Dish Network or DirectTV

CaenryB

We recently moved to the area. Right now we have Charter cable and we are not happy with it. If you have Dish Newtork or Direct TV what do like about it? Does the weather cause it to go out. We had Direct TV in Seattle but when it rained it would not work.

Thanks  

sjb&apa

We have DIRECTV. The cable option in our area is also Charter and my H wanted nothing to do with them.

We've been in our house almost 2 years now, and we only lost service on 2 occasions (both due to weather). Once was in the winter when there was some wet sticky snow that built up on the dish. We just used a broom to clean it off and it was fine ... with a little step ladder we can reach the dish with a broom, it's not very high on our house. The other time it went out was during a severe thunderstorm in the summer. It's never gone out just because of rain. 

CaenryB

Thank You. That is good to know. We are still deciding but we do know Charter will be gone soon.

MrsKizdoodle

We have DirectTV and really like it.  I can think of 2 times it went out due to weather and it was during really bad storms, not just rain.

Their customer service has been good and timely.

I hear that they make it reallllllllllly hard to cancel them but we haven't attempted that yet so I can't personally speak to it.

ilovebijou

We've switched between Dish Network and DirectTV and liked them both but DirectTv was my favorite. Their basic plan included Bravo too which gets them extra points> Dish Network had DVR where you only needed one box but could record shows on 2 tvs which is nice. Not sure if DirectTv has this? Earlier this year, we decided to try not having cable so we've since cancelled and just have a digital antenna for local channels or watch shows online (and I'm still alive!!).

Janell's Nest

We had directTV for about 3 years and just switched in January when we moved to our new townhome and we only switched because I felt bad making them climb on top of the highest roof imaginable in the dead of winter.  We are with Comcast and I don't like them at all!

FWIW it wasn't hard to cancel DirectTv, I just called them up, explained that we were moving and weren't sure what we wanted to do yet, and they understood, sent an envelope for the receiver card and we mailed it back when we received it.  The receiver box, remote, and dish were ours to keep (lucky us).

 

SillyStraw

We have Direct TV and have only had one issue with it going out - and it was due to weather as well.

However, I hate their customer service - I feel like they are out to get as much money from you as possible.  When we wanted to upgrade to HD, we had to pay $199 for a new box, even though we had just bought the regular box for $99 less than a year before.  They wouldn't do any kind of upgrade.  And we were slapped with a bunch of other charges as well that I can't remember because I tried to block it out.  It definitely feels like once they have you in a contract, they don't care about you anymore and just gouge gouge gouge.  Like Janell said, you own their equipment - so you have to "buy" it.  I much prefer the other companies where you rent the equipment for much cheaper.  I mean, who really wants to be stuck with all of that equipment when you cancel anyway?

loveablesarah

We've had both and perfer Dish Network BY FAR. DirectTV is out to ripe you off. We've had problems with the sound cutting out since we got DirectTV and they have not been able to fix it. They have no idea why it is doing it. They have replaced everything at least twice. Done a completely new install on everything. Almost 2 years later - still haivng the problem. And then when they did the re-install - we had a sign for another 2 year contract from the date of that install.

We never had ANY problems with Dish Network. They customer service was good and we never had any problems with signal - expect in very server weather. And we liked the navigation/guide/DVR serice better with them.

Needless to say, when we move in a few months, we will NOT be taking DirectTV with us.

CaenryB

Thank you. We are still deciding. We are even looking at cancelling it all together and trying just the antenna route. I have started watching stuff online now since its easier to watch when Keegan is sleeping.

StrawberryBlondie

We also have DirecTV and really like it. It went out on our second day of having it, but it was a really bad storm that day. Our cable option was comcast, which we actually don't mind, but we like directv better. We have had zero problems with their customer service and have never felt like they've tried to sell us anything.

We ultimately went with DirecTV because we liked their station options better than Dish. 

ilovebijou

CaenryB:

Thank you. We are still deciding. We are even looking at cancelling it all together and trying just the antenna route. I have started watching stuff online now since its easier to watch when Keegan is sleeping.

I would try the anntenna first if you are open to it. We just bought the $20-30? one at Best Buy and it works awesome. We get all the locals, fox, and CW, plus some other misc channels. The only thing I really miss is Bravo but I can catch my shows at the gym. It kind of makes me mad all the years we spent $70+/month on our cable bill and didn't really watch much tv to make it worth it.

CaenryB

ilovebijou:

CaenryB:

Thank you. We are still deciding. We are even looking at cancelling it all together and trying just the antenna route. I have started watching stuff online now since its easier to watch when Keegan is sleeping.

I would try the anntenna first if you are open to it. We just bought the $20-30? one at Best Buy and it works awesome. We get all the locals, fox, and CW, plus some other misc channels. The only thing I really miss is Bravo but I can catch my shows at the gym. It kind of makes me mad all the years we spent $70+/month on our cable bill and didn't really watch much tv to make it worth it.

I think we are going to look at Best Buy this weekend for an antenna. Thanks for letting me know it works well. I am looking forward to saving money.