Direct TV or DishNetwork?

[Paddy]

the !@#$%^&* DishNetwork just took another crap.  In April, it didn't work, so after the obligatory calls to 'Dave' in India, they finally sent me another receiver.  I've got an HDD receiver/DVR that can receive/record 2 channels simultaneously.   Anyway, the thing doesn't work again, I called, and went throught the India customer service with 'John', (yeah, right, but he was a nice guy).   So, they want to send out a 'technician', but not until Sunday. 

Anybody have DirectTV?  Are you happy with it?

[armchair warrior]

I have Directv.

A little story.
After having the Platinum(everything)service for about 4 years
I started to get dunning calls from some collection agency.
After ignoring them for a while,I called them up and said wasup?
They(Directv) claim I owe $120.00 from 1997!!!
I calmly explained that I HAD a past due balance when I re-instituted
my service 4 years ago,but paid it.They said B.S.,prove it!
I said B.S.,prove I didn't!I told them the statute on old debt is 7 years and I don't keep banking records for 10 years.Sorry they said.
Round and round we went.Finally I said screw it,cancel my service!
Well,that got some reaction!I was transferred to some woman who was
going to give me the stars and the moon.
About 3 months later I get my regular bill(or so I thought)for....$120.00.
I paid it and then the light bulb went on,my bill has never been $120.00
exactly.Doh!!!
They got me.I have not forgotten that.
I canceled my HBO,Showtime,sports package worth about $35.00 a month.
Friggin' crooks.

[LadySmith]

I tried both DishNetwork and DirecTV. I found DirecTV's equipment to be more user friendly. I got a notice from them once advising of a rate change. To my surprise, it went down a buck. 

[mtnbkr]

Friends have DirectTV, but I have Dishnetwork because they give us more of the stations and features we want for less money.  We've had it for a year and only had one problem that was quickly solved by a call to tech support.

Chris

[Stetson]

My wife works for Echostar, the parent company of DishNetwork, so we have Dish.  I think I pay a total of $45/mo for everything they offer.

[Leatherneck]

We had Direct TV for a while and had so many billing issues that we threw it out. We have Dish at the river and cable (COMCAST) up Nawth and are satisfied with both.

TC

[Jamisjockey]

I've never been happy with dish.  Everywhere I've lived cable has been more reliable and easier to deal with.

[Paddy]

armchair warrior's story reminded me of the difficult time I had cancelling my mother's DirecTV after she moved into assisted living.  It took several calls, a letter, and about 3 months. And they were rude buggers, too.

This is only the 2nd problem I've had with DishNetwork in about 16 months.  The first was in April when the HDD/DVR box crapped out & they sent me another one.  Now, they seem to think the electronics in the dish itself are fried. 

Got the tech appointment moved up to Friday, so we'll see.

[mtnbkr]

Now, they seem to think the electronics in the dish itself are fried. 

Lightning strike?

LNBs are cheap and easy to install.  That is the only circuitry on the disk.  Of course, if there was a strike, the cable might be damaged as well (as is the receiver).

Chris

[Nick1911]

Personally, I think I'll keep my, what - at least $600 a year?

Never saw the point of paying good money to watch commercials.  The only reason I own a TV set is to watch the occasional DVD.

[K Frame]

Dad had Dish for a couple of years. Never had a problem with it.

I went through some hassles when I tried to cancel it after he died in February.

[Vile Nylons]

The hardware on Direct TV has been problem free for me. The programming is poor though. You have to buy a lot of trash to get a few good channels. Lots of repetition and fluff. And lots of advertising. Often good channels are moved to other "packages" that you have to pay extra for. But I've only had Direct TV. The others might be just the same.

[Paddy]

Never saw the point of paying good money to watch commercials.

Agreed. That's beauty of the DVR-just record everything & watch later.  The remote even has a forward arrow that advances in 30 second increments, so you blitz through the comm'ls.

[Brad Johnson]

My parents have Dish so they can get some semblance of local TV out in the boonies where they live.  I have DirecTV.  My signal seems to be a little cleaner than theirs and my equipment and channel guides seem to be a little more user-friendly.  No billing issues on either end.  Packages seem to be comparably priced.

Brad

[Fjolnirsson]

I've had both. DirectTV had fewer signal issues, though I really haven't had that many with Dish, about the same price. I would still have Direct TV(it's more user friendly), but they didn't have some of the channels I wanted, so...