DirecTV's current crop of receivers are woefully behind the times when compared to DISH Hopper, Comcast X1 or TiVo. They have virtually zero apps at a time when a large and growing percentage of Americans' viewing hours are now on-demand streaming. And the Genie UI just looks tired and outdated now, IMO.
I completely agree with this statement, the hardware is dated, the UI is basic, and they are not prioritizing adding features (or in some ways the equipment may not support additional features, i.e. apps). Adding Netflix to the C61 or HR54 may simply not be possible, but if it is they clearly have shown no interest in those type of partnerships which Comcast has embraces.
That said, nobody touches DirecTV in picture quality and reliability. We recently had a few hour outage with some channels, which seems to happen every few years. Streaming, from what I've experienced, Youtube TV has the highest reliability, yet they still have problems at least multiple times a year, and usually they stop working entirely - just happened a few weeks ago. Comcast is reliable in most areas, but has highly compressed their picture. It's not supposed to be the case that on demand looks significantly better than live programming. It's also not supposed to be the case that locals look good, but all cable channels look pixelated, but that is exactly what Comcast is doing. Dish has good picture quality, close to DirecTV, has improved versus years ago. Also has superior hardware, nobody could argue otherwise. That said, regular disputes, aggressive stance on dropping programming, and in the past year showing signs of dropping channels and walking away with intent, such as HBO and Fox Sports. Dish is showing they will target a core group of customers that want mainstream non-premium channels, and they are looking to exit the regional sports markets entirely, something they've always done in the New York area and others. Tivo, well, it's expensive and relies on cable, cable card is nearing end of life and it takes me back to the Comcast picture quality issues.
So they all have challenges and shortcomings. I have been bouncing between DirecTV and streaming the past few years, depending on the deal, but I've landed back at DirecTV at this time and if I can keep the price somewhat reasonable with an annual phone call I'll likely hang in for a while. They tend to give a gift card at sign up that covers the ETF after a year, so when they won't work with me on price they've already covered my cost to leave. It's a sad reality, but if they're willing to keep it somewhat reasonable (Choice with 2 TV's for $80-$100 is somewhat reasonable, $125 their current regular price with sports fee is not).
My thoughts:
DirecTV - pros - high picture quality / reliability, cons - price, dated UI equipment (though it works fine), and again price
Dish - pros - decent picture quality, strong equipment and UI, cons - loss of networks, disputes, clearly don't want to cater sports fans
Comcast - pros - decent equipment and UI and reliability, pricing is fair in bundles, cons - starting to drop channels (ID, WGN, TCM), picture quality is fair at best
Tivo - well, take Comcast and add some additional cost for Tivo, not as practical as it used to be since Comcast moved to X1 and dropped additional boxes to $5mo in most areas. Most aren't fans of the new UI.
Sadly most providers are getting worse instead of better due to the increasing costs, dropping networks, etc. DirecTV seems to stand firm and not drop networks, but is clearly not investing in the product anymore.
