Direct TV - Your Opinions

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Psykoboy2

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Thinking of making the switch from cable to satellite and was wondering what others opinions of the format are.

I currently use digital cable with a TiVo box (series 3 modified with a 1TB hard drive - lifetime service) and I have never used satellite before. How is the quality and the equipment? I'm nowhere near snow so no worries about that but we do get rain storms like anyone else.

I've priced things out and for the first 3 months of service I save nearly $60 each month then I break even (on price...still getting a ton more HD than I would with cable) and then after the first year I'll be paying almost $30 more per month for the rest of the contracted year.

Do the deals ever come back around or will I be stuck with paying $30 more for the rest of my time with the service?
 
IAfter your contract has expired, they offer all kinds of retention bonuses....of course that normally means another service contract. The offers change all the time but it could be anything from free hardware upgrades to free premium channels or even just a straight discount on your package.

I've been with DTV for over 15 years now and I love it.
 
I have Direct and really like it. After my two years was up, they gave me every premium channel and the NFL Sunday Ticket for the same price I was paying before. Then they let me switch to a cheaper package after six months. Picture is great, I love the channel selection, and you get the 101, which has shows such as The Wire and Damages.
 
There is nothing like DirecTV IMO. My HD quality has never been better. I had HD on TWC, Comcast, and Dish before and it was never THIS good. This is how the signal has worked for me. The only signal that has ever gone out for me is the HD signal. It goes out sometimes when there is tons of high winds (the ones that shake your windows) and during our hail storm that we had. The Standard signal to my knowledge hasn't gone out at all during any storm/wind/snow/etc. I have been with them for about 1.5 years.

As for pricing, I found DirecTV to be higher than what I can get somewhere else. For me, the viewing quality is worth the extra. When your year is up, your bill will look like it went up quite a bit. DirecTV will call every month or so and offer you something; most of the time it is getting premium channels for 50% off or a free movie rental. Don't be afraid to call them and ask them what promotions you are eligible during that time. You will surprised what offers you could receive. When your 2 year contract ends, you are eligible again for the package discounts.
 
I love it. I had it from 2002-2005 and really loved it, then was stuck with Comcast until last summer when I moved again to a place where I could have satellite (community dish on the rough of the high rise).

The picture quality is much better than Comcast IMO, and the price is a good bit lower for comparable packages. Free HD for life if you don automated bill pay is nice as well (vs. paying $7 or whatever a month with Comcast).

Their DVR kind of sucks (slow to navigate menus, season passes sometimes screwy if it's a show that's airing several times a week etc.), but no worse than comcast's, and they're supposed to be going back to offering a DirecTivo unit again sometime soon. Which would kick ass as I had the old one back in 2002-2005 and loved it.

As for signal loss, I only lose it for a couple minutes here or there in a really severe storm with super thick clouds. Not sure if it's HD only or not as I pretty much never watch any SD channels so I haven't bothered checking if those were still up during a storm. I had more outages with Comcast as there were always a few times a year where the cable would be out hours at a time when lines were down in a storm, or someone took out a utility pole in a car wreck etc.
 
My parents get it and pay out the ass. The quality is good, it has few interuptions except when there's heavy snow or rain.

Just be aware that satellite can't do on demand like cable can; that alone is the clincher for some people.

Me personally, when I move in a month, I will be going the antenna and netflix route. Unless antenna reception is shitty where I will live. I just don't watch much TV. Although that could change if I live alone again.
 
[quote name='2DMention']
Just be aware that satellite can't do on demand like cable can; that alone is the clincher for some people.
[/QUOTE]

Not really true anymore. The catch is that it requires broadband internet as well as satellite. Where as with cable all you need is the basic digital cable package to do on demand.

But if you have broadband, DirecTV has a shit ton of stuff you can stream/download now. I'm sure you've seen the commercials touting over 6,000 on demand options etc. as they run the hell out of them lately.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Not really true anymore. The catch is that it requires broadband internet as well as satellite. Where as with cable all you need is the basic digital cable package to do on demand.

But if you have broadband, DirecTV has a shit ton of stuff you can stream/download now. I'm sure you've seen the commercials touting over 6,000 on demand options etc. as they run the hell out of them lately.[/QUOTE]

But if you have just satellite by itself, you can't get it. I thought the ad with the super hero wiping his face with his cape was just bragging about all the channels you get.

All I ever watch on pay TV anyway is American Pickers.
 
Yeah, that's what I said. You have to have broadband and plug an Ethernet cable into the satellite box to get it.

But most these days have broadband (particularly on this site) so it is available to most people reading this thread I'd guess.

I don't use it much as I'm just watch stuff live or DVR it, and use Netflix for everything else personally.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, that's what I said. You have to have broadband and plug an Ethernet cable into the satellite box to get it.

But most these days have broadband (particularly on this site) so it is available to most people reading this thread I'd guess.

I don't use it much as I'm just watch stuff live or DVR it, and use Netflix for everything else personally.[/QUOTE]

Do you have to pay extra for on demand Direct TV or have a DVR to receive it? Too bad it isn't Wifi. We don't have a phone line near our satellite box.
 
I think you do have to have the DVR actually since you need a hard drive to download it. Currently I'm not paying a monthly fee for the DVR--but I'm not sure if that's a permanent credit like the free HD for life for doing online billing or a temporary promo (it's $7 a month if you have to pay for it). But maybe they have non-DVRs with small hard drives for the on demand stuff now perhaps, I never looked into it.

Beyond that there's no fee for the free on demand content, just for the payperview movies of course.

I didn't have an ethernet plug (my building is wired for internet and it's covered by our condo fees) either, but just ran a cable along the baseboard from the next room over as I needed the router by my TV for the Blu Ray player and my old 360 anyway since neither were wifi.
 
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We upgraded our Box (It used to be huge and didn't have to spend 5 minutes to re-load when you turn it on), but don't want to pay $10 or whatever for DVR service. No wonder I'm not hip to the new shit.
 
[quote name='2DMention']We upgraded our Box (It used to be huge and didn't have to spend 5 minutes to re-load when you turn it on), but don't want to pay $10 or whatever for DVR service. No wonder I'm not hip to the new shit.[/QUOTE]

The $10 works for me as it gives me more time by skipping commercials and gives me flexibility with time as I don't have to be home by the TV at a certain time to enjoy some of my favorite shows. Though, I wish it would be free like cable companies (or at least the ones I dealt with in the past).

Just know once you go DVR you can't go without it.
 
OP, if you have a Tivo, you won't be able to use it with DirectTV. You'll have to use it with OTA signals and use DirectTV's DVR for that service. Supposedly, their DVR solution has gotten better over the years and they may be coming out with one that has Tivo software on it.
 
Yeah, I knew I'd be giving up my TiVo box by going satellite. Hate too though. Still, I have lifetime service so I can always go back I guess if I want. Given the responses here and in other forums, I think I'm going to make the switch just as soon as most of my usual shows wrap up their seasons in the next few weeks.

I appreciate all the help, and keep the opinions coming if you've got experience with the service - both good and bad.
 
Yeah, I'd never have TV service without DVR again. My work schedule is all over the place so I'd miss all kinds of shows and I hate watching commercials. Well worth the $7 a month to me (that I'm not paying currently anyway. :D).
 
[quote name='Psykoboy2']Yeah, I knew I'd be giving up my TiVo box by going satellite. Hate too though. Still, I have lifetime service so I can always go back I guess if I want. Given the responses here and in other forums, I think I'm going to make the switch just as soon as most of my usual shows wrap up their seasons in the next few weeks.

I appreciate all the help, and keep the opinions coming if you've got experience with the service - both good and bad.[/QUOTE]Just wanted to give you some FYI about the shift to DirectTV, though their DVR these days is much better than it used to be, though it's still not a Tivo. The Tivo SW-version of the DirectTV DVR keeps being listed as a "coming soon" kind of item, though for your sake, it'll be sooner than later. If I was in your situation, I'd have your Tivo work as an OTA device and keep using it, as well as a Netflix front-end and the like.

[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, I'd never have TV service without DVR again. My work schedule is all over the place so I'd miss all kinds of shows and I hate watching commercials. Well worth the $7 a month to me (that I'm not paying currently anyway. :D).[/QUOTE]Every TV I have in my house has a Tivo on it, and being a DVR user for the last 10 years, there's no reason not to have one. Time savings and TV watching schedule savings for certain.
 
Does the Direct TV "On Demand" service have to be hardwired to your network or is there a wireless adapter available/Wi-Fi for it. I am thinking about switching but there is no way to run a wire from my system to the cable box.
 
[quote name='ajh2298']Does the Direct TV "On Demand" service have to be hardwired to your network or is there a wireless adapter available/Wi-Fi for it. I am thinking about switching but there is no way to run a wire from my system to the cable box.[/QUOTE]Since I believe it has an Ethernet jack on it, all you'd need to go is purchase a third-party Ethernet-to-wireless bridge and hook it into the DVR's Ethernet port. You'd use that to bridge the Ethernet connection to your wireless network.
 
I can see the appeal of a DVR, but I think it's absolutely assinine that they charge monthly for what is essentially a hard drive.

65% of shows are streamed online so you don't really need it, and there's always DVD-Rs to record stuff, as big of a pain in the ass as it is.

If I watched TV now like I did maybe 7 years ago when TV was good, I'd get it, but with the
 
Yeah, the fees don't make a lot of sense. But it's well worth it to me for the convenience.

I don't do online streaming as I have no way to get that stuff to my TV currently (TV lacks an computer input, laptop doesn't have HDMI output etc.) and the quality stinks compared to the DirecTV feed anyway.

But yeah, if you don't watch much TV, then it's not worth it for sure. For
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Since I believe it has an Ethernet jack on it, all you'd need to go is purchase a third-party Ethernet-to-wireless bridge and hook it into the DVR's Ethernet port. You'd use that to bridge the Ethernet connection to your wireless network.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that should work. I didn't bother since my ethernet port was nearby in the adjoining room and it was easy to run a cable along the floorboard.

But no reason a wireless bridge wouldn't work.
 
Yeah, college sports is my main interest, so I have to have it and pay extra for the sports pack since I don't live near my alma mater. I don't mind though, I have the TV on in the background all the time when working at home etc. anyway, and I can easily afford the bill.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, college sports is my main interest, so I have to have it and pay extra for the sports pack since I don't live near my alma mater. I don't mind though, I have the TV on in the background all the time when working at home etc. anyway, and I can easily afford the bill.[/QUOTE]

Yea, and when you live alone, you tend to watch more TV.

Maybe if I get another job or things get better where I'm at, I'll spoil myself with pay TV, but the $$s are gonna be tight when I move.
 
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