Who LOVES Dish over DirecTV

[belawrence]

Content

With me and my family, it comes down to content. Equipment is a non-issue with us as our receivers (811, 4k, 1k) connected to ReplayTV units have worked without fail since purchase, and we wouldn't settle for anything less than networkable DVRs in our home. The few extra movie channels in addition to the specific international programming we get simply isn't available on D*. It's already been said, but your decision should be based on content. It does make me laugh when someone (particullary males) respond with "well, E* doesn't carry Oxygen, Goodlife, or Ovation".

 

[Neutron]

Not saying I want those particular channels, but most of us males who mention that have wives who want those channels!!

 

[rad]

Reread my post again. I merely pointed out your bashing in a DBSTalk thread a few months back which turned a simple Dish PVR vs. Tivo comparison thread into "us vs. them" total chaos.

Well, if you're going to update every post pointing out when someone has bashed E* in a prior post you're going to be one busy person. What point did your post in this thread have on the original question asked and my original response. As I ask, please point out in my respones where I bashed E* or said one untrueful thing.

I'm saying I don't take their dates and rumored future software additions/fixes to be etched in stone and never have. With the right level of expectations in place from the get go you avoid all kinds of disappointments in life. Dish Network as a company isn't the exception to the rule when you look at emerging technologies, software, and hardware which are constantly fine tuned, refined, reworked, and sometimes even delayed a few times over before things eventually evolve to a more finished state. Things change in the technology sector all the time. Its just a fact of life. Thats the nature of the beast if you will. You have to realize this is no different from motherboard and chipset revisions to varying pci express versions and no different from leading edge companies pulling the plugs on "the next big thing" when it becomes apparent what once looked so promising on the drawing boards now looks a bit dated in the grand scheme of things. Whether its Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Nvidia, ATI, Duke Nukem Forever, True Fantasy Online etc... this kind of thing happens all the time[i/] RAD.

Maybe you don't but there are those that make buying desicions based on what the company says. Let's compare E* and D* practices on making announcements vs. keeping their mouths shut. OK, a E* customer is interested in purchasing a PVR. They really want name based recording, which E* doesn't have now but has announced as coming (originally said by 4th qtr but on the last chat has already started to say the date is slipping into early 2005). Now he knows that D* has that now but E* has said that they will get it, so he goes out and spends $1k on a 921 vs. a HR10-250 from D*. Fast foward to 1 year from now, E*'s changed their mind and due to whatever reason they've announced that the 921 will not have NBR and never will. So you as a customer are just supposed to shrug your shoulders and say sh*t happens? Sorry, but I don't but that argument, if a company says that they are going to do something then they better damn well do it or offer to fully refund your $'s.

As for the Dishwire changes, I never purchased a 921 even though I have an HD ready set. For one, I don't feel the current HD Package on Dish or DirecTV offers enough to justify the cost of having it. Also, I'm not one to be an early adopter where these kinds of things can come back to bite you in the ass and the price of the receiver itself was also too high for my liking personally. You knowingly take that inherent risk when you agree to be an early adopter. I feel your pain, but these are the exact same growing pains early adopters faced buying HD sets which only featured analog component inputs before networks and pay channels made plans to only allow the highest level of 1080i HD detail on sets which featured DVI. These are also the exact same things people run into all the time trying to buy the best PC for the buck, DVD player, or most compatible DVD recorder when standards are constantly evolving.

Sorry, bad wording on my part, I never meant to imply that you had a 921, (I never did eithee) but relating what others have posted as doing based on information provided by E*. Sorry but your example is not the same as what I'm saying about the 921 and Dishwire. E* came out and made a very specific statement about Dishwire and that they WOULD be providing support for specific D-VHS decks that caused people to purchase a 921. They have done this in the past also with other products, such as saying that OpenTV would be on the 6000 but then changing their minds. Now if E* would have done what D* has on the Tivo's concerning those two USB ports on the back then things would have been different. D* has never said anything about the USB ports being used for anything. Everyone keeps guessing that HMO will be coming but nobody at D* has ever said that it would. So if it never shows up that's OK because it was never advertised so nobody made a purchasing decision based on inaccurate/false information provided by a company.

My two cents. I used to sell DirecTV along with Tivo's, standard DirecTV receivers, and UltimateTV's. I own a 501 and 721 which suits all my purposes perfectly well. Both providers offer very similar results at the end of the day whether you choose one or the other. Two different routes. Two very similar results in the end. I don't think its a night and day comparison. For me, not having to pay any extra Tivo fees for the ability to record what I want when I want to is ultimately a pretty nice savings advantage over DirecTV. I'd just as soon rather spend that money on more important things if I can, so I do. Programming costs and channels offered in my market are both incredibly comparable. Picture and sound clarity are also both very similar from what I've observed. If Verizon winds up offering HD through fiber-to-the-premises rollouts sooner rather then later, I'll be extremely interested in looking at what kinds of television offerings they will be looking to provide to compete with Comcast Cable here.

As I said in my original response the 510 (including 501/508) are not a bad box, just no NBR, which may or may not actually make it in the future. Now you mention not having to pay extra Tivo fees, agreeded the 501 and 721 don't have those fees. But this user is getting a 510, which does have a $4.95 PVR fee, care to say what extra features the 510 has over a 501 or 508 that justify that fee (you brought up the issue).

 

[tony17]

Thanks for all the input. I just wanted to point out that the most important thing to me is the stability of the boxes and the ease of use for the PVR, not the different channels offered by each, as neither one has any channels that are must have for me (except maybe YES with direct). I am extremely happy with the Tivo and wanted to just get the feeling from anyone that has had both and loves their Dish PVR over the Tivo. I was going to go with dish to simply try it out for a year and get some free PVR’s and an HDTV box, and then if I liked it better to stay with them for a while. However, I wanted to make sure that I would not be dissatisfied with the PVR and have to hear the wife and kids for a full year (contract term) and end up switching back to Direct. It doesn’t seem to me that anyone who has had both the tivo and dish pvr can compellingly convince me that I will be just as happy with the dish box, so I think I will just stick with Direct for now. Thanks again for all of the info.

 

[GaryPen]

Thanks for all the input. I just wanted to point out that the most important thing to me is the stability of the boxes and the ease of use for the PVR, not the different channels offered by each, as neither one has any channels that are must have for me (except maybe YES with direct). I am extremely happy with the Tivo and wanted to just get the feeling from anyone that has had both and loves their Dish PVR over the Tivo.

Then DEFINITELY stay with DirecTV. They have the stability and reliability. They have YES. They have Tivo. Why switch?

Like I said: call DirecTV, ask for "customer retention", and ask for the $99 HD upgrade.

 

[WeeJavaDude]

Then DEFINITELY stay with DirecTV. They have the stability and reliability. They have YES. They have Tivo. Why switch?

Like I said: call DirecTV, ask for "customer retention", and ask for the $99 HD upgrade.

I would agree with Gary... Sounds like you have a good match and are happy... The $99 HD upgrade seems like a decent compromise. Changing services can be a pain also in terms of installation. If you have something working good for you, Why change.

 

[GaryPen]

Like they say: "If it ain't broke..."