Directv vs. Dish?

**t-noah** · 12-15-2007, 02:39 PM

Which one do you guys recommend and why? Specifically, for Dish, would I have to go up to the 200 package to view, say, Cyclone basketball or football (which is what I'd like to do, some of the regional spors broadcasts)? How about Directv? What tier to you have to go to to get cyclone sports? This for a guy who lives in SW MO. Thx!

I've heard more positives going w/ Directv in terms of overall service and customer service, but I don't know why. Anyone have bad experience w/ Dish network? Dish does seem to be a bit less pricey.

**ISUFan22** · 12-15-2007, 02:46 PM

I've never dealt with Dish Network...but we have DirecTV and love it.

For sports, no one comes close to DirecTV. You can get the basic package and get most of the ISU hoops games as they are on WOI. Some are on FSN, which you'll need the Sports Pack ($12).

Being you're in Missouri...I don't know of a way you can get the ISU games, except those on FSN or ESPN. Most of the games are only locally televised.

**Angie** · 12-15-2007, 02:52 PM

We have Dish Network, but I don't love it. For me, it's just that I really dislike the DVR that came with it (we had TiVo with our cable, and I miss it). The basic package is okay, but you have to upgrade to get anything like F/X or anything (if you're a fan of "It's Always Sunny In Philedelphia", that's a big deal!). Since we have season tickets, we haven't looked much at the sports packages other than the NCAA Football package (which looks pretty cool).

**isucyfan** · 12-15-2007, 02:55 PM

I have had Directv for 5 years, and am a very happy customer. At least once a year, I call them and don't even threaten to leave for Dish...I just ask if they have any promotions for good customers. I almost always get something nice, like 6 mos. of movie channels or money off my bill.

I get Full Court every year to see the Clones BBall games, because I am out of state. This year has been the most disappointing, as there have been virtually no games on FC yet. I know almost all the conference games are on, but I could have gone for the half year package and saved $50.

Directv is also good for me because I have lots of services bundled with Qwest. I think I save $10/month just for having Qwest and Directv on the same bill.

Their Directv-branded DVR is a bit suspect, if this matters to you. There are things lacking on it, in my opinion, and this has made me keep my Directv Tivo unit, which is old now, but works great for me. I know they have improved their DVR greatly in the past year or so, and I am getting more and more tempted to switch.

Hope this helps...if you really like my info mention that I referred you, and we both get $50 off our bill when you hook up to Directv! *shameless*

PM me if you want more info about any of this!

**83Clone** · 12-15-2007, 03:09 PM

I have Dish, and unlike Angie, I love the DVR. I have never had TiVo so I don't have that as a comparison. I find it very userfriendly, and you can watch one show while you record another, which I couldn't on the first generation DVR.

The thing I like about Dish over Direct TV is that on Dish, the HD and non HD content stations for Discovery/ESPN/etc, are next to each other on the dial, while on Direct, the HD channel may be 275 and the non HD content on channel 40.

But if you have to have the NFL package you can only get that on Direct TV. For now anyway

**Angie** · 12-15-2007, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by 83Clone

I have Dish, and unlike Angie, I love the DVR. I have never had TiVo so I don't have that as a comparison. I find it very userfriendly, and you can watch one show while you record another, which I couldn't on the first generation DVR.

That IS one thing I like about the DVR - we didn't want to get multiple TiVo boxes, so the DVR recording multiple shows is a nice change. I have to have the husband tell me when to do single-user vs. multiple-user mode, because it still doesn't make sense to me.

We've only ever lost signal once, and it was during a thunderstorm. Ours is bundled with Iowa Telecom, so we get a huge discount on super high-speed DSL.

**jumbopackage** · 12-15-2007, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by 83Clone

I have Dish, and unlike Angie, I love the DVR. I have never had TiVo so I don't have that as a comparison. I find it very userfriendly, and you can watch one show while you record another, which I couldn't on the first generation DVR.

The thing I like about Dish over Direct TV is that on Dish, the HD and non HD content stations for Discovery/ESPN/etc, are next to each other on the dial, while on Direct, the HD channel may be 275 and the non HD content on channel 40.

But if you have to have the NFL package you can only get that on Direct TV. For now anyway

This is no longer true with the HR20 and newer stuff (which you need to get most of the HD content on DirecTV). The channels are right next to each other, and it's possible to set it to automatically go to the HD channel if available.

To be honest, they are pretty much identical services with a few important differences.

DirecTV has better HD content and selection than Dish does, and will in the near future. If you're inclined to subscribe to Sunday Ticket (the NFL package), you can only get that and a few other fringe sports packages on DirecTV. Otherwise, they are very similar offerings.

Unfortunately, living in SW MO, you're only going to be able to pick up what's on the national broadcasts, and ESPN Full Court.

On another note, I usually get the College Gameplan package every year. It's alright, but there are usually only 2 or 3 games a year I watch on it that I couldn't have otherwise gotten. The Big 10 network, and having all of it's alternates available, really kicked a lot of interesting games off of gameplan. If you're a tremendous CFB junkie, it's worth it. Otherwise, I'd avoid it.

**jumbopackage** · 12-15-2007, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Angie

That IS one thing I like about the DVR - we didn't want to get multiple TiVo boxes, so the DVR recording multiple shows is a nice change. I have to have the husband tell me when to do single-user vs. multiple-user mode, because it still doesn't make sense to me.

We've only ever lost signal once, and it was during a thunderstorm. Ours is bundled with Iowa Telecom, so we get a huge discount on super high-speed DSL.

The DirecTV DVRs can do that, as can the older DirecTivo boxes.

**isucyfan** · 12-15-2007, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

The DirecTV DVRs can do that, as can the older DirecTivo boxes.

I thought the new Directv DVRs lack a dual tuner. You can watch a recorded show while recording a live show, but you can't switch between two live shows being recorded.

Is this correct or no? It's one thing holding me back from upgrading.

**jumbopackage** · 12-15-2007, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by isucyfan

I thought the new Directv DVRs lack a dual tuner. You can watch a recorded show while recording a live show, but you can't switch between two live shows being recorded.

Is this correct or no? It's one thing holding me back from upgrading.

All new DirecTV DVRs are dual tuner.

You can record a show while watching another one live, or you can watch a recorded show while recording two other shows.

The only thing I really dislike, capability-wise, is that you can't swap back and forth between live shows with a buffer, like on the Tivos.

**taco2000** · 12-15-2007, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by isucyfan

I thought the new Directv DVRs lack a dual tuner. You can watch a recorded show while recording a live show, but you can't switch between two live shows being recorded.

Is this correct or no? It's one thing holding me back from upgrading.

You can. It doesn't have dual buffers like the Tivo but you can record two shows live and flip between the two.

**tigershoops31** · 12-15-2007, 04:46 PM

I've had both and currently have DirecTV. I left Dish irate about all the crap they pulled. Their service was horrible and they set up their typical "4 hour timeslot" to come install it like everybody does now and then didn't show up until 2 hours afterwards. In the meantime I missed an ISU basketball game, so I called them and they said they'd give me a $100 credit for being late and causing me to miss that. I called back in the next day and they didn't have any record of the credit and refused to give it to me. They also told me when I signed up that it would be $45 total after taxes, and then sent me the bill for $70 a month.

I've had DirecTV for a couple months now and have had no such problems with them. It's still not as cheap as cable was, but I like the programming I get, especially with the sportspack. Hope that helps!

**isucyfan** · 12-15-2007, 04:51 PM

Originally Posted by jumbopackage

All new DirecTV DVRs are dual tuner.

You can record a show while watching another one live, or you can watch a recorded show while recording two other shows.

The only thing I really dislike, capability-wise, is that you can't swap back and forth between live shows with a buffer, like on the Tivos.

Originally Posted by taco2000

You can. It doesn't have dual buffers like the Tivo but you can record two shows live and flip between the two.

Thanks for the clarification, guys. It is the dual buffer that I would miss if I gave up my DirectTivo. I know they are improving their DVR, and I am tempted to get one if they go to a dual buffer.

**CTTB78** · 12-15-2007, 06:06 PM

I had DirecTV for years, until this year. I liked the programming, (I am out of state so I would get the sports pack for football and Full Court for BB. Worked pretty well.

I didn't have a bundled package or anything and I noticed that DirecTV began to send bills every other month and bill me late charges in between. Nice scam. They wanted to direct bill from a credit card I but I didn't want to do that. I told them the late charge scam was a nice gimmick and I would close out the account. But, they wanted to add ANOTHER late charge before I could do it. I told them to shove the late charges up their....... and I've never heard anything back.

**kuney1** · 12-15-2007, 06:36 PM

I switched from Direct TV to Dish, I like the tech service better at Dish, I just feel they are more customer friendly. I too like the DVR.

But Direct TV has more HD channels, Dish likely will add more in the future to stay competitive.. As of now local channels are not in HD unless you purchase a separate antenna.

To view ISU games you will probably need to subscribe to a premium channel.