[aztlan76]

Hi guys,

I've been lurking around here for the past few days. I am a long time cable guy since basically since it basically came out. I am tired of cable and thier crappy Moto DVR.
I tried out E* and I was impressed with the picture quality on SD and HD seemed good too but since this was my first venture into satellite I was not used to losing signal in bad weather. I ended up cancelling and going back to Comcast after 23 days. Well, after the first day back with Comcast I was reminded why I left.
I want to try out D* with the HR20 and R15. They are "supposed" to be installing on 11/11. After plenty of searching and reading threads I am not sure if I should go through with it.

I have a 65' rear projection Mitsubishi Diamond tv. It's a monster but the HD PQ is awsome. SD PQ is not so good with Comcast. I am really worried now that D*is going to be a waste of time since it doens't seem that it will be better than Comcast. Should I give it a try? What are your experiences with D* and 60'+ size screen? Right now with Comcast my digital SD channels look like crap. The image looks boxy and pixelated. Am I going to experience the same issues with D*?
Thanks!

 

[69hokie]

I have a 63" Sammy plasma and my experience with D* picture has been good. The HD looks great and the SD is....well, SD. Doesn't appear "boxy", but the picture isn't as crisp as HD. Welcome to the forum!

 

[aztlan76]

I have a 63" Sammy plasma and my experience with D* picture has been good. The HD looks great and the SD is....well, SD. Doesn't appear "boxy", but the picture isn't as crisp as HD. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for replying! I am leaning toward trying it out. I am just concerned that I might be leaving Comcast only to have the same kind of PQ. I hope not but it sounds like D* is going to get thier act together in 2007.

I wonder with all those national HD channels if they are going to add them to the existing 9.99 HD package. I am sure they will probably change the pacakges like E* has done. I am just wondering what they will do with those of us that would have the existing HD package. Would they just add the new channels to package and grandfather the monthly fee or force us to a higher dollar package???

 

[ApK]

I stayed with Comcast too long only for fear of losing signal in bad weather.

Then we started losing the CABLE in bad weather, so that was the last straw. Compared to Comcast, we LOVE LOVE LOVE DTV. Better picture, better programming, and MUCH better customer service. And a lot cheaper.
Plus we now have a Two-tuner DTivo DVR. TV life is good.

As we only have SD and 32" or smaller sets, I can't comment on your PQ concerns.

ApK

 

[aztlan76]

I stayed with Comcast too long only for fear of losing signal in bad weather.

Then we started losing the CABLE in bad weather, so that was the last straw. Compared to Comcast, we LOVE LOVE LOVE DTV. Better picture, better programming, and MUCH better customer service. And a lot cheaper.
Plus we now have a Two-tuner DTivo DVR. TV life is good.

As we only have SD and 32" or smaller sets, I can't comment on your PQ concerns.

ApK

Unfortunately a DTivo box is out of the question. I don't have a phone line and I don't want one. I am keeping Comcast for the internet and rather than pay 60 bucks for just the internet I will downgrade to basic cable and pay the same price. I've been lucky with Comcast. The only problems I have had has been with thier DVR box and PQ on my big screen. Other than that I have had not too many complaints other than it being so expensive. I think E* customer service is much worse than Comcast.

I think I'll give D* a try I just hope I get a good install and and not too many issues with thier new DVR boxes. Wish me luck!!

 

[ApK]

Here's a couple things you should be aware of to make it even better for you:

1. You don't need a phone line for a DTivo. You will need one once for the initial setup and then never again, and for the initial setup you can bring it to friend's house. They don't need to have DTV, just a phone line, a TV and electricity.

2. DSL is a viable (and cheaper) alternative to comcast cable internet. 3 MB/S DSL that works is a far better deal at any price than 6 MB/S that goes out every night, which is the situation I was in. If you can get DSL at your location, consider it.

3. If you DO go with DSL, many providers give discounts for DTV...there's a current thread here discussing the program. And if you get Verizon DSL and sign up for DTV THROUGH THEM, you get an even bigger discount.

Good luck!

 

[Wolffpack]

One other note aztlan76. When you call DTV make sure you get sometime in writing that you can "try DTV out". I'm not aware of any trial period. The biggest thing I see against DTV is their 2 year commitment. Make darn sure you can cancel within 30 days and get out of the commitment.

 

[aztlan76]

One other note aztlan76. When you call DTV make sure you get sometime in writing that you can "try DTV out". I'm not aware of any trial period. The biggest thing I see against DTV is their 2 year commitment. Make darn sure you can cancel within 30 days and get out of the commitment.

Thanks for the tip. When I called I asked for a 30 day trial and the sales guy said he could "throw" that in there but I did not get anything in writing. When dealing with CS is it better to e-mail rather than phone them? Wow that I can't beleive they do not have some kind of remorse period.

The good news is my friend is getting the same setup I am getting but about a week before I am. I might just let him be my test monkey and then I can decide to go ahead with my installation. :lol:

 

[noneroy]

I have the same TV as you (55" Mits...GREAT TV). Overall I've been very happy. The Motorola Box was crafted in Lucifer's forge. Worst interface ever, more bugs than my first college apartment and I had TWO models with fan problems.

The HR20 has a few bugs, but NOTHING like the moto box. Also, the BIGGEST hd i ever saw with cable is 160gb. In the immortal words of Niles Standish, "DOUBLE IT!" the HR20 has a 300gb drive. I don't think I've gone below 60% free yet.

SD looks better on D* because they are honest-to-god digital channels. That analog cable crap is for the birds.

Rain fade. Yes. It happens. But let me ask you this: Has your cable ever gone out when it rains/stormed? Did your cable start working as soon as the giant cloud moved or did they have to send Larry over to fix it? I've had raid fade all of twice and it was storming enough for me to worry about more than my picture quality.

And finally, don't believe the hype with E*. They have a few more channels than D* in the HD department, but a lot of it is crap you won't ever want to watch (KungFu HD I'm looking in your direction). I'd rather have my locals in HD than the bunch of filler channels that sunk Voom.

I'll stop being a D* fanboy now.....

 

[69hokie]

Your guess is as good as mine, although I would expect it to cost something. You will notice that if you are a football fan and subscribe to their NFL sunday ticket, that to see the games (not all of them) in HD you have to subscribe to super fan in addition to sunday ticket...that annoyed me. But overall I have been happy with D* for the past several years. No cable available in my area, so the choice was either DISH or Directv.

 

[aztlan76]

I have the same TV as you (55" Mits...GREAT TV). Overall I've been very happy. The Motorola Box was crafted in Lucifer's forge. Worst interface ever, more bugs than my first college apartment and I had TWO models with fan problems.

The HR20 has a few bugs, but NOTHING like the moto box. Also, the BIGGEST hd i ever saw with cable is 160gb. In the immortal words of Niles Standish, "DOUBLE IT!" the HR20 has a 300gb drive. I don't think I've gone below 60% free yet.

SD looks better on D* because they are honest-to-god digital channels. That analog cable crap is for the birds.

Rain fade. Yes. It happens. But let me ask you this: Has your cable ever gone out when it rains/stormed? Did your cable start working as soon as the giant cloud moved or did they have to send Larry over to fix it? I've had raid fade all of twice and it was storming enough for me to worry about more than my picture quality.

And finally, don't believe the hype with E*. They have a few more channels than D* in the HD department, but a lot of it is crap you won't ever want to watch (KungFu HD I'm looking in your direction). I'd rather have my locals in HD than the bunch of filler channels that sunk Voom.

I'll stop being a D* fanboy now.....

That model of Mits is great. It's a big boy but defiantely a good tv. I haven't really had any issues with the cable going out. When it has gone out it's gone out while I've been sleeping and I wake up to snow on the screen. I'm just tired of cable prices going up with no extra benefit to show for it.

The moto DVR had its own version of KungFu HD when I beat the crap out of it one day. I literally took 10 min (I timed it) to respond to remote control commands. Then it proceeded to take 5 min to go through all the buttons I pushed all at once. I just lost it started to beat on it like it stole something.

I think I'll give D* a try. So far I have had good experiences with thier CS. E* customer service is not so good. It's hard to understand them and I know I am not calling somewhere within North America. I was a little hesitant of going with D* because most of the threads I've been browsing through the past few days were a little negative. So far you guys have done of good job of pumping me up.