Do You Have Direct TV??

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I am serious thinking of changing from Dish Network to Direct TV since Dish will not have the NY Yankees for another season, and they have no idea when if ever they will have the Yankees. I am 90% sure I will make the change. The cost for two units for both TVs with one able to record 35 hours of TV on two separate channels is $350 and includes the installation and set up for both units. The cost of programming will be about $50 a month. We pay $65 now with Dish, but did not have to buy the equipment; the channels are about the same.

Do you have Direct TV? If so, what do you think? Any problems with service, quality of picture, etc? Do you see something here that I missed and need to consider? I just can not go another season listing to the Yankees on radio!

I also posted this on country by net.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous Poster]

we had dishnet for three or so years. Problem is, you have to check the area you live in. I know that around Sturbridge MA and Stafford Ct, along the state lines here, dishnet has great service and rarely any problems. direct on the other hand, pople get and dump usually at the end of month one, some go two. For some reason direct service in this neighborhood is terrible. Chack with those hwo use it in your neighborhood is the best I can think of. It may well be better wherever you live than dishnet.

 

[rlk]

Tom, I have had direct tv since 1995, and have no complaints at all.

2 years ago, I had only one receiver, and it could not get local channels in my area (Apex, North Carolina). Called direct tv about a free upgrade. They said they would only give free units to new customers. I said, o.k., I'll just switch to Dish then because I can get 2 free units from them. The person I was talking to switched me to someone else, who agreed to give me 2 new units (needed the new units so I could receive local channels). Did not cost us anything for the upgrade. The 2nd receiver costs $5 per month, but both receivers get the same channels.

Not sure what type of upgrades are available today, but I would talk to them a bunch before I agreed to pay for the new equipment.

I have another set up at a vacation home where I rent all the equipment from direct tv. They charge $3 per month for the equipment. I could have purchased it for $100, but decided to go the rental way because of all the power outages at the vacation home. When you rent their equipment, they replace it free of charge if anything happens to it. If you don't want to buy the equipment, talk to them about renting it.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

They have a deal where they will give you the equipment for free. BUT it does not record, since we use this feature all the time, great for not watching commercials, got to spend the $350. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[frank_f15]

thinking of switching to direct tv, getting tired of the constant increases in cable. i now pay $43 /mo. with no premium channels. i remember when cable first started, there big selling feature was NO ADVERTISMENTS. boy did that go by the wayside.

 

[MossRoad]

We've had DirectTV since 1997. No complaints. Perfect picture and sound. Great service 24 hours a day. About 4 years after we had it, it went out, except for the preview channels. Turned out our credit card had expired and we forgot to get them the new number. They waved the reconnect fee and it was back up and running before I got off the phone with them. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif Always polite people on the phone, too. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

I've had it for quite awhile now and except for the occasional outage with storms have had no problems.

 

[BigDave]

Tom,

I've had both Dish Network & DirectTV for several years each, and I haven't seen any difference in quality of picture or equipment. They each package some the extras differently, but for the most part they are basically the same. Why did I change? When I moved, the buyer wanted the Dish Network equipment as part of the deal. So when it was time to set-up in the new house, Dish said I was an existing customer and had to pay full retail for new equipment. Naturally I went to DirectTV and as a new customer got a great deal on the equipment.

 

[cwave]

I have Direct TV - 2 units - My monthly charges are about $54.

Total Choice Plus $35.99

2nd unit $5
Star Z $12
PBS $1


No Local channels in Central PA
When I travel in the RV I take 1 of the units along - I have a portable dish. I Don't say a word to Direct TV.
Works fine except for pointing the dish. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I use the Timer feature on the satellite receiver - That feature allows me to change the satellite channels. I also have to program the VCR to record - set to channel 3. I just set it up to record a 8 hour block - T160.

Anybody know where you can buy T200's ?

I have thought about switching to The Dish network. It looked like they had more channels. Also Hughes (owns Direct Tv) is up for sale. On a scale of 1 to 5 (5=best) I give them a 4.5 /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[crown]

I know nothing about Direct TV I have Dish Network, but you will absolutly want to get the receiver that records it is the best thing to happen to TV /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif. Lightning hit my house last summer and fried both my receivers insurance paid for new ones so we got a pair of the receivers that record.

 

[thcri]

Tom,

I've had Direct TV now for about two years. I have basically been happy with it. Had some troubles with the reciever but they replaced it no charge. I also asked the local guy about my cabin and he set me up at my cabin as the primary usuage. Alls I have to do is move the reciever with me and now I have TV and both places. Also along with this I get a the area major city. So in a way I am getting local channels at home when i am in a restricted area. The thing I wish is that they would get their internet services down in price. I hate this stupid 56k line that only connects at 41k. That would be the only reason I would switch to cable if it comes out this way. I am told it will in a couple of years.

Also didn't Direct TV purchase the Dish Network??


Murph

 

[shado]

Okay Murph & the gang, this is the skivy...
So you're dragging around a receiver to have TV in two places? Why bother with that when you can set up two receivers to work on the same card? There's plenty of 2nd hand receivers out there to be had cheap, even the manual intructs on how to set up a new receiver with an existing card. That way, you don't have to fuss with nuthin' but the credit card the unit requires to run with, just stick it in your shirt pocket & go. Secondly, a person could set up two sites to run on one account, meaning the primary house can watch what they want while the 2nd locality can be couch potatoeing right along at the same time! And that's not talking about any pirating either. A couple of families could actually save on the budget that way, if one can put it in the right perspective.
J.W.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

The built in recorder is a real plus. It is so nice not to watch all those commercials. We just record the show and watch it when we want to watch it or just wait 20-22 minutes for an hour show, and play back. Each time a commercial comes on you just fast forward and no commercial. For a 30 minutes show we wait 10-12 minutes and do the same. With the new unit it has two built in turners so you can watch one show while another is on or record two different shows at the same time. A lot of time the kids want to record something and while we are watching the TV. It has been great for the kids watching TV and doing homework. They can do the homework first and we do not hear, I will do it after the show is over. Phone rings, no problem, hit pause button, talk on phone for 20 minutes, when done, pick up where you left off. How many times you are watching something and the person says something and you say to wife, what did he say? No problem, rewind and hear it again. So the $350 for the two units is a bit much to pay when you can get the view only units for free, but it is worth it just to watch TV without commercials.

It looks like this is a go. All I have to do now is decide to buy via the internet or from a local company, will shop around this week and see what the local folks want for the same unit.

Thanks for you help.

 

[MikePA]

Tom, we've had DirecTV for a couple of years and like cowboydoc, no problems except the occasional storm that blocks reception. We have one dish (dual LNB) and 2 receivers.

We also have separate ReplayTV units hooked into each satellite receiver. I bought the ReplayTV boxes before there were combined satellite receiver/Tivo units. However, if I had to do it over again, I would still go the separate box route. Plus I tried Tivo and could never get the nightly updates to run on our phone line whereas the ReplayTV units worked fine. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I also have cable for the local channels. The ReplayTV units allow me to 'merge' the cable and satellite signals so a single ReplayTV remote allows me to seamlessly change channels regardless of the source.

I bought all this equipment over the Internet and installed it myself. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

We had DirecTV for 5 years, occasional thunderstorm blocked reception, lightning got the receiver once (insurance replaced it), and the access card had to be replaced once, but we were generally satisfied with it, except we thought the latest price increases made it too expensive. So, now we're back in town and have digital cable TV; sounds impressive, right? Almost, but not quite, as good as DirecTV (online TV guide not nearly as good) and a darned sight more expensive. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[heehaw]

its probably to late now, but dish was running a special, existing customers could get the receiver that records for $150......
heehaw

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Got the unit ordered, should be here next week. Found a web site http://www.expertsatellite.com/catalog

For $250 they will provide a unit that can record 35 hours on two separate channels at the same time, plus the second unit for the 2nd TV, plus the antenna plus shipping and installation. Best deal I could find was $150 more. Local compnay wanted $600 for the same system. Got to love the internet.

So when I am not on TBN I can watch the Yankees! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks for your help

 

[cwave]

Anybody picking up the fact that commercials and TV shows are merging??? On Tuesday nite The Gilmore Girls mentioned Walmart - Jello and Ragu several times - also mentioned If you work at Walmart you can get a 15 percent discount. ---------- I know - how about a Norton Anti-Virus for TV Shows - Just like parental control in AOL provides. ------- TV-13 don't work. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I would rather hear the word Jello a few times then watch a 30 second commercial about Jello. But then again with my new PVR , I can just hit skip, and its gone no commercial /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RobertN]

Well, don't have any fancy TV stuff... We have an aerial antenae, and get local stations. The best thing on is typically PBS. Or, we play a video tape now and then. All those movies in the video store, yet so few that are very good....

We are just on the verge of taking the brain debillitating device and dropping it off the deck. We just have not made it across that fine line yet. There is just that little itty bitty tiny bit on that makes it worth watching a little each day... News, Norm Abram's, This Old House...

We've checked out cable and sattelite, but there is so little that is stimulating on any of them. The entertaining stuff just sucks you in to a brain mush like state. No wonder our brains have the consistency of Jello...

I assume we must be the fringe element. There are so many that have 100+ stations and use it often. 1000 watt surround sound(we only have 100 watt/ch stereo vcr/stereo), dvd multi channel dolby ect ect ect.

$65/m could buy tractor parts, go towards Tnt for the 3pt, buy lots of books, put a kid through Cub Scouts or Girl Scouts or 4H for two years, one ticket in the bleacher seats to see the Rolling Stones...

And, The A's and Giants play out here. When the Yank's are out this way, the A's/Yank's usually sell out, which is a FUN game to see live... $65 would get a couple decent tickets to the game, one beer each, and a bag of peanuts. That would be fun...

I usually give up the TV to check in on this site. I always learn some little tidbit here. I guess it's just a different screen to watch, but I like all the folks here, and like I mentioned, there's always a stimulating conversation going on. Heck, I've learned more here from Bird, Mark Chalkey, Harv, and the rest of y'all in the last few years than I EVER have from the brain debilitating device(tv).

The Yankee's on the radio actually sounds cool Can't you just hear the announcers playing it up! Can you just imagine the ball going over the left field wall!!! Imagine, there was a day before sattelite tv. There was a day before cable(remember those silly days when you could buy an antenae for just HBO?). Remember the days before remote control, when you had to get up and turn the volume or channel yourself; walk across the room just for that?

I feel so normal here and elsewhere normally, but this is one spot where I must just be waaaaaay out there...