Been with Direct for the past 9 months after being on Cable and Dish Network. So far it has been good and when we move they said that would be no problem. Like others in a really really bad storm we loose service but only for a little while. Of course these are the types of storms when you probably shouldn't have the tv on anyways.

Moving was a huge problem for Dish Network when we moved years ago. We moved and they could not provide us service where we moved to, they simply could not get a signal at our new house without "putting the dish in the middle of the street". But they wouldn't let us out of our contract. We went round and round with them trying to get it sorted out. Finally we figured it would be cheaper to pay the lowest price for service $15 a month for 2 or 3 months than it would be to pay the $245 disconnection fee. Never again will I have Dish Network and tell anyone who asks to stay away from them.

Direct TV = Good

Dish Network = really really bad


Speed is 607 here too. Local channels for us are DC which is about an hour away.

If you have a choice, opt for a larger satellite dish. It helps with rain and snow.

I used DirectTV for years then my boss paid for my cable here at the house (used the high speed internet for my work) so kept that. Have sampled Dish and did not like it as much.

When you are intially signing up is when you have the most leverage. Now is the time to ask for free equipment (HD DVR's) and free programming and free install (be sure to get the latest mpeg4 dish). Probably have to agree to a 1 or 2 yr committment. If you don't like what you hear, hang up and call back for a different rep.

I have it up at my Vacation home and I am getting kind of pissed off at it.

Every time we come back from being away for a while I have to call them and get them to send a ping to fix it.

The last time I called (probably the 5th time this year) I just tried to cut to the chase and tell the service rep what I needed. He insisted I check everything on the upstairs and downstairs units. He had me running up and down the stairs over and over.

He finally agreed with me and sent the ping.

As soon as my contract is up I am getting Cable again. I have cable at home in Florida and after 10 years I have never had to call them once.

The biggest complaint with Directv is the installations are done by a contracted service here in the Chicago area. The day I had scheduled which was 10 days out, came and went with no installer. I even had a confirmation phone call but he was a no show. I called and they extended his time frame by 4 hours up to 7:00 pm. Second story dish install on roof isn't going to happen in the dark. I call back and was told different installer tomorrow morning before noon. At one o'clock I call back, installer held up but he'll be there by 5. Installer shows up at 4 o'clock but it's raining and can't do it. He offers to come by in the morning, sunday, and set me up. Monday morning still no dish. I call and get new appointment that is now 3 weeks out. This was not acceptable. There was no way to talk to anyone of any authority at either directv or Apex installations. Directv offered $10 credit for a year. Great, but didn't have the dish installed yet. So after 5 days of getting the run around, I finally got someone off of their butt to get it done but spent at least 4 hours on phone either holding or being transferred through their automated switchboard and missing 3 days of work sitting at home with no service while I waited. At more than one point I contacted dish network and cable but also had a three week install window. A week after the dish is up. the cable company knocks on the door to do their install. Good luck with any of them.

Top dog. HD DirectTv is incredible to see....all 9 feet diagonal of it ;-)

Another bit of info... The HD TiVo takes quite a while to "reboot" after a power outage. So, I got a small APC UPS for the TiVo. Now, if/when the power goes out during, say the season finale of BSG, I worry not. :)

Also, I can't remember the last time weather (or anything else for that matter) messed with my reception. It's a non issue for me.

- Skip

DISH.....Two thumbs down......

Was better when they let you program your card yourself. ;)

Had OJ doing mine.

We've had essentially flawless service with our DirectTV service. We did have a lightning strike that took out the receivers, which was caused by an improperly grounded system. DirectTV fixed this promptly by all new wiring and new boxes. We have TiVo, but not HD. Weather has never been an issue for signal reception.

Very satisfactory.

Those were the days.;)

I'm switching from dishnetwork to direct asap, dish has okay programing but their customer service is junk.

Anyone know how I can get out my dish without a disconnect fee?

Also does direct have OLN?

Scott,

I don't know the answers to your questions, but can you say whay your customer service issues were with Dish? I've had them for 7 years now and no issues, but I also don't think I have ever had to contact customer service, either.

I recently upgraded to Dish dvr, they sold me a bad unit, I called customer service and they dicked me around because by my description of the way unit was functioning it was obviously bad. I finally insisted that they exchange the unit and they wanted me to pay for shipping, the new unit functions properly (which worked nothing like the old identical unit) however I am getting a ticking sound on the audio now with this new receiver and not looking forward to getting that resolved.