Some questions about DirecTV vs. DISH Network

[Minto Took]

As of right now I have DISH Network, but I'm thinking of going to DirecTV due to the sports packages--most notably the Big Ten Network and MLB Extra Innings--since my girlfriend and I are huge Red Sox fans and I love college football.

Regarding setup, this is for a five year old 20" SD television.

First question involves "moving." I currently get my Indianapolis locals through DISH thanks to a "move" I did earlier this year. I was wondering if I would have any trouble or if its possible to do a similar "move" with DirecTV.

My second question involves picture quality. I get mixed feelings from a lot of places as to where both the SD picture quality of D* and E* are with respect to each other. I really like the picture quality I get with E* although I can deal with the Comcast feed my girlfriend gets at her house in Boston. Worst case, if its true that D* pales in picture quality to E* as so many people say, should I even still consider going to DirecTV (probability for finally getting a HDTV soon is roughly 38%)?

Any questions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

/edit: I also remembered when I was first getting satellite TV service that DirecTV's DVR required a land line while DISH's DVR doesn't. Is it true that I will still need a land line for a DirecTV DVR? And if so, are there some tricks to get around that limitation?

/edit^2: After some Googling, its technically possible for me to "move" to an area with Indianapolis locals. But does anyone have any reports on doing a "move" with DirecTV?

/edit^3: "Some" questions, ha. What I'd like to know now is what satellites and transponders come with the single LNB dish (what I'll most likely get as a SD customer) in the Midwest region.

 

[satjay]

As of right now I have DISH Network, but I'm thinking of going to DirecTV due to the sports packages--most notably the Big Ten Network and MLB Extra Innings--since my girlfriend and I are huge Red Sox fans and I love college football.

Regarding setup, this is for a five year old 20" SD television.

First question involves "moving." I currently get my Indianapolis locals through DISH thanks to a "move" I did earlier this year. I was wondering if I would have any trouble or if its possible to do a similar "move" with DirecTV.

My second question involves picture quality. I get mixed feelings from a lot of places as to where both the SD picture quality of D* and E* are with respect to each other. I really like the picture quality I get with E* although I can deal with the Comcast feed my girlfriend gets at her house in Boston. Worst case, if its true that D* pales in picture quality to E* as so many people say, should I even still consider going to DirecTV (probability for finally getting a HDTV soon is roughly 38%)?

Any questions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

/edit: I also remembered when I was first getting satellite TV service that DirecTV's DVR required a land line while DISH's DVR doesn't. Is it true that I will still need a land line for a DirecTV DVR? And if so, are there some tricks to get around that limitation?

Well I can try to comment on a few of your questions....As far as picture quality, your get both on each side will say there pciture is better I prefer DTV...Though I have not seen HD from Dish. So I can comment on that.

As far as the land line. Dont need it. I have a DVR and no land line phones. DTV would like you to be connected for PPV purchases. But you can order things online

 

[FlyingJ]

Big Ten Network and MLB EI...sounds like a no-brainer to me. 20 inch SD TV, no, I don't believe that you will be able to see any difference at all between Dish and DirecTV. On the 38%, Dude, do you want to see all of the MLB EI games in HD for 2008? I bet you do! You think Fenway looks nice in SD on that set, wait till you see Ortiz on your new HD set!

 

[MLBurks]

Based on SD picture quality, I was with DISH and I have to say that DISH beats DTV's PQ hands down. But I look for that to improve once the new satellite goes up and bandwidth increases. And you don't need a phone line hooked up. I know DISH will charge you if you don't but DTV does not.

 

[Minto Took]

As far as the land line. Dont need it. I have a DVR and no land line phones. DTV would like you to be connected for PPV purchases. But you can order things online

I also heard that a land line is needed for software updates. Is that true?

You think Fenway looks nice in SD on that set, wait till you see Ortiz on your new HD set!

I have at her uncle's house. A great way to pass time during boring games was counting the beads of sweat.

 

[MLBurks]

I also heard that a land line is needed for software updates. Is that true?

No. Software updates come through the satellite dish.

 

[dishrich]

First question involves "moving." I currently get my Indianapolis locals through DISH thanks to a "move" I did earlier this year. I was wondering if I would have any trouble or if its possible to do a similar "move" with DirecTV.

Works just the same as it would w/DISH - not a problem...

 

[harshness]

Works just the same as it would w/DISH - not a problem...

Hold on a minute there, pilgrim. Are you sure that Indianapolis isn't on a spotbeam? If it is, this could complicate "moving".

 

[Brewer4]

Hold on a minute there, pilgrim. If OP is outside of the Indy spotbeam, there is no "moving" to get them. D*'s HD spotbeams are very tight and don't cover the intended market in rare cases. At more than 50 miles away, I'd say the chances of a successful "move" are slim.

Its a bit better than 50 miles but that would vary by market.

 

[Minto Took]

Hold on a minute there, pilgrim. Are you sure that Indianapolis isn't on a spotbeam? If it is, this could complicate "moving".

I already checked a map and I'm within the Indianapolis spotbeam.

 

[Brewer4]

I already checked a map and I'm within the Indianapolis spotbeam.

If looking for HD, the spotbeam is more narrow and nobody really has a good grasp on the beam range or transponders. Directv keeps changing them and every time we seem to get a handle on them, it morphs. So the SD spotbeam is wider and you may have seen the 119 range. Just keep a rule of thumb of around 100 miles from the center of the beam or DMA. Its not perfect science but as Harshness mentioned every market is different and there is no guarantee it works. I know for a fact 120 miles or so works around Boston as confirmed by a few other forum participants.

 

[dishrich]

Hold on a minute there, pilgrim. Are you sure that Indianapolis isn't on a spotbeam? If it is, this could complicate "moving".

No, because I wasn't concerned at all, since I was SURE W.la was within the Indy spot...

FWIW, I'm obviously MUCH farther away from Chicago & we get BOTH their SD & HD spot locals just fine downstate.

 

[Brewer4]

No, because I wasn't concerned at all, since I was SURE W.la was within the Indy spot...

FWIW, I'm obviously MUCH farther away from Chicago & we get BOTH their SD & HD spot locals just fine downstate.

Great news dishrich. So the two epicenters of the cities (Springfield, Chicago) are 200 miles according to mapquest. This may not be applicable to all cities since Chicago is a very large market but good to know. I will adjust my rules of thumb.

 

[dishrich]

This may not be applicable to all cities since Chicago is a very large market but good to know. I will adjust my rules of thumb.

Well, I'm not sure I'd be telling you to adjust them - I'd rather err on the side of caution & use YOUR rules. I was just trying to explain to the OP that W.La is NOT far away from Indy at all, so I felt there wasn't a spotbeam issue to begin with. In my experience, if you are in an adjacent DMA that is next to one served by a spot, you're probably for the most part safe. But again, YMMV. In my area, we are TWO DMA's away from Chicago. (Peoria-Bloomington is between us & Chicago )

I'll be honest & tell you at least as far as the Chicago SD spots go, they are NOT anywhere as strong as the CONUS beams, or the spots for St.Louis (I have some clients that get St.Louis locals instead) or Indy. (the Indy beam is actually STRONGER here than the Chicago beam) But, the Chicago spots ARE strong enough to hold signal lock, but are the first to go in a good downpour. Myself, I put in a 3' dish f/101 to counteract the weak Chicago spotbeam & it definitely holds lock better than a plain 18" dish.

But, because I (& many others) LUV the Chicago locals so much, (you get DOUBLE the amount of stations that you do with ours or the STL DMA, as well as ALL the Chicago nets are O&O, which means pre-emptions are VERY rare) we are willing to put up with this slight inconvenience.

 

[Joe Diamond]

As an installer on the east coast.

A recent cx reported LOCAL channels were better that DISH or DTV from the new analog
antenna I hung for the purpose. Consider OA antenna as part of your TV system. Both DTV or DISH can use the same cable for their sat feed & the over air signal; that is what diplexers are for.

Dish has more HD channels but word on the street is that the DISH eq is more prone to problems that DTV.

DTV ...DVRs require two cables (for now) but not a phone line. You will get pressure to connect one, however. DTV screws the installer on this while DISH charges you five bucks a month.

I think this is a good time to wait and see. The new DTV sat goes up soon. Things could change or even improve.

As a generalization I see folks changing to DTV from DISH for program availability, including sports.(phone reqd) & ther outdoor channel & the Western channel. Folks leave cable for service & signal outage issues. The money is going to be about the same but ......

whatever works at your az, lat & long all depends on your tilt.

Joe

 

[harshness]

Both DTV or DISH can use the same cable for their sat feed & the over air signal; that is what diplexers are for.

Diplexing OTA is not available with the current DIRECTV behemoth dish setup.

 

[Minto Took]

Diplexing OTA is not available with the current DIRECTV behemoth dish setup.

Not only that, but going OTA I can only get a very blurry CBS with no regular season NFL license and an evangelical Christian channel.

 

[dishrich]

Consider OA antenna as part of your TV system. Both DTV or DISH can use the same cable for their sat feed & the over air signal; that is what diplexers are for.

As harsh correctly pointed out, you cannot diplex on the new D* HD dishes.
Or, let's put it this way - if you ARE doing this now, you're probably going to have some very upset customers when D10 is activated.

As a generalization I see folks changing to DTV from DISH for program availability, including sports.(phone reqd)

No, you do not HAVE to have a phone f/sports - don't believe EVERYTHING in your D* lessons.
(BTW, I have MANY sports clients w/out phones...)

 

[Minto Took]

As harsh correctly pointed out, you cannot diplex on the new D* HD dishes.
Or, let's put it this way - if you ARE doing this now, you're probably going to have some very upset customers when D10 is activated.




No, you do not HAVE to have a phone f/sports - don't believe EVERYTHING in your D* lessons.
(BTW, I have MANY sports clients w/out phones...)

It will be a long time coming when D* and E* catch up to TiVo and allow customers to plug their receivers into their home networks instead of their phone lines.

Since the ViP622 already has an Ethernet port, such a thing would only be a software update away.

 

[harshness]

It will be a long time coming when D* and E* catch up to TiVo and allow customers to plug their receivers into their home networks instead of their phone lines.

You should be aware that the latest TiVo model doesn't feature the Multi-Room Viewing (MRV) network functions either.

TiVo doesn't care where your TiVo is located as they don't provide any local programming. In order not to run afoul of FCC regulations, D* and E* must know with relative certainty that your receivers are located in your home. Both company's flagship receivers have Ethernet capability (and D* is even using theirs in a limited fashion)

When TiVo offers MRV in the Series 3, then you can cite them as an example of why MRV should be available from the satcasters.