Anyone Have Direct TV?

[Commander Quan]

Anyone have Direct TV? Right now I have Time Warner Cable. I am happy with my service, I have Digital Cable with a DVR and Internet and "free" HD even though I don't have a HD capable TV. However, I am not happy that every bill I get is higher than the previous one.

Besides the perpetual price increase that I am seeing on my statement I am thinking about switching so that I can get the NFL package. I know that having that will end up saving me some cash because I won't have to go out and spend $$ at the bar to watch the Steelers.

So what are your thoughts? How much is service and how do you like it?

[RightAJ]

My Gmom has it and it sucks. She calls me every time it gets messed up, which is usually every two months or so. More of a pain than the cheapness of the service is worth IMO

Ok rant over, sorry guys

aj

[Whee]

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/index.jsp?CMP=EMC-MQ-OM&ATT=120-4L-080730final&m=

I have had it for almost two years. No complaints on service other than weather interruptions, which is kind of annoying. I have the Choice pkg with no other add ons. Package is similiar to what I had with cable, price a little cheaper. I also have DVR and can;t imagine not having it.

[G G]

I switched from Dish network to Directv and I am glad I did. The weather interuptions are far less than dish was.

[Mr.Maduro]

Got it and love it. I have the Sunday Ticket package to watch my woeful Redskins. They suck, but DirecTv doesn't. If you switch, say I referred you and we both get $100. :tu

Once in a while (ususally during a storm with high winds) the signal might get screwed up. but other than that , no complaints. The HD channels are better than the competition.

[Resipsa]

Got it and like it. Also have the Sunday ticket, there nothing lime
getting to watch your team
every week, and any other game you want
wihout being hostage to the networks. Can't imagine ever not having it again.

[Barrythevic]

I have had Direc TV since it started.

I originally got it because my cable company was so screwed up with their lack of customer service and billing practices.

I have had very few problems, I now own 2 HD DVR's and one regular HD receiver. I love the system.

I have several friends who have the new fiber services from Verizon and from AT&T. The TV cost is a bit lower than Direc TV, who knows how high they plan on going with the pricing and they usually want you to bundle your phone and internet services. They seem to really like it.

[cady97dev]

Have Direct Tv in Boston and Love it!!! I have hardly any weather interuptions or thatn really wet sticky snow and That only happen once and went out for 2hrs. Very friendly and help customer service and I have cinemax and HD package LOVE IT....I have a whole package deal through Verizon telephone, internet, and Dish for $140/month...Cant beat it here in Boston...

Hope this helpful...Good luck on your research and Choice..

[D_A]

I've had it for a few years and have been very pleased with the service. I think during that time I've had one short weather interruption, but I don't get much snow here.

[markem]

If it wasn't for the fact that I need fast internet at home (I work from home) so that it made sense to switch completely to FiOS, I would not have left DirectTV. Our dish is in a sheltered spot (we get 60+ MPH winds in the winter) and only had one interruption (ice storm) in the 3 years we had it.

My FiOS is about the same quality, slightly less useful DVR and way more money. But I get 25 Mbps internet speeds on both uplink and downlink, which is important to me.

Lots of friends have the football package and love it. One friend has a bar in his basement and a 48" plasma. Guess where I watch games. :D

[kgoings]

Had it for the most part since 96. I switched over to cable for one year and was in Hell.

[timo]

Got it and like it. Also have the Sunday ticket, there nothing lime
getting to watch your team
every week, and any other game you want
wihout being hostage to the networks. Can't imagine ever not having it again.
:tpd:

[Commander Quan]

OK guys, It's official, I am a Direct TV customer. F you Time Warner. Go Steelers

[Blindjimme]

+1 to all the positives. I've had it for 12 years and I love it. NFL Sunday ticket is just as great as it sounds, too. :tu


and no weather related issues in SoCal !!

[gvarsity]

My Gmom has it and it sucks. She calls me every time it gets messed up, which is usually every two months or so. More of a pain than the cheapness of the service is worth IMO

Ok rant over, sorry guys

aj

That seems really unusual from my experience. I would normally chalk that up to user error but maybe there is something else going on in her location.


I have had DirecTV for 7-8 years and it has been fantastic. I have had the NFL season pass and it is awesome. I can't afford it every year but if money was no object it is a great thing. I got DirecTV for my folks as well and they have loved it. Charter cable which is our regional provider is awful. Frequent outages lots of signal issues and inaccessible or non-existant customer service and it is expensive. I would go without television if Charter was the only option. Here in Wisconsin at least DirecTV has better picture quality is better, less service interruption i.e. static, pixelization etc... than cable.

The best aspect of DirecTV is the customer service You can get a person on the phone who can actually fix the problem much of the time in a matter of minutes. I have called and had service outages resolved or changed plans or billing issues with no problems.

A cool illustration of their flexible customer service for me occurred on a visit to my folks in CA. I was able to get DirecTV to connect and pro rate a channel for the rest of the month so I could get a college hockey game from a regional fox network that was not normally available in my parents area in less than 15 minutes. I think it cost my folks all of 4$.

I would recommend them without hesitation.

[captain53]

I have had it for about 6 years and it sucks but sure as heck sucks a lot less than the other alternatives. They do continually slip the price up a little at a time but I am really pissed about loosing VS Channel as I watch quite a few shows on there and since they cut it off they sure as hell did not lower my rate for loosing it. I wrote them about it and they quickly wrote me back that they basically did not care if I did not like it. Anyway, they still have better service than any others I think. I have Charter cable at the lake place and holy cow that will make you appreicate anything!:banger

[poker]

I have had it for years & love it. Made the switch from cable and glad I did.

[Darrell]

I had it, but hated paying so much.

So I got the Comcast triple play.

As soon as I get done with this contract, I'll be back to Direct TV.

[Col. Kurtz]

Mini dish is the only option I have out here in the sticks and I LOVE Directv.

My wife just upgraded us to a DVR. I didn't want to do it.

I LOVE IT!!

Only problem is the on-screen menus are a little slow. But hey, no commercials.

Did I say I LOVE IT?

[icehog3]

I have a LOT less service interruptions with DirectV than I did with cable...not really cheaper for me, but worth the improved service.

[coach]

same with me. had DISH at first but then switched to Direct. other than "resetting" every now and then", i've been satisfied.

[Scothew]

I've got dishnetwork with aboslutely no issues and love it! I dont watch NFL much so i dont know the package differences. My inlaws have directv and im not really a fan of it, slow loading menus and all. Maybe theres is an older system.

[random0813]

We have DirectTVs business package at my office and while most of the time is is good, the occasional weather related outage is enough to drive me batty. If this was in my house and was having outages it would likely be out the window before the storm was over.

[Blueface]

I had it at one time about three/four years ago.
I liked it except for the problem in South Florida during rainy season (Thunderstorms).
Every time we had one, signal would go out.
Went back to cable then ended up leaving them and going with U-Verse about a year ago.
They all have good things and bad things.

[SvilleKid]

We went from a big dish (maybe 15 years of service) to Dish Network when signals all went digital. Had Dish for 3 years, customer service was a ZERO (or less!). Changed to DirecTV, Found out what customer service was about. Have had Direct for over 5 years. Loyal customer support runs strong. At my five year mark, Direct gave us a whole year of Showtime FREE. No strings attached. In a year, it will roll off without any action by us, no need to remember start dates and cancel!

My only complaint is that heavy rain storms will disrupt service a large percentage of the time. Heck, I could watch TV with the big dish when it had 2 inches of snow on it! But, that is a problem inherent in all the small dishes, be they Direct, Dish or something else. Small dish area always adds up to less reception strength, just the nature of dish service. That's why the old 10 foot dish never lost signal, more surface area to reflect back to the LNB. My sister and mom have Dish, and I get a call from my mom at least once a month to come fix something messed up. Granted, my mom is NOT tech savvy, at all. But about half the time, it's not something she's done, it's the system or provider. No complaints about DirecTV from this corner.

[Barrythevic]

Actually, the problem with rain is not due to the size of the dish.

Obviously a larger dish will receive a higher signal strength than a smaller one. But there are diminishing returns on dish size.

Almost all small dish systems, including Direc TV utilize a higher frequency of satellite service called KU band. The older large home dishes, 8 to 15 foot mostly used C band which uses lower frequencies. The lower the frequency, the larger the corresponding dish size is required for the same receive signal level.

The higher KU band frequency is susceptible to rain fade. At these frequencies large rain drops cause loss of signal as the size of the drop corresponds to the wavelength of the signal. The more intense the rain storm, the less signal gets to the receive dish. As the signals are digital, they usual work until it goes out, or the amount of data is below the threshold of the receiver to decode the signal.

If you are really interested in rain fade, here is a good explanation in English as opposed to techno geek talk. It also has a map of areas in the US where rain fade is experienced. I have no affiliation with Spacecom, they just published what I think is a pretty good explanation.

http://www.spacecom.com/customer_tools/html/body_rain_fade.htm

Snow or ice on the other hand hardly affects signal strength in the atmosphere. Usually the only problem snow or ice will create is when too much of it lines your satellite dish. This deforms the focus point of the dish and thus lowers the received or transmit level of the signal. Several companies make dish covers and or heaters to eliminate icing for all of you in snowbound locations.

[SvilleKid]

Never had enough snow in north-central Bama to need the heater when I used the big dish. I ran a dual LNB system, so I had C & KU bands. Actually considered going to the digital receiver and a package program deal for the big dish, but the receiver/decoder was over a thousand dollars!! And programing was higher than for the small dishes. By that time, almost all wild feeds were being encoded, and not available for viewing, so there wasn't much need to pay a couple of thousand to upgrade the system when the small dish companies provided equipment for free to new customers! I really miss all the wild feeds that we used to get, but have to admit that replacing accurator arms every 2 years, upgrading LNBs everytime a better generation came out, got a little old. Plus, damn wasps LOVED the "nose cone" LNB cover for nests!! Was always a rush when it came time to pull the cone off!

Good link for a plain english explanation for those not versed in satellite jargon!!

[Veritas]

Several companies make dish covers and or heaters to eliminate icing for all of you in snowbound locations.
An application of Rain-X on the dish will also prevent snow build-up. I generally wipe down the dish after the first snow and don't have to worry about it again that season.

[BeerAdvocate]

I just switced to AT&T U-verse and I love it!