DirectTV

[dkerfoot]

Thinking about switching. Comcast keeps charging more and more.

Doe anyone have DirectTV? Love it? Hate it? Had it and dropped it?

Any gotchas?

Just how bad is reception in bad weather?

Thanks!

[Ed62]

We have it. We like it. One gotcha....we lose reception if the weather gets bad. It's usually not out for long periods of time, but it's a PITA when you lose it. I've been meaning to get on the roof to see if there's a problem with a connection. One day I'll do just that. Thanks for the reminder. It could be a thing as simple as tightening up a connection or sealing it.

Ed

[crokett]

Have it. Love it. Right now I have it cause I have no choice (no cable) but when I got it originally I switched from cable. Better service, almost never out - I have plenty to do if it is - and I get the NFL network.

There are cheaper cable packages, but to get the channels I have it would cost more with cable.

[jAngiel]

I have it and have had it since the year it came out. That could be why they always give me good customer service. When the thunderstorms are really thick and bad we lose service but it comes back as soon as it blows over.

The only reason I would contemplate switching to Dish is that Dish has the local channels for the area and DirecTV doesn't. Price seems to be equivalent, both are way better than local cable which sucks in addition to being expensive.

[SHADOWFOX]

I hear you on the Comcast subscription getting more and more expensive. I am spending about $150.00 per month on my Digital Cable and Broadband subscription.

Been hesitant to switch to Dish because I will have to get rid of my broadband with Comcast if I switch to dish. I have Vonage for my phone service and not sure if VOIP works with DSL. Switching to dish will definitely cut my subscription bills to half.

[messmaker]

I have Dish and it is sweet. I have had it for about ten years. I have had two service calls in the time. I seldom loose signal but it does happen for a few minutes when a big storm hits. It is usually only out for seconds but sometimes lit ast a couple of minutes. This probably happpens a dozen times a year. I also have cable(don't ask) so I have a fair comparison. For me, Dish is the better of the two.

[gsmittle]

I hear you on the Comcast subscription getting more and more expensive. I am spending about $150.00 per month on my Digital Cable and Broadband subscription.

Been hesitant to switch to Dish because I will have to get rid of my broadband with Comcast if I switch to dish. I have Vonage for my phone service and not sure if VOIP works with DSL. Switching to dish will definitely cut my subscription bills to half.

AFAIK VOIP works with DSL. Can we get a few more TLAs in this post?

g.

[Copper]

We have Dish Network and we love it. It has dropped the signal a couple of times in REALLY bad storms. But I just hooked up a small antenna to the TV to get a local channel to keep an eye on the weather. One thing to keep in mind though is if you want the dual tuner DVR (HIGHLY recommended), you will need to run dual coaxial cable to the box. Most houses are only have one wire running through the walls.

[dkerfoot]

Great input folks - thanks.

Is anyone using it in a constantly overcast location like Seattle? I live along the East shore of Lake Michigan and we have near constant haze (not smog - just lake effect clouds). From what i am hearing, this shouldn't be a problem?

DirectTV has the local channels here - Dish does not.

VOIP works fine with DSL. Cable's claims of much faster service are drastically inflated. While cable has a theoretically faster speed, it is shared with everyone in your neighborhood - the cable company gets to decide how many people to put on a given line. Obviously they are going to do the right thing and keep the number low. Right?

With DSL the service is direct to your house - no sharing. You get exactly the service you pay for.

If you are considering switching to DSL - be sure to do it online. They usually offer better deals online than over the phone. They assume I guess that people doing it online are savvier shoppers.

[4estgump]

We have had Directv for about 4 years. We love it and get our local channels also. About 79.00 mo. with HBO. Like the rest of the posts when it storms it's gone until the storms are gone.
4est

[FL Buckeye]

We had DirecTV for a couple of years when we first moved to FL. It worked good, only went out when the rain was a downpour. But we had problems with them increasing the price all the time, like what you now have with Comcast. And in FL, the satellite companies have to put a 13% tax on the bill, plus the other usual taxes. We try not to watch too much TV, and the programing seems to not suit our tastes lately, so we switched to cable. The cable used to be Adelpia but was taken over by Comcast. We just have the basic which is $16.xx/month. Also have their internet, which was $42.95. I stopped the internet when we took some trips that had us away from home for about 2 months. When we returned I was going to sign up with BellSouth for DSL lite, but they weren't taking any new subscribers in our area due to the equipment already being maxed out. So I called Comcast and was offered a special price of $24.95 for 1 year for the same speed, etc. We still have about 9 months left on that, so will probably stay with Comcast at least that long. But the cable quality here isn't very good and not very many neighbors have it. We're too far from major cities to be able to use an antenna, and with the lightning strikes around here I don't think I want an antenna sticking above the roof.

Maybe the way to go is with one of those packages that offer phone, TV and Internet for $99/month, either through the cable co or pots.

[smorris]

We have Directv with HD and really like it. Far better quality and cheaper than cable here with good service. Only time we lose the signal is in a VERY heavy rain. The dish signal is always in the high 90's, make the effort to get the last couple bars.