Nerdy Dork

The top 12 reasons satellite television (i.e. DIRECTV & Dish Network) kick cable’s (i.e. Comcast) Butt:

… And the 6 reasons why cable has its strong points:

Reliability – I went 5 years without having a problem with my satellite including wind, rain & snow, then one day it went fuzzy. That’s when I switched to the other provider and problem was solved. There may be occasions when snow or some other environmental variable may cause interference with your satellite. You just don’t have this problem with cable. That’s not to say cable is perfect. It seems my cable high speed internet has more outages than my satellite, but that’s a different beast. Local packages – Cable companies are generally local and they know what locals want. The biggest example I can think of is right here in Utah. BYU and University of Utah Football is HUGE in the fall. The mountain west games are now being played on 3 different channels: 1. The Mountain (MTN); 2. Versus; 3. CSTV. Comcast has all three channels in their basic package. Neither DIRECTV nor Dish Network carry the Mountain. It is a new station and they claim they don’t have enough demand yet. I personally thing the real issue is because Comcast owns the Mountain. Damn them all! Package Deals – Sticking with the local them, you can often get your phone and internet through your cable company, which can save you some money. On Demand – Comcast loves to tote their On Demand stuff. This basically lets you choose from a library of shows and movies that you can watch anytime – much like YouTube No Roof Décor – Hey, you can always put the satellite on the side of your house if you don’t like it on the roof No Contract – Often, if you’re going to take advantage of the free equipment and installation with the satellite providers it will require a one or two year contract. With cable there is generally no contract so you can cancel at any time.

It’s that time of year again. My contract is up on DIRECTV, so I’m preparing to make the switch to Dish Network for some new DVR’s and more channels for the money.

I’m a bit hesitant though. Even though I’m a big fan of satellite television, I’m actually considering Comcast. Why? Well, it’s been over a year, and still the Mountain (mtn) is only available on Comcast. Now, was this some ploy by Comcast to get more subscribers? So what’s a guy to do, be stubborn and say no to the monopoly, or enjoy some BYU & Utah Football?

Decisions… Decisions…

I guess for now, I can do my part by signing online petitions and making my voice heard. I will be sure to tell DIRECTV that the reason I am leaving is because they won’t offer mtn.

I was browsing my DIRECTV account online this morning and noticed that I was eligible for various free upgrades. My first though was, “man, I could have had another DVR all this time… for free?”

But then I read the fine print

So I would have to renew my contract for two years, but I would also have to activate DVR service. What if it is already activated?

In any case, after comparing apples to apples the pricing and channels available of various packages, I think I’ll be switching to Dish Network next month anyway.

Recently it seems all my extended family is switching to DIRECTV. We have all been Dish Network customers in the past. The reasons vary, but many are similar.

Why My Family Switched

It has been almost two years now that we have been with DIRECTV. We switched mainly due to reception problems that we starting having out of the blue with Dish Network. The technicians over the phone were a waste of time. I got really frustrated with them. They wanted to charge me to come out and look at the problem. I just told them to forget it and I ordered DIRECTV online and had it installed. When you make the switch you get all the latest hardware - most often for free.

Our package for DIRECTV was essentially the same price, but there are a couple channels we don’t get that we had with Dish Network.

My Mom Switched

My mom has been a long time Dish Network subscriber. She has always paid for more channels that we normally get, and she was the first person I knew that had a DVR and webTV. On occasion she will come to our house and baby sit. While watching TV she really like the features of our TiVo system - Especially watching two shows at once, or recording one show and watching another.

She wanted to get this upgrade with her Dish package, but in the process of pricing it, she also looked at DIRECTV. It has long since been assumed that DIRECTV is more expensive, but she found that for the channels she was paying for, it was actually cheaper. So making the switch was a no-brainer. She got all her equipment and 4 rooms installed for free.

My Mother-In-Law Switched

My mother in law recently switched as well. I’m surprised it took them as long as it did. They were having the same reception problems we were back when we switched, but they stuck it out until things got better. They were never completely better though. I remember a couple of occasions when it blacked out during the Super Bowl! Arg! We had suggested several times that they make the switch. They have had their equipment for about 10 years. Obviously their biggest concern was the hassle of making a change.

Finally, after dealing with frustrations with their old hardware, and also learning that for the channels they were paying for that they could get a better deal with DIRECTV, they also made the switch. They also got it installed in 4 rooms for free. They put DVRs in two of those rooms. I overheard my mother-in-law explaining all she was getting from DIRECTV to her mother. I heard this exclamation proceed from the kitchen, “And I’m paying $xxx for Comcast!” So soon my wife’s grandma will also be a DIRECTV customer.

The Complaints

OK, I can’t say it’s all been a fairy tale ending there have been complaints. The one I hear most - from everyone that has made the switch - is concerning the guide. Dish Network displays channels in red that you are not subscribed to. This makes it really easy to see. With DIRECTV it is more of a guessing game. You select a channel before it tells you that you don’t have it. This was the case 12 years ago when my parents first ordered DIRECTV when I was in high school. I thought back then that it was stupid, I think with all the advancements in 12 years they could have fixed this by now!

Other minor complaints are mainly with getting used to the “new” way of doing old things.

Making The Switch

If you want to make the switch to DIRECTV, I recommend Expert Satellite. Honestly, you will find the same deals and promotions through any subscriber you go through because DIRECTV regulates that with all their resellers. The one I went through is no longer doing service. My mother-in-law used Expert Satellite and was thoroughly impressed with the whole process. You can go to their website, or simply call them at 1-866-296-1516 (use promo code 777).

If you want to compare more features of Dish Network and DIRECTV side-by-side, I recommend visiting http://www.direct-vs-dish.com.

I’ve been a DIRECTV customer for a year and a half now. Overall I am happy, but everyone once in a while I remember what I miss about my old Dish Network account.

First of all there was the DVR. I think with time all DVR systems continue to improve, but what I miss most about my Dish DVR is the ability to skip ahead 30 seconds. This allowed me to press the skip button approximately 4 times and jump through all the commercials. With my current DVR, I have not other option but to fast forward through them. Even at the fastest speed it is not as fast as pressing the “jump ahead†button 4 times. Also, at the fastest speed I have to pay close attention to the scenes or I can easily go past the point I wanted to start watching again.
Continue reading “What I Miss Most About Dish Network”

I have a Satellite Comparison Guide I maintain at Direct-vs-Dish.com. I’ve allowed users to post comments. A recent comment really reflects not only my feelings concerning the company, but customer support in general.

I think the reason companies get away with this is because everyone else is doing it. I recently switched from Dish Network to DIRECTV. There are some features I like about DIRECTV, mainly TiVo functions, but all things considered, I think I prefered Dish Network.

Seriously though, why do you have to play games such as cancelling and signing up under you spouses name to get the “new customer” deal. Wouldn’t it make more business sense to keep your current customers happy rather than sending them away to your competition? How hard would it be to say, yeah, well, give you the new DVR and HD if you agree to another 1 year commitment. This has to make more business sense. They keep the customer for one, plus, the installation costs have to be much cheaper if they don’t need a new dish or additional cables, right? Why, why, why?

I don’t know why, but I’m sort of sad about this one. You see, for 4 years I’ve had Dish Network service. In those four years I’ve been nothing but pleased with their products, service and pricing. I’ve even seen many people sign up with them based on my referrals.

Well, in the past months things have gotten bad. I think it started when my wife and I decided we needed to save money, so we decided to cancel our service. Continue reading “Cancelled Dish Network Last Night”