topic Re: Dish vs DirecTv in Community Chat

Dish vs DirecTv

mspatmac — Thu, 23 May 2019 21:56:43 GMT

I am considering switching from DirecTv to Dish but have heard the picture quakity of Dish is not as good as DirecTv. The cost saving is substantial (Dish is 1/2 my DTV) and while it has all the channels I watch and a great DVR I do want as clear a picture as I have now.

I would appreciate any input from Dish users before making a final decision. Thanks

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

pattiewaddle — Thu, 23 May 2019 22:25:00 GMT

I just changed over from Dish to Direct and would never go back to Dish. Pay abit more but it is so well worth it. Im still learning about all the features Just love it....

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

GCR18 — Thu, 23 May 2019 23:01:30 GMT

I've had dish for the past 13 years. I don't see anything wrong with the display. I haven't had any issues. During thunderstorms or big snow storms it may go out for a hour.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

Love my grandkids — Thu, 23 May 2019 23:06:02 GMT

I have had Dish for years and love it. I have great picture quality.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

Suziepeach — Fri, 24 May 2019 00:35:13 GMT

We switched from Dish to Directv due to Dish being out for so long when the weather got bad. Very pleased with Directv.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

itsmagic — Thu, 23 May 2019 23:18:30 GMT

I had Dish for many years but switched to Comcast Xfinity only because of a better deal. I thought the Dish picture was just fine and the only time I had a problem was if it snowed too much and I would have to get a ladder and brush the snow off the dish. That might happen once a winter.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

CamilleP — Thu, 23 May 2019 23:24:41 GMT

We switched from DirecTV to Dish a couple of years ago because we were no longer getting a signal from any of the DTV satellites in the summer when all the trees around our house leafed out. I don't detect any difference in picture quality, it matters far more what kind of television set you have. I found it easier to navigate channels and set up dvr recordings with DTV, but when you get ZERO signal, you can't watch anything and you can't record anything, so that's a moot point. Our Tivo was so old we could only tune in two channels at once, so Dish was a huge upgrade, I think our Hopper can tune in six or eight channels at the same time, though I've never used more than three, I don't think. Overall we are very happy with Dish, and even if DirecTV moved their satellites so we could tune them in year round, I don't think we'd switch back.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

patbz — Thu, 23 May 2019 23:36:06 GMT

I've had both Direct and Dish (which we currently have). I prefer Dish (no difference in picture quality). As another poster stated, I love the ability to record shows ( prime time on networks is auto record).

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

bonnielu — Fri, 24 May 2019 00:11:58 GMT

I have no choice. I am in the woods with lots of trees. I have to stay with Comcast-X-Finity. Direct-TV could not hold a signal.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

RedTop — Fri, 24 May 2019 02:01:31 GMT

@mspatmac,

I urge you to ask Dish customers near you about their satisfaction level before you switch. In my rural area of WV, the signal quality varies greatly. I have family who love Dish, and I have friends who fell for the cheaper price and learned it was a short term offer. I personally will never leave DirecTV.

I have had DirecTV service for 20 years, and don’t have a single complaint. We’ve never had anything but normal signal interruption related to storm activity, and I call yearly to ask for a discount on our bill.

I urge you to clearly understand the Dish offer that is tempting you because it is half the amount you pay right now. My friends from work fell for the cheaper rate, but soon realized they did not have the channels they were used to. In no time at all, their cheaper rate increased to what they paid DirecTV, due to the “special promotion” being over, and it was going to cost even more to get some of the basic channels (not movie channels) back. Everyone switched back to DirecTV and are very anti-Dish now.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

Nightowlz — Fri, 24 May 2019 03:44:49 GMT

We have had DISH for just over 21 yrs. Not switching to DTV. I compared prices between the 2 several years ago for the channels we want that I already have with DISH. It was going to cost us more money with DTV to get the channels we wanted.

Eventually we are going to put up another outdoor antenna for our local channels plus check out Netflix, Hulu, etc.

At some point we will probably get rid of DISH. DH is always streaming stuff & I don't watch 3/4 of the stuff I record. LOL!!!

We really have not had any issues with DISH. It does go out when it's storming sometimes. I recorded shows on SD channels instead of HD channels when it was storming Mon-Tues when DISH was going on/off but all the show was recorded. Does not make any sense.

They have SD & HD channels. The HD are clear the SD look fine but I can tell a difference.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

mistylee — Fri, 24 May 2019 03:07:39 GMT

Have had Dish a long time. I wouldn't switch. They have always helped me with any problems and I was very pleased with that. The picture is very good also. Does go out when there is a strong storm or snow, but so does DT. No difference there. The prices are better with Dish also. I have checked with others on that. Hope this helps.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

Bri369 — Fri, 24 May 2019 10:48:54 GMT

We've had Dish for over 15 years. The picture quality is fine. We have HD and newer TV's, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

I've had no complaints about Dish. Their customer service is excellent, and we rarely lose signal. We can always watch something from the DVR in that case.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

vermint — Fri, 24 May 2019 13:30:00 GMT

We live in a rural area, lots of trees, no cable access, and have had Dish for years. Never been tempted to switch because some of our neighbors had DirecTV and had nothing but problems, including the price going up faster than Dish (both increase every year, even after promotion, but DirecTV has increased more). Dish Customer Service has always been very good.

Reception may vary by area, but we've always had a good, clear picture. No snow here, but even bad rainstorms rarely knock it out for more than 20-30 minutes. We do get a little interference in the spring/summer...when the leaves are on the trees, and the wind blows, it can cause a little problem. I love the Hopper, recording is so easy!

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

KKJ — Fri, 24 May 2019 14:01:52 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@mspatmac,
I urge you to ask Dish customers near you about their satisfaction level before you switch. In my rural area of WV, the signal quality varies greatly. I have family who love Dish, and I have friends who fell for the cheaper price and learned it was a short term offer. I personally will never leave DirecTV.

I have had DirecTV service for 20 years, and don’t have a single complaint. We’ve never had anything but normal signal interruption related to storm activity, and I call yearly to ask for a discount on our bill.

I urge you to clearly understand the Dish offer that is tempting you because it is half the amount you pay right now. My friends from work fell for the cheaper rate, but soon realized they did not have the channels they were used to. In no time at all, their cheaper rate increased to what they paid DirecTV, due to the “special promotion” being over, and it was going to cost even more to get some of the basic channels (not movie channels) back. Everyone switched back to DirecTV and are very anti-Dish now.

I've had DirecTv for over 20 yrs but not impressed. Price of my pkg is outrageous & they never give me a discount--some thanks for being loyal customer. I must say they do hop on it whenever I've had tech probs & threaten to go to another carrier.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

KKJ — Fri, 24 May 2019 14:05:39 GMT

Sorry, I directed this post to you to find out how you get your discount?

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

RedTop — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:03:24 GMT

@KKJ,

I just simply call DirecTV and politely ask for a discount, because of being a long time customer. I asked for the current discount based on my husbands partial amputation on his foot and him being so dependent on TV for his daily entertainment during this long healing process.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

Financialgrl — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:20:21 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
@mspatmac,
I urge you to ask Dish customers near you about their satisfaction level before you switch. In my rural area of WV, the signal quality varies greatly. I have family who love Dish, and I have friends who fell for the cheaper price and learned it was a short term offer. I personally will never leave DirecTV.

I have had DirecTV service for 20 years, and don’t have a single complaint. We’ve never had anything but normal signal interruption related to storm activity, and I call yearly to ask for a discount on our bill.

I urge you to clearly understand the Dish offer that is tempting you because it is half the amount you pay right now. My friends from work fell for the cheaper rate, but soon realized they did not have the channels they were used to. In no time at all, their cheaper rate increased to what they paid DirecTV, due to the “special promotion” being over, and it was going to cost even more to get some of the basic channels (not movie channels) back. Everyone switched back to DirecTV and are very anti-Dish now.

I was just trying to craft a response like RedTop's. I no longer live rural but when I did DISH had the better signal, etc. Regarding the better offers, whether it is satellite, cable, or FIOS, they all pull you in with these fantastic promotions and as RedTop said after those expire you end up paying more to get what you want.

Just went thru this with FIOS. two days ago My two year contract was just up and I was able to renew and pay the exact same for Verizon triple play but it took a lot to get the rep to get here. The rep kept pushing for the upsell and it was very clear (and I get that's their job). However, every time she'd come back with a new cost I'd say I need something cheaper and she wasn't too forthcoming. At that point I told her, "sorry but this is still too expensive" and I'm gonna check around to see if I can do better. Once I threatened to hang up, all of a sudden I got options more in line what I was looking for. It's the ole "a bird inn the hand" cuz if I'd have hung up she'd have lost the sale.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

mspatmac — Fri, 24 May 2019 16:31:56 GMT

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Lot's of things to consider. I can't believe this is such a hard decision, in the scheme of things it's "just TV" LOL.

Re: Dish vs DirecTv

SilleeMee — Fri, 24 May 2019 17:03:35 GMT

I'm a long time Directv customer and whenever my rates go up I call them and ask for their customer loyalty pricing. With just a few questions answered, like what channels I like and what type of programs I watch, then they give me a good discount that lasts for about 12 months. They tell me to just call back when the that time comes and another discount is waiting, but only if I call back...it's not automatic. My last discount is saving me $50 every month.