DirecTV/Dish

[WindowSill]

Ive been thinkin of gettin satellite lately but Im not sure where to start. How good is the service/signal/picture quality for DirecTV and Dish? Can you hook up the satellite to 2 TVs in the house for no extra cost? If you have either DirecTV or Dish, would you recommend it? Are there other satellite providers out there that you would recommend?


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I have DirecTV and would recommend it, but I don't know about DISH, so check them out first.

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[reeshy]

You can't get internet service on it..so what good is it???

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[badorties]

i had dish network, enjoyed it and was a little cheaper than cable ... spring time thunder showers suck ...

if you're a sports fan, direct tv has the nfl package ...

the thing i noticed about direct tv is that they seem to charge more for 'basic' channels with different packages ...

i think both offer broadband via a dish, but i have no idea how good it is ...



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[wilee]

I got DirecTV a year ago. I had Cablevision (only cable in my area) and the signal was very crappy on the upper channels. They were talking about having digital available, but it was slow in coming to my area (some upgrades needed nearby) and it was more expensive than satellite for the same channels.

I got HBO/Showtime and local channels when I got the package originally, and was paying $62. Cablevision wanted close to $80 for the same stuff, albeit with digital cable when it was available. If you wanted on-demand, it was an additional $5 per month.

The price for my package just went up. I'm paying $65 now which isn't too bad, and I've even been able to watch tv through storms with little or no interruption in the signal. Every once in a while, there's a hiccup, but if you ever go to your local cable office, you'll notice the nice satellite dish in the back that they use to pick up the premium channels, and before I went satellite, I've seen hiccups and "tiling" on the cable signal when the provider lost the signal on the IRD.

You can get Internet access through DirecTV, but it's pretty expensive compared to cable, (another $100 or so a month), and there is a lag in it (a couple of seconds) which isn't too bad for regular surfing, but if you play twitch games, it makes the game almost unplayable.

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[Def Dave in SC]

I had Dish Network for a few years. It was cheaper than cable, but I really hated it. The signal went out constantly. Sometimes it was for no apparent reason. But any kind of cloud cover or precipitation, or real heavy wind and you don't hae TV.

Proceed with caution.

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[JohnnyCash]

I have DirectTV and I like it alot. But it does crap out everytime theres a really bad storm.

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[FMJeff]

Satellite is not cheaper than cable.
Satellite is not as reliable as cable.
No internet service.

Nuff said.

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[Hottub]

Satellite is not cheaper than cable.
Satellite is not as reliable as cable.
No internet service.


Yes it is.
Yes it is.
Yes they do.


Later.

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[angrymissy]

Yes it is.
Yes it is.
Yes they do.


Later.


Satellite is definitely NOT cheaper than cable. For a package with HBO/Showtime (no internet), you will pay $90. For cable with HBO, Showtime and internet, you will pay around $110.

Satellite has the tendency to go down quite frequently due to heavy snowstorms, dense clouds, etc. Cable (at least for me) has never done that. Satellite is difficult to hook up to multiple televisions.

You cannot login to a VPN or play fast paced online games with satellite internet (which I would need to do for work)

DIRECWAY utilizes satellite technology to send and receive the Internet to your computer, making it available everywhere in the contiguous United States. While satellites give you high-speed Internet, the distance between our satellite and your dish does produce a micro-fraction time delay or `latency' during transmissions, which may not be perfect for `twitch' games or online trading that need split-second reactions. So, if you're a big online gamer or utilizing a VPN, DIRECWAY may not be ideal for you.

Did I mention that satellite internet runs about $59/mo, with an inital equipment cost of $600? Oh, and if you dont want to buy the equipment, you can pay $99/mo for the service, along with a $99 activation fee.



The internet service through satellite is sucktacular as compared to cable.

Toodle Loo!

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[Mike Teacher]

I know nothing of satellite cable, but geosynchronous satellites, even if they are straight overhead, are over 22,000 miles up. Round trip = 44,000 miles, and again, thats if striaght up; our dishes are pointed sorta down towards the horizon coz the satellites arent overhead. any way lets say 50,000 miles for the heck of it. At SOL 50K/186K is less then a third, but more then a quarter of a second [please dont let me have brain farted and got that wrong]. Add signal repeaters and boosters and you get what you see when they interview someone around the globe and theyre using one of those sats. It can get down to the 'barely noticeable' stage for some things, but for others, 250 milliseconds is a Looooong time.



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[wilee]

Satellite is definitely NOT cheaper than cable. For a package with HBO/Showtime (no internet), you will pay $90.


As I said, I'm paying $65 for the Total Choice Plus package with all the local channels, plus HBO/Showtime, and I don't have the Satellite internet access. I do keep getting offers for Earthlink via satellite which after about $500-$600 in startup costs runs about $100 a month from the flyer I get in the mail. I made the comparison when my commitment to Cablevision was up (as a new subscriber) and set up the satellite dish myself (have some experience in this area), and didn't have to pay for the equipment, and I own it. It all depends on what channels you want and such.

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[schmega]

satellite's cheaper, and they dont periodically fuck you for a few bucks more. cable companies are out of control.

thick clouds will fuck up your signal.

the only way to choose between Dish and Directv is to look at their lineup and prices, but if you want the complete NFL, Directv's your only choice.

Verizon's gonna offer 3000/768 dsl for $45, and they're having a package deal with Directv.

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[TheRealEddie]

I've had both DirecTv and Dish.

1) Price-wise they are both very similar
2) Directv offers Tivo service, Dish offers their own service. Tivo rules the pools.
3) Dish f'd us over a few months back by pulling Viacom service which at the time was for an unknown period. They answer to their customer complaints was to pull their phone number from their website and offer a ONE DOLLAR credit on the monthly bill. Viacom serves cbs, MTV, Comedy Central...etc. We got those channels back a week later.

Go with DirectV. Get a Tivo. Enjoy.

If you have your receiver setup with the proper transponder setup, thick clouds shouldn't really be a problem if you have a clear line of sight to the sat.

Big A.S.S. #20261

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This message was edited by TheRealEddie on 8-10-04 @ 1:09 PM

[reeshy]

Im pay for platinum cable with internet service....$55...then again ...I know the cable guy!

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[reeshy]

Im pay for platinum cable with internet service....$55...then again ...I know the cable guy!

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[Freakshow]

If you have your receiver setup with the proper transponder setup, thick clouds shouldn't really be a problem if you have a clear line of sight to the sat.

This must be the secret because we had DirecTV for a year and it never even came close to going out during a storm or heavy breeze or whatever. In fact it was working during the Hurricane until the power went out.

Now the Hughes receiver on the other hand was pure crap. But they don't even make it anymore so that shouldn't be an issue.




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