After 9 years and 2 months with Dish, it’s time to say goodbye.

Interesting read. AS a fifteen year DTV customer I am about to make the opposite move as soon as the rollout hiccups with the Hopper 3 are (mostly) resolved. I suspect the DTV-AT&T linkup will be interesting to see unfold in the future and probably not favorable for the customer.

 

What makes you think that DirecTV's equipment is more reliable than Dish's? I had 2 622s plus a 211 starting back in the Voom days. They worked perfectly until I replaced them with 2 Hoppers and 2 Joeys when they first came out almost 3 years ago. They worked perfectly until I replaced them with the Hopper3, 4k Joey and Joey2, the 2nd week they were out. They are all essentially trouble free and I am learning to like the new interface. No important bugs, no resets since installation.

Examples of bugs: If you fast forward in the guide to the end, fast forward won't go further if you are less than 24 hours from the end and you have to page forward to get there. If you try to play a recording from an EHD before the EHD is fully up and running you get stuck with the small screen in the corner and you have to exit the EHD and reenter it and then it works perfectly. ...Wow! really serious bugs! :biggrin:

2 nights ago, between my wife and I, we actually had 10 recordings going including overlaps, while watching live on another channel. 16 tuners really does give you peace of mind about conflicts.

Enjoy DirecTV, especially the price increases after your promotions are over. Don't forget to bone up on all the problems discussed over on the DirecTV side of this forum. Also, don't forget that you have to lose all your recordings anytime you upgrade a DVR over there. When I upgraded at Dish, I kept my recordings and transferred settings and timers to the new DVR.

 

GOOD LUCK I left DISH last month because the quality of programming finally got to me. I know DISH isn't responsible for the content but I just felt FREE OTA was a better investment.

 

Yeah, we'll pass in the night; when my contract is over with Directv I'll be coming back to Dish, The Genie has some cool features, but the To Do list is so broken and unreliable I was told over and over that I should ignore it and just trust the Genie will record what you told it to, the 1.5 hour wide channel guide is a pain the the rump, the recording history won't tell you why something didn't record, instead saying "Error 13" or such, and having to replace my internal HDD with my external HDD (as opposed to it being an add on) and all my recordings being tied to that specific receiver, is driving me back, That and the fact that the only way to keep a decent price is to call them every few months and try to get a CSR that will give you discounts. In fact the threads all over the Directv forums tell you hey, of course you have to haggle non stop to keep your price from being too high, only suckers pay list price. I've got a package with a level below what I had at Dish (200 vs, the 250 at Dish) and no premiums of any kind, Genie plus two minis, and my monthly price has climbed to over $130 a month.

Both have their pluses and minuses of course. And I hope you're happy with them (Hey, I just want everyone to find what works for them whether it's Directv, Dish, Cable, OTA, etc.)

 

I am currently with Dish but am looking to go the OTA route myself sometime this summer. Hopefully, the HDHomeRun DVR software development will be completed by then. There's not much quality in the content anymore and with the availability of HBONow and of Starz via Amazon Prime, there aren't any roadblocks for me once the HomeRun DVR software is solid.

The savings will be around $112 a month once I cut the cord...

 

If it weren't for sports (local/regional sports that is) I'd dump dish in a heartbeat...as it is, I just have to suck it up. With the recent price increase I've dumped the one movie pkg I had and dropped from AT200 to 120+

Dish sub for over 15 yrs

 

Everytime my bill went above $100 I cut my services.
I started at 250 and dropped to 200 then 120 plus which is still more than I need.
Two 722s. I purchased a Tablo and can get all the locals, actually just over 50 channels.
Netflix and Amazon Prime.
As the internet options continue to flesh out, the day will come to finally cut the cord.

 

If your a sports lover, what is it that keeps you with Dish? Guessing the Pac 12 Networks?

 

As someone who had DirecTV for 8 years. I started with SD, a R15 DVR. Moved to R22, then HR21, 24, then HR44. I got fed up with DirecTV not helping with my bill when times got tough for me. Before ANYONE says anything, I know it's not their responsibility to pay my bills. But I haven't been in a contract in a while, but yet they refused to help, when they did all it ended up doing is causing a credit block, toward the end, I didn't even ask for credits anymore.

But none the less, I changed to Dish and got the Hopper 3 and 2 Joey clients. Yes the Hopper 3 should have been bug tested MUCH more than it was. More bugs than I saw when I was in the Cutting Edge program in DirecTV. Recordings not matching up to their show/folder.

I'm sure that will improve with time. But how much time. But I will say when the bugs are squashed. It will be a much better receiver that DirecTV. DirecTV seems stagnant with equipment improvement. I'm sure there are new receivers coming out on the DirecTV side now. But Dish is losing customers left and right, fighting contract negotiations. So I'm sure, I know my bill will be cheaper on Dish, I've done that math.

DirecTV knows they are king, they are. So losing a customer that to them is costing them more than they gain is nothing to them.

So which is better? Tech Dish, HD quality DirecTV. I'm not sure what will happen down the line now that AT&T owns DirecTV. But we'll see there.

In the end you have to weigh what you value more. For me I can take a small hit in HD for a DVR that works better, has more tuners , than one limited to 5 tuners on the HR44+, When you add clients that gets worse... Sure you can add HR24s, But you shouldn't have to.

So in the end, choose wisely.

 

I posted this over in the Directv forum, but it's pertinent here - I switched a little less than two years ago to Directv from Dish. 200 channel package, no premiums or optionals. My current bill for the 200 channel package and a Genie and two minis is over $130 per month. Dish is offering a three year price guarantee for the 200 channel package of $65 per month. Not sure what the added cost per month for a Hopper 3 and two Joeys would be but it's not going to be $70. Oh, and we subscribe to Netflix, so the free Netflix for a year saves us another $10 per month.

My wife asked me why we'd pay $130 per month vs. $65 per month guaranteed for 3 years for the same programming. Not sure I know the answer.

 

I did the 3 year price lock with DISH. Total cost, per month, for Hopper 3 and two Joey 2's is $94. The Hopper 3 is a beast!

 

Every 2 years, I switch back and forth between Dish and DTV.

There is always a special deal for new customers only.

New equipment, much lower cost for the first year, and free installation.

I've switched 5 or 6 times. I overlap for a week or two, if I have recorded shows remaining to watch.

No effort - a couple of phone calls gets all new equipment and saves hundreds of dollars.

The two services are essentially the same. Same programming, similar equipment, same poor customer service.

 

What is the added cost of the Hopper 3 and two Joeys per month to whatever package I choose?

 

First issue is don't forget the costs for the equipment may not be included. Then call in and get a discount by mentioning you have seen dishes offered hd and want to know why you shouldn't switch. That will probably get you a discount.

 

1. H3 $15
2. Joeys $14 ($7ea/month)

Total $29

 

So now it's around 30 difference (assuming there's some tax involved. ). And a know a lot of people have been getting 30 to 40 a month discounts from DIRECTV.

 

As the saying goes "The grass is always greener..........."

 

Yeah, I've been able to get $10 a month or so but nowhere near $40 per month. Plus you have to call in every 6 months or so. Be nice to know the price for the whole thing is about $90 per month for 3 years without being at the whim of getting the right CSR.

In terms of the grass being always greener - I've had both Directv (from 1995 to 2009) and Dish (from 2009 to 2014) and back to Directv in 2014. I can live with either, I've found that I prefer the Dish GUI and overall software; there are still a lot of issues with the Genie system that bug me in terms of actual bugs and also just design issues (the To Do list that is pretty useless, the maximum 1.5 hour wide guide, etc.) I MUCH preferred the Dish software interface and design of the 722Ks I had over the Genie. I haven't yet used the Hopper 3, and I know it is early and will have its bugs.

But again - I can live with either and have. If one is significantly cheaper (as DIsh is now for me should I choose to switch back) or if one has a unique offering (as Directv does with Sunday Ticket, which was the only reason I switched back) the that can be a decider for me.

But I'd never be one of those who says "DIRECTV SUX! DISH RULEZ" or vice versa.

 

I had DISH over 20 years. Past year went through 5 Hopper 3's, 4 Hopper Slings, 6 tech visits while in same period I never saw a ATT&T or Directv tech at my neighbors who had directv. My problem was with new interface. Every time I used applications to check weather or sports my screen went black & had to do reset. Guide 100 times better than Directv though. Loved being able to watch record antenna TV which accounted for most of my viewing since Satellite channels generally suck. Anyway, for a year I kept calling tech support about problem and every time I was either told they were working to fix prob;The ticket was closed;they fixed it when they didn't,;They never heard of this issue; they had other complaints and were working on it; They had no record of my prior calls;they show my case was closed. Probably at least 40 calls. Finally got someone who sincerely tried but said techs couldn't recreate my problem .Figure I was being jerked around prior to this guy for a year and left for Directv. Not thrilled because of the over the air antenna thing and a guide that's 1/2 infomercials so takes forever to find something to watch.Directv has a much better picture but lousy interface.