directv vs. dish network

[beerguy]

Any pros/cons between directv and dish network? I've currently got Time Warner cable here in MN but I've had about enough of them; they just cancelled Fox Sportsnet so I can't follow the local hockey & basketball teams.

I currently have two digital boxes, one of which is a two tuner PVR. I would want to hook up three televisions and include the PVR on at least one of them. Am I better off going with a separate Tivo box?

Thanks for any advice.

[platinum]

Go with Directv, and get a Directivo receiver i have the hdvr2 it is very good.

[Mike123abc]

I would suggest you go to each of the web sites and look at the channel lineups carefully. They look mostly alike, but there are differences that are important to different people. Put in your address and see what local stations are available from both providers.

The prices also vary.

Outside of packages and prices Dish makes most of their reciever boxes (well they are dish branded) and Direct TV has third party boxes. You can find endless discussion of pros and cons on this site about both systems.

[PSB]

In my opinion I would go the DirecTV route, I am compleatly independant and the DirecTV option would be what I would do. Better picture, cheaper(right now) and easy to install and service, I would go for a phaseIII dish to future proof your system, and I would run twice the cable you think you will need for right now! Let us all know what system you go for as it would be interesting to see how you compare your new system with digi. cable : )

[raj2001]

Outside of packages and prices Dish makes most of their reciever boxes (well they are dish branded) and Direct TV has third party boxes.

I think RCA was (or is) making Dish receivers, and I also know that JVC is making the TU-9000 PVR. Also, while different brands of DirecTV receivers are available, they use the same MPEG decoder chipsets, proprietary algorithm and Conditional Access system (access cards). The differences among brands are in the menuing system and extra features like VCR auto recording, universal remotes, games and component outputs, but the picture quality remains the same.

I'm with DirecTV, primarily because I've had prior good experience with the brand in the Latin American market, and also because it's the only PVR that offers TiVo branded integrated satellite receiver PVR's.

[Jacob S]

If you want cheaper and better quality receivers go with DirecTv. If you want the superstations or certain other channels DirecTv may not have, go with Dish Network. Also if you do not have a phone line, go with Dish Network, because DirecTv is more strict on the phone connection.

[cnsf]

Sports=DirecTV
Movies and Customer Service=Dish

Simple.

Complicating factors:
Locals availability
Minor channel differences (PBS Kids is nice on D*)
PVR technology availble (D* is the clear winner here)
Proximity and quality of local installation providers

[jened]

I switched to DishNetwork so I could get UPN to watch Enterprise and a free PVR without any fees.

[catman]

have had directv since 2000 . No porblem here .Well when , it rains hard . But I live in wisconsin we are neibors so , what you get comes to wisconsin . Dish prices were more . As for a phone line , You don't need it . Go directv .

[cnsf]

You need a phone line for DirecTV receivers from what I understand.

[raj2001]

Originally posted by cnsf
You need a phone line for DirecTV receivers from what I understand.

You need the line for ordering PPV via your remote and the TiVo daily call (if you have TiVo), but that's it. They SAY you need the line for multiple receiver installations and premium sports packages but as to whether they actually enforce that policy is questionable.

[raj2001]

Originally posted by jened
I switched to DishNetwork so I could get .....a free PVR without any fees.

That's a very misleading statement. Yes there are no fees with DishPVR, but with the PVR 721 being close to $500, what you don't pay in fees you make up for in the purchase price of the receiver. We can't count Dishplayer, PVR 501 and 508 because they only have single tuners and not nearly the same feature set as the DirecTiVo or PVR 721.

Even so the PVR fee is only $5 per month, hardly anything that will break your pocket.

You also pay no PVR fees when you subscribe to total choice premier.

[raj2001]

Originally posted by cnsf
Movies and Customer Service=Dish


Huh?

DirecTV has been ranked #1 by JD power and associates. I've only had one past bad experience with them and that was related to a mistake the installer made on the installation paperwork. I do most of my stuff on the website anyway.

[Karl Foster]

Originally posted by jened
I switched to DishNetwork so I could get UPN to watch Enterprise and a free PVR without any fees.

Not to start a war, but you get what you pay for. The 508 has a 50-timer limit, and the 721 has a 64 timer limit and if you try to exceed it, the system crashes. Directv DVR costs $.16 per day and UltimtateTV costs $.33 per day. I'd gladly put a dime, nickel, and penny every day into a PVR that doesn't have timer limits. Just my $.16 worth.

Also, Directv announced today that they are adding 50 more LIL markets this year, with ten coming before the end of Spring. In the Directv Discussion, Steve has posted a list of the first nine cities. For many, that is a major concern.

[timr21]

Originally posted by karl_f


The 508 has a 50-timer limit, and the 721 has a 64 timer limit and if you try to exceed it, the system crashes. Directv DVR costs $.16 per day and UltimtateTV costs $.33 per day. I'd gladly put a dime, nickel, and penny every day into a PVR that doesn't have timer limits. Just my $.16 worth. 


 

64+ timers aren't enough????!!!!????  I have 1 timer set for some show my wife likes to watch, and that one timer drives me nuts!  I can't imagine the hard drive file management you'd have to do if you're setting your machine for even 50 timers!  Unbelievable!

TimR :eek:

[Karl Foster]

Originally posted by timr21


 

64+ timers aren't enough????!!!!????  I have 1 timer set for some show my wife likes to watch, and that one timer drives me nuts!  I can't imagine the hard drive file management you'd have to do if you're setting your machine for even 50 timers!  Unbelievable!

TimR :eek:

Apparently some folks are having problems crashing their 721 by going over the arbitrary 64 timer limit:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10838

It really isn't unbelieveable to have over 64 timers set. I currently have on one of my units 30 auto-records that I have set (automatically records any show with the keyword or title regardless of when and what channel it is on), 19 series recordings, and many other timers my wife and daughter have set by simply going through the guide and setting shows they want to see. Right now, it has 136 scheduled recordings over the next fourteen days. I'm not even a power user. Tivo units also have suggestions that will set up automatic timers as well, so 64 timers is an unbelieveably low number of timers, especially for a unit with 90 hours of recording capability.

[timr21]

Originally posted by karl_f


Right now, it has 136 scheduled recordings over the next fourteen days. I'm not even a power user. Tivo units also have suggestions that will set up automatic timers as well, so 64 timers is an unbelieveably low number of timers, especially for a unit with 90 hours of recording capability.

It's your life, your TV.  Certainly no one can tell you how to live it.  I just can't imagine having the time (or desire) to sit down and watch 136 television programs...and that's just 14 days out of 365! WOW!

I just erased the one timer I had on my machine...my wife's show.  I got tired of clearing unwatched/unwanted programs off the drive.

TimR   

[Karl Foster]

I bought a PVR so I wouldn't have to watch anything live - and I don't - not even the news. Not everything that gets recorded gets watched. We go through the guide on Sunday and find shows that pique our interests. We have the option to set up a "Keep Until" on shows and rarely does anything stay on more than two days.

An example is that I record the nightly news from my locals, and also the nightly news from Fox in NYC. That is 28 of the scheduled recordings. Since I tell the machine to keep only one, they are automatically erased the next day when the next day's program comes on. Do I watch NYC news every night - no, but if I have the time, I try.

I let my daughter watch one episode of The Simpsons every day, so she records all of them (auto-record) and chooses the one she wants to watch. That is about forty or so of the scheduled recordings, and only one each day is watched. The others are automatically deleted.

I don't watch more tv, just more of what I want to see vs. what the networks want me to see. It actually drives me nuts to watch live tv on one of the standard receivers, as I can't stand Bowflex and Billy Mays commercials. YMMV.

Anywho, back on the discussion - this is a hard topic to discuss fairly. Everyone has a bias. The best advice I have is to determine which provider has the programming you want. If you want Great American Country, all the Directv PVR's in the world won't record it and the opposite is true for Trio. Content is king. After you decided which programming meets your needs, then start thinking about receivers. Just my $.02 worth.

Why not just select the ones you're going to watch first, and save the wear and tear on the HD
Then you'd be able to get by with 50 - 64 timers.