Thinking of switching to DIRECTV

[cournaextra]

I have been with Dish for 8 years now and my lease has been up for a while, I was wanting to upgrade both receivers to new HD receivers, so I decided to compare packages from Dish and Directv.

I currently have 1 - 811 and 1 std def receiver. I subscribe to the Top 200 pkg with locals and the older 9.99 HD pkg.

Looking on the Dish builder site, I see that keeping the same programing (Top 200, HD, Locals) , an 18 month lease would cost me 58.99/month after rebates.
The rebates are applied over 10 months, so month 11, my bill would increase by $20/month to 78.99.

Looking at the DIRECTV site, I see that the same comparable package (Choice Xtra +HD and locals) with a 12 month commitment is 59.97/month after rebates.
The rebate is applied for the full 12 months. After the 12 months, my bill would be 69.97/month, but my lease would be up as well and still cheaper than Dish.
I do realize that DIRECTV will be charging me $99 for the second receiver.

It also looks like the channel selection is much better in the DIRECTV package than the Dish pkg which is one of the main driving points of making the switch.

Am I missing anything?

Any Pros/Con's for switching or not switching?

Thanks for your help

 

[taylor2767]

I have been with Dish for 8 years now and my lease has been up for a while, I was wanting to upgrade both receivers to new HD receivers, so I decided to compare packages from Dish and Directv.

I currently have 1 - 811 and 1 std def receiver. I subscribe to the Top 200 pkg with locals and the older 9.99 HD pkg.

Looking on the Dish builder site, I see that keeping the same programing (Top 200, HD, Locals) , an 18 month lease would cost me 58.99/month after rebates.
The rebates are applied over 10 months, so month 11, my bill would increase by $20/month to 78.99.

Looking at the DIRECTV site, I see that the same comparable package (Choice Xtra +HD and locals) with a 12 month commitment is 59.97/month after rebates.
The rebate is applied for the full 12 months. After the 12 months, my bill would be 69.97/month, but my lease would be up as well and still cheaper than Dish.
I do realize that DIRECTV will be charging me $99 for the second receiver.

It also looks like the channel selection is much better in the DIRECTV package than the Dish pkg which is one of the main driving points of making the switch.

Am I missing anything?

Any Pros/Con's for switching or not switching?

Thanks for your help

Yeah the D* package only consist of about 5-6 channels of HD.

 

[Voyager6]

For HD on D* it is a 24 month commitment not 12 month.

 

[tsduke]

Are you wanting an HD-DVR or just a HD receiver?

 

[Poke]

Yeah I would see about a upgrade plan for Dish going to Direct would be a major step back wards.

 

[cournaextra]

Are you wanting an HD-DVR or just a HD receiver?

Just HD, no need for a DVR.

 

[harshness]

Looking on the Dish builder site, I see that keeping the same programing (Top 200, HD, Locals) , an 18 month lease would cost me 58.99/month after rebates.

As an existing customer, you're not eligible for deals constructed with the Dish Builder; it is for new customers only.

As was pointed out previously, any D* HD receiver is considered advanced technology and carries a two year programming commitment with it. As a new subscriber, you'll likely be eligible for a "free" H20 lease.

Make sure all of the channels that you desire are available in the D* package that you're contemplating (or that there are other channels that will tip the balance). Counts aren't particularly valid in this day and age of counting music channels and homegrown content.

You can replace both of your current receivers with a ViP222 for a reasonable cost and save $4 on versus having two receivers.

 

[cournaextra]

As an existing customer, you're not eligible for deals constructed with the Dish Builder; it is for new customers only.

Make sure all of the channels that you desire are available in the D* package that you're contemplating (or that there are other channels that will tip the balance). Counts aren't particularly valid in this day and age of counting music channels and homegrown content.

No, I wasn't really looking at counts, just the different content that was available like DIY, Science Channel, Military Channel and the 2 Discovery channels that are included in the D* pkg but only included in the TOP 250 from E*

 

[KAB]

Just HD, no need for a DVR.

If you ever had a DVR, you would not be saying that. I could not live without it, as most folks here would concur.

 

[boba]

Your lease never ENDS your programming contract may expire but you never own leased equipment with either service. Directv is promising loads of HD channels in the Sept to Dec.31st time frame, why not wait until they are a reality before switching.

 

[cournaextra]

Your lease never ENDS your programming contract may expire but you never own leased equipment with either service. Directv is promising loads of HD channels in the Sept to Dec.31st time frame, why not wait until they are a reality before switching.

You are correct, my programming commitment expired 4 months ago, and I will continue to pay the same amount if I do nothing. It just that if I am going to switch, it's a good time of year to do it. I wanted to at least get the locals in HD before the Fall football season.

 

[ummad72]

if you get the HD DVR reciever (622 i believe) its has the OTA tuner built into it. Thats how i watch my locals in HD. BEST PQ i have ever seen. besides this is suposed to be the best HD DVR reciever ever. i love it