Satellite TV
09-30-2009, 06:47 PM
#31
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Right now it looks like the Diamonbacks @ Giants game will be on at 7pm in HD.
09-30-2009, 10:07 PM
#33
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i've been w/DirectTV for almost 2 yrs, and don't have any complaints other than....
--i no longer get NBAtv...thought it was part of my programming package (Choice Extra HD), but apparently, it was only an introductory promo offer thru the first season.
--they just took away my ECL (ESPN Classic) channel too, so no more Sportscentury, old school NBA games or boxing matches.
To answer a few of your specific concerns......
Pros of DirectTV: (as opposed to Comcast. never checked into Dish)
more channels
better picture quality
generally, more inexpensive+less frequent price hike$
better assortment of programming packages, esp for sports
Cons: (for moi, primarily installation related)
a lot of installers are lazy and just want to use/run as little cable as possible, so most will just run it from the dish to the nearest wall behind your tv & punch a hole wherever that may be. i'm a pretty good schmoozer, so i was able to sweet talk my installer into giving me a more low-pro/neater install for the living room. he hid the line behind the rain gutter running down the side of the house. but he had to revert back to the standard install method for the rear bedrooms cuz hiding the lines back there would've required pulling a bunch of the ground floor ceiling panels and then drilling several holes in the side wall, structural beams. i don't use the yard much, so i figured, "Out of sight...out of mind."
another installation aspect that a lota people don't dig w/satellite tv is that you gotta have a spot to mount the dish. lucky for me, the dude was able to mount mine to a kitchen exhaust pipe behind the chimney, so everything is pretty much obscured from the street views.
only other con i can think of is that rain & inclement weather mess up the reception, but i've only had a handful of probs w/intereference in my 2 years of service. i've never hand to re-aim/calibrate the dish either. <KNOCK ON WOOD>
oh, and i don't really watch the Bay Area Comcast Sports Channels cuz I'm not really a stickball fan, & my heart can't take following the "Warriors" too often, but I do get those channels w/my package (Choice Extra HD). I pay about $80/month now in my 2nd yr of a 2 yr contract. the 1st yr I paid about half that, so I'm gonna have to play hardball w/their Customer Retention Dept when it comes time to re-up in Jan.
--i no longer get NBAtv...thought it was part of my programming package (Choice Extra HD), but apparently, it was only an introductory promo offer thru the first season.
--they just took away my ECL (ESPN Classic) channel too, so no more Sportscentury, old school NBA games or boxing matches.
To answer a few of your specific concerns......
Pros of DirectTV: (as opposed to Comcast. never checked into Dish)
more channels
better picture quality
generally, more inexpensive+less frequent price hike$
better assortment of programming packages, esp for sports
Cons: (for moi, primarily installation related)
a lot of installers are lazy and just want to use/run as little cable as possible, so most will just run it from the dish to the nearest wall behind your tv & punch a hole wherever that may be. i'm a pretty good schmoozer, so i was able to sweet talk my installer into giving me a more low-pro/neater install for the living room. he hid the line behind the rain gutter running down the side of the house. but he had to revert back to the standard install method for the rear bedrooms cuz hiding the lines back there would've required pulling a bunch of the ground floor ceiling panels and then drilling several holes in the side wall, structural beams. i don't use the yard much, so i figured, "Out of sight...out of mind."
another installation aspect that a lota people don't dig w/satellite tv is that you gotta have a spot to mount the dish. lucky for me, the dude was able to mount mine to a kitchen exhaust pipe behind the chimney, so everything is pretty much obscured from the street views.
only other con i can think of is that rain & inclement weather mess up the reception, but i've only had a handful of probs w/intereference in my 2 years of service. i've never hand to re-aim/calibrate the dish either. <KNOCK ON WOOD>
oh, and i don't really watch the Bay Area Comcast Sports Channels cuz I'm not really a stickball fan, & my heart can't take following the "Warriors" too often, but I do get those channels w/my package (Choice Extra HD). I pay about $80/month now in my 2nd yr of a 2 yr contract. the 1st yr I paid about half that, so I'm gonna have to play hardball w/their Customer Retention Dept when it comes time to re-up in Jan.
10-01-2009, 07:35 AM
#34
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I've been on Comcast, Dish and now Direct TV. I liked Comcast because of the Internet, but Dish offered a lot more channels for less, so I switched. The dish customer interface is not as smooth as Direct TV, but I liked the channels that Dish had more than DTV.
The problem is that the 1 channel that I really watched moved from Dish to DTV, so I moved. I don't hate DTV, but I don't think it's quite as good as Dish.
The problem is that the 1 channel that I really watched moved from Dish to DTV, so I moved. I don't hate DTV, but I don't think it's quite as good as Dish.
10-01-2009, 10:06 AM
#35
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Location: Santa Rosa, CA
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I have Dish and the service is alright. I like it better than Comcast, which I used to have. I do get Comcast Sports and I like the flexibility of seeing programs 3 hours early or at their regular time for many stations.
My main issue with Dish is their customer service/accounting and their installers. The installer cut my Comcast (for internet) cable and wouldn't come back out to fix it, claiming that he didn't know how. I had to pay Comcast to come out and fix it and have Dish credit my account. Of course, they screwed that up and ended up charging me an extra $100 isntead. It was a battle, but I got it sorted out. Still, it left me feeling not so great about my new, spiffy satallite tv provider.
By the way, the Comcast guy that came out to fix it said that he had done nothing but fix these types of issues from Dish installers that weekend. It may just be a grudge between installers in my area, but I would still keep a close eye on the Dish installer and your bills if that's what you decide to go with.
My main issue with Dish is their customer service/accounting and their installers. The installer cut my Comcast (for internet) cable and wouldn't come back out to fix it, claiming that he didn't know how. I had to pay Comcast to come out and fix it and have Dish credit my account. Of course, they screwed that up and ended up charging me an extra $100 isntead. It was a battle, but I got it sorted out. Still, it left me feeling not so great about my new, spiffy satallite tv provider.
By the way, the Comcast guy that came out to fix it said that he had done nothing but fix these types of issues from Dish installers that weekend. It may just be a grudge between installers in my area, but I would still keep a close eye on the Dish installer and your bills if that's what you decide to go with.
10-01-2009, 10:21 AM
#36
Old School
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Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Union City
Posts: 14,983
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I have Dish and the service is alright. I like it better than Comcast, which I used to have. I do get Comcast Sports and I like the flexibility of seeing programs 3 hours early or at their regular time for many stations.
My main issue with Dish is their customer service/accounting and their installers. The installer cut my Comcast (for internet) cable and wouldn't come back out to fix it, claiming that he didn't know how. I had to pay Comcast to come out and fix it and have Dish credit my account. Of course, they screwed that up and ended up charging me an extra $100 isntead. It was a battle, but I got it sorted out. Still, it left me feeling not so great about my new, spiffy satallite tv provider.
By the way, the Comcast guy that came out to fix it said that he had done nothing but fix these types of issues from Dish installers that weekend. It may just be a grudge between installers in my area, but I would still keep a close eye on the Dish installer and your bills if that's what you decide to go with.
My main issue with Dish is their customer service/accounting and their installers. The installer cut my Comcast (for internet) cable and wouldn't come back out to fix it, claiming that he didn't know how. I had to pay Comcast to come out and fix it and have Dish credit my account. Of course, they screwed that up and ended up charging me an extra $100 isntead. It was a battle, but I got it sorted out. Still, it left me feeling not so great about my new, spiffy satallite tv provider.
By the way, the Comcast guy that came out to fix it said that he had done nothing but fix these types of issues from Dish installers that weekend. It may just be a grudge between installers in my area, but I would still keep a close eye on the Dish installer and your bills if that's what you decide to go with.
Our dish guy installed two dishes for 110/119 and 148. (back in like 2005). He was courteous, and made sure to leave the cable coming from the street alone. He wired it all up so it worked, and it was cool.
When I got into FTA I learned out satelite systems work on DISH, esp the newer digital swtich sytems, and I rewired the cabling myself to make it more stream line and allow me to easily add a FTA reciever and test dish.
When I ordered HD in 2006, the guy that came ended up bringing another 20" dish, and mounted it below the other two. So now we have THREE 20" dishes on the left side of the house. People must've thought we were like a broadcasting station
But that guy was super cool. I told him that i installed the 3x4 switch and rewired all this. He seemed impressed, and when he would walk inside he would put on plastic bags around his shoes so that he wouldn't mess up the carpeting.When Dish moved International channels to 118.7 from 148 we needed a new dish. They came and removed all three 20" dishes and put up 1 36x24 Oval dish that hits 110/118.7/119/129 all on 1 dish. Again, super nice, fast, courteous.
Even when I ordered Comcast for internet in march the comcast guy was awesome. Had no problems talking to me about their expansion to DOCSIS 3.0.
Maybe I'm just lucky?!
10-01-2009, 10:46 AM
#38
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Santa Rosa, CA
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Maybe it's just a war of installers in my area. I've had far better experiences with the comcast installers. But seriously, since the house is prewired for comcast the dish guy had to go way out of his way to find and cut that line. It was nowhere near what he was working on. And it wasn't like he cut a cable in one room, he cut the cable coming into the house.
10-01-2009, 04:46 PM
#39
oh, and i don't really watch the Bay Area Comcast Sports Channels cuz I'm not really a stickball fan, & my heart can't take following the "Warriors" too often, but I do get those channels w/my package (Choice Extra HD). I pay about $80/month now in my 2nd yr of a 2 yr contract. the 1st yr I paid about half that, so I'm gonna have to play hardball w/their Customer Retention Dept when it comes time to re-up in Jan.
You do u pay $80/month? Their choice xtra hd package is $70/month...Is it because of the extra receivers?
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