Direct TV vs. Cable tv

[dcutaia]

Good Morning, All

I am paying over 100.00 dollars for basic cable and internet service per month. I got a advertisement in the mail from Direct TV with rates of 70 dollars for 150 channels and 10G internet speed.

I am starting my investigation of Direct TV for switching over from cable.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Direct TV service?

Thanks,

DAC

[DeadManWalks]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

I have used direct tv for 8 years. I just love them. Never an issue. Never used them for internet. That 70 $ will only last for a period of time.

[jamief]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Finally a question my feeble old mind can answer!
Yes Direct TV all the way.
Been with them for almost 100 years now and would never go back to open air theater again!

Cut the packages down and look into ROKU, AMAZON, APPLE TV, GOOGLE... to watch shows you follow.
It may be a day late, but you watch when you want and more important when you CAN!

[tomliotta]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

I'd easily go Direct TV over cable (assuming no obstacles block signals). And I'd go Dish Network over Direct TV just as fast.

[Terry Wincheste]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Tom...how are the Dish Network speeds? I looked at this a few years ago and dropped the idea because my southern exposure is problematic during inclement weather and had a friend who was using Dish for internet at the time - but it was a fairly slow connection. I've seen the new commercials but unless they've launched some new satellites, I can't see how it could be much faster than it was back then...

I would *love* to be able to drop the local DSL from Frontier. We're lucky to get 2-3MB for $50 per month It sure beats dial-up at $20 but its not worth $50.

[danlong005]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Never never never use satellite for internet... unless just have no other option. I had to have it for a while .... TERRIBLE!!!!!...

[tomliotta]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Ah, the internet aspect... Unfortunately (for your question), I can't give a useful answer on the internet connectivity since I don't use it. My internet is DSL via CenturyLink and it's more than I need. Essentially $20/mo for 12mb speed. There is no chance for cable out here where I am. I'd be irritated for sure at much more cost than that nowadays.

My experience with Direct TV comes from the past decade at my father's home. Comparisons were easy over the years, but they are limited to "TV-related entertainment" for that. And for cable, experience comes from many years before moving here, plus the most recent eight years provided at my mother-in-law's home.

We do have southern-exposure and inclement weather issues at times. One southern view from the mid-level deck:



During heavy rains, HD broadcasts tend to drop and it's necessary to switch to the SD channel. (For almost everything, that's no big deal.)

But then, there is no direction you can look from my place and not see 80'-100' trees and taller, including looking out the skylights unless you stand in a couple just-right spots. Exposure elements are expected when living in a forest. We could do some topping of trees, but we've considered them more important so far. (Had the Super Bowl been somehow disturbed, that might have changed.)

[NYCountryGal]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

I too - live in the country and live in the woods as Tom does. I, however, like in the sticks in southern Western NY. I have Directv and ahve had for close to eight years now and I love them. I had DishNetwork prior to Directv and wouldn't go back if you paid me. For satellite service for internet (the only way I can get it presently where I live) - I use Wildblue/Excede. I just recently (Sept. 2013) upgraded to their newer high speed service and I love it. I have no complaints with Wildblue/Excede. It sucks that I have to have two satellite systems to get tv and internet, but when I found that my internet service would have been dial-up with Directv I said screw that. We are hopeful that we will be able to get cable internet in the coming years. We've been told if one more family moves on to our private road - Time Warner will run the lines. Until then ... satellite it is...

[Terry Wincheste]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

@Tom

Right...I had forgotten that you posted this picture once before! I have the same problems with rain/snow over NE PA.

@NYCountryGal

I had considered switching to DirectTV from Dish but for what few channels I want, the price was about the same yet the DirecTV dishes were *smaller* in diameter so I tayed with Dish. How do you like your WildBlue/Excede connectivity? We're in south-central NY (southern tier). What is your rate for the newer high-speed service? We have Time Warner about 2 miles from the house but they wanted $14,000 to bring the cable up the road. LOL...never gonna happen.

[NYCountryGal]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

I don't have a problem with Wildblue/Excede connectivity. We only had one instance this winter where we did have a connection because of snow and it was due to the dish being covered in snow. One other issue was due to a problem on there end - one of the towers was experiencing tehcnical issues but Tech Support walked me through how to get connected "the old way" so that we still had internet service just at the speed we were using before. They told to wait two days and re-connect the new way. I did and all was fine. Those have been our only real issues with them thus far. I previously had Wildblue for four years prior to that and never had an issue. They have three dirfferent plans and I believe its $10-$15 difference between each plan, and they give you the option to buy more data if needed. I get the middle plan - I believe its 15G for $79.99 a month and you get free uploads/downloads from midnight to 5 AM. They hook new customers up on Excede - as I was a previous customer I am under the Wildblue/Excede umbrella. Check it out at www.wildblue.net or www.excede.net And Time-Warner gave us the same cost to bring cable down to us. Our neighbors on the main road have access but because we live on a private road - 1/8th of a mile from the main road ... well you get the picture. When we first moved there, we had dial-up (Earthlink) and that was painful. We then switched to another local dial-up company with a bit better speed and then my last employer paid for me to get the satellite which was over $199 at that time. I've stayed with them because while the connectivity isn't smoking, it works for what I need and I have had no complaints. TechSupport can be a pain sometimes because they are on the West Coast and they don't anwer the phone in a timely fashion but once you get them on the phone, they are pretty decent.

[tomliotta]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

We've been told if one more family moves on to our private road - Time Warner will run the lines.

We're about half a mile from a "main road", on a private road at the very end. We're also at the point of "one more family", though it's more technically "one more home". Since all of the parcels are already owned by those who live in this area, and "one more home" on the road takes us into county road requirements, and a significant majority of owners are opposed to getting past limits for local government regulations, it's unlikely things will change for a while. We like it that way which is a reason for buying here.

[kitvb1]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Hey Tom,

Don't you, from time to time, feel a little hemmed in by all the trees, or miss the big sky? 10 years ago I moved to a small picturesque village in Bavaria. I could never move back to a big city again and even feel a little hemmed in when I spend a week on holiday in a big city.

[tomliotta]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

Don't you, from time to time, feel a little hemmed in by all the trees, or miss the big sky?

No. And yes, a little.

I spend a lot of time in the forest, mostly doing cleanup while keeping my mind away from anything to do with 'work'. The 'big sky', though, is missed some. We have barely enough open sky to keep me rational. It's open mostly straight up from the mid-level deck and along the south side of the house, with a little extra in that direction. That's the best sky view with about a 45° angle going up to tree tops.

Best of all is that I have practically no "yard" that needs normal attention, and no neighbors visible in any direction.

[gcraill]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

No. And yes, a little.

I spend a lot of time in the forest, mostly doing cleanup while keeping my mind away from anything to do with 'work'. The 'big sky', though, is missed some. We have barely enough open sky to keep me rational. It's open mostly straight up from the mid-level deck and along the south side of the house, with a little extra in that direction. That's the best sky view with about a 45° angle going up to tree tops.

Blue sky is only 30 minutes away by chainsaw ...

[dcutaia]

Re: Direct TV vs. Cable tv

I have another question. I have an upstairs bedroom. I want to put direct tv into the bedroom but I don't want to have cables from the dish to the bedroom. The rep on the phone talked about a wireless option to the receiver. Is he correct? Can I get a total wireless connection to the bedroom?

Thanks,

DAC