[stevesnj]

Been thinking about getting direct TV, my Cable bill is $120 month with internet $80 without and Direct TV is $80 month without internet. I may end up paying the same but I would get more channels with Direct TV. Anyone have good, bad experiences they can share so I can get a users point of view...thanks

[the_glassman]

Dish Network, it's cheaper offers mostly the same. Nuff said.

[hickey]

Direct TV steps on the quality of numerous channels to shove more content at you.

[Spliffdaddy]

I use Dish Network and I'm very satisfied. When I get bored watching the same stuff over and over - I switch to one of their Sirius satellite music stations.

[Teronzhul]

Originally Posted by hickey

Direct TV steps on the quality of numerous channels to shove more content at you.

Both satellite companies do that, particularly for HD. Cable companies still offer most standard channels in analog which looks worse. If HD is a consideration, Dish has more content now, Directv appears to have a better long term equipment strategy with the 2 spaceway satellites that are just going active.

I've had Directv for nearly a year now, and worked for Cox Communications during that time and currently work for Directv (actually a Directv HSP 'Bruister & Associates') as a field tech. Directv's hardware (receivers) are considerably nicer than the SA boxes we used at Cox.

Although programming costs monthly are quite similar between the two companies in this area, Directv offers more programming options, while Cox service calls are far cheaper. However, while working for Cox I ran into far more customers that were severely displeased with their service than Directv. Customer satisfaction in general with Directv is higher, and service blackouts are considerably more rare with the satellite than with the cable company. Directv will only go out during hellacious storms.

Most customers are completely oblivious to the HD downrez, and thus ignorance is bliss. If you have any specific questions about Directv I will answer them to the best of my ability.

edit: also check out this place, great sat forums http://www.satelliteguys.us/index.php

[lavar78]

I get DirecTV solely to see the Eagles, which wouldn't be a problem for you. That being said, I've been a satisfied customer for years.

[memory-minus]

Satisfied DirecTV customer.

Pros: Channel lineup, price, equipment (TiVo, until recently, not sure about their current hardware), customer service.

Cons: Occasional outage during the heaviest storms, had to clean up after installer.

Bottom line: Time Warner sucks.

[Montezuma58]

I've been happy DirecTV for 2.5 years. They are worth considering. But you need to look closely at their terms and commitment requirements closely. They have changed those recently to a lease only model. If you're into HD the HD DVR is a very bad deal with DirecTV right now. You can usually get a regular HD receiver for free though.

As for the monthly bill mine is $86//month (actually $76 counting my BellSouth bundle discount). That includes two standard def DVRs one HD DVR, HD Package, and HBO (they don't have HBO Comedy though ). The same set up would run me $115 to $120/month from my cable company. The standard def channels with DirecTV are as good or better than either the analog or digital channels on my cable system. The HD quality is not as good as it could be on DirecTV though.

Also my DirecTV service has been radically more reliable than my cable service was. I've never had to have a service call. With cable I was having to call at least every two months.

[brassplayersrock²]

directv for sure. absolutly no problems with them. the customer service has improved greatly the last few years.

funny story, my brother ordered about 100 bucks worth of porn one weekend when he had the house to himself. none the less my folks put a combo on the porn channels and made him pay the bill for the month.

Brass

[vmarks]

Just left DirecTV after one year. Back to cable.

Why? Expense and service outages. The slightest storm and the signal cut in and out. I'm serious, drizzle and the show would stop and the machine took minutes to retrain.

More than five times in the year did I have to call and get the tech supp to reauth my receiver's cards for no good reason. The last time they explained there was a software update they wanted to force on the box.

A pay-for-TV plan is about getting TV when I want it with the programming I want. DirecTV was unable to do that reliably.

[Teronzhul]

Whoever installed your dish didn't peak it out properly. It should take very heavy rain to kill the signal on either a directv or Dish network dish. Receiver issues may have also been caused by a poorly aligned dish.

If cable works better for you though, more power to ya.

[sabrejim]

Be a man, save some cash, get a big honkin antennae and do over the air.

[zerostar]

Defiantly a dish alignment problem, I had my directv running on generators during 3 hurricanes last year and only cutout for the heaviest parts (for 1/2 to 1 hour), so no, a little storm should not cut out a properly peaked dish.

Back to the OT, I love my DirecTV it is great and I have been pleased with the service for around 5 years now. I call every 6 months or so and get freebies for being a good customer (6 months free HBO, a new DVR, Monthly discounts, etc. etc.)

[sabrejim]

Do cable, satellite companies give you free stuff for being a good customer? I've been trying to give up cable for a while and every time I try to cancel I get a few months free and by the time thats up I get hooked on some TV show like Lost or 24.

[brassplayersrock²]

sometimes direct tv has a free weekend of hbo or some other channel group that we don't pay for

Brass

[Railroader]

I like the TiVo service on DirectTV. VERY satisfied customer. I have only lost a signal once and that was during a storm that I decided to take the family to the basement for so there was no real loss.

Dish network's PVR sucked!!!

[vmarks]

Originally Posted by Teronzhul

Whoever installed your dish didn't peak it out properly. It should take very heavy rain to kill the signal on either a directv or Dish network dish. Receiver issues may have also been caused by a poorly aligned dish.

If cable works better for you though, more power to ya.

Well, the dish is installed correctly- we just get a larger number of really heavy rainstorms than you might imagine.

Funnily enough, my HDTV over the air holds up when DirecTV went down.

Also, for those of you who loved the DirecTV TiVO units, I'm sorry to tell you: They're being phased out, replaced with an in-house unit sourced by Rupert Murdoch's NDS. Not today, not tomorrow, but eventually.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by vmarks

Also, for those of you who loved the DirecTV TiVO units, I'm sorry to tell you: They're being phased out, replaced with an in-house unit sourced by Rupert Murdoch's NDS. Not today, not tomorrow, but eventually.

I'm happy to tell you that you're wrong: http://www.tivo.com/cms_static/press_85.html

ALVISO, CA — April 12, 2006 — TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO ), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), and DIRECTV, Inc. (NYSETV), the nation's leading digital television service provider, today announced a three-year extension to the TiVo-DIRECTV commercial agreement.

Existing DIRECTV TiVo subscribers will be able to continue to receive the award-winning TiVo® service, with TiVo providing ongoing maintenance and support. In addition, TiVo and DIRECTV agree not to assert patent rights against the other. The agreement also extends the advertising relationship between the two companies. DIRECTV will continue to service existing DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service. While specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the recurring monthly economics of the agreement are similar to the economics for DIRECTV receivers with TiVo service activated since 2003.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with DIRECTV that will allow us to continue to provide our service to the more than 2 million DIRECTV TiVo households," said TiVo CEO Tom Rogers . "As the pioneer in the DVR market, we have created a service that is highly valued by consumers because of our technology, the wide range of our unique features and the unparalleled ease of our user experience. This agreement reflects TiVo's popularity among DIRECTV subscribers and importantly respects the value of our intellectual property as well."

"By extending our agreement with TiVo, we are ensuring quality support for DIRECTV customers who already own a DIRECTV TiVo unit," said Rômulo Pontual, DIRECTV's chief technology officer. "We are pleased to cooperate with TiVo in a way that will best serve DIRECTV and our DIRECTV TiVo customers."

[vmarks]

Oh good.

Win for TiVO, win for customers- that's good news.

[nerd]

Hold on, this doesn't say that they will continue to sell the Tivo units, only continue to provide the Tivo service to existing customers for 3 years.

I tried Comcast with their PVR and I dumped it in a week and went back to DirecTV. I really really hope DirecTVs DVR isn't the same crap but what I"ve read so far is it locks up a lot. DirecTV Tivo just rocks and I'm scared to loose it.

[Teronzhul]

Yeah it just extends their agreement for the service, and allows Directv to continue to use Tivo patented tech in their in house R15 and HR20 DVR units. Things like dual live buffers, season passes, etc that the motorola and scientific atlanta boxes used by the cablecos can't legally.

vmarks
The slightest storm and the signal cut in and out. I'm serious, drizzle and the show would stop and the machine took minutes to retrain.

vmarks
Well, the dish is installed correctly- we just get a larger number of really heavy rainstorms than you might imagine.

Make up your mind

[memory-minus]

Originally Posted by kaze0

Do cable, satellite companies give you free stuff for being a good customer? I've been trying to give up cable for a while and every time I try to cancel I get a few months free and by the time thats up I get hooked on some TV show like Lost or 24.

Out of the blue two weeks ago DirecTV sent me a postcard offering me 6 months of Showtime for free just for being a good customer. I called and had the rep repeat himself clearly -- six months, no strings, no need to cancel if I don't want it after 6 months (it just comes off my account).

[ghporter]

Satisfied DirecTV customer for something like 7 or 8 years. If you're not in a marginal coverage area (most of the Continental U.S. is well covered) and the dish is installed solidly, (and you don't get a hurricane through every few weeks!), DirecTV should be very stable for you. As others have said, with the heaviest storms I get service disruptions, but these are infrequent for me, so it's no problem.

I use "anything other than Time-Warner" for a number of reasons. The local cable monopoly sucked before it was renamed Time-Warner, and the vacuum level has increased tremendously since then. I've had about four noticable rate increases from DirecTV since I started with them (as I said, 7 or 8 years ago) while Time-Warner jacks up the price (slightly but consistently) every few months. T-W also tweaks the basic cable lineup to eliminate anything but what most people can get off air plus some lame local access stuff, forcing subscribers who want something beyond the lame local channels to subscribe to more expensive packages. Bad business, bad faith and bad service are all synonymous with the local T-W. Other than that, they're fine!

[Montezuma58]

You can still get the Tivo units. You have to specifically request them if you order from directly from DirecTV. Also there are other retailers that still sell them. I haven't used the new DirecTV DVRs so I can't really comment on them.