help, got D* now, should I switch to E*?

[ds650]

Hi.
Please be patient with me, I've searched old threads but am looking for the most recent opinions. This is my first post. Here is the deal. First off alot of people on here are talking way beyond me. I only consider myself a casual TV viewer. I can't believe some people love TV so much! Anyway, without trying to sound to dumb here goes. I currently have Directv. Had it since July 2000. I have Total Choice+ with 2 receivers, models DRDD44ORE. They have been great since day one, except one will pick up caller id anymore....? In fact my service has been great & the TC+ seems like a great pkg. The thing is that I am still part of NRTC deal. Everyone know what that is? It's where small local telephone companies & such buy Directv & sell it back to you? This happens in rural communities like mine. I guess the local company sold the rights back to Direct, but it's still not final. I used to get charged just 1.99 for my second reciever & got movie coupons for $2.50 off each ppv movie I bought. Now I'm paying 4.99 for my second receiver & no more coupons! So all they did was raise my price really. E* started offering locals (Ft Wayne, IN) in my area in Feb 04. D* & my local provider keep saying they are coming soon. That was in May! Now they say next year! I'm tired of waiting. The guy from E* was suppossed to come today & install things, but he called & said he was sick. Now I'm having 2nd thoughts. E* is offering a 4 room system for the price of 2. I get one 522 DVR & one 322. Both have dual outputs to two seperate TV's, with the 522 having 100 hours of recording time. Plus both have caller id (I know, I know) but I love that! I see Tivo does not. Plus I have to buy my own Tivo & it's only 35 hours. I'd rather have Tivo because it's the benchmark. (NBR, menu etc.) That fact is I'll probably just use my DVR as a glorified VCR. That way my wife can record "Days of our Lives" & I can record things like Chappelles show. I understand you can "hack" Tivo but that seems like a hassle somewhat. Plus if I messed it up my wife would use it as a hammer, my head being the nail....
Also, I understand D* Tivo does not have caller id, where the 522DVR does.
I subscribe to ESPN gameplan, I see E* also offers that now. So I'm OK there. I'd miss Fuel & Oxygen network though Anyone know if E* will pick those up? Also does D* have a Columbus superstation & why does D* & not E* have access to Columbus only?
I'm also bummed I must buy the AT180 to get the good Discovery channels I get on TC+. But yet I'm stuck with junk like horse racing & more shopping channels! WTH?
My mom has E* with the AT180 & 3 301 recievers. Those menus look soooo plain! It's kind of disappointing. (I know it's dumb but I like color!) E* tells me the 322 & 522 have better menus & such anyone know? Also I like how on Direct when you turn on a college football game it tells you the teams, on my moms DishNetwork it just says college football, you must hit info to get the teams playing. With 13 games on Saturdays I need to jump through fast
Anyone know if the 322 & 522 are better that way? Finally, what do you think the future holds? Is D* or E* the place to be in the next year or two?

I know some of my questions were D* related in the E* forum, just looking for help maybe from folks who have had both.
Thanks

 

[slacker9876]

Granted everything I'll offer is of the "personal opinion" nature ...

Welcome to SatelliteGUys.US! When you post you can make it much easier to read when you break your paragraphs. Just FWIW.

I am a big proponent of D* because I feel they offer better hardware, features & functions and better customer service. As far as CS, despite what JD Power rates D* takes care of their own, E* does not. I like the programming selection better with D* ... Sunday Ticket (which I am watching now) is not even available on E*.

In all honesty, as a casual viewer either provider is probably fine for you. I think the future is brighter with D* as the present. The large factors today are NFL Sunday Ticket, TiVo and High Definition. If you could care less about these items there is no reason to hang out. For me ... All 3 are a big deal and I can only get the from one provider.

 

[Neutron]

Welcome to Satelliteguys!!

I had DISH network and switched to Directv. To me it was like night and day! The receivers I had with DISH network would constantly have problems. Once I switched to Directv those problems went away. The DTivo, in my opinion, is a much better DVR than the DISH product.

Also I find the packages that Directv offers give me more bang for the buck vs DISH.

In the end it's your decision. You have to make the best decision for yourself and your family.

 

[DirecTVTechCSR]

I'd have to vote for D*.

Years ago I had D* and my boyfriend and I switched to E* because it was cheaper, and they offered wrestling PPV's which D* had lost for a short time for some reason. (Hes a big WWF/E fan). I got most of the same channels, but it was hard to get used to the E* interface. I too thought the menus were rather drab and boring. I finally got used to them, and rememorized the channel locations.

Well after some time, about a year, both of our receivers started acting really dumb. One of them stopped getting the local channels. Every time we called in about it (once a week at least) no one could help us. The CSR's simply said they had no idea what was causing it or how to fix it but they would be glad to sell us a new receiver for... $88, and we would probably need new access cards, which would be another $80. Our other receiver was always pixelating and getting SFSS screens. Their answer to that problem? Yep. Buy a new receiver and a/c.

Well about this time, my boyfriend started working for D* tech support. Now, employees get free prog after 90 days employment. So we decided to go ahead and switch back to D* since we could get installed, 4 rooms, one with Tivo, and first 3 months programming for $120. Thats much better than the $346 it would cost to "fix" or E* which we found out later by the D* installer that the problem was our cabling. E* installed us with RG59 cabling, and satellite service needs RG6 between the dish and the receivers. D* ran new cables to all of our rooms, and got us set up quite nicely. We have yet to lose our signal, even in the storms.

Sometime later, I too started working for D* tech support. During the course of which, I learned more about the way everything works and the real differences between Customer service, seeing as I am providing it now, and I have experienced E* cust serv firsthand. D* is a lot more concerned with the quality of the cust serv. Replacement receivers for one thing are only $49 (30 for a refurbished unit), and if the rep feels like it, they will give it to you free. Access cards are a mere $20 and a lot of times are free as well depending on the circumstances for replacement.

I also learned a lot about the Tivo system. If you are going to get a DVR, D* really has the best ones available. While E* has the "100 hour" DVR, the quality on it leaves much to be desired. D* has 35, 75, and 115 hour models, and they are high quality. They are actual Tivo units, not cheap knockoffs. D* actually owns the Tivo name now.

As for the future, D* is by far the better company to deal with. With 13 million customers, a 95% customer satisfaction quota, and having been around for years and years, it is a stable company to trust for your satellite services.

Also, valued long term customers often are given special deals if they call in. Our goal is to make sure the customer is happy. and we certainly hope you decide to stay with us as a customer.

 

[jimg1960]

I was an E* customer for years and when I changed to Directv I am still amazed (2 years later) at the higher quality of D. I am glad I made the switch...and I too love the NFL Sunday Ticket which is not offered elsewhere,

 

[ibleedblue]

Man I have a E* 522 now and I'll tell you flat out it's the biggest piece of trash I've ever owned. PQ is poor at best. Constant pixelation/hiccups during playback. Audio and video get out of sync every 5 minutes or so requiring a skip back to synch them back up. For 6 weeks now I've gotten a message that the HD needs 'cleaning' (defragging which deletes programs) and that it will be cleaned in 7 days. If you don't want your wife beating you over the head about it, don't make the switch. Take a few minutes and check out the 522 forum on this site. Take note of the number of satisfied 522 users. I think there are 3 or 4 total.

I had D* in the past and switched because I thought I could save a few bucks. Big mistake!! For me on a 54" RPTV, the E* PQ is horrible compared to the D* plus all the 522 problems mentioned above. I'm switching back to D* in Feb when my 'contract' with the installation company runs out.

 

[caeyathompson]

... D* actually owns the Tivo name now...

Can you please elaborate on that?

 

[robert luzzi]

he's trying to tell you that dish is crap, now it is said, its garbage

15 million to 12 million , and charlie saying on his chats "im in awe of them "

500 thousand in the last THREE , each of the last three, quarters and getting stronger

 

[HarryD]

If you want equipment that doesn't always work as designed, go ahead and switch. Don't say we didn't warn you!

 

[Neutron]

Can you please elaborate on that?

D* does not own the Tivo name.

 

[ds650]

Here is the big hangup, I pay Direct through a rural co-op. They keep backing up my sat upgrade for locals. Clear into next year now!!! Dish has had locals since Feb 04. Direct says there is nothing they can do to help. I'm at their mercy really. Any advice out there?

Perhaps the 522 is junk, I'll find out. I'm going to keep Direct for a month that way incase it's way bad I can go back. As far as picture quality my mom has Dish & I think hers is better than my Direct....Not really bad either way, much better than Adelphia cable. Her 301's have got to be the most boring reciever ever though... plain menu & interface.

 

[video62]

I switched from E* to D* a little over a year ago and never looked back, and I was a longtime E* customer (since 1996).

Don't let the caller ID thing sway you - just get a cordless phone with caller ID in the handset. I used to have it on my E* box but I don't miss it at all.

My two DirecTivos have been rock solid and the "DVR fee" is only $5 extra/month for my account, not for every DVR. The Tivo features are way ahead of whatever E* has now on their DVRs. No way would I jump to E* from D* - just wait it out and get your locals from D* when the become available.

 

[DirecTVTechCSR]

What I mean is, Directv owns Tivo in the same way it owns NFL sunday ticket. By contract. THis is why Directv sells an integrated unit with the Tivo name, whereas Dishnetwork does not. Hughes corp has a partnership with the Tivo company, and thus can produce and sell actual Tivo branded units. You wont find this with dishnetwork, and in fact, DN was actually sued awhile back for incorporating some trademarked tivo features into their dvr units.

Hope that cleared things up.

 

[video62]

Before you think an E* 522 is an acceptable alternative to a DirecTivo DVR, read this thread.

 

[Neutron]

None of the DISH DVR products can compare to a Directivo. Name one DISH DVR that does name based recording and season passes?

 

[hhh222]

I've had both and prefer D*. If you want a DVR I really, really, really, I mean I really prefer D*.

 

[ds650]

Alot of DVR features aren't important to me as it will basically be a glorified VCR. I don't want trouble though. If it's junk I'm in no contract & will send it back & reconnect my D* receivers.

Can anyone help with the rural co-op? It's killing my relationship with D*!

 

[charper1]

What I mean is, Directv owns Tivo in the same way it owns NFL sunday ticket. By contract. THis is why Directv sells an integrated unit with the Tivo name, whereas Dishnetwork does not. Hughes corp has a partnership with the Tivo company, and thus can produce and sell actual Tivo branded units. You wont find this with dishnetwork, and in fact, DN was actually sued awhile back for incorporating some trademarked tivo features into their dvr units.

Hope that cleared things up.

D* does not OWN anything. They pay TiVo for a license to brand their D* DVR's with the TiVo name and use the TiVo interface. That's all about to change anyway when that contract expires. Its not the name that makes or break a DVR anyway. The ReplayTV is a beter unit , but has less of name because they refuse partnerships so they can remain a user's device.

 

[reddice]

I liked my Dish PVR better. I think the Tivo is overrated and has many bugs. Plus I hate the 30 minute buffer. It stinks. I liked the 508 with the 1 hour buffer better.

 

[riggscm]

I liked my Dish PVR better. I think the Tivo is overrated and has many bugs. Plus I hate the 30 minute buffer. It stinks. I liked the 508 with the 1 hour buffer better.

You sir are a sick, sick man