[Earl]

OK, so a friend of mine is a brand new employee at DirecTV and is pitching me his business tomorrow. I would like to give him my business but have my questions.

My sister changed to DirecTv a year ago and they had to run wires along their baseboards. That would be a deal breaker for me. Even my wires for my LCD tv that is hung on the wall are hidden in the wall.

I don't know anything more than that about Satellite and have had cable for 8 years. He said it would save me $30 a month.

SO, who can give me advice on Satellite and specifically DirecTV. I also would love it if you could fill me in on their DVR's, as I won't have TV without it.

Thanks.

[PolarExpress]

It shouldn't be any different than the cable, but I suppose it depends on where the dish is placed and where the TV is in the house. I have DirectTV, and the cable's no different. The DVR is great ~ I'm able to record more than I could with cable, and it's all in one box (HD, DVR, etc). I switched to cable & lasted the year I had to for the contract, but couldn't wait to dump it in favor of satellite. Just my opinion...I know there are plenty of people who prefer cable.
Good luck with the sales pitch!

[Dejibo]

The wires are no different than cable. They can be popped up thru the floor, wall, or run from the ceiling down. Whoever installed your friends cable, and ran it along the baseboards was lazy lazy lazy! She should call the company and demand they come back out and do it properly.

I had DirecTV once upon a time, and while it was a good service, it was not as stable as cable. We live in the boonies, and cable didnt come out here yet. It has its pros and cons.

Pros
It doesnt matter what your neighbors have. They can come anywhere a signal exists.
When most cable companies go out DirecTV is still on the air.
No worries about the cables that are strung down the street, or who hit a telephone pole three towns over. its only hooked to YOUR home.
They have a TIVO DVR box that rocks! Most Cable DVRs are lousy imitations. (please google TIVO if you dont know. its a way to record programs that is amazing!)
They can put a small dish on your roof, a tree near your home, or even off the back side of the building so no one can see it.
The cables run and looks exactly like cable.
They have good customer service, and offer tons of channels.Including NAscar! you can follow your fav driver while he is on the track. You can hear what he is saying and what is being said to him.
Easy to use, and easy to maintain.
You can program your DVR from the internet, even at work or vacation to be sure you dont miss a program you see come up.

COns.
Bad weather can affect your picture. Sometimes a small rain here would cause us to lose signal till the clouds passed. (again, we are way out in the boonies)
They put a big dish on top of my house, and it looked tacky.
The FREE Tivo DVR upgrade box is wonderful BUT...it costs money each month for that upgrade. Yes the box is free, but the service to that box is NOT. Be sure you want to pay for the upgraded service before accepting free come on offers.
They have IRON clad contracts. Once you sign on that line for a year or two, you are STUCK! there is no 30 or 60 day test drive like cable. Make sure the package full of stuff you order is what you want. You can add to the package no problem, but taking away from it is more of a problem.
As with any cable/satellite you MUST have wires in your home to bring the service to your TV. A good tech can hide them well, or you may have to pay a contractor to come do a better job.

After my contract was up, I chose Cable when they came thru. I got a nice package that was less expensive than the rate offered by Direct TV once my come on package expired. I also was able to bundle phone/tv/internet into one price, and direct TV doesnt offer that.

Either way, you will LOVE the expanded choices of whats on TV. Enjoy!

[Debbie D]

We had Direct TV at my inlaws' cabin and Dish Network at home. Both lost picture when even sprinkles hit...and with Dish we had lots of problems with pixilation of the picture, even with good weather.
We changed to AT&T Uverse when it became available...no interruptions or pixilation now. We can record multiple shows.
When we called to cancel Dish here at home, the person on the phone told us we needed to go up on the roof to get the dish down and send it to them. DH told them if they wanted the dish, they can come and get it down...they were really poopy when we cancelled. The dish is still on our roof
We suspend our service at the cabin at the end of the summer. Next year, DH is going to buy something called Slingbox at Radioshack...it will connect the cabin to our home system, so we'll be getting our home stations up north.

[Victor H]

Earl,

Save yourself the $50/month and ditch cable/satelite entirely.

Just use a cheap HD antenna and you will be very happy with the extra $600/year that you will save.

I did just that, and am really pleased.

After all, why pay for what is free already since you can watch most TV with the antenna and then watch cable shows on your computer.

Put what you save in a safe to build-up your emergency cash reserves. The extra cash will be needed soon, as the "other shoe" will fall soon economically for everyone...and being prepared is of the utmost importance.

-Vic

[Dejibo]

I detest Dish network. They put service in my elderly mothers place, and gave her the "free!" upgrade to a multi room DVR. its FREE! She has no idea how to use a vcr, let alone a DVR. I called to complain and they were nasty! They were charging her for the multiroom DVR service, and went on to explain that she signed for the units, and therefore must pay for them. I tried to explain that she had NO idea what they are, nor how to use them. They didnt care. They gave her a "trial" of HBO/Showtime/Cinemax for 60 days. Then they started charging her for the package. I explained that the free trial was over, and she didnt want them, remove them from her services. They held out some contract that she got 60 days free, IF she ordered the package for a year. I called the BBB on them, and called the local news station for elder abuse stories. The BBB took my statement, but nothing happened. I tried many channels to get help, and the only thing that happened was when her one year was up, we cancelled and ran. Again, they wanted HER to remove the dish from the trailor and mail it back at her expense. HAHAHAA.

Run from Dish network! RUN!

[PolarExpress]

Originally Posted by Dejibo

After my contract was up, I chose Cable when they came thru. I got a nice package that was less expensive than the rate offered by Direct TV once my come on package expired. I also was able to bundle phone/tv/internet into one price, and direct TV doesnt offer that.

I wonder if this isn't due to location, too. I have DirectTV, and bundle my phone & internet for a lot less than I paid for cable (thru Qwest). I discovered if the power went out during a storm or something, my phone would be dead too with cable...

[SandyC]

We have Directv and love it! The only downfall is when it rains or storms we lose signal. Really ticks us off when we are watching our reality tv stuff! haha

[Earl]

I am thinking of doing the switch because a good friend is new with the company and is trying to make a bonus. It will save us about $40.00 a month and being able to watch stuff on the DVR on any of our 3 TV's is a big plus. I am talking to him tomorrow to decide.

Regarding the weather issue, not really a problem in AZ, we won't have another storm until next July (probably).

[SallyC]

Earl, were you near any of those odd tornadoes they had in northern Arizona?