Super perturbed....24 month commitment

[andreah1]

I do have the national locals and it took me a MONTH of crying, screaming, threatening AND trying to be nice and cordial about it. They would not give them to me because I live within 70 miles of some of the stations and of course the stations would not give me waivers even though they came out and could not pick up anything with antennas. Finally dtv gave them to me without the waivers but they are 2.50 for each station, give me a break. Just totally done with dtv, they were the best in my eyes for quite some time, I had Dish years ago, but now they're losing the battle fast as far as customer service and lying, etc. Just my humble opinion, not trying to start any battles. 13357

 

[Jimbo]

I do have the national locals and it took me a MONTH of crying, screaming, threatening AND trying to be nice and cordial about it. They would not give them to me because I live within 70 miles of some of the stations and of course the stations would not give me waivers even though they came out and could not pick up anything with antennas. Finally dtv gave them to me without the waivers but they are 2.50 for each station, give me a break. Just totally done with dtv, they were the best in my eyes for quite some time, I had Dish years ago, but now they're losing the battle fast as far as customer service and lying, etc. Just my humble opinion, not trying to start any battles. 13357

Technically, your not suppose to get the Nationals UNLESS your local networks send the waivers in and seeing they refused you .....

Fwiw, I get channels from 70 miles away with my set up, but terrain does have a lot to do with the issue.

As far as locals goes, D* should NOT be giving you them, you should consider yourself lucky.
Don't blame D* for something that is out of thier hands.

Fwiw, I don't know why I am actually trying to help you when your clearly leaving and don't care if you get this all worked out or not.

 

[andreah1]

Thanks Jimbo, smiling. I know they weren't supposed to give them to me but after I explained that we tried everything to receive them (and it was analog at that time) they finally gave in. I had found out that others in my area had been given them so they really had no choice. We live where there are lots of hills and valleys and it the middle of alot of trees. I think in order to get anything we probably would have had to build a tower and put the antenna on top, no thanks. I'm thankful that dish now has them and don't have to worry anymore. Thanks for your help though!!!! : )

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks Jimbo, smiling. I know they weren't supposed to give them to me but after I explained that we tried everything to receive them (and it was analog at that time) they finally gave in. I had found out that others in my area had been given them so they really had no choice. We live where there are lots of hills and valleys and it the middle of alot of trees. I think in order to get anything we probably would have had to build a tower and put the antenna on top, no thanks. I'm thankful that dish now has them and don't have to worry anymore. Thanks for your help though!!!! : )

NP

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Depending on when you did this comparison ... was your recordings Mpeg2 or Mpeg4 ?

Actually it won't depend upon when he did the comparison. Both are using Mpeg4 now, but with D*, your disc will definitely fill up faster, due to the higher bandwidth given to channels on D*.

A typical D* HD channel will have 50% or more bandwidth than a typical E* HD channel.

 

[Jimbo]

Actually it won't depend upon when he did the comparison. Both are using Mpeg4 now, but with D*, your disc will definitely fill up faster, due to the higher bandwidth given to channels on D*.

I was referring to when he recorded them , if they were quite old recordings, some of then could have been recorded in Mpeg2.

A typical D* HD channel will have 50% or more bandwidth than a typical E* HD channel.

And a 50% better picture !

 

[cfb]

Although you may not notice it unless you have a good tv. Our old 65" rear projection crt high def set looked pretty good back in 2004 when I got it. Looks lousy compared to our new 60" aquos lcd. I probably wouldnt see much difference in PQ between a lower bitrate HD signal and a higher bitrate one, at least up to a point.

 

[iceturkee]

first, of all, i wouldn't buy any newer dtv equipment from fleabay or carigslist without getting the rid number first, then calling dtv to verify the status. you could be wasting your money on something that might not even be activated if there is money owed on account from the previous person.

there is an old saying.....buyer beware!

 

[sonydude1966]

Yep, squeaky wheel gets the grease, I whined and got what I wanted, unfortunately in today's world that's what you have to do. As far as the difference in HD for the both, if it turns out to be crappy with dish I'll have to just say oh well and be stuck with it for 2 years. We're most excited about finally being able to get out locals, we live way out in the boonies and have been told for 5 years from dtv that "they are coming", yeah, quit lying. We've had people out here with OTA antennas and can't pick up anything so for us I think even though I said the HD was a big point for switching, the locals are the main point. Sick of waiting for dtv. Mind you, I have no problem with most of their programing, just tired of the customer service, I assume it probably going to be the same with just about any company nowadays though.

Every time I call D*, they mess something up, it's unreal. They've disconnected my DVR service three times, and once, all my service was accidently turned off. I was once charged for Choice AND Choice Plus in the same billing period.

Yes, I get this all fixed with a second phone call, but damn, why can't these reps push the right button and get the same info when you call in. I especially like how you can add premiums online, but when you try and cancel it, they tell you to call in. I hate calling D*. All I've gotten were idiots. Not saying they're all that way, but I haven't heard any good ones yet.

 

[camo]

Depending on when you did this comparison ... was your recordings Mpeg2 or Mpeg4 ?

I started the HD with Dish in Aug 08 and ended April 10. I recorded everything from sporting events, movies, etc. everything was HD content so what ever they used back then. I think MP4 the whole time with HD. Now that I think about it there harddrives combine with the receiver so it was more than 1Tbit. Think the harddrive on receiver was 300 or 400 megs.

 

[scoop8]

Every time I call D*, they mess something up, it's unreal. They've disconnected my DVR service three times, and once, all my service was accidently turned off. I was once charged for Choice AND Choice Plus in the same billing period.

Yes, I get this all fixed with a second phone call, but damn, why can't these reps push the right button and get the same info when you call in. I especially like how you can add premiums online, but when you try and cancel it, they tell you to call in. I hate calling D*. All I've gotten were idiots. Not saying they're all that way, but I haven't heard any good ones yet.

That's a bummer but one thing I've learned from being on these DTV forums is that there is a wide range of customer experiences with DTV. Me, I've had good luck with DTV since '99. I can only recall one CSR that came across to me as "having a bad day" but we all have those in this life. All of my other CSR/DTV interfaces have been positive.