Coytee Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I've had Dtv for a long time, can't remember how long, probably since '96 or so and never had any real problems anywhere I've been and I move from town to town like gypsie. It's good I guess, but the only real reason I won't switch is because of Sunday Ticket. I just ain't gonna live without it. (highlight added by me) You & me both brother!! I've had DTV for about 10 years now. No real complaints. Run 3 tv's off system and one of them is now HD. Being a diehard Bengals fan I don't have any other viable choice if I want to see their games every week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Coytee, I used to respect you. You always had, what I thought, were wise comments. Your thoughts on investing were well thought out and your choice in speakers were impecible. Now I find out you PAY to see the Bengals! What's next? One can only imagine now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 We have Dish Network and it is excellent in all regards. We are lucky enough to have a competent dealer close by.....and that has worked out well. I highly recommend the "SatelliteGuys.Us" forum. That is a great place to read and post. You will find out that Dish Network is HUGE compare to Direct TV. Dish has far more HD channels and a much better technology and dealer network. Direct TV always does commercials comparing itself to cable....never to Dish....because it does not compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 We have had Dish for about 7 years and couldn't be happier. We "rent" the equipment and have had a DVR since day one. We have upgraded twice and now have a 2 tuner DVR in the bedroom and a 2 tuner HDDVR in the living room I have a switch setup so I can choose either DVR and show it on our 50" Sony RP daily TV, send it to the DVD recorder or get HD on both the Sony and our PJ system in the HT. I do like to have a lot of choices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I will review our contract tonight. It really is not a money issue for me. It's the dishonest underhanded dealing of revenue generation that I dislike. For instance, they charge on the bill $4.99 for a leased reciever that I own. They then tell me it is for the signal to that reciever. I commented they should call it that on the bill...signal fee, not reciever lease fee. I'm still hot about this. I emailed them as well after spending about an hour on the phone with two very rude people who became more rude each time I asked why they told me one thing and did something different. I guess I am supposed to be OK with "we made an error and we are correcting it". I told them they were more than happy when the sales person was "selling" me and now I am paying for what they call and admit "their error". They will not bend. In my business, if I make an error I do not pass it along to my customer. I learn from it and use it as an oppertunity to gain a LOYAL customer....It amazes me how some people just don't get it. I have since sent an email to their customer service department. I told them that really there are no winners here. I commented to them that they have a short sighted business focus as in 1 1/2 years I will be switching on principle alone if something can't be resolved to make their customer happy. I understand price increases and inflation. I will never tolerate underhanded lying and deception! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Coytee, I used to respect you. You always had, what I thought, were wise comments. Your thoughts on investing were well thought out and your choice in speakers were impecible. Now I find out you PAY to see the Bengals! What's next? One can only imagine now! Ya...and what's worse is I was a devout fan of theirs through their lost decade... or was it TWO decades? sigh... If I am NOTHING else, I'm loyal! IF ya ever get over this way, I've got some other cool toys in addition to the Jubilees. You like to play on an industrial sized backhoe/loader? I not only got one of them (JCB 1550- BUT I got a ton of space where you can play sandbox with it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I'm a loyal Redskins Fan living in our past glory...JOHN RIGGINS dragging an oxygen tank down the field and hitting on Supreme Court Justices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Phil, Dish Network will not do that to you. I have dealt with their customer service a few times. Also, after having the dealer install everything......I added equipment that I purchased and installed myself (extra receiver and multi-switch). They were helpful and walked me through getting things initialized. What I will say is that I don't think Dish is any cheaper though. My bill jumped from $71.00 to $103.00 to add HD and a purchased receiver. Same charge as you got to provide signal to my owned receiver. HD is not cheap either. But I think it is worth it. We don't have any of the "pay" channels and seldom do PPV. If you have to pay a large bill it might as well be for a respectable service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Double post, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I agree. I had HD with all the equipment. The truth of the matter is, with a 6 and 8 year old, I rairly get to watch what I want to anymore anyway. We only have HD in the theater and have not pulled the plug on a HD compatable TV for the upstairs yet, so.........Additionally when we are down there we usually watch a DVD anyway not to mention that 75% of those are kid related. I will say I have been dissapointed in the HD selection as it is really limited. With such a limited selection I have purposely not pushed for an HD unit in the family room or our bedroom. When DirecTV did what they did, it made my decision easier, that's for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I'm pretty sure we have around 20+ channels of HD with Dish. I keep finding new ones here and there. A few are older stuff that's been upsampled. But most are the real thing. There's only a few I watch, but they are stunning. The Food network and the NASCAR races are spectacular as is any other sporting event. The Disney channel is great too. Preaching to choir, I know. All the locals from Atlanta and the major networks are HD. So I guess I do watch HD more than I think. It'll spoil ya for sure. We have SD in the next room and the same channels are good but no where near as good as HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Disney on HD? WOW! the kids would love it! Nope I get none of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 I have been on the phone for a total of 2 hours today with DirecTV. They just hung up on me (or was "disconnected") after the third transfer. I'm so done with these guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Phil, Dish Network will not do that to you. I have dealt with their customer service a few times. Also, after having the dealer install everything......I added equipment that I purchased and installed myself (extra receiver and multi-switch). They were helpful and walked me through getting things initialized.... Dish did do me dirty, however. A few years ago I switched from DirecTV after 7 yrs and bad service to Dish; after one year with Dish, I wanted a DVR receiver. I talked one customer rep down to $80, but wanted to think about it overnight. I called back the next day to say "yes," and that rep told me that the other rep couldn't have offered me the DVR for that price (implying that I was lying), and wouldn't budge on the full price. I switched back to DirecTV the same week. Unfortunately, I don't like their service and quality either. With either company, it's like Lily Tomlin's old schtick as the phone company lady ("We're the phone company; we don't have to care"). Who else will you buy satellite TV from? A few years ago, DirecTV tried to buy Dish, although the FTC did not allow it (monopoly). I read a recent article about a guy who is trying to start a class action suit against DirecTV, claiming their HD broadcasts are compressed far below actual HD capability/resolution, but the company doesn't honestly inform customers of that fact. If you like your picture and don't have problems, they are OK. Service is an especially weak point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I suppose you could run into a lousy service representative with either company. I've been lucky to have gotten good service for past few years from Dish. As I understand it Direct TV really does not have a dealer network per se. You can buy systems at big places like Best Buy and have the Geek Squad come to your house. We actually have a Dish network dealer down the road from us. You go in there and he has all the different receivers and dishes actually running. Many of the accessories such as the multi-switches are there. You can actually shop and get good technical advice. He has a dedicated installation crew and service technicians. The only other thing they do is install home alarm systems. The guys is a retired NASA engineer. We are just lucky around here I guess. The good thing is that when you have a problem.....and I have had to call for service several times over the years......you can call Dish 24/7 and get a competent technical person to walk you through trying to solve the problem (fairly quickly and comprehensively)......then if it is determined you need further assistance you can get the dealer involved. This is good for late night or weekend issues. Most of the time the phone service is all you need unless something actually fails. Last night I counted 34 HD channels on Dish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheis Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I'll add my Dire TV horror story. This goes back about four or five years to when they were adding local channel service. I was trying to watch the Olympics and was getting, something like 15 screen freezes per half hour along with lots of digital artifacts and a generally unwatchable signal - not good when you're trying to watch a sporting event. I complained repeatedly & the service department denied any problem on their end, blaming everything on my equipment and making me jump through all the hoops (unplug everything, reboot, etc). After a number of rounds of this over several days, they finally admitted that they were having problems with the transmissions from the local network affiliates to Dire TV. When I said "I'm not going to pay for this level of lousy service," their response was that they would be happy to have me disconnected if I was dissatisfied with their service. So, I pulled the plug on Dire TV. They then had the gall to continue billing me for another two months and continued to harass me for about another 6 months over the "unpaid balance" - which I refused to pay. I'm still pissed. They lost me as a customer forever. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 I'm going to finish out our agreement, as I understand it, however after that is up....I'M GONE BABY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 It really is a principle thing....Over the past year I have not watched one thing on HBO. Because of a 6 and 7 year old, I rarely get to watch any HD channels, and my wife likes lifetime, sooooooo.......I really havn't even utilized their services either nor could I ever really figure out their crap DVR system... Makes no difference to me at this time to get just their plus programing. The way I see it they did me a favor. I paid $240 for services I didn't use. Because they did what they did I simply disconnected the services I didn't use and over all they are not maximizing their revenue oppertunity with me. Not my loss, thats for sure![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Phil, I bought my equipment from Dish Network. Less than $200 installed. NO contract!!!! Same price as on the contract. If I don't want service anymore I just call and cancel. NO penalties. I've had super service, a great product, and NO problems at all with Dish Network. DirecTV can kiss my b... QQQQ DirecTV that's 4Q DirecTV Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 Makes no difference to me at this time to get just their plus programing. The way I see it they did me a favor. I paid $240 for services I didn't use. Because they did what they did I simply disconnected the services I didn't use and over all they are not maximizing their revenue oppertunity with me. Not my loss, thats for sure![] That is all I have, just the Plus programming, and this is going on nearly 10 years now! I don't watch enough TV to justify spending extra for HBO and such. As for the sports packages, I just don't care enough to watch that many games. I do catch the occasional game, but I can usually get the ones I want over the air in HD (I still have one of those huge TV arials on my house - I friggan pick up Baltimore channels with that thing!). I watched the Olympics over the air in HD. I watched the Super Bowl over the the air in HD. Friggan sweet. The only other service I added was when the UltimateTV unit came out. It is still going strong some 7+ years later (although I modded the box to add a bigger harddrive to get more recording capacity in the DVR. Originally a 40gig harddrive, but now a 120 gig harddrive - went from around 35 hours of recording to over 100 hours). However, I was considering upgrading my service to get HD, as I'd like to get Discovery HD or National Geographic HD and such. However, this also mean I have to upgrade the dish itself (I still have one of those original round 18 inch ones. I would need to get one of those newer oval ones). It is debatable if I just want to stick with DirecTV or switch to Dish Network. I've been hearing a lot of good things about the newest Dish HD DVR setup. In the nearly ten years I've had DirecTV, I've never had any real problems, but than again, I've not really need to call them up. What few issues that I did encounter, I was able to pretty much fix myself, either by figuring it out on my own, or looking it up on the internet (as already pointed out, there are several excellent satellite TV related forums out there - plus AVS has an UltimateTV dedicated forum, which is where I learned how to mod the box to increase the harddrive capacity). When they first started out, they had excellent customer service, plus the service was really good. Perhaps things have gone downhill in the recent years. To bad Zoom folded up as it would've been nice to get another player in the satellite market. Seems we are seeing a repeat in the satellite radio, especially with Sirius and XM now wanting to merge, much like how DirecTV and EchoStar (the Dish folks) wanted to merge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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