazy. I usually put it on pause for a few minutes and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
I have no dog in the fight, but watching/listening to the alabama /lsu game just now, I go to the garage in the 4th quarter, and about 8-10 minutes later I end up coming back in the house because of the stuttering and it was an interesting finish.
I never once had a problem with dish.
If you want to stream LIVE tv within range of your receiver, there is absolutely NO comparison, Dish wins running away.
The highly touted Home Media Center - I hate it.
With the Dish 722 receiver, the dvr kept the programs in MUCH better order. Again there is absolutely no comparison. Directv does group them together, but it also moves the entire group up when recording - is hard to explain, but I record a bunch of shows for my grandkids. With directv, now I always have mickey mouse etc at the top of my list and always have top scroll down a lot, with Dish, it kept them in more orderly groups........I can not explain it without sitting in front of the receivers, but I do not like the way directv does it at all.
Having had dish for a few years and now having had directv for 2 months or so, it definitekly feels as tho I have taken a HUGE step backwards.
Every day I just keep reminding myself that I am saving xxx amount of dollars this month (is like $70 for a few months, then $40, then for the last year it is about $10).
I can't understand how anyone who has had Dish can compare directv to it. Dish could be idiots to deal with and it was a bummer watching the great deals new people would get, but I am sure the same thing happens to direct customers - like me getting the free nfl package and they do not.
I am contemplating whether I want to just go ahead and pay the penalty and go back to dish.........I hate directv. I do not understand why dish can be so easy to watch live tv on my computer and directv is really, really bad. Oh yea, when i did have dish and watched/listened to the games in the garage, not once did it stutter etc........and I did not have to record it to watch it.
Don;t let them fool you about directv everywhere....that just means streaming tv....the shows they pick out...not live tv.
Do yourself a favor if you are deciding between the 2 - go with dish..........you will have a much easier, pleasant experience...and won;t have to run into the house just to catch a game.......
I am biased tho as I obviously hate directv now......is like the difference between a prius and a new corvette........prius is pleasant enough and saves you money, but I'd rather drive the vette anyday
Oh, also, the 722 receivers had more audio out options....line out, optical and coax....not so with directv hd receivers........not a big deal, but the little things add up when you actually despise the trying to watch live tv on your computer part.....I think if Dish can insure I do not record live content on my computer and still allow me to just log on and watch, it surely can't be that complicated....instead, I get stuttering galore.......and my networked blazed along just fine with dish.....
another thing, the dvr controls - with dish, you hit the skip button and voila, you are 30 seconds ahead. With directv.....it fast forwards it....you watch it go. Not nearly as fast as Dish. When trying it from a different room,.,,,,there is a BIG network lag........with the 722 receivers, the tv's in the other rooms worked just as fast as if I were in the same room as the 722. With directv,is slooooowwww (relatively speaking of course). Again, little things that add up to a 2nd tier performance..
Great, figured it had to be about the same.
I was very, very wrong.
With Dish I had 2 722 dvr's, which gave me 4 rooms, all with dvr's.
Ordering my equipment from direct, I got the highly touted home media center, which can record up to 5 programs at a time, and then 3 HD receivers.
The comparison.
As far as equipment, that was pretty much my bad as I did not think it thru, but only having the 3 receivers means if I am watching tv in any other room beside where the HMC is, I have to 1st record it to get the dvr functions. Yes, I can now record more shows at once, which is handy at times as I don;t have to record the shows in different rooms as I did with dish, but I guess I am lazy but it is a pain when I am watching something and I first forget it is not recorded so do not have dvr functions, so then have to record it and then watch the recording.
Not a big deal at all - but combined with the rest....
The really, really bad.
Watching tv on my computer. I work in the garage quite a bit and with dish, often had the tv going to listen to sports. With Dish, is as easy as pie. Go to Dish, log on and watch whatever you want. Could not be easier.
I thought it would be about the same with direct since they go on and on about directv everywhere.
Not even close.
You can not watch live tv on the computer with direct. If for example I wanted to watch/listen to the football game in my garage today (which I did), I 1st have to go to the direct tv guide and record it - on the computer you can only watch recorded programs or the programs they have available for streaming - NOT live tv.
So what's the big deal you say, just take a moment and record it and then watch it......sure sounds good. Now I have a pretty fast home network. I use a Asus Black Diamond router, which is rated very fast, and my laptop has a wireless n card in it and my desktop has a black diamond usb adapter - it is very, very fast when I transfer large files - not so with directv.
Pretty much every time I am trying to watch a game, I 1st record it, then start the directv app to watch it and a very large part of the time it stutters like crazy. I usually put it on pause for a few minutes and sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.
I have no dog in the fight, but watching/listening to the alabama /lsu game just now, I go to the garage in the 4th quarter, and about 8-10 minutes later I end up coming back in the house because of the stuttering and it was an interesting finish.
I never once had a problem with dish.
If you want to stream LIVE tv within range of your receiver, there is absolutely NO comparison, Dish wins running away.
The highly touted Home Media Center - I hate it.
With the Dish 722 receiver, the dvr kept the programs in MUCH better order. Again there is absolutely no comparison. Directv does group them together, but it also moves the entire group up when recording - is hard to explain, but I record a bunch of shows for my grandkids. With directv, now I always have mickey mouse etc at the top of my list and always have top scroll down a lot, with Dish, it kept them in more orderly groups........I can not explain it without sitting in front of the receivers, but I do not like the way directv does it at all.
Having had dish for a few years and now having had directv for 2 months or so, it definitekly feels as tho I have taken a HUGE step backwards.
Every day I just keep reminding myself that I am saving xxx amount of dollars this month (is like $70 for a few months, then $40, then for the last year it is about $10).
I can't understand how anyone who has had Dish can compare directv to it. Dish could be idiots to deal with and it was a bummer watching the great deals new people would get, but I am sure the same thing happens to direct customers - like me getting the free nfl package and they do not.
I am contemplating whether I want to just go ahead and pay the penalty and go back to dish.........I hate directv. I do not understand why dish can be so easy to watch live tv on my computer and directv is really, really bad. Oh yea, when i did have dish and watched/listened to the games in the garage, not once did it stutter etc........and I did not have to record it to watch it.
Don;t let them fool you about directv everywhere....that just means streaming tv....the shows they pick out...not live tv.
Do yourself a favor if you are deciding between the 2 - go with dish..........you will have a much easier, pleasant experience...and won;t have to run into the house just to catch a game.......
I am biased tho as I obviously hate directv now......is like the difference between a prius and a new corvette........prius is pleasant enough and saves you money, but I'd rather drive the vette anyday
Oh, also, the 722 receivers had more audio out options....line out, optical and coax....not so with directv hd receivers........not a big deal, but the little things add up when you actually despise the trying to watch live tv on your computer part.....I think if Dish can insure I do not record live content on my computer and still allow me to just log on and watch, it surely can't be that complicated....instead, I get stuttering galore.......and my networked blazed along just fine with dish.....
another thing, the dvr controls - with dish, you hit the skip button and voila, you are 30 seconds ahead. With directv.....it fast forwards it....you watch it go. Not nearly as fast as Dish. When trying it from a different room,.,,,,there is a BIG network lag........with the 722 receivers, the tv's in the other rooms worked just as fast as if I were in the same room as the 722. With directv,is slooooowwww (relatively speaking of course). Again, little things that add up to a 2nd tier performance..
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. Dish - I could chat live with tech and billing support online with people who could actually spell their receiver models...Directv you cannot. Chat online is such a basic service nowadays that all companies should invest in.
