dish network vs directv

[CrimsonJag]

VOOM went under. DISH Network bought it up afterwards.

Shows how up to date I am in the satellite market!

 

[Capstone46]

Not part of the debate but good news.

FWIW, the University's commercial station (WUVA) recently hooked up with both, and will be seen in 25% of the Alabama households across the state. From what I understand the coverage area will run from the Mississippi state line to the Georgia state line through the center of the state. WUVA will begin carrying more live Crimson Tide sporting events and will also carry Coach Mike Shula's postgame press conference live. They will begin a program this summer called "A Season to Remember" which will include all of last year's winning games from a number of sports that will conclude the week of the Hawaii game with replays of last year's Orange Bowl win.
Alabama is one of two schools in the country that owns and operates a commercial tv station. That has brought us a number of extremely attractive young ladies who want to pursue broadcast journalism as a career.

 

[theBIGyowski]

Re: Not part of the debate but good news.

...with replays of last year's Orange Bowl win.

You mean "Cotton Bowl"? Unless the guy running the station is a Joe Pa fan.

 

[Stephen323]

many talk about DVRs, no comparison.

You are correct, but in the wrong way. DirecTV DVRs, particularly the original TiVo models are far superior to Dish Network's offerings. Just the Wishlist availability alone blows away Dish.

 

[Capstone46]

Yes. I meant the Cotton Bowl. Thanks.

 

[LegionField]

In my opinion, nothing can touch Directv. I just am not impressed with dishnetwork. I've had directv for 6 years. I will never have anything else. Paperview games are easy to get. For Alabama and teams like Florida and Texas, they even have their ppv games when they are not a part of the daily ESPN gameplan package. Get Directv. It's a ferrari or a pinto.....no brainer!!!

 

[Alanbama27]

With all due respect to those "IN THE BUSINESS", I think it's all a bunch of horse hockey! I had Dish and loved it and I now have DirecTV (Specifically for the NFL package) and love it. There is NO WAY anyone will ever convince me that I can sit in front of my TV and tell the difference in satellite signal! My signal is almost always 96% or better, so I don't know how you're going to tell the difference.

Also, I can say this...I lost my signal more with DISH, but it was likely due to when I had it (1996 - 1999). Since that time, I've had DirecTV and really love it. The one thing I can also say is with respect to the number of channels and packages. Good lord...do you think anybody actually watches on a regular basis more than 40 or so channels? I have all of the ESPN channels and watch them, I now watch NFL, I watch our local channels, I watch my FoxSports channels. I have, but rarely watch HBO/MAX and others because the movies they show are normally 5 years old or older and I watch maybe 10 or so other channels such as CNN, FOODTV, DISCOVERY, TNT etc...however, you can get the exact same channels on BOTH detworks.

Finally, I've heard that they will be merging soon anyway, so who cares?

 

[theBIGyowski]

Finally, I've heard that they will be merging soon anyway, so who cares?

I thought they couldn't merge because of the anti-trust and monopoly laws. If they were to merge...there wouldn't be any competition in the market for satellite TV. Plus...having both of them is best for the consumer...creates competition...lowers prices...increases channel packages...etc. I have DirecTV and I love it. I have the HD package and it's been great for me so far. HD Tivo is an amazing thing...that's all I have to say about that.

RTR!!!

 

[Big_Fan]

With all due respect to those "IN THE BUSINESS", I think it's all a bunch of horse hockey! I had Dish and loved it and I now have DirecTV (Specifically for the NFL package) and love it. There is NO WAY anyone will ever convince me that I can sit in front of my TV and tell the difference in satellite signal! My signal is almost always 96% or better, so I don't know how you're going to tell the difference.

Also, I can say this...I lost my signal more with DISH, but it was likely due to when I had it (1996 - 1999). Since that time, I've had DirecTV and really love it. The one thing I can also say is with respect to the number of channels and packages. Good lord...do you think anybody actually watches on a regular basis more than 40 or so channels? I have all of the ESPN channels and watch them, I now watch NFL, I watch our local channels, I watch my FoxSports channels. I have, but rarely watch HBO/MAX and others because the movies they show are normally 5 years old or older and I watch maybe 10 or so other channels such as CNN, FOODTV, DISCOVERY, TNT etc...however, you can get the exact same channels on BOTH detworks.

Finally, I've heard that they will be merging soon anyway, so who cares?

I wish you could pick and choose individual channels. That is one of the ways they get you...you have to step up your package and add 20 channels to get one that you want. Dish is the worst at it. Each package has a few channels you want and a bunch of fluff. Direct includes more good stuff in their base package.

 

[tmv85]

We've had Dish, and now we have Direct. With Dish, we lost our signal EVERY time it rained, and not just for a few minutes--for hours. My gripe with Direct (and I guess it really isn't with Direct...) is that we CANNOT get the local channels. We are in the Montgomery television market, and they don't allow Direct to broadcast (or however it works.) Not long before we changed over, Dish did get the Montgomery local channels, but we would've had to have a different satellite. The guy who came to install told me it wouldn't work because of the trees. When I asked about cutting the tree, he said he couldn't tell me that would help, just that the tree would interfere with the signal. Our option was to put the satellite right in the middle of the front yard. When we swapped to Direct, the installer told us the satellite wouldn't pickup, so we set it up for a "professional" to come look. The pro said to put it exactly where the cable dish had been, just to put it on a higher pole. Makes me wonder if a higher pole would've worked with Dish, but the guy just didn't want to fool with it. It was about 5:30 before he ever got here, anyway.

 

[crimsonbleeder]

question for the board....if you have satellite tv, do you prefer dish network or directv? i'm getting ready to move to alabama and am pondering whether or not to get satellite....and if so, which of the 2 services is better, especially for sports. your input is appreciated.

As someone who has used both as well as "voom" before it went under, I can ASSURE you that DirectTV is by far and away the superior product, from picture quality, to less down time, to better customer service...