I've had it with my cable company (Comcast) and I'd like to know if anyone has any advice for choosing a satellite dish service. Any advice would be appreciated.
Satellite TV
- Thread starter Zennsx
- Start date
Well your choice is DirecTV or Dish, the first has a larger better sports selection and the second is generally better if you are into movies. You can check the lineup, both are good. The non HD channels are better in quality than comcast's. If you have a lot of sets in the house it can get expensive with the satellite equipment.
I have Direct TV for the NFL package. I am happy with them and they are supposed to be adding a ton more HD channels very soon.
Rob
Rob
They have been saying that for over 2 years now.
Do NOT trust the satellite providers. I say this not as a customer, but as one with extensive experience in the television industry. We go through more hassles with them than you can imagine. Hundreds of area viewers are told again and again "We'll be adding local stations soon", and they tell area electronics dealers (who are also advertisers with us) that they'll be adding those stations within the next month, etc. I would literally die before doing business with DirectTV or DishNetwork. If you're fedup with Comcast, see if there's another cable provider in the area. I've had great experience (as a customer) with Charter.
I've had DirecTV for about 10 years.
Plusses:
Cheap to add additional boxes ($5/set)
Cheaper monthly bill than cable
When you move, they set up a new dish for free, just take your boxes with you (just have to commit to 1 more year of service - I just had them do this today, the box is still at the old house, so as soon as I arrive at the new place, I'm ready to go)
I love my DirecTiVos - CANNOT live without them, but see negatives below. You can still buy these on eBay. Mine are hacked to have a web interface, I can download movies from the PC to them or go in the other direction. Stream music from the net or MP3 from any PC on the network, browse photos on my PC, encryption is disabled. Displays Caller ID info on the TV and lots of other little things. These are Linux based so the sky's the limit.
Minuses:
NO MORE TIVO being offered by DirecTV
HD selections SUCK ROYALLY and even when they do add more, they aren't compatible with (the no longer available) DirecTiVo
Current DirecTV DVR offerings suck in comparison to TiVo
Need line of sight (generally) toward Texas
During bad weather you can lose signal
Need to see if they offer local channels for your geographic area
All I can think of for now.
Plusses:
Cheap to add additional boxes ($5/set)
Cheaper monthly bill than cable
When you move, they set up a new dish for free, just take your boxes with you (just have to commit to 1 more year of service - I just had them do this today, the box is still at the old house, so as soon as I arrive at the new place, I'm ready to go)
I love my DirecTiVos - CANNOT live without them, but see negatives below. You can still buy these on eBay. Mine are hacked to have a web interface, I can download movies from the PC to them or go in the other direction. Stream music from the net or MP3 from any PC on the network, browse photos on my PC, encryption is disabled. Displays Caller ID info on the TV and lots of other little things. These are Linux based so the sky's the limit.
Minuses:
NO MORE TIVO being offered by DirecTV
HD selections SUCK ROYALLY and even when they do add more, they aren't compatible with (the no longer available) DirecTiVo
Current DirecTV DVR offerings suck in comparison to TiVo
Need line of sight (generally) toward Texas
During bad weather you can lose signal
Need to see if they offer local channels for your geographic area
All I can think of for now.
Doc, I Just added another Hi def tv and needed another set top box . I went to the local office to pick one up and to make a long story short it took 5 seperate trips to get a working unit ! They kept insisting it was my TV even though my other box from a differen't room worked perfectly on that TV.
I'm paying almost $200.00 per month for cable and internet and It seems a Dish would be a better deal. I'm not much a sports fan so I'm thinking about getting the Dish network as opposed to Direct TV.
I'm paying almost $200.00 per month for cable and internet and It seems a Dish would be a better deal. I'm not much a sports fan so I'm thinking about getting the Dish network as opposed to Direct TV.
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I dont know where u r in PA, If you are looking for HD, why not get an Antenna and get it for free. Thats how I get them.
Got DirecTV for almost 11 years. Have DirecTiVO, DirecTivo HD and the new HD DVR from directv. All work very well. The advantage of the HD DVR from Directv is that it is MPEG4 which allow greater compression, ie more HD channels. Can't get OTA HD locally but can get HD local stations via HD DVR. This is how they are going to add all of the new HD stations.
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I've been a Dish Network customer for more than 8 years and am overall very pleased with their service, programming and equipment. I recently did an in-depth comparison between DirectTV and Dish Network. Both companies offer similar packages, equipment and pricing, but in the end IMHO, I think Dish Network offers better equipment (especially the dual HD DVR receiver) and a lot more HD programming.
If you are going to get Dish Network.. search google for Viewsat PVR 7000. This is a FTA box that is HD and has DVR that can be unlimited storage depending on the size of hard drive. FTA gets all the channels without any subscription fees. PM me for more details. Besides just Dish Network you can lock onto other satellites like Express Vu from Canada.
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This receiver doesn't appear to support MP4 which is what Dish Network uses for most of their HD programming. Instead, I would recommend the ViP622 DVR from Dish Network.
- Supports two TVs – one HDTV and one SDTV
- Record up to 200 hours of standard-definition programming, up to 30 hours of high-definition programming, or a combination of the two
- View and record HD over the air digital
- TV1 display supports four resolutions: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
- Two Satellite tuners allow you to select from two viewing options
*Single Mode: Picture-In-Picture (PIP) available on any TV
*Dual Mode: Independently view and record programming on two televisions
Yes the Viewsat PVR does support Dish Network HD. It is the setup I am currently using. My TV and box support 1080i. The hard drive on the Viewsat PVR can be replaced with a regular computer hard drive so your storage capacity can be endless. The reciever also has 2 tuners so you can record one program while viewing another.. or even record 2 programs at once. ****note the viewsat reciever is not a dish network reciever. It is a FTA free to air reciever that is capable of recieving satellite signal from just about any satellite in the sky. Seach Viewsat, or FTA in google for a little more info. I can watch all PPV and most sports packages.
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I googled the Viewsat PVR 7000 as you suggested and didn't find any mention of MP4 support. Some of the older Dish Network HD programming is in MP2 format, but all of the newer HD programming is only available in MP4 format. So I doubt that you are receiving all of Dish Network's HD programming.
Further more, if I'm not mistaken, these FTA type receivers are using pirated decryption software and receive Dish Network programming illegally. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I spoke to Dish Network and according to them, all their Satellite signals are encrypted.
It's all up in the air. They just got in trouble for charging people for something thats free, broadcast channels.
Like nchopp said:
Do NOT trust the satellite providers.
If this box is grabbing signals from DN satellites and decrypting it, it's illegal regardless of whether or not DN is charging for 'something that should be free'. Grabbing stuff 'up in the air' is not legal and that's already been upheld in court with people trying to use the argument that they can legally grab these signals because they are being transmitted into their back yards which is their property.
I'm not talking about ethics here, I don't have a problem with people that use these boxes, it's their choice, but no matter what argument you might make, it's not legal (and ViewSat is aware of it also based on the fact that if you call them and even mention using their boxes with DTV or DN, they won't sell one to you).
I'm not talking about ethics here, I don't have a problem with people that use these boxes, it's their choice, but no matter what argument you might make, it's not legal (and ViewSat is aware of it also based on the fact that if you call them and even mention using their boxes with DTV or DN, they won't sell one to you).
It's like a gun or our cars. Not illegal to posess or use... but can be illegal if used in the wrong way. It's just another available option. It's your choice.
