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[Gatobrit]

Hi - I'm thinking about switching to Satellite TV service and I was looking for opinions / reviews of the above two services.

I know that there is a proposed merger (Dish acquires DirecTV) in the works and I was looking for opinions on how this would shake out.

I don't (yet) have HDTV (this is around 12/18 months away) but I do have a good (sound) home theatre setup.




Thanks,
John

[Harry|PLS|The|PLS|Hipster]

have had DirecTV for @ 3 years, no experience with DISH. Signal generally quite good, much better than our local cable, very few digital freezes (only in the heaviest weather). Have installed Tivo with it - a great gadget, really changes the way I watch TV. Programming generally OK - I subscribe to HBO/Cinemax, tack on Sundance and Independent Film Channel for films, keep basic cable for the local stations.

Decent choices of PPV movies - one channel pretty much dedicated to foreign films, which I enjoy.

Lots of music, but I just don't use it very much. Too used to controlling my own programming, if I'm going to listen to a stream, I'll find a station with a knowledgeable announcer.

Don't know what the fallout will be from the DISH merger.

Hope this helps a little.

HTH

[Gatobrit]

HTH - thanks for the info. Sounds like you're happy with DirecTV.

I digital cable at home and I used the DMX music channels all the time, primarily because I don't have MJ linked to my home theater just yet.

[sekim]

Gatobrit,

Have had DirecTv for a couple of years now. Originally started with the premium movie package but got sick of watching the same thing over and over. Went the PPV route. Cheaper, and the most current releases are available. Usually have several new releases per week. The weather is the only drawback sometimes. Heavy snow or thunderstorms can blackout the signal for a while. As HTH stated, there a lot of music channels, all digital too. I noticed recently that there are a few that have become pay channels. Can't listen unless you anty up. Wonder where that came from...

[Harry|PLS|The|PLS|Hipster]

John:

I've had good luck with the Sonicbox/iRhythym system. Streams audio wirelessly from my PC (upstairs) to my sound system. Very simple software download/hardware attachments (base unit to PC - receiver to amp). Some loss in sound quality, can't totally eliminate white noise, but costs less than $100 US.

Can find it at http://www.sonicbox.com/products/products.shtml

HTH

[Jazzwolf]

I've had DISHTV for a few years and really enjoy it. I was thinking about switching to DirecTV because it's the only way that I can get the Yankees YES Channel but decided against it as I would be giving up too much. Generally speaking DISH is Cheaper than DirecTV and I get both the East and West Network Channels, I would only get the east with DirecTV. There are also movie channels that I get at no extra cost (EncoreWest, Fox Movies, Western Channel, Mystery Channel and 2 TMC channels)> If I wanted those channels from DirecTV I would have to subscribe to them. The music channels are really great

[Gatobrit]

Folks - thanks for sharing your use and impressions - the information you share is really useful to me.

Dish does seem to be cheaper and have packages that include more movie channels than DirecTV. Also, there is no cost for equipment with Dish.

DirecTV seem to have HDTV working really well though.

I'm leaning towards getting Dish now with a 1-year committment and then review again when I purchase the HDTV towards the end of next year. The merger and technology will have settled down by then and the cost of HDTV should be significantly less.

Thanks for all your help!

[Doof]

I was looking at this same question a couple of years ago and I asked on another board in a room where all they talked about was stereo/tv/electronic equipment, and the answer I got from there was a resounding "DISH!!!". So that's the route we took, and I've been very happy with it. The few times I've been exposed to DirectTV, I wasn't impressed. The menus weren't as intuitive to me, and even my technophobic parents find Dish to be much easier to use. The picture quality has always been excellent, and despite the fact that we were told that the weather can cause signal loss (thunder storms, blizzards, etc.), we've only had 3 times in 2 years where we lost signal. Twice I had to go brush the snow off the dish, and the other time was just this past week when we had these huge thunderstorms ripping through the area (one of which also happened to take out all of the phone lines in my house).

[ZRocker]

Remember, the menu presentations are NOT controlled by Dish or DirecTV...it's in the firmware of the receiver (ie, the brand of receiver effects the menus).  Personally, I prefer DirecTV with Sony receivers (RCA sucks...terrible UI and Hughes is Ok).  DirecTV has a much better PPV setup (100 channels)...Dish only had 10 to 20 channels (3 years ago...I don't know/care what they have now).  Also, with DirecTV I can receive all my local channels via my one dish...the Dish Network required two dishes (at least 3 years ago they did because they used two separate satellites).

[Doof]

One dish does it all now.

And I'm not sure about the PPV channels either. I either buy the DVD for any movie I want, or rent the DVD, so I never even use PPV.

[Gatobrit]

Doof - yeah, we rarely watch PPV from our digital cable service. We either go out to the movies we want to see or get them in our Netflix queue when they arrive on DVD.

(BTW: Netflix is an excellent service! My highest recommendation to anyone looking to try it!)

[Jazzwolf]

Dish's Network channels are all on 1 dish, Like I mentioned I get east and west and that is very important to me as I don't get home until about 10:30 at night from work. I can catch the west coast feed of X-Files, Friends etc.. I definitely prefer Dish over DirecTV but it will be a moot point when the merger goes through. Charlie Ertegun (CEO of Dish) has already mentioned that they will keep the DirecTV name because it is more well known and there will probably be all new equipment for both, replaced at no cost to the consumer.

[Gatobrit]

Thanks for all the feedback / input.

I signed up for Dish Network. Their sign-up offer is $149 for 3 rooms including a DishPVR (TiVo like device without the $10 per month service fee) and installation / setup etc. (Installation would be $50 without the PVR.)

I went for "America's Top 150" package and local (San Diego) channels. The first three months of this are free (hence paying for the installation |PLS| PVR) plus HBO and then I received Cinemax free for six months on top.

The recurring will be $75 per month and that includes in-home service if there are problems. This will save me nearly $15 per month over the current digital cable package I have and there are around 7/8 additional commerical free movie channels plus the PVR |PLS| Dolby Digital 5.1 sound to play with! I'm pretty pleased with the deal.

Installation is set for Saturday afternoon.