Getting away from Dish - so DirecTV or Comcast?

[radhak]

I had a nasty spat with Dish yesterday when I found out they tacked on another 2 years of contract on me on the pretext of replacing my DVR box (after it was stolen). So much so that I just want to get away from them; my only choices are DirecTV or Comcast (because Roku and such don't actually do it for me, as I understand I don't get live sports from them, and the Olympics are coming).

I already have Comcast Internet, so TV from them would make it much cheaper. But I think they don't have DVR included, and their HD offerings are limited (only hearsay, feel free to correct me)?

DirecTV might be costlier in the long run - as Broadband is not bundled in - but in the first 2 years they give pretty good teaser rates, and I might as well factor that in. Plus, their DVR is included, and they seem to have a lot of HD channels.

Any recommendations, past experiences?

[cabinetman]

We had DirecTV for about 11 years. Changed to AT&T U-Verse. Its got some cool capabilities. We have it for phone, TV, and internet.

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[tommyt654]

Been thinkin about the way these folks treat us anyways,I received my new AT&T bill and they went up about $5 but never bothered to tell me,when I called and asked why and what the reasoning was for raising the rate they implied they did not have to tell me they were raising the rate. I have seen this outta comcast as well. I know theres a way to get all the shows we watch off the computer thru H/S Internet Svc, but I'm kinda slow when it comes to all the hijinx of setting things up and would love to tell Comcast to shove it and just have H/S Internet service and reg phone service to the house, anyone care to chime in on how its done.Most of my IT friends live in other areas of the state and raraely come up here. I have a Wii and have looked at Roku boxes and well quite frankly setting these things up baffles me

[toolguy1000]

i can't say enough good things about verizon fios, if it's in your area. i have a good many friends who don't have access to fios and are limited to comcast for all 3 services. they can't say enough bad things about comcast. when i had direct tv, i found it to be as reliable, for video, as anything else.

[BigguyZ]

I have DirecTv and I love love love it. Very rarely do I have reception issues. My parents have Comcast, and it's horrible. My brother got it for a short while as well, and it didn't work well at all. The receivers stink- especially their menu and search system. It's not the cheapest out there, but I think I get what I pay for.

[jwd12]

It is just a matter of time

Sooner or later you are going to get justifiably mad at your provider. The sad thing is that it doesn't matter which provider you are using. I had an unbelievably bad recent experience with AT&T U-verse. Been a Dish customer for years and want to get their new HD hopper technology but will wait until more of the "bugs" are worked out. Comcast is expensive. DirectTV is great for football. No experience with Verizon.

[cabinetman]

I had an unbelievably bad recent experience with AT&T U-verse.

What was it?

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[Jim1]

I've had Dish, Comcast and Direct TV. Direct TV for me was the best. Had real issues with Comcast.

[LarryG]

I had Comcast for many years, went to DirecTV for about seven years, have been back with Comcast for the last five or six. There are pros and cons with both. A lot of the decision will come down to which service has the specific channels that YOU want to watch, and how much you have to pay for the programming package that includes them.

I've gotten so spoiled by HD that I hardly ever watch standard definition TV any more. With one exception, my local Comcast provider has all the HD that I care to watch, but I've not recently compared the cost to DirecTV (which I left before the HD era began). The one exception is Universal Sports, which my local Comcast outlet does not carry; DirecTV does have it, but only in SD. I would like to have this channel because some of the bicycle racing that used to be carried on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus, and before that OLN) is being shifted to Universal, and Universal is adding coverage of races that have never been shown on any channel here in the US. But I'm not going to make the change unless it's available in HD. BTW, the reason I went to DirecTV for those seven years was because at that time they offered OLN and Comcast didn't. Had it not been for wanting to watch the Tour de France on OLN, I would have stayed with Comcast.

In many, perhaps most, markets, Comcast uses Motorola PVRs which have a reputation for being buggy and unreliable. To be fair, when they work, they work great. But not all of them do. I've had three or four of them die on me in as many years, and it has not been uncommon to have to unplug the unit and do a cold reset after it locked up. Again to be fair, the last replacement I got was a brand-new model that not only has a much bigger hard disk but has also been completely trouble-free for the six months I've had it.

There is, however, one thing I truly HATE about Comcast's PVRs: in times of severe weather, it will interrupt whatever you're watching, change channels, and start scrolling an obnoxiously loud EAS alert across your TV screen. This happens whether you're watching live TV or watching something you have recorded ... the EAS alert COMPLETELY takes over; you can't cancel it, you can't change channels; you can't do ANYTHING except mute the volume or turn the power off. The infuriating -- and ironic -- thing about this is that 90% of the time, this intrusive system is telling me what I already know, and interfering with me watching the local weather coverage that I really need to see! I can see this having some value for people who don't own a weather radio (I do), or in times of national emergency such as 9/11, but there ought to be a way to opt out. Unfortunately, Comcast insists there is not.

On a related note, the single biggest drawback I found with DirecTV during the seven years I had it was the occasional loss of signal due to heavy rain. It's not nearly as bad a problem as the cable folks would have you believe, but it DOES happen -- and by definition, it usually happens when you most need to be watching your local weather coverage.

Bottom line of all this, at least for me, is: I'm not thrilled with Comcast but so far I've not had a compelling reason to go back to DirecTV. I know people here who have switched from one to the other and they all say pretty much the same thing. If DirecTV starts carrying Universal Sports in HD, that will be my compelling reason. Otherwise, in my market there's not enough difference in the available channels or quality of service to make a meaningful difference.

[dbhost]

I have tossed Comcast to the curb for everything but internet access. I use Direct TV. I don't like their On Demand service as much as Comcasts, but I get a LOT more channels, a LOT less billing hassle, for a LOT less money... I also like the fact I can playback DVR from any box, not just the DVR. My only complaint is that if signal get interrupted by a storm, I am stuck watching static... Then again if the storms are bad enough to block a satelite feed, I really shouldn't be near anything electric anyway...

[cork58]

My rabbit ears are still working and paid for many years ago. We don't watch much T.V.

[jwd12]

Bad Experience with AT&T

AT&T suggested I try U-verse. I had AT&T DSL and was looking for a hd tv signal. Seemed like a natural fit. AT&T disconnected old DSL the night before the install. Technician discovered my house was too many cable feet from their whatever (switch,router, CO). After spending two hours or more on the phone on three different days was told - once you disconnect from the "old" DSL you are not allowed to reconnect. That left dial-up as the only option. Final incident was a spammer got into my att mail box and sent bogus offers to everyone in my address book, AT&T decided I was the spammer and would not let me back into my email. This August my 2yr AT&T mobile contract is up. I will then be a Verizon or Clear customer. AT&T was the first stock I bought some 42 years ago, will sell that before the year is out.

[cabinetman]

AT&T suggested I try U-verse. I had AT&T DSL and was looking for a hd tv signal. Seemed like a natural fit. AT&T disconnected old DSL the night before the install. Technician discovered my house was too many cable feet from their whatever (switch,router, CO). After spending two hours or more on the phone on three different days was told - once you disconnect from the "old" DSL you are not allowed to reconnect. That left dial-up as the only option. Final incident was a spammer got into my att mail box and sent bogus offers to everyone in my address book, AT&T decided I was the spammer and would not let me back into my email. This August my 2yr AT&T mobile contract is up. I will then be a Verizon or Clear customer. AT&T was the first stock I bought some 42 years ago, will sell that before the year is out.

At the time we had DirecTV and AT&T DSL. I think the excuse they gave you was bogus. We changed to U-Verse, because the DSL was dropping out for 30-45 minutes 4-5 times a week. They kept giving us a story about a problem at the DSLAM.
http://bt3central.com/showthread.php...ighlight=dslam
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http://bt3central.com/showthread.php...ighlight=dslam
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http://bt3central.com/showthread.php...ighlight=dslam

Since the DSL and U-Verse came from the same DSLAM, it's our thoughts they were trying to get customers to switch. Actually we are glad we did.

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[LinuxRandal]

Those I know with satellite, switch between the two when the contract expires, or mention switching to the person on the phone and get deals.
Those I know with Comcast (including myself and I only have it because of the internet, can't wait for the Google thing), B&M, at the local monopoly they have.

Do you want what you have experience with, or do you want to B&M?

[TB Roye]

We had Dish got rid of it because of issues with reception, I kept a very basic Dish programing so my wife could have her British Program on Sunday Night, "Eastenders" Had Comcast, got tired of their crap, never tried Direct. Have ATT UVerse and have not complaints. My Brother in law and I prepped our houses prior to get Uverse by install Cat5 cable throughout the house and out to the Telephone box. This saved a lot of hassle with the installation. My biggest problem with Uverse is my wife and a remote should not be in the same house. She messes up her Dishnetwork set up at least once a month another case of set it up and take all the remotes away. She is technically challanged big time. Won't even go into he smart phone.

The biggest problem with Dish and Direct is recption. Live in an older area with lots of big trees and some 2 story houses and mine being a single story. Not bad when there are no leaves but in spring and summer every time the wind blew lost recption because of branches/leaves got tired of moving antenna and trimming trees.