I think I'm going to switch - help

[abarsami]

I'm close to LA zip 91302

I have directv. And am wanting to get into the hdtv scene.

I called dish and they offered 1 hdtv receiver, 2 dtv receiver, 6 mo free hd package.

Directv only offers me 150 credit to buy my own hdtv box nothing else.

Dish needs OTA antenna to get local HDTV channels. So I will need to purchase OTA antenna seperate.

Directv offers 4 hdtv local channels without OTA, just hdtv receiver.

I think I will switch to Dish, but am worried that the hdtv & sd picture is better with directv.

Is it worth it to switch? The monthly cost will be about the same.

 

[BFG]

Well most say the HD and SD picture is better on dish, so you get that one.

Also as you discovered you have to pay upfront costs to purchase HD and DVR equipment from D*, where E* will rent it to you for free. With dish You'll get at least CBS-HD, but the rest will require an antenna. And from http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx it looks like that will be very easy to do...

 

[abarsami]

They said one of the dtv receivers was a multi-receiver, so it would work in 2 rooms. Since I have 4 tv's.

I think dish was offering hd 811 receiver, and 2 522 dtv receiver.

Why is directv more popular if dish network is offering all these things for free?

 

[BFG]

So you called about a 4 room config? 1 HD and 3 SD with the 3 standards all being DVRs?

If so that would set you up with:
(1) 811
(1) 522
(1) 510

They only allow 1 522 per customer...

What do you mean when you say directv is more popular? Is it by the subscriber numbers, comments on here etc...

I think dish is just fine and I would much rather safe myself the hassle of paying the upfront costs for D* equipment, even if their equipment is manufactured.

 

[abarsami]

Yes your right 1 522, 1 510, 1 811

From all the advertising and heresay I hear directv name more than dish.

 

[rad]

You might want to review this thread, http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=37720, it's from someone that just left E* for D*, it can give you some comments on the two services.

As for OTA reception, do you have an antenna now that you can use for NTSC/analog reception, if yes, how's that picture? If you have ghosting then you might have a problem getting OTA digital channels due to multipath. Digital, unlike analog, will either give you a picture or you won't and I've seen others post that even though they have a farily straight path to the antenna farm for the stationt that the mountains play havoc with their signals.

You might want to also review some of the threads in http://www.dbstalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=87 and http://www.satelliteguys.us/forumdisplay.php?f=46 to see what folks have to say about the 811. Some folks love it, some folks wish they never say the thing. Just trying to make sure that you make an informed decision, sometimes the cheapest thing isn't the best.

 

[abarsami]

I don't have an antenna for NTSC/analog reception but I'll get one and try.

It seems people have trouble with OTA on the 811.

 

[BFG]

Locals will come in pretty easy in your zip code, so don't worry about that. Head to a place like Sears and pick up the zenith silver sensor, then take a compass and point it at 35 degrees.

 

[abarsami]

Will the silver sensor work with regular analog/ntsc so I could test before jumping ship?

 

[BFG]

Yes.

 

[lee espinoza]

and call this number 1800-600-8977 this directv retention number

 

[abarsami]

You think if I call that number will they give me 3 dvr's and 1 hd receiver to match dish?

 

[lee espinoza]

oh and dish as said they will not add any new hd for 1 to 2 years,

 

[lee espinoza]

You think if I call that number will they give me 3 dvr's and 1 hd receiver to match dish?

I Do not know call see what happens call atleast 2 times if you do not get what you want the first time you call

 

[abarsami]

Now I'm thinkin stick with directv for another 6 months and see what happens... since they uped my credit to 250 and gave me starz for $2/mo.

 

[hpman247]

oh and dish as said they will not add any new hd for 1 to 2 years,

I seriously doubt that. Charlie said on the last CC that there was not very much compelling HD coming until the end of the year, and they expect to have MPEG4 soon into 2006 i believe. He said that after MPEG4 implementation they would begin to add some HD channels, and he also said that they may add a few HD channels before then.

So 2 years I doubt, but I'd say within about 1 year or a bit less we will have more HD. Too bad I'll be off at college and my Mom will get to see this glory.

IMO E* SD is mucho better than D*'s. My grandma has D* and I cant stand the SD on her little 27", much less on my 51".