Potential Customer - Questions on DirectTV over my current U-Verse

[gizbug]

I ran some numbers, and in a two year period DirecTV would be 300 cheaper than what I pay now for my U-Verse. I do have some questions before I make a switch.

1) All the talk of bad/no reception during storms. Most of this true? Would the only fix be to buy an antenna to watch a few local channels during these times?

2) Is there a particualr brand/model number receiver I should ask for? Or take what they give me. I would get 1) HD DVR, and 2) Standard receivers.

3) Has anyone on the forum switched from ATT U-verse and care to comment on the differences with SD and HD viewings?


Thanks in advance

 

[rad]

#1 - Yes, rain/storm fade can be a problem, it depends on how much moisture is involved between your dish and the satellite. It could be heavy rain or just a VERY large thunderstorm cloud that causes the outage. However usually it's not a problem except for heavy rain/big storms. Some folks have reported that during hurricanes they didn't loose reception, I have outages just because one mother of a storm is in the area. If you do loose reception it's usually only for a few minutes.

#2 - All the receivers are DirecTV branded and you really can't ask for a particular model, you get what the installer has on the truck. IMHO I'd recommend the HD DVR since it can make use of Media Share, Video on Demand (via your provided internet connection) and tends to get all the new features.

#3 - I'll let others answer that have done this.

 

[dem372]

I ran some numbers, and in a two year period DirecTV would be 300 cheaper than what I pay now for my U-Verse. I do have some questions before I make a switch.

1) All the talk of bad/no reception during storms. Most of this true? Would the only fix be to buy an antenna to watch a few local channels during these times?

2) Is there a particualr brand/model number receiver I should ask for? Or take what they give me. I would get 1) HD DVR, and 2) Standard receivers.

3) Has anyone on the forum switched from ATT U-verse and care to comment on the differences with SD and HD viewings?


Thanks in advance

I switched from Directv to Uverse, and then back to Directv. My thoughts are this:

The SD picture is better with Uverse. I was so impressed with the pic quality of standard Uverse. The Directv HD quality is better, in my opinion. Keep in mind I am not picky, and not an expert on anything. But from my average joe perspective, HD with Directv is crisper.

Customer service is much, much better with Directv. I had horrible experiences with billing, account upgrades/changes, and support with uverse, which is one of the main reasons I switched back to Dtv.

One thing I miss about Uverse: the 4 tuner DVR was awesome and the On Demand was nice (although I think the HD DVR's with Dtv have On Demand of some kind, but I don't have an HD DVR (I am holding out for the HD Tivo).

Regarding your weather question. I was down much more with Uverse with intermittent freezes and stalls than I ever have been with Dtv and weather related outages. It has to really come down to lose signal, and when it goes out, it is back within minutes.

Also, not sure if this matters, but the Directv website and online account info is so much better, it isn't even comparable. Adding and deleting services from your account is a breeze, and with Uverse I always had issues.

Hope this helps...

 

[directmommy]

hddvrs are all capable of on demand programming, and directv ANY dvr above r 10 is eligible for record set up on the internet! which means you can be at work , and set up your dvr to record just by logging on to your directv account and setting up the record coolness huh

 

[gizbug]

I switched from Directv to Uverse, and then back to Directv. My thoughts are this:

The SD picture is better with Uverse. I was so impressed with the pic quality of standard Uverse. The Directv HD quality is better, in my opinion. Keep in mind I am not picky, and not an expert on anything. But from my average joe perspective, HD with Directv is crisper.

Customer service is much, much better with Directv. I had horrible experiences with billing, account upgrades/changes, and support with uverse, which is one of the main reasons I switched back to Dtv.

One thing I miss about Uverse: the 4 tuner DVR was awesome and the On Demand was nice (although I think the HD DVR's with Dtv have On Demand of some kind, but I don't have an HD DVR (I am holding out for the HD Tivo).

Regarding your weather question. I was down much more with Uverse with intermittent freezes and stalls than I ever have been with Dtv and weather related outages. It has to really come down to lose signal, and when it goes out, it is back within minutes.

Also, not sure if this matters, but the Directv website and online account info is so much better, it isn't even comparable. Adding and deleting services from your account is a breeze, and with Uverse I always had issues.

Hope this helps...

Thanks. I currently use the internet through u-verse. Did you have any problems keeping internet but ditching the cable?

 

[dem372]

Thanks. I currently use the internet through u-verse. Did you have any problems keeping internet but ditching the cable?

I didn't even try to keep it. I would have liked to, but I read about people who had to cancel their accounts completely and then start over with a completely new order and account number in order to separate the two. With my experience with ATT customer service, I decided I would rather just jump to another internet provider rather than attempt something complicated with them.

The good news is, once I canceled, they sent boxes to return my equipment quickly. I had read that people were having issues getting the material to return the stuff, and being charged for them. I had no issues.

 

[yourbeliefs]

My fiancee's college just picked up U-verse as their TV and internet provider. I hope this new deal doesn't f up my plans of bringing my dish and continuing my D* service.
Don't you need a special television to view U-Verse programming?

 

[dem372]

My fiancee's college just picked up U-verse as their TV and internet provider. I hope this new deal doesn't f up my plans of bringing my dish and continuing my D* service.
Don't you need a special television to view U-Verse programming?

nope, no special tv needed. My parents have Uverse on their old 23 inch Zenith. Looks pretty good actually.

Uverse isn't terrible. It just isn't as solid as Directv.

 

[Zellio2008]

Get a digital to analog coupon and buy this:

Amazon.com: Zenith DTT901 Digital TV Tuner Converter Box: Electronics

Put it somewhere like the kicthen and use it in big storms.