Thinking of switching from Dish to DTV...Questions

[FearTheVoices]

So i have been a pretty happy customer of Dish Network for about 7yrs now. However I am pretty unhappy with the new updates to my 1st generation hopper and how it has effected it's speed and also giving other issues at the same time(freezing ect..) I tried getting a 2nd generation Hopper but they want a new 2yr agreement which i think is bogus since the main feature of the 2nd gen hopper is built in sling, which is something i lost when i upgraded to the original hopper(from the VIP922)

I signed my mother up for DTV a couple years ago to get her to switch from Comcast(Dish wasn't available due to the line of sight) and she has been pretty happy with it. I think when she signed up she got the next receiver down from the top of the line one, but the menu system seems to be the same as the newer ones they advertise so i imagine they are all the same. Anyway...the one HUGE thing that bugs me about her DTV setup is all the pay per view channels and other fluff that is between all the channels you actually want to watch. Is there any setting to get rid of all of these or do you have to manually setup your own channel list to avoid these types of channels? It really ruins the whole experience IMO when you have to go through pages and pages of ads or pay per view stuff that should be at the tail end of the channel list, not spread out in sporadic sections it seems.


So..in addition to that above.

- What is there flagship receiver model

- On average how much better is the PQ HD channels compared to Dish? A percentage in your opinion would be good i guess. When watching at my mom's house it really does seem like night and day compared to what i have with Dish, She has the same top model Samsung plasma as me, only 1 year newer so i doubt her TV is causing the much better PQ itself.

- With Dish I can always call and find something to complain about every few months and get seemingly $10 off for 6 months or more, free HBO/Starzs or alike programming for 3 months at a whack. They are VERY good about this i must say and i have probably had free HBO/Starz/Cinemax about 10-12 times in 7yrs now. Can the same be done with DTV?

- SD programming is not a huge issue for me as i watch mainly HD, but i understand that DTV's is considered worse than Dish's from what i have read.

 

[dfergie]

You have favorites guide options you can set to put only the channels you wish to view in that guide.
HR44 Genie dvr is the top of the line right now, it varies on PQ, most are better, SD PQ is worse than Dish though. ( I have both)
Not sure on the haggling for price breaks.

 

[FearTheVoices]

Thanks..

So i just went through the DTV website just checking stuff out and adding it to the cart and got to the checkout screen. The chat specialist showed up so i asked him if there was a grace period after installation and he said no, if i cancel the next day i am charged with a $15 fee on top of another $475 fee or whatever....LOL that is comical. They think i am actually going to sign up with them if that is there policy?

 

[Jimbo]

Thanks..

So i just went through the DTV website just checking stuff out and adding it to the cart and got to the checkout screen. The chat specialist showed up so i asked him if there was a grace period after installation and he said no, if i cancel the next day i am charged with a $15 fee on top of another $475 fee or whatever....LOL that is comical. They think i am actually going to sign up with them if that is there policy?

Millions have ....

 

[lparsons21]

Thanks..

So i just went through the DTV website just checking stuff out and adding it to the cart and got to the checkout screen. The chat specialist showed up so i asked him if there was a grace period after installation and he said no, if i cancel the next day i am charged with a $15 fee on top of another $475 fee or whatever....LOL that is comical. They think i am actually going to sign up with them if that is there policy?

Yep, and I think Dish is the same way.

The HR44 is the top of line right now and is generally not hard to get if you call in your sign up either with Direct or an authorized installing dealer. Just tell them that's what you want and then ask the installer before they start any work for it.

The HD PQ is a bit better than Dish's, though the difference to my eyes on my 73" TV is slight. And while the SD is a bit worse, it seems it is better on the HR44 than in previous models. I just switched a couple of months ago and got to use both side-by-side so I think my opinion is valid.

One thing that you'll notice right away is that the GUI is barely a GUI at all and is like the older style interfaces that both D* and E* used in the past. Managing series links and such is easy enough though different. What you probably notice is that some things are easier, some about the same and some enough different that you might have to twiddle a bit.

 

[satinstallerguy]

HR44 >> Hopper..... Plus switching you get the 1st and 2nd year price breaks............. More channels available.

SIG

 

[DanG48]

I would like to offer my opinion for what it's worth. I don't really have any knowledge about Dish network so my views are for Directv only. I have been a customer of Directv since 1995. I switched from cable which was really bad. After I hooked up Directv the picture jumped off the screen compared to the cable. Since then I have never looked back. I have been through 4 hurricanes in Fl where I used to live and had my Directv receiver hooked up to the generator for power and with it blowing and raining 100mph I still had picture!!!! Price wise I don't know how it compares to dish since I think they have ala cart or something like that. I now live in Ga and this is Xfinity country but I will never go back to cable!!! Just for picture quality in HD, sports etc Directv beats everything out there hands down. You can read all kind of horror stories on this forum about people dishing Directv for whatever reason. For me I have had very few problems in the 20yrs I have been a customer. I do not work for Directv in any way. I just would like to say something good about them for change after all the neg things you read here. There is some of their policies I don't like but that's with any company these days...read all the fine print and ask all the questions you have before signing up!!

 

[Jimbo]

I would like to offer my opinion for what it's worth. I don't really have any knowledge about Dish network so my views are for Directv only. I have been a customer of Directv since 1995. I switched from cable which was really bad. After I hooked up Directv the picture jumped off the screen compared to the cable. Since then I have never looked back. I have been through 4 hurricanes in Fl where I used to live and had my Directv receiver hooked up to the generator for power and with it blowing and raining 100mph I still had picture!!!! Price wise I don't know how it compares to dish since I think they have ala cart or something like that. I now live in Ga and this is Xfinity country but I will never go back to cable!!! Just for picture quality in HD, sports etc Directv beats everything out there hands down. You can read all kind of horror stories on this forum about people dishing Directv for whatever reason. For me I have had very few problems in the 20yrs I have been a customer. I do not work for Directv in any way. I just would like to say something good about them for change after all the neg things you read here. There is some of their policies I don't like but that's with any company these days...read all the fine print and ask all the questions you have before signing up!!

I agree with a lot of what you said, except, its not all negative on the site for D*
What you find is people that are unhappy VOICE thier opinion and more often than not, those that are happy dont post about it is all.

 

[dalyew]

I switched from Dish last summer to DirecTV & just like you have noticed between your Dish PQ & your parents Directv PQ, directv pq blows Dish away. I'm a bit of a videophile so I may notice more than the average viewer. I've also noticed that the difference in pq is also more significant on the better TV's in my house, which are all over 50" Samsung & Panasonic plasmas, except one 32" Vizio LED.

Overall I think my Directv experience has been better than with Dish but I do miss some of the Hopper features, but those are just minor. The major feature of Dish I missed I made up by getting a "Sling" type box.

Btw, my main reason for leaving Dish (at least the straw that broke the camel's back) was technical problems with my original Hopper and Dish's insistence for me to pay $200 for the upgrade while they were upgrading others for free. I was willing to up for 2 more years on my contract but felt insulted by the lack of a reason why colleagues got free upgrades & they insisted on me paying. Of course the day I canceled they offered me the free upgrade & other goodies to stay but I already got Direct installed & saw that beautiful picture. ... no more hazy picture like the beginnings of eye sight depreciation. Haven't looked back since.

 

[ejb1980]

I switched from Dish last summer to DirecTV & just like you have noticed between your Dish PQ & your parents Directv PQ, directv pq blows Dish away. I'm a bit of a videophile so I may notice more than the average viewer. I've also noticed that the difference in pq is also more significant on the better TV's in my house, which are all over 50" Samsung & Panasonic plasmas, except one 32" Vizio LED.

Overall I think my Directv experience has been better than with Dish but I do miss some of the Hopper features, but those are just minor. The major feature of Dish I missed I made up by getting a "Sling" type box.

Btw, my main reason for leaving Dish (at least the straw that broke the camel's back) was technical problems with my original Hopper and Dish's insistence for me to pay $200 for the upgrade while they were upgrading others for free. I was willing to up for 2 more years on my contract but felt insulted by the lack of a reason why colleagues got free upgrades & they insisted on me paying. Of course the day I canceled they offered me the free upgrade & other goodies to stay but I already got Direct installed & saw that beautiful picture. ... no more hazy picture like the beginnings of eye sight depreciation. Haven't looked back since.

My parents have Dish. I fiddled with their TV for hours over several days trying to figure out why it looked so bad. I had heard that Dish PQ was bad - but could it be THAT bad? It is. Usually having a friend over who has Dish can get you a referral. PQ is honestly THAT noticeably better than Dish.

You will probably get the HR44, so I will spare you the HR34 warning. Don't be afraid of the fee, you don't go back. Unless you want Pac12, Epix, or a faster guide.

 

[rfc]

Thanks..

So i just went through the DTV website just checking stuff out and adding it to the cart and got to the checkout screen. The chat specialist showed up so i asked him if there was a grace period after installation and he said no, if i cancel the next day i am charged with a $15 fee on top of another $475 fee or whatever....LOL that is comical. They think i am actually going to sign up with them if that is there policy?

I switched from D* to Dish 5 months ago. Local HD channels have mosquito noise. I don't remember D* having it with HD Locals. Bothers me so much I purchased an OTA indoor antenna. Much better. D* wants me back. I explained that I would be interested in coming back if I could have 24hrs to compare their PQ to Dish. It seems that in really really fine print some where, it is written that a customer can terminate service within 24hr and not be charged. It was explained that it's 24hr, not 24hr and one minute or you'll be locked into the 2yr contract. D* is willing to replace my old dish with the new one, replace the 75 cable they installed in the past with a new cable and provide a Genie. Ask to speak to a supervisor about the 24hr situation.

 

[rfc]

I switched from Dish last summer to DirecTV & just like you have noticed between your Dish PQ & your parents Directv PQ, directv pq blows Dish away. I'm a bit of a videophile so I may notice more than the average viewer. I've also noticed that the difference in pq is also more significant on the better TV's in my house, which are all over 50" Samsung & Panasonic plasmas, except one 32" Vizio LED.

Overall I think my Directv experience has been better than with Dish but I do miss some of the Hopper features, but those are just minor. The major feature of Dish I missed I made up by getting a "Sling" type box.

Btw, my main reason for leaving Dish (at least the straw that broke the camel's back) was technical problems with my original Hopper and Dish's insistence for me to pay $200 for the upgrade while they were upgrading others for free. I was willing to up for 2 more years on my contract but felt insulted by the lack of a reason why colleagues got free upgrades & they insisted on me paying. Of course the day I canceled they offered me the free upgrade & other goodies to stay but I already got Direct installed & saw that beautiful picture. ... no more hazy picture like the beginnings of eye sight depreciation. Haven't looked back since.

I'm glad I read this post. I too am a videophile. Every 4-5 yrs I upgrade my gear. I now have a Sharp Elite PRO-70X5. The bigger the screen the more it shows a bad signal. Garbage in garbage out. BD is the best, followed by OTA then satellite. I had D* for 10yrs and decided to give Dish a try. I should have keep D* when I switched to Dish to compare, but I didn't. My bad. Locals in HD on dish have a lot of Mosquito noise and I'm focused on it now. I don't remember D* having that issue, but I was not looking for it. The only way I'll be able to find out is to go back to D*, keep Dish and compare. D* wants me back and agreed to replace my D* dish with a new style, replace the 75 wire and provide the Genie. They said if their PQ is no better than Dish, I can terminate within 24hr at no charge, no contract. However if it's 24hr and one minute, I'm locked into 2 yrs.

Would you say that your local HD channels on D* are better than Dish?

Locals get compressed the most. I figure if D* does a better job with locals, then all the other less compressed channels "should" have better pq too.

I will take a $200 hit leaving Dish and a lot of the perks they offer as a new subscriber. So going back to D* will cost me. Videophiles like myself have a hard time justifying a better dollar deal for a lesser quality picture. And that maybe because of the equipment. Smaller tv screens typically don't show imperfections as clearly as the larger screens do. A HD tv (not 4K) 40" vs 70" screen has the same pixels. The pixels get larger as the screen does. So they show digital noise more.

My question here is how well does D* vs Dish provide a signal with their equipment. Maybe the Genie is better then the Hopper? The Hopper converts to 1080 where the Genie let's native signals pass through. Example, my local Fox does 720. The hopper converts it to 1080 and may not be doing a good job of it. Where the Genie will pass it as 720 and let my TV or processor up convert it to 1080. The Genie passes what ever the signal is. The Hopper, you must go into the menu and choose what you want. 480, 720, 1080. I like that the Genie passes the native signal. Also the question of bit rates and compression affect how each company provides the signal.

 

[FearTheVoices]

Still thinking about switching now again...This whole thing of being charged a ETF fee with no grace period still boggles my mind though. Would i have a better chance of getting something like a grace period if i called?

 

[Jimbo]

My question here is how well does D* vs Dish provide a signal with their equipment. Maybe the Genie is better then the Hopper? The Hopper converts to 1080 where the Genie let's native signals pass through. Example, my local Fox does 720. The hopper converts it to 1080 and may not be doing a good job of it. Where the Genie will pass it as 720 and let my TV or processor up convert it to 1080. The Genie passes what ever the signal is. The Hopper, you must go into the menu and choose what you want. 480, 720, 1080. I like that the Genie passes the native signal. Also the question of bit rates and compression affect how each company provides the signal.

The Genie as with most all D* HD recvrs, will pass the signal thru in its native form as well as having the recvr do the processing, it depends on how you want to use it ...

It will do either.

 

[acostapimps]

So the Hopper don't have a choice in keeping the resolution the way you want it, but instead switches to the native resolution to that channel that's broadcasting in?, in other words uncheck unwanted resolution 720p or 1080i/p and stays that way regardless of the channel HD or SD, instead just flips to the default resolution for that channel.


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