[snowfan]

On 8/13 I will have my DirecTV shut off and Dish Network put up. I have been with Direct for about 4 years but was running into to many issues with my service as of late.

I don't know much about Dish, but was wondering if someone had made this switch before and what some of the differences were good or bad. I don't want to start a Direct vs Dish war, but rather just wanted some honest feedback from people who made a switch.

 

[Jason Nipp]

Get ready for a lot of biased feedback.

 

[tommiet]

On 8/13 I will have my DirecTV shut off and Dish Network put up. I have been with Direct for about 4 years but was running into to many issues with my service as of late.

I don't know much about Dish, but was wondering if someone had made this switch before and what some of the differences were good or bad. I don't want to start a Direct vs Dish war, but rather just wanted some honest feedback from people who made a switch.

One thing I can tell you from my experience is that the Dish DVR hardware is MUCH better than Direct's. My local dealer gave up after 3 new HD DVR's had problems in less than a week. GAVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

Dish (E*) hardware is not perfect, but to me is ahead of Directv (D*.)

Other than that, programming choices and cost is the only difference to me.

 

[snowfan]

One thing I can tell you from my experience is that the Dish DVR hardware is MUCH better than Direct's. My local dealer gave up after 3 new HD DVR's had problems in less than a week. GAVE ME MY MONEY BACK!

Dish (E*) hardware is not perfect, but to me is ahead of Directv (D*.)

Other than that, programming choices and cost is the only difference to me.

Thanks for the feedback the DVR was a concern. I liked the direction the D* software on the DVR was headed. I must admit, I am excited to see how the two room deal works from the E* DVR.

 

[Redlinetire]

I just switched from DirecTV to Dish a couple of weeks ago because of issues I had with my HR20. I'm extremely pleased I did so. Here's what I've noticed, good and bad:

HD-DVR: Obviously, this is why I switched and the 722 I have is really a nicely polished piece of machinery. Blows the HR20 out of the water. My favorite part is the HD guide and the interactive weather feature (besides the programming of course!). Be sure to read the manual, 'timers' (Dish speak for a recording event) work a bit differently than DirecTV. It's smart enough to avoid recording things you've already recorded but sometimes it'll miss an event because of weak guide info (it seems to error on the side of NOT recording something it thinks it's already recorded.) Easy enough to restore recordings, but you'll want to keep an eye on the to do list. I'm still learning the intricacies of this. My only other quibble is only one OTA tuner. But that's better than none I guess.

HD Quality: Very good and easily on par or better than cable in my area. Doesn't seem to have the 'pop' of DirecTV, but it's good enough. Without a functioning DVR, better HD is worthless to me.

SD Quality: As bad as DirecTV.

Website: Worse than DirecTV, seems like it was built in 1998 and never updated. BUT it seems to work.

Customer Service via Email: Fine and on par with DirecTV.

Tech Support via Phone: Usual phone bank sweat shop. On par with DirecTV.

Installer: Crappy independent guy. Rushed and half done job. Support guy is coming out tomorrow to fix all his mistakes. :nono2:

So overall my experience has been on par with DirecTV. Dish seems to have more of a 'fee' structure so anything you do has a $5 or $10 fee associated with it.

But in the end, the package is slightly cheaper than DirecTV and so far the hardware (when installed right) has been great. I really am quite happy with the switch.

 

[Jason Nipp]

It's smart enough to avoid recording things you've already recorded but sometimes it'll miss an event because of weak guide info (it seems to error on the side of NOT recording something it thinks it's already recorded.)

I find the opposite to be true. My 722's seems to record everything, if the event date is inaccurate in the guide. But hey mileage varies.

 

[Taco Lover]

I switched from DirecTV last May. I did not have HD through D* so I can't comment about the hardware differences. I came from SD DirecTiVos to the 622, then later the 722. I gotta say I don't miss the TiVo UI or software at all. The 722 is a great DVR.

As for other stuff, I had trouble with the initial installation, and I blame that on the silly contractors Dish hires. I finally got someone who knows what they are doing, and have no problems.

CSRs are the same anywhere. Do your own research (this site is a great place). CSRs are easier to deal with if you know what you're talking to them about. That said, I have had no problems with them. The TSRs are much better to deal with.

 

[Redlinetire]

I find the opposite to be true. My 722's seems to record everything, if the event date is inaccurate in the guide. But hey mileage varies.

This was a case where I had setup a pass to record "Formula One Racing". In a normal weekend it will have practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

It recorded the practice on Friday OK but marked the Saturday qualifying as 'will not record - already been recorded' or whatever the message is. It was simple enough to restore but kinda' confusing. There doesn't appear to be any 'info' guide data associated with them (at least that week) so I assumed it was going off of title only.

Like I said, I haven't totally learned the intracacies of this thing yet. Regardless, the recordings were there when I went to watch. Unlike some other products I've had. :lol:

OH! And I forgot the coolest thing in switching from the HR20 to the 722: dual live buffers and PIP! (If you're using single mode).

 

[tcatdbs]

I switched from TWC a week ago and couldn't be happier. Not only am I happy with the VIP722 and it's guide, and HD PQ; I am also very happy I got in at the last minute on the Absolute package, saving me at least $500 the 1st year over TWC :grin: And I just noticed that the "Free HBO and Starz" for 3 months deal got credited to my first invoice (without even calling to ask!) I commend Dish for passing on all available deals. Hopefully they won't de-grandfather Absolute and raise rates :nono:

 

[snowfan]

I just switched from DirecTV to Dish a couple of weeks ago because of issues I had with my HR20. I'm extremely pleased I did so. Here's what I've noticed, good and bad:

HD-DVR: Obviously, this is why I switched and the 722 I have is really a nicely polished piece of machinery. Blows the HR20 out of the water. My favorite part is the HD guide and the interactive weather feature (besides the programming of course!). Be sure to read the manual, 'timers' (Dish speak for a recording event) work a bit differently than DirecTV. It's smart enough to avoid recording things you've already recorded but sometimes it'll miss an event because of weak guide info (it seems to error on the side of NOT recording something it thinks it's already recorded.) Easy enough to restore recordings, but you'll want to keep an eye on the to do list. I'm still learning the intricacies of this. My only other quibble is only one OTA tuner. But that's better than none I guess.

HD Quality: Very good and easily on par or better than cable in my area. Doesn't seem to have the 'pop' of DirecTV, but it's good enough. Without a functioning DVR, better HD is worthless to me.

SD Quality: As bad as DirecTV.

Website: Worse than DirecTV, seems like it was built in 1998 and never updated. BUT it seems to work.

Customer Service via Email: Fine and on par with DirecTV.

Tech Support via Phone: Usual phone bank sweat shop. On par with DirecTV.

Installer: Crappy independent guy. Rushed and half done job. Support guy is coming out tomorrow to fix all his mistakes. :nono2:

So overall my experience has been on par with DirecTV. Dish seems to have more of a 'fee' structure so anything you do has a $5 or $10 fee associated with it.

But in the end, the package is slightly cheaper than DirecTV and so far the hardware (when installed right) has been great. I really am quite happy with the switch.

Thanks for the information I am a bit excited to play with a new services. From all I am reading about the 722 it seams to be an awsome DVR

 

[pcwizpcwiz]

I switched to Dish 2 weeks ago and am very happy!

I switched because I wanted HD DVR's and liked the idea of sharing receivers with 2 rooms. I know the 2nd room is standard def but there have been many times we started watching something in the living room and wanted to retire to the bedroom to finish but couldn't.

The 722 DVR rocks - best DVR I have used.

I do find the channel numbers and orders to be a little more confusing that Direct TV but that's my only issue and it's very minor.

Picture quality is great and I believe I now have 33 channels of premiums from Starz, HBO, SHO, Encore... Too much variety.

-Dan

 

[Miner]

This was a case where I had setup a pass to record "Formula One Racing". In a normal weekend it will have practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.

It recorded the practice on Friday OK but marked the Saturday qualifying as 'will not record - already been recorded' or whatever the message is. It was simple enough to restore but kinda' confusing. There doesn't appear to be any 'info' guide data associated with them (at least that week) so I assumed it was going off of title only.

Like I said, I haven't totally learned the intracacies of this thing yet. Regardless, the recordings were there when I went to watch. Unlike some other products I've had. :lol:

OH! And I forgot the coolest thing in switching from the HR20 to the 722: dual live buffers and PIP! (If you're using single mode).

Odd. I have the same timer set and it works fine. The only problem occurred when Fox would show the race tape delay on Sunday w/ Speed broadcasting the relplay on Tues or Wed. The logic defaults to recording the Speed broadcast during the week instead of the 'tape delay' broadcast.

I haven't had D* for a few years, but my brother does and I agree the 622 / 722 boxes are very polished compared to the HR20 / HR21 boxes.

Miner