Newbie to DBS needs help

1441 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by AJ2086, Aug 5, 2002

Discussion Starter · Aug 4, 2002

Hey everyone, nice site you all have here. I hope I can get some help and advice on my problems. Ok here's the deal, I am wanting to drop my digital cable and get a DBS system. I am just not that thrilled with digital cable after having it a couple months. The picture quality is a little disappointing, and the fact that basic cable is still not digital is a problem with me as well. So I am checking into Dish or Directv. I went to a local retailer yesterday afternoon who sells both systems, and I am still unsure which one to choose. I live in the West Palm Beach area, and I was told either service can provide my locals to me. I am going to need a 2 reciever system to hook up to 3 or 4 tvs in the house. From just glancing at the channel lineup, I notice Dish seems to offer more regular and movie channels while Directv has NFL ticket. I am not really interested in the pro sports deals, so I just want to concentrate on the basic and movie channels. From what the retailer told me yesterday, basically Directv is cheaper on programming and on their equipment and is the way to go if I am looking to spend as little as possible. He said Dish was a little more expensive, but in his words "with Dish you get more and it is a little nicer". I am not really concerned with the cost of everything, I am just interested in the best system for what I want. Apparently for basic stuff I want with locals, Directv is 39.99 while Dish is 46.99? Is this correct and is this price difference a case of "you get what you pay for"? I will also want to add HBO, and possibly Showtime as well. I have to say, at the time, I am leaning towards Dish because I liked their receivers better than the one he showed me of Directv's. Dish's recievers seem to have nicer guides and are more responsive, plus they were easier to navigate IMO. It seems like, other than the slightly higher prices, Dish is the way to go, but is there a reason I should look at Directv instead? Is there a general consensus here of which provider is better at the time? I apologize if these questions sound stupid, but I was a complete newbie to satellite until yesterday. I appreciate any help or guidance.

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Steve Mehs

· #2 · Aug 4, 2002

Hi Carl, Welcome to DBSTalk :hi:

DirecTV has a major advantage, the DirecTiVo, a solid, reliable, full featured integrated PVR/Sat Receiver. I love may Dish 501 PVR, but in past performance the 501 has had a lot of bugs. The DirecTiVo has a $9.99/month subscription fee (or a $250 lifetime fee) for the PVR features, while the PVR features for the 501/508/721 are free. The DirecTiVo is a dual tuner PVR, that outputs Dolby Digital and can be found for $99. The 501 and 508 are single tuner PVRs and the exact same unit except the 508 has a bigger hard drive for more recording time. The 721 is a dual tuner PVR with a 120 GB HD. I have Dish and really like their programming packages, but if I could do it all over again, I would strongly consider the Total Choice Plus programming package. Right now Dish only makes 5 receivers, the 3 PVRs I mentioned above (501/508/721) along with a basic receiver called the 301, which can be found for $89 at Sears or Sams Club. The other receiver is the model 6000 for high definition programming. DirecTV hardware has been more stable then Dish's over the years, and you have a much wider variety of receivers to chose from. If you decided on DirecTV and want a PVR, you might wanna wait a month or two for the new DirecTiVo Series II to come out. DirecTiVos are made by Philips, Sony and Hughes (Hughes is the parent company of DTV). All 3 of them are the same thing, only difference is the Sony has a different remote. I would recommend DirecTV, and currently they are looking like the top provider. Ive been a Dish Net sub for almost 4 years now, and it is defiantly better then cable ever was. Whatever your decision, good luck and enjoy!!!

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Karl Foster

· #3 · Aug 4, 2002

It is a totally personal decision as to which system you go with. I chose Directv (moved from Dish) because of the available Personal Video Recorders (PVR) that Direct was offering. The programming is very similar.

Which receivers was he demonstrating for you? Directv actually has many more varieties of receivers than Dish. Directv uses 3rd party manufacturers to produce receivers. They are made by Hughes, Philips, RCA, Sony, Mitsubishi, and Samsung. Dish manufactures their own equipment, and have a limited number of receivers available, which is neither good or bad, just an observation.

FWIW here is what I pay each month for service from Directv:

Total Choice Plus w/locals - $39.99
Fox East/West - $1.17
Ultimatetv - $9.95
2nd receiver - $4.99
3rd receiver - $4.99
Total - $61.09

Here's what I'd pay on Dish Network for a similar setup:

AT150 - $40.99
Locals - $5.99
2nd receiver - $4.99
3rd receiver - $4.99
Total - $56.96

In addition to this, for a Dish dual-tuner PVR, the initial cost is $549 with no monthly fee. I paid $80.00 for both of my two UTVs and have a $9.95 montly fee.

As far as Dish being "nicer and you get what you pay for" - only you can determine that. Both are good services.

Which channels does Dish offer that Directv doesn't that you are interested in? If there are channels that you need that Directv doesn't offer, or vice versa then that is your answer.

I guess what I am trying to say is not to let a commissioned salesman determine what is best for you. You need to go to a store like Best Buy and look at Directv and then go to a Dish retailer and make up your own mind.

Good luck with your decision. There are some really good deals out there on the Directv PVRs through www.orbitsat.com An Ultimatetv receiver is free for new subs and a DirecTivo is $99 for new subs. They also have good deals on multi-room setups. That doesn't include installtion, but intallation isn't really that hard if you are at all handy. If you have any other question, please post them.

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MarkA

· #4 · Aug 4, 2002

DirecTV's receivers are FAR nicer when you sit down and use them (though the DISHPro ones (the new ones) are getting better). DirecTV has a more detailed picture (but also more compression artifacts) that I think looks significantly better. DirecTV has better pricing IF you aren't in an NRTC area (which I'm 99.999% sure you wouldn't be).

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Jacob S

· #5 · Aug 4, 2002

You could also just use DirecTv for NFL ticket only and use Dish Network for all of the other channels. I know of some that actually do this. The DirecTv hardware is not that expensive so some go ahead and go that route.

As for the PVR functions and the price of the programming and so forth, doesnt the Top 150 package have more channels than Total Choice? Top 150 has some themed channels that DirecTv does not offer, am I right? Also they have some movie channels in that package.

Eventually if you keep the equipment you pay for on Dish Network that you purchased you would eventually make up for what you paid for it. I would say that Top 100 package for $9 less a month is more comparable to Total Choice than Top 150, but I could be wrong. That would make it as much as $13 a month cheaper for about the same amount of programming. The only thing is that Total Choice Plus does have some extra channels that Top 150 has so that is not even a fair comparason. It might be in the middle of Top 100 and Top 150 with that comparing to Total Choice Plus.

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James_F

· #6 · Aug 4, 2002

There is no reason to get both... Why waste your money on Dish if you have everything on DirecTV? He wants NFLST and movies. You can get that on DirecTV... Why bother with Dish?

Other than the Supers, I don't think there are anymore mainline channels that either DirecTV or Dish have that the other doesn't... If you want NFLST, for now there is only one choice....

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Discussion Starter · #7 · Aug 5, 2002

Thanks for all the input guys! Like I said before, I am not interested in the NFL Ticket, so that is not something that is a deciding factor for me. As long as I get Golf channel and ESPNEWS, I am pretty much covered for all the sports I watch.
So basically after the NFL package, the DirectTivo is the only real advantage to Directv correct? Dish seems to offer more regular and movie channels, but I could be wrong. The retailer I talked to Saturday showed me the DishPVR, and I thought it was quite nice, I can't imagine needing a PVR to do anything more than that thing does.
As far as the recievers I demoed, it was an RCA Directv reciever(which I thought was extremely sluggish and the guides were horrible), and for Dish, I used the PVR and some sort of basic reciever I guess. I liked the Dish recievers quite a bit more. However due to everyone's high recommendations, I think I might test out a DirectTivo before I make my decision just for the heck of it. I have to say I am leaning pretty heavily towards Dish at the moment, so this thing would have to impress the hell out of me before I gave Direct much consideration.
Thanks again for the help guys, I think I will check the yellow pages for other satellite dealers and do some satellite shopping this afternoon! I'll let you all know if I make a purchase today.

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AJ2086

· #8 · Aug 5, 2002

You can get some great bargin on equipment and programming if you go with D*. E* youd be an old customer. I got a 4 room system for D* with Huges GAEBOA's receiver. Nice setup too. only $110.00 with oval dish. If you want to know where I got this deal contact me.

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