Cable v DirecTV

[xeus]

I've been having a discussion with my bride-to-be about the relative merits of DirecTV and Time Warner cable. I'm not a big TV guy, so I don't have anything right now. However, it is clearly a condition of our betrothal that our house will be upgrading to have either cable or dish.

I know we've had this discussion here before, but I'd like to get some updated thoughts on this issue. (I can see myself now, explaining to her that "pimpinthebox" really likes DirecTV, but "Lamont Thurston" prefers Time Warner.)

Anyway ... discuss.

[Jumpy]

Tell her Jumpy likes DirecTV. Also, if you use my account # when you sign up, we both get $100.

[XU05and07]

DirecTV is head and shoulders above Time Warner, in my opinion. DirecTV has a better DVR version and I have had never had issues with the DirecTV customer service (many problems with Time Warner). Also, with DirecTV you can log-in to your account on any computer and record any show to your DVR if you have left the house and forgot to record something (did many times during home basketball games).

DirecTV has better deals as well, I think

[Lamont Sanford]

xeus -

I know how you love PBS and Masterpiece Theatre...well, TWC has PBS!!!

I don't think DirecTV gets PBS.

[blobfan]

DirecTV is head and shoulders above Time Warner, in my opinion. DirecTV has a better DVR version and I have had never had issues with the DirecTV customer service (many problems with Time Warner). Also, with DirecTV you can log-in to your account on any computer and record any show to your DVR if you have left the house and forgot to record something (did many times during home basketball games).

DirecTV has better deals as well, I think

Ditto. I prefer to suffer through the occasional loss of signal during heavy rain and clouds rather than suffer through the TERRIBLE picture that Time Warner likes to pass off as HD. I usually have something on DVR to watch anyway and it's very rare that something important is interrupted.

I have had problems with customer service but not major and FAR fewer instances than I did with TW. The worst was TWs DVRs broke down A LOT and they wouldn't let you just walk into the store and swap them out, you had to wait for a repair guy to take a look at it. Not sure if that's changed but it was a real pain.

The only think TW had going for it over DirecTV is their guide loads faster. That's it. Not worth choosing TW just for the guide load time.

[blobfan]

xeus -

I know how you love PBS and Masterpiece Theatre...well, TWC has PBS!!!

I don't think DirecTV gets PBS.

I get the local channels, including PBS, with DirecTV.

[An X Fan]

I switched from Time Warner to DirecTV nearly a year ago and have never looked back. More channels, better deal, MUCH MUCH MUCH better customer service. I have only had to call twice and had courteous, prompt, helpful service each time. That never happened with Time Warner. The mix channel for golf tournaments (the majors, plus tennis majors) is awesome as well - expanded coverage and interactive features at no extra cost. The HD DVR works well.

[wkrq59]

Dish offers everything Direct does and it's cheaper. All PBS channels available.

[sweet16]

Regardless of which is cheaper and/or better quality I will never have dish for the following reason........last winter WLW devoted almost an entire Sat afternoon to people calling in discussing what to do with their dish, and how to restore service, after a freezing rain. Some guys were saying they hooked a hose up to their hot water heaters and were hanging out of 2nd story windows spraying their dish with hot water. I've got better things to do with my time.

[blobfan]

Dish offers everything Direct does and it's cheaper. All PBS channels available.

I had Dish before we had TW. I've found I get fewer dropouts with DirecTV.

[Fear the Cough]

If you get cable, pray you never get a problem because TW customer service is so bad i think their trying to do the worst possible job they can.

[Titanxman04]

Worst customer support ever. Period. No doubt about it. They are rude as well.

We just got a flatscreen so i called up for HD from them. They sent a Samsung box and everything worked perfectly until a couple days later when we lost signal randomly. I called and they said I never registered the box, which is what I did right when I got it two days before. They lady told me I didn't and that she's "worked there for 4 years and that has never happened before. I have to be trying to scam her" but reluctantly, she would check for me anyways.

Well, you best believe she realized I was telling the truth, they sent some shitty box to switch it out because the samsung box was never even in their inventory. now we have this shit box. I've been trying to convince my roommates to make the switch. but that 2 year commitment thing is what scares us.

[surfxu]

My first advise is don't get married. It will ruin your sex life.
2nd I have Time Warner and my complaints are somewhat limited. I don't like how they nickle and dime you for any channel you'd actually want to watch. Digital Tier w/ a handful of HD channels included is one thing but if you actually want HD channels like ESPN 2 and the like then it's another $15/mo, then if you want CSTV which is where a handful of X games are on then that's another $5 or $10 a month. I do a package with my phone and internet but the whole thing is still close to $150/mo (cable, phone and internet). Guide is really good and DVR is fine although possibly a bit shorter on memory than Direct TV's version.
That being said, other than the ice storm noted above, I've not heard anything bad about Direct TV, although a neighbor of mine had his dish hit by lightening twice, one of the times the resulting power surge blew up his big screen too, but he's still using Direct TV so I guess he figures it's worth it.

[blobfan]

My first advise is don't get married. It will ruin your sex life.
2nd I have Time Warner and my complaints are somewhat limited. I don't like how they nickle and dime you for any channel you'd actually want to watch. Digital Tier w/ a handful of HD channels included is one thing but if you actually want HD channels like ESPN 2 and the like then it's another $15/mo, then if you want CSTV which is where a handful of X games are on then that's another $5 or $10 a month. I do a package with my phone and internet but the whole thing is still close to $150/mo (cable, phone and internet). Guide is really good and DVR is fine although possibly a bit shorter on memory than Direct TV's version.
That being said, other than the ice storm noted above, I've not heard anything bad about Direct TV, although a neighbor of mine had his dish hit by lightening twice, one of the times the resulting power surge blew up his big screen too, but he's still using Direct TV so I guess he figures it's worth it.

Maybe he got smart and put the new TV on a six strip with surge protection. Never plug your computer or high end electronics directly into the socket if you can help it.

[Muskie1000]

Regardless of which is cheaper and/or better quality I will never have dish for the following reason........last winter WLW devoted almost an entire Sat afternoon to people calling in discussing what to do with their dish, and how to restore service, after a freezing rain. Some guys were saying they hooked a hose up to their hot water heaters and were hanging out of 2nd story windows spraying their dish with hot water. I've got better things to do with my time.

I have never had that kind of problem with Directv. I've had it since around 2000 and not once, ever, has that happened and we are in our second house. I agree with what most people said about TW. If there was a bad storm, cable would go out every single time - more than power ever did. Now with Directv, I lose my signal for about 5-10 minutes and then get it right back. I will take that every time. Plus they have all those sports packages you can't get anywhere else. (Oh and overall its cheaper).

[pickledpigsfeet]

DirecTV all the way, and like someone mentioned, do the promotion where you get $100 and the person who referred you gets $100 (except use my account number instead of his, its paid out as a $10 credit for 10 months on your bill).

I've had it for 11 years now and the service has always been top notch. I also recently wanted to upgrade a second receiver from standard to HD because of the purchase of a new TV in that room and I called them to ask how much it was going to be for the receiver and installation. I was told it was going to be $99 for the receiver plus another $120 for installation but when I mentioned that both Dish and TW were offering free equipment and installation, they only charged me $49 total and instead of paying $5 extra a month for the second HD receiver, I got that for free too. Basically, they are very fair and willing to do what it takes, within reason, to keep customers and get new ones. They were out here installing it the next day and it took about 15 minutes. (buy the equipment through DirecTV instead of at a store like Best Buy for the reasons mentioned above).

All of the local channels are included as well and if you move, they set everything back up for you at no cost.

Good luck and PM me if you want my account # for the promotion.

[X-band '01]

I just ditched Time Warner last week - needless to say I just got effing sick and tired of having to plug my digital cable box in and out; it seemed like whenever I would try changing to channels like MLB HD or Universal HD, it would immediately say "Channel currently not available." Meanwhile, I'm browsing at DirecTV and Dish and it's just sickening that I've spent as much as I have on Time Warner's HD service to get maybe 1/10 of the channels.

My major problem seems to be that the apartment I live in may not be able to support DirecTV. I can't mount a dish onto the wall, but I could conceivably put it on a stand and hope I can get it to point in the proper direction. They've also got a promotion going on right now for NFL Sunday Ticket where you get 265 channels plus 5 months of premium channels for $59.95.

I guess the question then becomes - do I get a separate sports pack from DirecTV that would include CBS College Sports? Locally, I'm sure FSN Cincinnati is included, but CBS College Sports is still going to have a bunch of Xavier games to come this year.

[Muskie1000]

We got CBS sports last year... it was part of the basic sports package that we already got. Unlike TW, Directv adds channels (big 10 network, cbs sports, etc...) without charging you more. The tier up sports package allows you access to all the Fox sports networks which I haven't found to be very beneficial.

[pickledpigsfeet]

But you do get Fox Sports Cincinnati and Ohio without paying extra for the sports pack or at least I have in the past. You only need to pay for the sports pack if you want all of the Fox Sports channels and things like the soccer channel and a handful of others.

[XUglow]

I have Comcast, and I stick with it for the free high-speed internet. They had a deal where the first 6 months was $29.95 per month, and it would go to $44.95 per month after that. When I got my first bill, they took $29.95 OFF of my bill and did so for the next 5 months. At the end of 6 months, I was hoping they would start taking $44.95 OFF of my bill, but it went to 0 instead. I felt jilted, but I decided not to complain.

[DC Muskie]

DirecTv...oh how I miss it.

It's just easier to navigate as well. Cable has On Demand which is nice, but man, I miss my DirecTV.

[Fireball]

I'm going to agree with most of the Peanut Gallery as well.

I've had Dish, Insight Cable, and DirecTV, and DirecTV is by far the best. Signal quality, channel selection, price...everything is better with them.

[Jumpy]

DirecTV all the way, and like someone mentioned, do the promotion where you get $100 and the person who referred you gets $100 (except use my account number instead of his, its paid out as a $10 credit for 10 months on your bill).

I've had it for 11 years now and the service has always been top notch. I also recently wanted to upgrade a second receiver from standard to HD because of the purchase of a new TV in that room and I called them to ask how much it was going to be for the receiver and installation. I was told it was going to be $99 for the receiver plus another $120 for installation but when I mentioned that both Dish and TW were offering free equipment and installation, they only charged me $49 total and instead of paying $5 extra a month for the second HD receiver, I got that for free too. Basically, they are very fair and willing to do what it takes, within reason, to keep customers and get new ones. They were out here installing it the next day and it took about 15 minutes. (buy the equipment through DirecTV instead of at a store like Best Buy for the reasons mentioned above).

All of the local channels are included as well and if you move, they set everything back up for you at no cost.

Good luck and PM me if you want my account # for the promotion.

Get off my turf, pig, before you become pork rinds.

[XURunner85]

When I moved into my new house in December of 2007, I was all set to get Direct TV but they screwed me for the installation by telling me one day and coming the day before, it actually happened twice...so I gave up especailly when I started getting my bills and decided to hold off on getting either one of them. So that whole winter if X was on the road I was going to people's houses or the bar to watch games. Then in May of that year I was drinking at home on a Saturday night getting drunk and decided to plug in the cable to my TV to see if I could get better reception on local stations and found out that I had free basic cable. So who needs all the frills, who needs DVR, who needs the NFL package of watching every game (including my Bears).. I GOT FREE BASIC CABLE. Now if I could just get free beer I would be set...

[Cheesehead]

I have had Dish and I have had Directv for about 3 years now. I haven't been a TW customer since the mid 1990's. I got tired of bad customer service and a good picture on one channel and a crappy picture on the next channel. I'm sure it has improved by now but Cincy Bell and Directv have promotions together. I pay about $135.00 a month for phone, high speed internet annd more channels than I need. I do not have any movie channels and I pick up the sports pack for $11.99 a month for 3 or 4 months during college basketball season. I have always liked the picture on Directv but I'm an HD snob.

Directv has also started offering more on demand programming which makes them even more attractive. Their sports packages are incredible: US Open, Master's, NCAA college basketball tourney, NFL, etc., The ice storm did suck but I got up on a ladder and knocked the ice off w/ an ice chopper. It took about 3 minutes and I enjoyed the challenge of not letting mother nature beat me. No damage was done to the dish, hit just hard enough to slide it off in big chunks.

[wkrq59]

Pickledpigsfeet,
I too have had satellite TV for 10-plus years and the max package(their best) for under $130 a month.
I have never had ice on my dish and the service from Dish TV has been outstanding. In addition to a lot of standard stuff I have all the HBO, 30 more movie channels my wife loves, all the Scripps HGTV channels, both history, both discovery, both biography, all the Espn, CBSTV, the soccer channels, Versus , the NHL, NBA, Big Ten, Tennis channel, Golf channel. and a separate Outdoors (mostly killing bambi and wild turkeys ) and a special Quail killing channel.
Initially when I bought the HD package, I had trouble with reception, but their repair service sent a tech out and he installed a second dish on the roof and also replaced the receiver in our living room with a brand new one that worked perfectly.No charge. I have yet to have any program interrupted at any time by system failure. The system is maintained maintenance check ) every morning at 3 a.m. Most of the time I'm either on here or szzzzzing.
But never weather-related loss, except when Duke, whom Ihave not seen do any PM for years, had power outages twice.:D:D:D

[XU-PA]

Take either Dish Network or Direct TV, you'll get a better deal with them than Cable unless you like the bottom dollar no specials cable deal for a few bucks.
I live in Maine, had Dish Network for a few years with the sports package, it was TV heaven. During b-ball season you had multiple hoops games all day and all night. Just the Fox Sports portion of that package gave me over a dozen regional channels.
Now I have Warner, and the "sports package" gives me 3 fox channels, it absolutely sucks.

I signed a timer warner deal, got a good price for the combo of cable, digital phone and internet. Now that my year contract is up they are passing along an extra 15 bucks a month for equipment rental, and if I want either HD or DVR I'll have to pay more. Dish gives you all the gear free, install is free, and the DVR is free (in some cases 2 of them) I think the HD level is still an add on.

As far as reliability, during very intense storms you do get short outage periods, but it's usually minutes. The same thing happens with Cable, because they too rely on Satellite reception then they send it down the wire to you. So you get the storm outages, and you get outages when the snow, rain, wind or accidents cause power outages and poles/wires come down. As soon as my now "man cave" is done I'm going back to the dish.
The only holdup is high speed internet and digital phone. The phone deal is pretty damn good, and the high speed internet is great, you just have to live with outages for both.Fairpoint, our crappy phone provider, doesn't put high speed internet up here and there's no way I'm going back to dialup, so I'm not sure how much it'll cost to keep Warner for phone and internet, then add Dish for TV.

[dc_x]

I prefer DirecTV over Dish because of some of the exclusive sports packages that DirecTV has. The 2 big ones for me are NFL Sunday Ticket (all NFL regular season games) and NCAA Mega March Madness (all NCAA tournament games). Both of those packages are exclusive to DirecTV and I couldn't live without either one.

[PM Thor]

I get to use DirecTV at home, but we have TW at work, so I get to see each firsthand.

I'm very happy with DTV, think the picture is better, and all in all is a better product. Time Warners boxes drop out and reboot way, way too much (chickeys reboots constantly, the 4 at work almost as much). But, I love, absolutely love the On Demand feature of Time Warner.

I would say DirecTV, but make when you get the dish installed that they put it in a convenient place that you yourself can reach in case of heavy snow or ice that might build up on the dish. In the 3+ years I have had it at my home, this has happened twice for me. Oh and they are really flexible about giving out deals to retain customers too. (From one moderator to another, use me as a reference, if you will. Hell, I'll even buy you a beer if you do)

I HATE dayton.

[Kahns Krazy]

I've had some struggles with TWC, but for now, sticking with it. No contract, no ugly dish hanging off the side of my house, and what I believe is the best high speed internet in town.

[Muskie1000]

I've had some struggles with TWC, but for now, sticking with it. No contract, no ugly dish hanging off the side of my house, and what I believe is the best high speed internet in town.


Directv doesn't have a contract - at least it didn't when I first got it. I agree the dish isn't the most beautiful thing, but when March Madness is in full swing I think that its the most attractive part of the house. Nothing better than watching all of March Madness and not what CBS deems I should watch.

[PM Thor]

Oh and DirecTV has an Iphone application so if you forget to DVR something and you are out, you can program it through your phone. I have used this application quite a few times. Nice little bonus.

I HATE dayton.

[Cheesehead]

I've had some struggles with TWC, but for now, sticking with it. No contract, no ugly dish hanging off the side of my house, and what I believe is the best high speed internet in town.

The "ugly" dish has never bothered me and only one neighbor can see it, as I'm at the end of the street. With no one behind me and on one on the other side of me, I have never worried about what the neighbors might think.

Think of it is art. :rolleyes:

[Jumpy]

Oh and DirecTV has an Iphone application so if you forget to DVR something and you are out, you can program it through your phone. I have used this application quite a few times. Nice little bonus.

I HATE dayton.

You can access with any phone that is internet capable. No need to buy a silly iphone.

[PM Thor]

You can access with any phone that is internet capable. No need to buy a silly iphone.

Some of us don't have Internet at work there Jumpy. I can get porn on my iPhone, and now that I cracked the damn thing, free tethering to my laptop too!

I HATE dayton.

[nuts4xu]

no ugly dish hanging off the side of my house

That ugly dish is the official state flower of the state of West Virginia.

http://www.redelephants.com/acatalog/WestVirginiaDishrags.jpg

[Fireball]

I moved from Dish to Insight a while back for the 3-way combo deal a couple years ago. When I went from Insight back to DirecTV earlier this year, I kept the 2-way internet and phone combo pack with it. It's still cheaper than Bell, and not that much more than the 3-way combo pack.

[XU-PA]

getting ready to go with directv on the recommendation here. Anyone want the referral cash?
send me a message.

By the way, I have had cable for a year now, am switching because Time Warner has a horrible sports package and I'm paying 5 bucks a month for it. It sucks. I do like the interent though, fast as shit, and the digital phone works well, I didn't want to go through all the crap of changing email address, so I searched around on TW's website, they do offer a package with internet and phone, once I go to Directv I think the $$ will be a wash.

[Muskie in dayton]

If you enjoy bad reception, horrible customer service, DVRs that don't work, and like missing games because of weather, go with DirecTV. I spent so much time with the DirecTV customer service I had them on speed dial. Ironically I switched to DirecTV to see more Bengals games (NFL Network), but in the 2 years I had it, I lost more Bengal games due to weather than the NFL Network showed.

Stay with cable and save the aggravation.

[Cheesehead]

If you enjoy bad reception, horrible customer service, DVRs that don't work, and like missing games because of weather, go with DirecTV. I spent so much time with the DirecTV customer service I had them on speed dial. Ironically I switched to DirecTV to see more Bengals games (NFL Network), but in the 2 years I had it, I lost more Bengal games due to weather than the NFL Network showed.

Stay with cable and save the aggravation.

I have not had a single issue w/ my DVR and I have had it for over 2 years now. It sounds like you had a bad install. I rarely have any weather issues other than the ice storm and I was able to take care of it myself. I really think it's all personal preference. They each have plusses and minuses. I can say I have enjoyed both Dish Network and Directv much more than TW.

[Jumpy]

I have not had a single issue w/ my DVR and I have had it for over 2 years now. It sounds like you had a bad install. I rarely have any weather issues other than the ice storm and I was able to take care of it myself. I really think it's all personal preference. They each have plusses and minuses. I can say I have enjoyed both Dish Network and Directv much more than TW.

I agree. After the windstorm/hurricane a year ago, my Directv was on all the time. Once they got my power back up, I was instantly watching tv again. My neighbors with TW, not so lucky. They had to wait another two days.

[Muskie]

I like Direct TV Xeus. It's far superior to anything available in the Indy market (we just got ATTUverse recently). I've been happy with it, and never had any problems. Because of this, I've never had to deal with their customer service, so I can speak to any of that.

[muskienick]

I have had no problem with my Warner Cable system. The DVR feature works great and they are now bunching channels of similar nature together like some of the satellite companies do. The only factor with cable that doesn't measure up with satellite is the number of stations you can receive on "slave" TV's in the house. The rep I spoke to from the satellite company said that you could get every channel on the slaves that you receive on the TV with the main box. If that is true, it's better than the cable system in that regard. The only negative is the necessity to buy (or rent?) additional remote controls for the number of slaves you have (if you don't want to transfer one from room to room as you watch different tv's. Heck, I have trouble keeping track of my remote when I can keep it in a single room! If I had to carry one around to other "slave rooms" as needed, I'd never be able to find the d@mn thing!)

[XU-PA]

I'm thinking I'm changing my mind here after looking over the packages.
Directv has a grat deal for NFL season. For the next five months you get every channel they offer. All the movies, all the sports, everysingle channel, along with NFL Sunday Ticket which gives you all the NFL games, that's a plus for me since living in Maine means all I get to see is the GD Patriots, or Jets, or Bills over and over and over. I think I got to watch 3 Bengals games last year, and despite the probability of another sub-par season, I'm still a fan.
The problem is that once that's over, you pay over $100 for the service, and that level is the only way to get the good sports package with all the fox channels and cbs sports and the extra espn's.

With Dish Network it appears that the sports channels, all the fox, cbs sports, all the espn, comes with the smaller packages. It looks like I'd get to see all the XU games for as little as $38 per month for the first year, $53 per month after that.

Anyone have a better read on things than that?

[Jumpy]

I'm thinking I'm changing my mind here after looking over the packages.
Directv has a grat deal for NFL season. For the next five months you get every channel they offer. All the movies, all the sports, everysingle channel, along with NFL Sunday Ticket which gives you all the NFL games, that's a plus for me since living in Maine means all I get to see is the GD Patriots, or Jets, or Bills over and over and over. I think I got to watch 3 Bengals games last year, and despite the probability of another sub-par season, I'm still a fan.
The problem is that once that's over, you pay over $100 for the service, and that level is the only way to get the good sports package with all the fox channels and cbs sports and the extra espn's.
With Dish Network it appears that the sports channels, all the fox, cbs sports, all the espn, comes with the smaller packages. It looks like I'd get to see all the XU games for as little as $38 per month for the first year, $53 per month after that.

Anyone have a better read on things than that?

That's not true. You can have any level of service and add on the sports package for something like $15/month. The sports package gives you every channel needed to watch X games.

[Cheesehead]

That's not true. You can have any level of service and add on the sports package for something like $15/month. The sports package gives you every channel needed to watch X games.

Actually, it was $11.99 per month last season but haven't checked the rates lately.

[nuts4xu]

Dish Network has been advertising their version of the NFL Ticket, and report they have a bunch of the great NFL teams. It isn't the Ticket, where you have all the games (that aren't blacked out in your area of course).

I talked to a Dish installer a few weeks ago, who also told me they are cable of a 1080i HD signal and actually use an HDMI cable (unlike Directv). I haven't looked into Dish lately, but it sounds like they may be worth a look if you are considering a switch.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Directv. The customer service has been great, the few service interruptions due to weather have been much less frequent than when I last had TW Cable, and the amount of HD channels is still second to none.

But as mentioned in someone else's post above, it is a matter of preference. I see no reason for me to ever switch back to TW cable, but that could change.

[x_man11]

Just to jump in here--I agree DirecTv is awesome. I had it for 1 1/2 years before I moved down to N Ky. One other thing you may take a look into is Cincinnati Bell Fioptics. It's a program in its infancy, so they may not have things up and running in your area yet, but if they do, you get satellite quality, 0 interruptions and outages, and the fastest (and most reliable) internet available currently. We have had the fioptics for a few months now. When the salesman came to our place we actually thought it may be a scam but called Cincy Bell and asked about it. It's been awesome. For $90 per month, we get 250+ regular and HD channels and internet. It's worth looking into if you're from around here.

[Cheesehead]

Just to jump in here--I agree DirecTv is awesome. I had it for 1 1/2 years before I moved down to N Ky. One other thing you may take a look into is Cincinnati Bell Fioptics. It's a program in its infancy, so they may not have things up and running in your area yet, but if they do, you get satellite quality, 0 interruptions and outages, and the fastest (and most reliable) internet available currently. We have had the fioptics for a few months now. When the salesman came to our place we actually thought it may be a scam but called Cincy Bell and asked about it. It's been awesome. For $90 per month, we get 250+ regular and HD channels and internet. It's worth looking into if you're from around here.

Wow, that sounds very interesting. I hope to see it advetised soon.

[x_man11]

Yeah--like i said, the program is in the infancy stages now but the cincy bell sales rep said they've made a significant investments in the technology and are hoping to roll it out to residents soon. www.cincinnatibell.com/fioptics. That link should take yoou to a section where you can see if it's available.

[Muskie1000]

The one problem I have noticed with both the dish and warner and not with Directv is tv costs. Seems like for awhile I kept getting messages about not getting to see my favorite programs on certain channels because either the dish or warner was having negotiation problems. Not once have I ever seen that message with Directv. Also it seems that when I new channel is launched Directv is the first to have it and without all the complications. Directv does not move all their stations around. In fact in all the years I have had it, it happened once but they moved it 3 numbers away. Not like TW who will totally revamp all of your tiers. One of the downfalls in Directv (not sure about dish) is that you do have to pay for each additional box if you want different programming in each room. Cost is $5 a month whereas TW, you can have as many boxes as you want. You also don't rent equipment, you buy it, so you take it with you and its yours. That's good and bad... Good because of no contracts, bad because if it goes bad, you have to get a new one.

[bobbiemcgee]

Worst customer support ever. Period. No doubt about it. They are rude as well.

We just got a flatscreen so i called up for HD from them. They sent a Samsung box and everything worked perfectly until a couple days later when we lost signal randomly. I called and they said I never registered the box, which is what I did right when I got it two days before. They lady told me I didn't and that she's "worked there for 4 years and that has never happened before. I have to be trying to scam her" but reluctantly, she would check for me anyways.

Well, you best believe she realized I was telling the truth, they sent some shitty box to switch it out because the samsung box was never even in their inventory. now we have this shit box. I've been trying to convince my roommates to make the switch. but that 2 year commitment thing is what scares us.

i never had any problem getting out of either one of their "contracts'. Just tell them you're moving out of the country and ask them if they provide service in Botswana. They'll arrange for equipment pickup in a blink. Same with cell phone companies.

[X-band '01]

Fark. I am not going to be able to get DirecTV in my apartment building because the dish is not going to be able to point in the proper direction.

I would rather just sit without cable for a little while until Cincinnati Bell comes up with their new cable system.

[dc_x]

The one problem I have noticed with both the dish and warner and not with Directv is tv costs. Seems like for awhile I kept getting messages about not getting to see my favorite programs on certain channels because either the dish or warner was having negotiation problems. Not once have I ever seen that message with Directv. Also it seems that when I new channel is launched Directv is the first to have it and without all the complications. Directv does not move all their stations around. In fact in all the years I have had it, it happened once but they moved it 3 numbers away. Not like TW who will totally revamp all of your tiers. One of the downfalls in Directv (not sure about dish) is that you do have to pay for each additional box if you want different programming in each room. Cost is $5 a month whereas TW, you can have as many boxes as you want. You also don't rent equipment, you buy it, so you take it with you and its yours. That's good and bad... Good because of no contracts, bad because if it goes bad, you have to get a new one.

Directv recently dropped Versus which I guess sucks if you like hockey or MMA. But, yes, in general Directv has the best package of channels. I remember when X played IU a few years back. The game was on the big 10 network and Directv had it, but TW did not.

[PM Thor]

Well F about VS, because I got all my cycling stuff off of there.

But.

Directv just gave me, yeah, gave me SHOWTIME for 3 months for free for my anniversary, no strings attached. How sweet is that? Dexter, Weeds, Inside the NFL, FREE for 3 months. FREE. I'm never leaving Directv. They reward people without even people complaining. (I just watched Rambo, holy crap that was brutal.)

I HATE dayton.

[wkrq59]

Thor, feel the same about Dish. Have the NFL channel which Warner refuses to pick up all the Showtime, the two Fox, all the HBOs and the ESPNs, plus VS, the soccer channel, the outdoors channel, Speed, and the Golf, NBA, Big Ten, Tennis and the two TRA channels, as well as both discoveries and a whole lot more. My wife loves the travel channels and history and the HGTVs. All in HD. Well worth the price. BTW, love Weeds and Nurse Jackie. :D:D:D

[bobbiemcgee]

loved the Weeds finale with the croquet mallet...