DirecTV to Dish...

I am trying to save as much money in anticipation of our little one come April. DirecTV is being stubborn and not wanting to credit me anything and my contract is done. I am considering Dish, but I've never had them. I do love the picture of satellite HD though. My wife and I watch a limited amount of channels: A&E, TLC, History, Travel, FX, ESPN, NFLN, and locals. Anyone have any major complaints about Dish? I love DirecTV, but not the price.

My complaints about DTV: Price, Slow ass receiver, occasional loss of signal.

 

Had dish for years. No complaints here.

 

I had the exact feeling about Directv. I made the change and it is worth the savings. Directv isn't better enough to justify the price.

 

We just made the switch in the other direction and so far I am not impressed... Receivers suck balls compared to dish.

 

I'm living with my in-laws while we build a house. They have directTV and I will agree. I think the receivers SUCK ASS. I've also noticed that every comercial and show that comes on is missing the first few sceconds of audio, all the time. annoying as fuck.

 

Wow, I disagree BIG time!!

DISH sucks!, they are the worst service!

I had them first and kept losing the signal, the box always had to be rebooted, lost the guide so many times I lost track, etc...!! HORRIBLE!! I had them come out, they upgraded the boxes and the satellite dish, still had problems. I switched over to DirecTV and it was night and day! Great quality, no issues with guide or signal loss. DirecTV also did much better during storms and I hardly lost signal, even in the most severe thunderstorms....and this was in the South Georgia/North Florida area! A rain drop fell and DISH took a big dump....never again!

This was my experience, others will have good and bad, but many in my area experienced the same problems. Either way, Good Luck!

Note: If you get Verizon Fios or ATT Uverse, go with that!! Those are the best out of everything I've ever had and I've been around! (Comcast, Time Warner, DISH, DirecTV, Uverse, etc..)

 

If you do want to stay with Directv, next time call them up immediately ask to be transfered to the Retention Dept. Retention has a bit more leeway to make deals, but do know going in what price you would find acceptable and work them to that price. You will also usually be immediately transfered if you say anything along the lines of "disconnect".

Also, take the Dish price and use that as leverage in talking with Directv. This is all assuming that you want to stay with Directv. I got them to basically price match a U-verse deal I was working up.

 

I didn't know my contract was up when I called DirecTV. I was calling because I was no longer getting free HD and my bill is $100 for the 2nd tier package. The guy didn't care what I thought. I don't feel like playing the phone game with them.

 

We have had Dish Network for about 11 years with no problems at all. My FIL has DirectTV. My wife says the user interface with Dish is much more user-friendly.

 

Have had direct tv for about 3 years now and my bill has done nothing but go up so direct tv is loosing this customer next week. I started at $39 a month and now I'm up to $90 and I haven't changed channel packages or accepted any of there offers so explain that... They can kiss it where the sun don't shine

 

Dish is just as expensive and DirecTV.

I'm not going to jump ship for less than $10 a month.

 

This is what I've found in the past, and can add Uverse-TV to that list to. You may not want to play the phone game with them, but I've found that I need to call them annually, get to retention, then re-negotiate my rate with them. If I don't do that, the rates just keep creeping up.

...and rate creep is not just Directv,,, Dish, U-verse, cable, they all do the same thing. Nature of the beast since all the content providers also increase their rates every couple of years so the providers need to adjust.

BTW, I am not a great customer for DTV, I have a mid-line channel package, no premiums or sports packages, 2 DVRs, 2 HD Rcvrs, and the DVR sharing capability. My bill, after negotiations has hovered around $80 (with fees/taxes/misc BS) for the last 4 years. Without the discounts I talk them into, my bill would be well north of $100.

 

I've had both over the years (had both for years at a time) & and for my reasons of TV (that is just watching it) I can't tell the difference. I have zero cable options in my remote location so it's satellite or rabbit ears with the closest local stations are about 65 miles away.

For me, the decision comes down to price.

 

I decided to call DTV and got my bill cut by $25 a month for a year. I also removed a spare receiver we weren't using. So I got my bill down to $68. I think we'll just deal with it.

 

I agree with what Lurkin says. My wife works for AT&T (who partners with DirectTV). You should ask to be transferred to Retention. They are able to give you a much better deal than the rep can. Even if the rep wanted to, they usually cannot do anything other than credit a bill. Retention is the last line for a company to keep you on as a customer so they have much more power to swing a deal with you.

 

If your trying to save money forget satellite and cable. Just use Netflix and Hulu plus $16 a month. That's what i do. If I can't watch a certain show I just buy the season on iTunes and its STILL CHEAPER! Then satellite and cable cause next month it's still gonna be $16. Something to consider.

 

I'm ditching the local cable this Sunday and getting Dish installed, I will update with my impressions

 

I switch back and forth every 2 years to get the latest equipment and free promotions. Tit for Tat...neither stand out to me