question about satellite tv.

HarmlessDove · Postby **HarmlessDove** » July 2nd, 2008, 2:12 pm

do any of you on here have satellite tv?

our cable service through cox has gone up twice in the past year and we're thinking of switching to something else. maybe DISH or DIRECTV. the only problem i have with doing this is that i've heard it tends to mess up during bad weather.

anyone familiar with either of these companies?

panhandler · Postby **panhandler** » July 2nd, 2008, 2:35 pm

I had Direct Tv for a long time and almost never lost service. I actually just went back to Direct today!!

My service is about 1/3 of the price I was paying to Comcast.

HarmlessDove · Postby **HarmlessDove** » July 2nd, 2008, 2:37 pm

i'm looking at the site now and either i'm completely overlooking it or neither of these companies offer internet. we were looking for a tv/internet package.

HarmlessDove · Postby **HarmlessDove** » July 2nd, 2008, 2:44 pm

nevermind, i'm obviously blind.

Pianoman · Postby **Pianoman** » July 2nd, 2008, 4:21 pm

I've had DirecTV for at least 14 years. I upgraded about a year ago & my old system actually had better reception during storms than my new system does.

If the storms are pretty severe - mine does at times warble. Having a clear line of site between the dish & the sky seems to make it somewhat better. I can't say it happens often - but at times. A typical rain doesn't usually affect mine - it does have to be somewhat severe.

I will say I've got 2 relatives that have Dish (both older systems) and theirs seems to go out during storms quite a bit more than mine does.

Don't let them fool you either - they can drop their prices. Last 2 times I upgraded they were going to charge me for new equipment & I told them I was going to switch to DISH if they couldn't match their prices and they gave me the equipment & a price match as well. A "regular" customer service rep couldn't do it - they had to switch me to a different department. I really didn't want to switch as DirecTV had more channels in their packages that I watched - but I was ready to make the move if they couldn't drop their prices.

pastorsa1 · Postby **pastorsa1** » July 2nd, 2008, 4:30 pm

I have Dish and it is very rare that we have problems with it. I like it a lot better than cable!

pastorables · Postby **pastorables** » July 2nd, 2008, 5:20 pm

I have had both Dish and Direct. We currently have Direct. Either satellite can go out in a hard wind/rain, but generally no serious problems with either. The difference I've noticed in favor of Dish would be that your Encore channels come with the best Dish package, whereas they would cost extra with Direct's best package. In favor of Direct, I would point to their equipment and technical which seems to be more advanced. These are just some thoughts. Take them for what they're worth.

pa

Full Quiver · Postby **Full Quiver** » July 2nd, 2008, 5:34 pm

Erika, you will need a clear, treeless line of site so that the dish can be communicated with from space. These companies offer third party internet services such as AT&T DSL which may or may not be available in your area and cannot touch a good cable connection. The tv prices are much better though!

HarmlessDove · Postby **HarmlessDove** » July 3rd, 2008, 1:52 am

Full Quiver wrote:Erika, you will need a clear, treeless line of site so that the dish can be communicated with from space. These companies offer third party internet services such as AT&T DSL which may or may not be available in your area and cannot touch a good cable connection. The tv prices are much better though!

We have a big open space so that shouldn't be an issue.

I believe the person I spoke with on the phone last night said our connection to the internet would be 1.5mbps. My husband said that was a cable connection. Does anyone know differently?

one love · Postby **one love** » July 3rd, 2008, 3:07 am

line of sight is very important. I had cox in va beach and loved there services however my $99 package deal kept going up to like 135 or something. So when we moved here we ahve time warner and got a locked price.

Call cox tell them your concerns and you are most likely going to switch and they many times will lower the price. Cox internet is very good.

I went to get dish one time but lived in town houses and they mailed it to me but I could not have it installed because the homes behind me blocked the signal.

Brian · Postby **Brian** » July 3rd, 2008, 3:44 am

We have Dish Network and are WAY happier than with Cox. The only down side is that Dish doesn't have OnDemand in the same way that Cox did. You can still order PayPerView movies and watch them at your convenience, but it isnt like Cox were you can watch all those shows like Dexter, Rome, the Tudors etc. past episodes at the click of a button. That took some time to get use to but we don't even notice it now.
There is still the DVR so we can record what we want and just watch it later.

The weather hasn't really been an issue. Maybe lost signal once or twice in the last year. But saving almost $100 a month (even while getting every available channel) more than makes up for any problems!

My next move is HD! Have the tv just havent upgraded my package yet.

ps. I still use Cox for my internet and home phone, package deal. Its cheaper than most satellite providers and is way fast.

stevenson · Postby **stevenson** » July 3rd, 2008, 4:25 am

My parents have Dish and we have Direct. We like Direct and have never had a problem. I prefer Direct cuz we get more religous programming with them.

MacUser · Postby **MacUser** » July 3rd, 2008, 4:40 am

I've used Hughesnet (directv) and others for both TV and High Speed Internet. I dropped Hughesnet as my internet provider.

I now use Wildblue.com for internet access and Directv for regular TV. Directv is digital so no need to switch soon. If you desire tivo and other features you will need the newer HD dish and packages.

If you love your super fast, quick response internet.. stay with Cable Internet. It's the best. Satellite Internet is great option but doesn't compare to cable. If you just want access the TV channels.. Sat TV is awesome.

SBW · Postby **SBW** » July 3rd, 2008, 4:43 am

We have DirecTV and are happy with it. I do not have the internet packaged sold by them. It is called Hughesnet. I have a relative that does, and is happy with the service.

From what I have seen, the thickness of the cloudcover is what causes signal loss. I have service through normal storms, even with heavy rain. But when really heavy thick clouds come right over the house, such has very high top thunderstorms, I lose service until that portion of the storm passes over. This is very rare.

PastorP · Postby **PastorP** » July 3rd, 2008, 4:44 am

Full Quiver wrote:Erika, you will need a clear, treeless line of site so that the dish can be communicated with from space. These companies offer third party internet services such as AT&T DSL which may or may not be available in your area and cannot touch a good cable connection. The tv prices are much better though!

I have subscribed to Directv for several years. It is still less then what I was paying for Charter Cable. I have 5 tv's hooked up with direct. There was 3 with Charter. I have had one 3 or 4 dollar increase since I have been with Direct.

There are few outages with Direct then with Charter. If my Direct does go out, 99.9999% of the time I can just hit the reset button and it is soon back on.

Also, the picture quality is farrrrrr more superior to Charter.

Jude 2