DIRECTV or CABLE

watchyourbehind

watchyourbehind

Registered User
Joined
Aug 16, 2013
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Hello fellow gamers / members. I have an appt Friday to have DirecTv installed. Im getting mixed reviews some love it some hate it. Does anybody have/had satellite t.v. and what is your opinion. I hear the satellite cuts out in bad weather. I still have time to cancel if need be. Any feedback would help. Thanks!
 
Are you referring to internet, TV , or both! I have worked in the cable industry (Cascade, coax, and fiber Infrastructures like Comcast) for 10 years. If you value your ping and want the best connection to the internet, I would not even consider Satellite for internet. As for using Dish for a TV provider, it can be pretty good as long as you have a straight shot (no trees) to the South West. The only time you may experience your TV channels cutting out is during torrential rains, snow (wipe the dish off in your pajamas) , and when the dish takes an impact or is exposed to very heavy winds! Then the dish will probably need to be recalibrated (this does not happen very often).
No matter the situation I honestly would go with Cable! The quality of TV and internet service with Cable companies is hard to beat! Both Dish and Cable are way over priced!!
Also take into consideration with either service, once you sign on the dotted line...your stuck. They will have you sign a waiver that says you approved of all work done by your installer. They will have you sign a year if not two year contract! The Dish and Cable industries rely heavily on marketing strategies to try and gain or keep customers!
Do not, and I repeat....DO NOT! ..Let them mount a dish on your roof or eves or overhangs of your house! If you go with Dish, I would give it a great deal of thought of where on your property would be a good place to mount a dish.

Remember once you sign a contract, the only way out is to pay your way out!
One last thing to consider is that Comcast (other cable companies will follow suit) is looking into making changes in their infrastructure that would increase their internet to gigabit speeds-
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/comcast...t-cable-internet-access-on-philadelphia-home/
 
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RAPTOR said:
Are you referring to internet, TV , or both! I have worked in the cable industry (Cascade, coax, and fiber Infrastructures like Comcast) for 10 years. If you value your ping and want the best connection to the internet, I would not even consider Satellite for internet. As for using Dish for a TV provider, it can be pretty good as long as you have a straight shot (no trees) to the South West. The only time you may experience your TV channels cutting out is during torrential rains, snow (wipe the dish off in your pajamas) , and when the dish takes an impact or is exposed to very heavy winds! Then the dish will probably need to be recalibrated (this does not happen very often).
No matter the situation I honestly would go with Cable! The quality of TV and internet service with Cable companies is hard to beat! Both Dish and Cable are way over priced!!
Also take into consideration with either server, once you sign on the dotted line...your stuck. They will have you sign a waiver that says you approved of all work done by your installer. They will have you sign a year if not two year contract! The Dish and Cable industries rely heavily on marketing strategies to try and gain or keep customers!
Do not, and I repeat....DO NOT! ..Let them mount a dish on your roof or eves or overhangs of your house! If you go with Dish, I would give it a great deal of thought of where on your property would be a good place to mount a dish.

Remember once you sign a contract, the only way out is to pay your way out!
One last thing to consider is that Comcast (other cable companies will follow suit) is looking into making changes in their infrastructure that would increase their internet to gigabit speeds-
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/comcast...t-cable-internet-access-on-philadelphia-home/
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Thanks Raptor. A lot to consider. BTW it would be for just TV. Im keeping cable for internet.
 
If you want to look like a rich guy, go for the dish.

Otherwise, cable is far better with far less disruptions. Judging by your location (Long Island), you probably have some sick offers when it comes to cable.
 
Do not go with Internet if you have cable as an option. Satellite TV works good if you don't live where it is very windy or has a chance to snow. Otherwise you will be sweeping the dish off or realigning it.
 
Here is the situation. I pay $115 a month for pretty basic cable. Its an old plan im grandfathered in. I only have 2 set top boxes.

Satellite will be same channels i have now plus streaming tv on mobile devices and tablets. They are also giving me 4 set top boxes. Its a 2 year contract and with all the promotions for the 2 years it averages out a savings $40 a month. Like i said im definitely keeping cable for my internet.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
 
watchyourbehind said:
Here is the situation. I pay $115 a month for pretty basic cable. Its an old plan im grandfathered in. I only have 2 set top boxes.

Satellite will be same channels i have now plus streaming tv on mobile devices and tablets. They are also giving me 4 set top boxes. Its a 2 year contract and with all the promotions for the 2 years it averages out a savings $40 a month. Like i said im definitely keeping cable for my internet.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Click to expand...

You could invest in a mid-range Sony TV... that would let you stream everything all over the house.
 
I have had direct tv for years for TV if the dish is adjusted correct it does not cut out like everyone thinks you might get some Tiling but it has to be a real bad thunder storm with lots of lightning. And since the updated my box I haven't even got that.my cable use to cut out just as much when I had it
 
Have you tried mentioning the cost savings to your current provider? If they value your business, they might sweeten the pot and offer you a better deal to keep your business. Wouldn't hurt to invest a phone call.
 
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watchyourbehind said:
Here is the situation. I pay $115 a month for pretty basic cable. Its an old plan im grandfathered in. I only have 2 set top boxes.

Satellite will be same channels i have now plus streaming tv on mobile devices and tablets. They are also giving me 4 set top boxes. Its a 2 year contract and with all the promotions for the 2 years it averages out a savings $40 a month. Like i said im definitely keeping cable for my internet.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
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Just don't forget they charge for everything. Every TV connected it $10-$11 a month for HD. HD channels...another $11.00 a month for the service. You want 4k? That was $18 a month per TV it's on per month.
DirceTV used to be a good deal, now they're worse than the cable companies for pricing.

And once you're a customer, they forget you exist. They give great offers initially, but you'll never catch a break on rates again which is why I left them. I've got Uverse for TV now and am much happier as it costs $40 less per month and I have 60 channels more than I had with DirecTV.
 
JoeLeb said:
Have you tried mentioning the cost savings to your current provider? If they value your business, they might sweeten the pot and offer you a better deal to keep your business. Wouldn't hurt to invest a phone call.
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Yes I called and they game me showtime, starz, and encore for one year. The only thing is I never watch those channels. Besides I have netflix and Kodi for my movies. Last year they gave me a $20 discount when I addressed the ridiculous prices but it was only for a year and has expired. Plus starting the new year there prices have went up about $15.
 
JoeLeb said:
Have you tried mentioning the cost savings to your current provider? If they value your business, they might sweeten the pot and offer you a better deal to keep your business. Wouldn't hurt to invest a phone call.
Click to expand...
That's how DirecTv was with me. They offered channels I didn't want or need but not a price break, and after third 2 year contract they wouldn't even offer that stating that those offers were for new customers only. When I mentioned they seemed to value new customers more than existing ones I got no reply at all. That's when I told them to go ahead and cancel the service.

I never changed my channel package or added anything to it, but the base price went up from $40 a month to $60 a month, and then $95 a month for the same damn package I had all along. After switching to Uverse, I pay $70 a month and have 50 more channels but I did bundle my wife's internet DSL with 18/3 with that for that price.
 
Fucking DirecTv is right; my contract is up in February and they can kiss my ass; my channel package is $70 fee's $60. Half my bill is shit they will not negotiate. Like sixer said they try to get you more channels but will not cut the cost of your monthly bill without going to a lower package. I was looking into Roku 4 and getting Sling TV, Hulu, and Netflix; plus, I'm amazon prime & that gives me other shows & movies. The only problem would be my local stations & sports. Does anybody have a solution to really cut the cord; of course I would still keep my DSL.
 
With Cable the more services you add the lower the cost. If you get the triple play (internet, phone, TV, then add premier package with paid channels) the lower the cost. The Cable marketing dept. already know that they are in competition with the streaming services like Roku, Chromecast, Sony Vue, Amazon prime..ect. ect... who are trying to offer lower prices with only select networks. So cable will offer lower TV channels with packages that are hard to beat. There is a huge war between all these services of who will offer the most popular networks or channels.
At any rate, watch your monthly bill closely. They are known to increase your bill by $20-$30 a year. In the past you had to call them and threaten to cancel service, but now they just simply say sorry for the inconvenience and make the deduction without having a lengthy discussion.
As of right now I pay $165 for Cable TV with two DVRs (HD package) and two small digital boxes , The blast internet which is their fastest tier, and their phone service. I use my own EMTA (internet phone modem), and Router (I have my own Asus). Their Gateway (interenet, phone, Router/modem) sucks ass!!! Maybe not that bad, but I prefer high end equipment, and they charge $10 a month for their gateway. However, buying your own equipment is not cheap. So basically it's what ever you can afford.

I called them a couple months ago to get a price on how much it would be if I quit all services except the internet blast. i was thinking of going with a streaming service to go along with my Plex media server. I turned an old PC into a linux NAS service (Open Media Vault) with Plex installed. Plex is a home media service that is pretty slick ( I rip my movies, concerts, cd's and move them into plex). My family can enjoy them on their IPADS no matter where they go as long as they have an internet connection. Anyway, they quoted me something crazy like $125 a month for just the blast internet! My hands were tied, I had to stay with the triple play because it's not worth screwing around with the competitive streaming services while I can get what I need with cable for only an extra $ 40 a month! The reason I had called them in the first place was because I noticed a $30 increase on my bill..right away they offered to deduct the additional fee.

As I mentioned before, Cable and Dish companies rely heavily on marketing....WATCH YOUR BILL!
 
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balls2dawall said:
Fucking DirecTv is right; my contract is up in February and they can kiss my ass; my channel package is $70 fee's $60. Half my bill is shit they will not negotiate. Like sixer said they try to get you more channels but will not cut the cost of your monthly bill without going to a lower package. I was looking into Roku 4 and getting Sling TV, Hulu, and Netflix; plus, I'm amazon prime & that gives me other shows & movies. The only problem would be my local stations & sports. Does anybody have a solution to really cut the cord; of course I would still keep my DSL.
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It all seems too good to be true while they promise that guaranteed introductory offer. But they know the customer does not want the hassle or tough decisions of choosing a different provider! Therefore, the increase is drastic after the first year! They will also charge you a fee to quit their service!
These are pretty slick- it uses a cable card then network to your other tv's and devices
https://www.silicondust.com/
 
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