DIRECTV or CABLE? About This Page:

[BostonTeaParty]

We've had Comcast (cable) forever. We got an offer in the mail today for DIRECTV. I'm curious if you have it, what do you think- pros and cons? I'm considering Tivo too. If you have any opinion on that- I'm all ears.

[iamgrumpy]

we have had Directv since they opened we love it we have two dishes one is attached to the house and one goes with us when we camp. Its nice because we have a dish with two prongs on it so we can have different channels in different rooms. We have 4 boxes 1 in the kitchen, 1 in the livingroom, one in my room, and one in my mom's room.

We have Tivo in the living room and we can record 2 shows at one time (but you have to watch one) so when we aren't home if there are 2 shows we want to tape at the same time we can!

The only extra we have is Starz and Encore and then the basic option. Its more then we need!

For our area satalite is cheaper then cable so there really isn't a option for us plus us camping having our dish we can watch everything and not be limited.

Any questions just ask!

[Belle*]

We don't have DirecTV but we do have DISH which I think is essentially the same thing. I like DISH better than Cable because it is cheaper and has more channels. We have a DVR that can record two shows simultaneously while watching a third. I also love the Sirius Music channels that we get!

[koalamom]

We had cable for years and they kept going up higher and higher on their price with fewer channels. When we moved to this house (almost three years ago now) we had DirecTV installed right away. We love it! We do not have the fancy movie channels but the basic stuff is more than enough and we get great stuff including a bunch of XM satellite music channels which are nice to have on while cooking, grading papers, etc and so forth. The only problem I have with it is when it storms heavy - it goes out because it loses signal. That does not happen that often so it does not bother us.

[HiddenMickey]

We have cable. We keep looking at the offers from Dish and DirectTV, but with as many TVs as we have (5....4 that we use all the time), it always ends up more expensive for us to switch...even with free installation. The come on prices are good, but when you add in the additional boxes at $5 each and the DVR rental and the actual cost after the initial deal, etc....it all adds up to too much.

Be sure you read all the fine print at the bottom of the offers.

[RobinKay6573]

I had a dish when I lived out in the country (no cable there) and it was pretty good. When I moved into town I got cable. I would go back to the dish in a second if I had a clear Southwest view of the sky from my apartment. There are trees blocking the view where they would have to put the dish so no dish for me.

[Caldercup]

We just moved from cable to DirecTV in November.

Our only big problem was that the installers were sub-contractors of sub-contractors. No ID, no uniform, no marked truck.... nothing to prove that the were bonded and insured and I was really uncomfortable having them in the house or climbing over the roof.

Plus, they did a lousy job and we had to have three sets of installers (none with ID, none with any proof of insurance) come until they finally got us a stable signal.

It has now worked since December, but it's definitely a touchier thing than cable in our area. We get lots of wind and rain and the signal drops out fairly frequently (but only for a few minutes). With cable, we NEVER had that problem.

Also, we got one of the first HD DVRs and we're already on our second one since December. I think the technology is still to new to be problem-free.

So, we're hanging in there for our 2-year contract, but we'll probably switch to Verizon's TV over FiOS solution at that point. Out here, Verizon is very reliable and the installers for the FiOS were everything I could've hoped for!
Eileen

[lauren-roxy]

We have DISH and have not had any problems with it at all.

[dejavu]

We have Dish Network and like it alot. We also have occasional problems with bad weather knocking out the signal. It's usually during the climax of "24" or "Lost" and then we swear at it and threaten to change to cable. But cable costs more around here.

[AmyJune]

I have Directv because we live out in the sticks where cable is not an option. I love it. We have the package 1 up from basic. I have friends with cable (comcast just took over our local company) and they complain all the time about the service and the picture quality. I have a great picture most of the time. I do lose signal when it rains hard or if the wind is blowing really hard, because our many trees get in the way of the signal (they've grown since the dish was installed (6 years ago) so it's become an issue). If I would put the dish on a higher pole it wouldn't be an issue.

I guess that's my only warning. If you think you are going to be using the service for years mind where you put it and if trees are going to grow in the path!

NOTE: Our dish is not attached to the side of our house like a lot of folks do. We couldn't do this because there is a huge tree that blocks the signal on the south side of the house so we had to put the dish on a pole in our yard where the signal could reach the dish and then bury the cable that runs to the house.

[BostonTeaParty]

One of the guys at work said the dish is great if you're into sports. He said you can hear the players on the field during a football game.

Thanks for all the input. I still haven't made up my mind yet.

[boBºoº]

We have Direct TV and love it. My mom have Dish TV an I think the Direct TV is much easier to use. She also has more problems then we do with Direct TV. Tivo is great.

boB

[Aminspired]

I have cable but some guys I work with have Direct TV, one of them said they like it, although it goes out more than his cable used to and he cannot get local channels...personally I don't have any experience with it.

[DebbieG]

We have Directv and really like it.

One bit of advice - find a friend with it, if you decide to go that route, and put them down as a referral. They will get a credit to their account. At one time it was $50 I think. I wish I had known that when we got it. That would have been a nice surprise for a friend, and cost me nothing!

Good luck deciding!

Debbie

[Cam22]

We have DISH satellite and have had for about 7 or 8 years now. We love having so many options plus movie channels. With our most recent upgrade we received a DVR (like a TIVO) that can record two shows at the same time, very convenient for us.