Anyone switch from E* to D*?

[Ira Lacher]

After several weeks of teeth-gnashing about lack of baseball on E* I finally sat down with a D* CSR and asked her about a dollar-for-dollar comparison of my services. I will be sacrificing some channels to keep the cost roughly the same (especially Dish Latino Plus, with all the soccer channels :( ) but I'm leaning toward switching.

I wonder if anyone who has made the move could tell me whether the experience is worth it; specifically:

1. Picture quality better than, less than, same as E*?
2. Installation go OK, and was it done in a timely manner?
3. Overall, are you glad you switched or do you regret it?

Thanks!

[MikeP]

FWIW, I've had both D* & E* and IMHO, D* provides a much better service. Plus, the pro sports packages don't compare. Before this season, D* has always had a better MLB package as well. I'm definitely glad I only use D* now. I did my own install, so can't help ya there. I think the picture quality is the same or better with D*.

[bagsy]

I went through the same thing --- trying to decide whether or not to switch. What held me back in the beginning was the price for D* was going to be a little bit higher. Also, I read so many negative posts about the R15 dvr. The dvr issue was the main thing stopping me. I finally decided to get D*. However, I also still have E*. I figured if I absolutely hated the R15, then I would still have my E* dvr but would also have D* for baseball. I originally was going to get 2 R15s and then decided to get 1 and keep E*. You can suspend your D* account at the end of baseball season and activate it next season. That gave me the comfort of not worrying about the contract and being stuck with a terrible dvr and no way around it. I'm hoping I will eventually get used to the R15 and be okay with cancelling the E* service. I still like the E* dvr SO much better. The first week I had the R15, it locked up several times --- always during a baseball game, too!!! If you are recording and you have to reset it, it will delete all of the program up until that point. Therefore, I missed a lot during several games --- I record or pause and then start watching the game after about an hour so I can skip commercials. The picture quality is similar I guess. It may be slightly better with D*. I heard from several people that there are a lot of rain dropouts with D*. One day during a storm I was watching E*. The picture started getting choppy and it had to acquire a signal a couple of times. I decided to switch over to D* and see what it was like, and the picture was perfectly clear. So, in my situation D* does better in the rain. Installation wasn't bad --- I called on a Wednesday late in the day, and the installation was done on Friday. The installers weren't great, but the installer I had several years ago with E* wasn't either. The D* guys did whine a LOT about me not letting them use the current satellite roof bracket. I don't know how many times I told them I was keeping both. If you will be using your same wiring, then don't worry. If there will be new wiring, make sure you watch them. I told the guys they could run through 2 closets rather than going in the attic or fishing through walls. I automatically assumed they would run the wires at the back of the closet low to the ground. They ran them straight across the middle about 4 inches off the ground without slack!!!! Luckily there was enough cable left by the tv that I could pull it back through so I could push the cables to the back of the closet and still have use of the floor space.

If you don't have a dvr, then definitely do the switch. Like I said, picture quality and rain performance is better (for me) with D*. The dvr is completely inferior, though. If you are a heavy dvr user, then it will definitely take time to adjust. I'm glad I got it because I have baseball. I haven't had any problems with the dvr (except for extremely slow reaction to the remote) since the first week I've had. I don't use it all the time, though. I'm trying to add recordings just to see how it handles being utilized more often. If you have a dvr with E*, let me know and I can tell you what I feel are the major differences.

[braven]

I am a former E* subscriber. The picture quality of the two are comparable. My installation (Ironwood Communications) went smoothly. I am very happy with D*. HD locals was my reason for switching.

Braven

[DCSholtis]

What you need to know though is right now only the H20 (Non DVR) and HR20 (DVR) are the only 2 that are MPEG-4 compatible. You'll need one or the other for the future HD channels if you are heading in that direction.

[Hoxxx]

I made the switch over a year ago and never looked back. I am waiting for the increased HD line up.

[msalvail]

1. Picture quality better than, less than, same as E*?
2. Installation go OK, and was it done in a timely manner?
3. Overall, are you glad you switched or do you regret it?

Thanks!

I have had *E for many years and like you and others, faced a dilemma with the EI situation with MLB. I tried MLB TV and found it unsatisfactory but I love my E* VIP 622 DVRs and all the HD content and didnt want to sacrifice that either.

What we did was subscribe to *D and got 2 R15 DVRs. We kept our *E and will suspend our D* service from October to April each year.

TO answer your questions:

1. SD quality on each is about the same. As far as rain, well, at times one will be out and at other times, the other one will be out. I guess it depens on the rain. I find that D* takes a bit longer to come back on.

2. Installation was very timely. The D* installer was much more knowledgable than any I have ever had with E* but that's a local issue, I would think. As far as dealing with the CSRs, E* seems to work more with you as far as deals and such. Also, I have been waiting for weeks for my return shipping label on a receiver and they still haven't sent it despite several calls. :mad:

3. Overall, I am glad I didn't switch but instead added. If I had switched, yes, I would regret it. This receiver might have a DVR and two tuners but it doesnt have PIP, the menus are not very intuitive, it is slow to respond to the remote, the guide shows EVERY channel, not just the ones you have, etc etc. Plus, I love all the HD content on DISH and not just the hope for future content you have now with DIRECTV.

[thxultra]

I switched from E* to D*. My E* 811 was a horrable reciever and I didn't really care for dish's lineup. The HD locals on D* look fantastic and I hear all new hd channels will also be mpeg 4. THe currrent national hd channels look a little worse then E* however. Over all I'm glad I switched to *. I enjoy d*'s channel lineup much more, I have less rain fae issues and D*'s future HD and vod plans look promissing. Anyway if I was in your shoes I would look at both services packages and get the one that has the channels you watch.

[GadgetGal1]

I had E* for 8 years and just switched the end of January. With my package going up $14 per month and no MLB EI, I decided it was time to change. As far as picture quality, I find them to be about the same. I like some of the channels that D* has that E* didn't have. I miss having as many HD channels, but that should change once D* gets the new satellite up.

I was very pleased with the installation. My last experiences with E* installers were really bad. I ended up paying someone to fix what they had done. No problems with D*. They showed up on time and did a good job. I have had better luck with D*'s customer service. I haven't had trouble understanding them and haven't had my call dropped after waiting on the line for a long time.

Overall, I am glad I switched. For me, D* is cheaper and I am happy with the programming. I miss the superstations, but not as much as I thought I would. I found E*'s HD equipment was better than D*'s, but I haven't had any real problems with D*s equipment. I have been enjoying watching MLB EI and like that some of the games are carried in HD.

[surfmaui03]

I had direct for about seven years, then switched to E*. The first few months, there was no problems, but for the next 5 months, I had nothing but problems. My picture would go out on all my T.V`s, and after 20 different service calls(no lie!), I was told my problem was because I live near an airport. My next door neighbor also had E*. They told me that didn`t matter that he didn`t have problems, and my picture would keep going out because of radar from the airport. :lol: So I have been back with D now for about 3 years, and will never switch back not matter what they offer. I only went to E* because they offered me more than D did, for less money, and at the time, I had just bought my house and needed to save as much as I could. I have never had an outage with D in the past, nor the present.While D is not perfect, no service is. I guess the Airport does not afftect Directs signal...:lol:

[Chris Blount]

I have both.

IMHO, D* customer service is better.

SD PQ is about the same on both services.

Last year I had my D* Dish upgraded to the 5 LNB. Installation went fine and the tech showed up on time.

[jal]

About a year ago, I switched from E* to D* and am glad I did. First, with D* there is a per account DVR fee, not a per DVR fee. I have five DVRs, so this was a big cost savings to me. Then, D* does not charge an extra $1 for each HD receiver. Also, the HD package on D* is about $10 per month and on E* it is $20. On E*, there are the Voom channels, but in my opinion they are not worth it because they repeat the same shows constantly.

The customer service is also far superior with D* They routinely offer discounts (such as $5 off with DSL, etc) that help control costs.

Now, I was much happier with D* when they were with TIVO. My TIVO set top boxes work flawlessly. When the HR20 came out, I had the same problems I was having with E*---buggy equipment, lockups, etc, but the HR20, after many months of software updates is much better, but not perfect.

[tasp]

I have customers ask me about switching (cable, Dish, Direstv) all the time.

I ask what they can't stand about their current service.

If they are not forthcoming with a good reason, I give them the 'have you lost your mind' look.

I especially dislike the ones who don't have any problems, and are just succumbing to marketing hype.



:nono2:

[Jason Whiddon]

After several weeks of teeth-gnashing about lack of baseball on E* I finally sat down with a D* CSR and asked her about a dollar-for-dollar comparison of my services. I will be sacrificing some channels to keep the cost roughly the same (especially Dish Latino Plus, with all the soccer channels :( ) but I'm leaning toward switching.

I wonder if anyone who has made the move could tell me whether the experience is worth it; specifically:

1. Picture quality better than, less than, same as E*?
2. Installation go OK, and was it done in a timely manner?
3. Overall, are you glad you switched or do you regret it?

Thanks!


I went to E* last week because I was on my 4th HR20 and had to wait 8 days to get it.

I have 250 channels with E* and the additional HD's are great. E* still has capacity for more HD and JUST announced today at the conference they are launching TWO sats in December. I think this is going to keep D* behind their HD curve.

The Vip622 HDDVR is better in someways and worse in others. I do like it slightly better. It can only record 1 OTA at a time BUT it can record 3 programs at once which is nice. Im happy I swapped.

I had E* in my previous state and have been wondering why I did not keep them when I moved here.

[zipbags]

I live in NJ and switched to Direct from Dish two years ago. I gave Dish a year to work out a deal with Yes so I can watch the Yanks. Each side blamed the other. Then Dish had a dispute (which seems to happen a lot with them) with Viacom(?) and we lost CBS, MTV for a week. I had enough and had Direct installed shortly after.

[guzmania]

Switched a month ago cause I was going hd. The Echo people wanted $103 a month. The D* people got me in for the first year at $65, then it goes up to $75. Essentially the same programming. I got 12 free PPV's, 3 mos. of free HBO and Showtime, and a free Portable Dvd Player with a 16:9 screen. Installer showed up on time. PQ is the same as I had on SD. HD is just blowing my mind.

One problem I've encountered and am trying to remedy is the RF remote is real sucky on my China built HD20-700. No range. They are sending another remote for starters.

Echo just wouldn't budge from their $100 figure called 3 times, always liked them, but $300 clams a year is nothing to sneeze at.

[serenstarlight]

I guess I'm a little biased because I work for DTV but I did originally switch from Dish. Directv is not perfect by far but I've had better luck with DTV. The customer service (or should I say non customer service) experience with Dish was horrible. Of course that was a while ago so who knows how it is now. I recently did an upgrade to an R15. I had an RCA for about 5 years. I haven't had many problems with my DVR except for the fast forwarding. I think DTV is great company and they do really care about their customers.