I had DirecTV at my old house and now my new place for the last 6 years. Haven't had any problems at all. I really enjoy the high-def channels.

 

Many of my friends have satellite (Direct or Dish). Myself, and other friends have Time Warner digital cable. There is no contest. Time warner is lightyears better than any dish service you can get IMHO. Never an outtage. Never a billing problem. The best On demand system of any carrier. The best guide system of any carrier. They are a bit more money though. Just IMHO.

 

I have had Dish for YEARS now and a friend has had Direct TV. I also have cable (now Time Warner was Comcast) because I have to to get cable internet service.

This means I get to compare directly.

First DISH picture quality is infinitely superior to cable. PERIOD! Only some of cable is digital whereas all of satelite is digital. I have made the comparison by switching from Dish to cable showing friends the difference probably hundreds of times.

Secondly, I have lost my Dish service far LESS than the cable is out. Strong storms knock them out more often than strong storms cause me to lose my Dish signal..

And when I do lose the Dish it is only a matter of minutes versus hours for the cable.

My friend with the Direct TV compare down times and he is down minimally as well.

If you are losing signal then I would check your connections. I would bet the installer didnt' install a drip loop and the water is shorting your connection out.

I am moving soon and at that time I will go Direct TV. I like Dish better EXCEPT for one "minor" problem, you can't use the guide for the next 4 hours. I can only check what's coming on next when it is within 30 minutes. By that I mean that, except for a few channels, I can check the guide for shows at least 4 hours later in the day or even for tomorrow but if I want to check what's coming on in an hour or 2 I am tough out of luck. I don't like the guide of Direct TV as much, but I can check future prime time shows during prime time.

I have complained about it and they have told me that is just the way it is. They did send me an updated box which made getting to the guide or getting Info much faster but it didn't solve the 4 hour black out window prob.

I will never go back to cable because of the guide. You can only get a scrolling, short range timetable guide along with a huge ad that takes up most of the page. That means it is very difficult to and time consuming to check other channels and you have to have a print guide for future shows. Plus you can't get INFO about the shows on cable, only a time slot. I have gotten used to write ups, length of show, etc. with satellite.

 

seriously! i was amazed myself

 

You must've spoken to one of the overseas "help" desk. Trust me, when you notice you're talking with someone overseas (usually Philippines), tell them to transfer you to the cancellation department (USA). From there tell them what you want and you'll be OK.

I have the DISH HD service and the box allows me to go forward not just 4hours but 3 DAYS! And no, it isn't through the guide service but when you press the forward button to see what's on next. It's sweet.

Also, I agree 100% with you regarding PQ. Next to OTA for HD, NOTHING is better than Dish (unless your in the lucky .0000001% that gets FIOS).

 

Yeah, what do you think of DirecTV's new HD DVR? I've heard it has a lot of software problems. I've recently gotten an HD TV but only have a Hughes HDVR2 so I'm looking to upgrade - an integrated TiVo device would be ideal, but it's hard to find the HR10-250 nowdays.

 

I had heard about a lot of HD DVR software issues but at the state fair I got to see and play with a Dish unit and it worked flawlessly. It seems the software issues were fixed about a year ago.

 

Yeah, my understanding is that Dish had their HD DVR out earlier this year, so it makes sense that they had time to work out the bugs.

Normal month-to-month Dish cost for me would be $64.99/mo not including taxes and fees, nor discounts as well. I'll have to double-check my bill, but I think that's a good bit more than what I'd be paying if I added HD to my DirecTV service...

 

I have DishNetwork's dual tuner dvr, hooked up to a phone line, and I can browse programs on the channel guide at least a week in advance. I think you just need a different tuner.

Side note, now that I have a dvr, I cannot go back to living without one. Period. Cable or dish, dvr is a must.

 

Try aligning the dish. It makes a world of difference; my parents have had it for years with few outages. But, Direct TV compresses the stream too much to have decent picture quality on a large TV. The PQ on Cablevision digital cable is far superior and they provide free HD.