It's Official, I Am Dumping Dish

[korsjs]

Bear with me for a moment, I have been waiting weeks to finally say I am dumping Dish.

I never thought I would be going back to cable, I though I would be switching to Direct TV. The deal my cable company had was to good to pass up. I get all channels and a HD DVR for around 53.00 dollars after tax for the first year. When Direct TV comes out with the new MPEG4 receivers later this year, I will most likely switch to them.

Some reasons I have left Dish Network are:

1. Lack of support for HD. Included in the cable price are all local HD channels except NBC. Also in the package from cable is TNTHD and Discovery HD. If I choose to add the HDPak from cable for 6.00 that would include ESPN HD, HDnet, HDmovies, and INdemand 1 and 2 (whatever they are called) . ESPN2 HD is supposed to be added shortly. Direct TV has announced that Tampa will be one of the markets scheduled for first release of local HD markets later this year. Dish Network has said they have no plans for HD until the end of 05. To me Direct TV has a good plan for HD.

2. I will finally get a DVR. Never had one before and really looking forward to it. I never trusted Dish PVRs with their unstable software and lack of advertised features. I know Charlie just announced that NBR would be coming for some of the older receivers, but I am just having a hard time believing it and if it does come will it work? When I move to Direct later this year, I plan on having two DVR and maybe a third. I do not want to pay Dish Network the DVR fee for each receiver, I like the idea of Direct TVs one fee per account. I also have more confidence in Direct TV to provide a working as advertised receiver more than I do with Dish.

3. I feel Dish is headed in a direction more like the cable companies with them wanting to lease receivers instead of people owning them. Not a big deal to most, but I would perfer to own instead of lease. Cable offers me a short term solution with a lease. The sad thing about Dish acting more and more like a cable company is that most cable companies have passed Dish on features and programming.

4. At one time I was proud to say I was a Dish Network customer. I recommended them to friends and family. I can no longer recommend them anymore. At one time their customer service was outstanding and it really showed that they where looking out for the customer. It does not seem like that anymore.

Well Charlie, it was fun for the first three years. We started having problems the last year when I got my 811. It came to the point that anytime something important came on TV, I would do a reboot hoping to make it through the night without any acting up. Software releases helped with the problem, but the 811 should have been working when it was released.

Nice knowing your Charlie.
Dish Network will now rest in peace in my household. Feb 2001 to Jan 2005.

 

[thiggin2]

I believe your talking about Brighthouse??? How did you get that deal??

 

[mboy]

Seems like they have even more HD then I am going to get with my cable Co.
Only things I will be missing from Dish are HDnet and Discovery HD. THAT"S IT!

 

[toto]

Only the 3 most watched HD channels

 

[mdonnelly]

Bear with me for a moment, I have been waiting weeks to finally say I am dumping Dish.

I never thought I would be going back to cable...

Let us know how you feel about cable after you've had it for a week or two. I'd be interested to know if cable is better for you (picture, equipment reliablity, stability, etc.). Have you checked the cable forums for user feedback?

 

[korsjs]

I believe your talking about Brighthouse??? How did you get that deal??

yes it is brighthouse. you have to tell them you want the satellite to cable customer deal. i called yesterday morning to get a feel for the price. when i called back later that day to confirm pricing, he told me that the deal the person told me that morning expired on 12/31. to make a long story short, i still got the deal with all the channels. from what the second guy told me, the current deal is the same except no movie channels. they will give those out at a reduced rate, but can't remember their current pricing.

just got off the phone with dish network with canceling my service effective this monday. wasn't as bad as some people say. they tried to tell me that dish will have the locals in hd someday. also said their picture quality was better than cable. i told them what deal i was getting and she nicely they could not match that and offered me a 921 for 549. the lady was professional and very nice.

i will let you guys know how i like the pic quality of the channels and how i like them. again, i should only be with them less than a year until direct tv comes out with their new customer deals for mpeg 4 receivers.

 

[BobMurdoch]

The main thing keeping me from bolting back to cable is the quality of their analog channels which is horrific.

D* is starting to look real good though.

 

[Khandurian]

The main thing keeping me from bolting back to cable is the quality of their analog channels which is horrific.

D* is starting to look real good though.

Ya, their analog signal can be horrific.. however... there ARE ways to clear up that problem.. especially on these NEW widescreen HD tv's...

First, run new cables (or have cable company do it for free as long as you paid for it the first time)... then, order the PACE HD Box, with DVI CABLE...

now, this is a must... and I say this from experience... if you have a new cable in the wall, the pace box, and dvi cable, your analog channels will look as good as the regular digital channels.... how do i know this? easy, I install those pace boxes every day

Khandurian.....

 

[korsjs]

The main thing keeping me from bolting back to cable is the quality of their analog channels which is horrific.

D* is starting to look real good though.

Cable is only a temp solution for me. Like I said, I will report back on the quality of the channels. When Direct Tv comes out with the new Mpeg4 hd boxes, I will switch. I am just tired of paying Dish money with no bright outlook on the future. To me, direct tv has one. I can only be a new customer once and i would rather wait until the new hardware is released.

 

[thiggin2]

they tried to tell me that dish will have the locals in hd someday.

Ya and we will all die someday too .

 

[korsjs]

tim, i am going to post in this topic the quality of the cable channels. you might want to call them and see if you can get the same deal.

 

[jenkinswoody]

The main thing keeping me from bolting back to cable is the quality of their analog channels which is horrific.

D* is starting to look real good though.

Amen!

 

[thiggin2]

tim, i am going to post in this topic the quality of the cable channels. you might want to call them and see if you can get the same deal.

My brother has Brighthouse in Largo and he loves it with no complaint. But he also gets it for free because he's a Roadrunner tech so he gets it for nothing . So I guess I would love it too if I didn't have to pay for it .

 

[korsjs]

My brother has Brighthouse in Largo and he loves it with no complaint. But he also gets it for free because he's a Roadrunner tech so he gets it for nothing . So I guess I would love it too if I didn't have to pay for it .

i am really looking forward to the dvr. i can't wait to be able to have all the features of the dvr. i will be seeing alot of programming that i don't normally get to see.

 

[Sky King49]

I had a problem yesterday and they thought a tech would have to come out which they said would cost me 99.00. I switched to Dish for one reason and one reason only...cheaper price. If I had to pay 99.00 it would be stupid for me to stay with them because any savings would be eaten up by one tech visit. Fortunately I was able to fix it myself but the first time they try to charge me...I will cancel and go with Direct TV...if they do the same I will drop them too. With Cable I never had to pay for anything extra for a tech visit.

 

[Larry]

i am really looking forward to the dvr. i can't wait to be able to have all the features of the dvr. i will be seeing alot of programming that i don't normally get to see.

I am in Pinellas County and we are fortunate enough to have cable competition. I have been checking out both companies and I know that Knology has a "watch one - record a different channel" HDTV DVR (although I don't know if it will do 2 HDTVs at once). Does the one you got/are getting from Brighthouse have this feature?

Unfortunately neither cable company carries NBC in HD. Judging from what I've seen from their OTA signal (which has shown marked improvement lately)...I think I know why it isn't carried yet. Just my luck to enjoy their programming more than the other networks (except the #$@* "reality" shows).

I had Brighthouse several years ago when they were still Time Warner. At that time their analog channels were terrible. But when we compared the digital channels to E*...I couldn't tell the difference (although my wife did think that TW might have been a little better). Now that more broadcasting is in HDTV, the analog problem will eventually become a thing of the past. However, they still carry many of the networks in analog that we are used to receiving with relatively good picture quality from E*. I suppose that's why I'm still in the "thinking about it" mode.

Sorry for the long post...I do hope you (korsjs) will reply to my question about the Brighthouse DVR...and that you will post a detailed report on the quality of your new service.

 

[korsjs]

i will post when i get the hdtv pvr. my install is tomorrow but will have to wait a couple of weeks for the hdtv pvr. they are going to give me a sd pvr to start off with and a hd receiver for free until the hd pvr comes available. i looked at the scientific atlantic website and it says the hd pvr will record two hd programs at a time and i can watch something that is already recorded. the one i am getting does not do more that one hd output. however, they do have a hd pvr model that you can tie into other hd boxes that will allow you to access the hd pvr. i am not in need of this since i only have one hdtv.

 

[korsjs]

Ok had the cable installed right before the jets/steelers game. here are my first impressions.

hd locals - same as over the air. big plus for me because i am in the airplane flight line and every time a plane flew over the OTA would freeze. no more freezing.

hd channel, hdnet, movies, inhd, discovery, etc - better than dish. dish networks customer service person told me dish had better quality. not true.

digital channels - better than dish

analog channels - below average, looks like one of your indepenent local channels from dish.

i got lucky and the cable guy did bring the hd dvr. set my first timer for 800 to record the bon jovi concert on INHD 2. it worked, timer started going at 800.

setting up timers/recordings - very easy. my first one i set up was dog the bounty hunter on a&e. it has a week in advance guide so i went to tuesday at 1000. dog the bounty hunter has their new ones on at 1000 and a repeat of a previous episode at 1030. i hit record at 1000 and it gave me the option to record this show only this time slot, record all of this show this channel, and record all the shows with this name. it was very easy and i set up more timers. can't comment on missing shows yet, but will give updates later this week.

things i like about the scientific atlantic 8300 - needs only one cable going in to record two shows at once and you can watch a recorded program at the same time as the two recordings are going. dish and direct should think hard and long about building this feature into future products. it is nice not to have splittlers behing the tv.

things i don't like - remote control, will take some getting use too and i don't like where the recall button is. i am use to the way the dish guide is set up by starting from 1 at the bottom and going higher when you go up. it is reversed for this box, will have to see if there is an option to change it. when i am in the guide, i am used to pushing the channel number to take me to the area and able to hit info to see what the program is about. when i do it on this one, it changes channels. i will have to see if there is a way to scroll through the guide easier than pusing the up and down buttons to scan the channels.

overall - very happy. more later.

 

[mboy]

Nice, I am getting an 8300 for Cablevision in a few weeks. Glad to here you are happier then with Dish. CAN NOT wait to make the switch. May have to take a vacation day to have it done earlier.

 

[korsjs]

no that i had some time to play with it. falcons/rams is done. i have been looking at the analog channels, and right now they don't look that bad.