Directv or dish network

[crltkcagle]

I would like to hear from all my fellow intercotees out there. I currently have one of these services but I am looking to switch based upon bad customer service. So do you have either one of these? Do you like them? Thanks

[KylesMom]

We have Dish Network & have had nothing but great service the past couple of years. They have a nice line-up of channels for all in my family with basic service - it's cheaper than cable around here.

[DizneyRox]

Nothing bad to say about Dish so far. While their DVR is a little awkward at first, I've been pretty impressed with it.

HD has been good as well. At least with Dish, I'm using two satellites, so sometimes is the HD satellite is "blocked" I can still get the SD channel. I've noticed a lot of channels are now in HD as well. It wasn't always that way.

With Comcast, I needed to pay significantly extra for a lot of the features I get with Dish automatically. I still miss COX, but Dish has been a good second choice.

I also have the 200 channel tier. I can't bring myself to up to the 250, there's only a couple channels up there I would watch. But I don't miss them at all.

[DizNee143]

i have neither..i just wanted to say..
your gona come into contact with "bad" customer service no matter what you do..
whoever you hate..other people love..it just depends who you talk to..
goodluck with whatever you end up doing! :D

[tazlikesrobots]

Been a DishNetwork customer since 1998. Never had an issue with them! :thumbsup:

[DVC2004]

We've had Dish Network for almost 3 years now. No problems whatsoever.

[Ed]

Another satisfied Dish customer. We've had them for 7 years with very few problems - mostly losing reception during our severe thunderstorms, a fact of life around here. When that happens, I just switch to over-the-air antenna until the storm passes.

Only real problem was when one of their installation techs (a subcontractor, actually) dropped through our garage ceiling from the attic. :oops: :doh:

[MNNHFLTX]

Originally we had Time Warner (which became Comcast), but they had awful customer service. Switched to Dish Network for one year; customer service was okay, but didn't like that one satellite feed meant we couldn't fully use our dual tuner TiVo. We switched to AT&T's U-Verse two years ago and it is fabulous! Fantastic customer service too! If it is an option at all your area, you might want to consider it.

[crltkcagle]

Wow not one good thing said about directv. LOL That is who I currently have and was thinking of switching to Dish. I have looked into the uverse too but I really don't want a home phone line and from what I understand you have to have it. Thanks!

[DizneyRox]

Wow not one good thing said about directv. LOL That is who I currently have and was thinking of switching to Dish. I have looked into the uverse too but I really don't want a home phone line and from what I understand you have to have it. Thanks!
You'll need to talk to Dish about that too. Our receivers MUST be connected to a phone line (we get a warning if it's not with a threatening note about a charge if we don't have it connected). I think it's for usage data to be transmitted to them, which means nothing to me.

I've been meaning to call because I would like to drop my land line as well, just haven't found the time to fight with them.

[RedSoxFan]

We've had Direct TV for 10 years now. We first got them in 2000 when we moved from Massachusetts to Virginia as I HAVE to be able to watch the Red Sox every night. Direct TV is the only one to carry the MLB network. We haven't had any problems and customer service has been fine.

[Kenny1113]

I'll be the first to post about Directv. :) while I can't say that I [I]prefer[I] it because I haven't tried Dish, I will say that have had Directv for over 10 years and I have been very satisfied with their customer service.However I am interested to hear other replies because I am currently paying over $100/month! that's Without premium channels!

[KylesMom]

You'll need to talk to Dish about that too. Our receivers MUST be connected to a phone line (we get a warning if it's not with a threatening note about a charge if we don't have it connected). I think it's for usage data to be transmitted to them, which means nothing to me.
Here in Illinois, the only reason we need to connect to a LAN line is if we want to order pay-per-view. When we do, we connect the phone line. Otherwise, we leave it unhooked without consequence or warnings.

However I am interested to hear other replies because I am currently paying over $100/month! that's Without premium channels! OUCH! We pay $59.99 a month in the Chicagoland area for "America's Top 200" with two receivers.

[Tekneek]

I have only had DirecTV (not a subscriber anymore), but I would prefer Dish Network now based primarily on how they are not making you pay extra for HD. DirecTV wanted something like an extra $10/month just to get the HD versions of channels I was already paying for.

In a lot of respects, these companies have both become cable companies in the sky. The days of them being barbarians storming the castle of status quo are long gone, but at least Dish Network still has the same leadership from those days. DirecTV has changed corporate hands a couple of times now.

[Jeri Lynn]

My story is that in November of 2008 I called Direct tv to have service put at my camp in Maine. At that time I was told there were no local channels but I would get them by the end of the year....did not happen. So I pay $10 a month extra to get channels out of NYC. I am able to get some news but in the winter I am looking for Maine weather, not NYC weather. Also, during football season if we are at our cabin during a Patriots game, we have to pay $45 just to watch the game!! I have just found out that Dish Network now offers local channels out of Presque Isle Maine, so very shortly I will be switching my service...it's a little harder to do because I have to coordinate a trip to Maine with installation service. Calling Direct TV has always been futile...the only way I get to speak to a real person is by telling the computer I want to cancel my acct...that seems to do the trick.

[Dznygrl79]

I currently have Direct Tv and like them much better than Dish, I had that about 2 years. My main concern was constantly loosing signal, but that may be where I live. Customer service is great on both, I even had a Dish rep come out to check the Dish after having the signal dropped. They where helpful and even replaced all the boxes just to make sure that was not the problem, they could not resolve the issue. I switched to direct and still have excellent service and only loose a signal during bad storms. I never had a dvr on either service so I cannot comment on that. Hope you enjoy whichever you choose.

[hubbyofadisneyholic]

We've had Dish Network for 9 or 10 yrs now.
Never have had it connected to a phone line.
Three TVs, 1 w/ HD and the 250 package and are still well under $100/month.

Only real complaint is with the off shore customer service. Bad phone lines plus heavy accent w/ limited English skills on the other end can make for rather difficult problem resolution.:blush:

[DisneyDog]

We had directv for about 3 years. Dish before that. We switched because they had a good deal. The reception was pretty equal. Other than that, diectv was a nightmare. Getting set up was one of the worst customer service experiences ever. They sent a guy who didn't know how to run a line (we were adding a box) and he just left. We called directv (because he refused) and they tried to charge us $75 for someone else to come out. We had an argument and they finally consented to send someone else out. We were then forgotten about and stood up several times. This went on for weeks with many arguments. We finally got set up. Fast forward to this May. We decided to switch to Comcast so we could watch Phillies and Flyers games. We cancelled and Comcast was wonderful. Even came on a Sunday and had us set up in an hour. Then, last week we get a call from directv. They said thank you for your last payment,and we got your returned receivers, but you now owe us $50 for pay per view movies that were on the receiver from 2007. WHAT??? We have never done pay per view. They are crooks and awful to deal with.

[magicofdisney]

We originally had Dish and I was pleased with the service and reception. I also greatly appreciated their Parental Controls. They were far superior to DirecTV's at the time.

After about 2yrs my husband desperately wanted the NFL package so we switched to DirecTV. We've had them for over 7yrs now. I feel CS is comparable for both companies. In general, I think the same can be said for pricing.

I love DirecTV's DVRs. We have 4 of them (3 are HD versions). They've needed tweaking over time, but I now prefer them to the Tivo versions that DirecTV previously offered.