Rick,
I had DirecTV for 2 years and hated it and their deceptive billing schemes! I now have AT&T UVerse and it's much better.

Another happy Directv subscriber for about a decade. They have been pretty generous by providing free HDTivo's(3) and other free packages over the years. Every service is getting expensive, so the perks are nice.

I would talk to Dish and Direct. See who offers the most for the least. Commit to a couple years if you can get a sweet deal. Once you sign on, you lose most of that leverage. From all the reports I've read, I would recommend satellite internet only as a last resort.

Verizon has my home phone and my DSL. Verizon offered "Triple Freedom Discount" which essentially lets them charge me for Directv/DSL/Home on one bill. This saves me $330 a year over paying separately. So there are deals out there if you look for them.

If you need a Directv referral acct number to get the free $50. Let me know.

If you go with a dish make sure they offer what you watch. A few years back I went with Dish Network HD. Their DVR is the bomb. Best menus and performance. Downside was they did not offer local SD programming (LA was as local as they got) and ZERO Padres coverage. I guess the Padres signed a cable exclusive = no satellite option. Even with the full MLB package. I'm now back with Time Warner cable, have their 6 MP/S internet, no complaints.

BTW, what's up with the foreign channels? Why are they so expensive? It's something like $25-$35 a month for Chinese or German channels. I'd like to get that, but it kinda saps any savings.

I watch absolutely zero network tv, so I don't need anything local. Well, I guess I watch Seinfeld reruns sometimes, but it's probably cheaper to buy all the seasons on DVD than pay extra every month for its channel.

I forget my monthly bill I'll have to look it up. I upgraded to get Speed so I can watch F1, then I chose to get HBO (at the time Soprano's was on and now I am hooked on Entourage) and I get Showtime (for Dexter) and I think my bill is in the $80 range. A far cry from $160 for cable. Add in my internet fee and I am saving over $60 a month.

BTW - with the rain outage, it has to be a frog choker to interfere with the dish. A dreary rainy day will not affect it.

I have Direct TV.

Works great. Only drops during severe weather. Very rare. A fews minutes a year.


KT

Just got my Cox bill today and it's $120 and soon to go up. I look forward to cancelling them. They suck!

I had Direct TV for 9 years and absolutely loved it. When we moved to our new house, Time Warner was advertising the "Triple Play", which was Cable TV with DVR, High Speed Cable Modem internet and VOIP phone line (only needed for alarm) for $99 per month. That is an incredible price, but their cable TV and DVR absolutely SUCKS!! It is terrible! 200 series channels go off air randomly, the DVR (we exchanged HD boxes at least 6 times) needs to be rebooted (10 minute ordeal) at least once a week...I mean terrible.

Recently, I begged my wife to check into Direct TV again for TV. We could keep Roadrunner cable modem from TW for about $50. From what she said, you have to buy (or lease?) the HD DVR's from Direct TV and they are something like $199 each??? Does that sound right? We have three HD DVR's from Time Warner and I think they are $5 per month? I really want Direct TV back, but I am having a hard time seeing how they are even CLOSE in price anymore. Is this correct?

JA

sucks. worthless when it's raining and no on demand. You have to catch the movie when they play it... more holes in the house too. DirecTV from comcast cable.

Adding extra rooms is a PITA too.

DirecTV all the way - you pay for it but its the best.
I have had the NFL package for 8 years now. The most HD channels.

They now have on demand and a lot of it is free.

Something else I just found out is that you can schedule your DVR remotly via the internet. I think thats pretty cool.

Call them yourself and tell them you're switching from cable to DBS and trying to decide between Dish and Directv. I was fortunate to be considered a beta tester for their newest HD DVR and I got few free. Isn't the lease rate just $5 mo. which is actually the charge for any receiver?

If you were with them for that long, then you probably already know if you don't like the answer you got from one customer rep, just say thanks anyway, then call back and talk to a different one. Eventually you'll get what you want. ;)

The rain thing must be how the dish is tilted. I've never lost a picture for more than a 3 minutes and that happened maybe twice.

Thanks Terry...I think I'll try that.

Thanks Terry.

Are the HD boxes themselves "free" from DirectTV if you sign up for the Tivo service for $5? That is the way Time Warner works, and that is a good deal. My wife thought the guy from DirectTV told her that the Tivo service was $5, but then you have to buy the HD box...$99 for the first one, and then $199 for each additional HD box? That is a deal breaker for me...


JA

I couldn't say what the actually boxes are sold or leased for. I have seen them are all over eBay. Guess I figured they'd be happy to give you a few to get a long term commitment.

It's 4.99 per receiver and 5.99 for DVR service. So for 3 dvr's that would be about $21 a month + programming. I would talk to customer service and work out a good deal with free stuff programming/equipment.

Directv offered lifetime DVR service several years ago. I paid the $200 and no more DVR service fees ever. The lifetime is no longer offered unfortunately.

PS... if you do sign up, pm me for my acct number first and we both make $50. :)

Everything was free with Dish. Plus the boxes are dual tuner which is convenient, especially with dvr. On demand is meaningless with a dvr.

If you're leaning toward Directv, call Dish first and see what deal they will give you. Then take that info to Directv to match or better it.

Someone please PM me their account # and I'll use it tomorrow when I order. I don't know which service I'm getting, but I don't think I can strike up a good deal and then tell them I'll call them back once I've gotten someone's acct. #.

DirecTV for about 8 years.

It's so good I really don't think about it.

Reminds me of a now old saying/analogy about computers and the internet: "It's time to stop talking about the projector and start watching the movie", or something like that . . .

I've had DirecTV for probably 10 years and HD/DVR for the last few w/ no issues. I pull in HDTV OTA via an antenna (best pic without question) behind my entertainment center, and am thinking about putting an antenna in my attic to pull in HDTV from Raleigh & Charlotte too and dropping DirecTV. I don't watch that much TV, and can't really justify the approx. $60 per month although I do like the service. I wouldn't go back to cable if they paid me every month...